Online Facilitation Skills - 2011 Dates to be advised

Since 2006 the Online Facilitation Skills programme has had participants join in from the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Nigeria, Hong Kong, China, the Phillipines, Canada, Australia and throughout New Zealand. It's a great programme for learning about the latest online group technologies in a fun way with people from around the world and also learning online facilitation skills along the way.

About the Programme

Online facilitation skills are now becoming essential for group facilitators and those leading online teams. The Online Facilitation Skills programme is a part-time skill development programme of 100-hours spread over 10-weeks. The programme is based on the Zenergy person centered facilitation approach.

The programme's goal is to provide participants with the skills and capabilities necessary to facilitate online groups to achieve their purpose. Ideal for those who are serious about improving their online facilitation skills. Participants actively engage in email and discussion forum conversations as well as exploring web collaboration tools.

The programme involves 8-10 hours per week engaged in a mix of reading, peer work and group discussion. There are no fixed times for particular sessions, however there will be some tasks to complete by the end of each week. Much of the programme is asynchronous (different-time). We will be using different tools such as email, an online forum, Skype, WebEx video conferencing, blogging and Second Life. During the programme we will do some synchronous real-time (same-time) conferencing that will be at fixed times. These times will be negotiated with the group to allow as many people as possible to participate.

Course content and approach

The programme provides a person-centred framework (philosophy and methodology) and experiential skills training in facilitation online. This includes the Zenergy model of group facilitation and a framework for generating alignment and co-creation with groups and teams. The approach taken is hands-on and highly experiential. Over the 10 weeks participants are coached and receive feedback from Zenergy's experienced programme leaders, and the other participants, as they facilitate the group. In the moment/during the conversation coaching is a key aspect of the success of the Zenergy training approach. This is one of Zenergy’s added value offerings and what some programme participants have referred to as our taonga (treasure).

Weekly topics:

Week 1 Introduction, facilitation and the role of the facilitator
Week 2 Purpose and culture
Week 3 Facilitating yourself and Facilitating another
Week 4 Facilitating a group
Week 5 Shifting levels and Half way review
Week 6 Dialogue and storytelling
Week 7 Addressing conflict
Week 8 Getting to consensus
Week 9 Applications
Week 10 Self & peer assessment
Evaluation and Completion

Expected outcomes

Key aspects of the programme are:

Identifying the unique aspects of facilitating online groups
Applying the Zenergy person-centered approach online
Exploration and application of a range of facilitation processes
Exploring the use of online text-based, audio and video tools

Required reading

Participants of this programme will be given access to relevant chapters in the new edition of The Art of Facilitation by Dr. Dale Hunter published by Random House NZ, 2007.

Who should attend

Online facilitation is a key skill for anyone involved in working with distributed teams and in the online domain. This includes:

Managers, virtual team leaders and consultants who are interested in extending their skill repertoire and being exposed to more effective ways of working with online groups
Trainers of distance education, online training and online education
Online community moderators who want to improve the effectiveness of their community
Those facilitating in online group spaces
Facilitators-in-training who are interested in adding online facilitation to their skill set

System requirements

PC running Windows XP or 2000 (with DirectX 9.0 for video conferencing).
Mac running Mac OS X 10.4 with PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel processor and at least 512 MB RAM
Linux running 32-bit environment is required. If you are running a 64-bit Linux distribution then you will need its 32-bit compatibility environment installed.
Broadband internet connection (you can participate without broadband, however you will miss out on the video conferencing and Second Life sessions).
Speakers and microphone - built-in or separate.
To join the video conferencing you'll need a computer with at least a 1GHz processor, at least 512 MB RAM (at least 2 GB RAM for Vista) and a webcam.

Detailed Requirements

Video Conferencing - www.webex.com.au/support/technical-support/system-requirements.html
Second Life - http://secondlife.com/support/sysreqs.php

The tools we will use

Group email The virtual programme venue starts with a new email group. The group email is used for questions, comments and reflections about how participants are experiencing working online. The group email is used in this way through out the programme as well as for specific tasks each week.
Forum The phpBB platform is one of the more popular open source forum tools around (www.phpBB.com). The PhpBB forum is used for specific conversations, often related to our weekly topic and also to the weekly programme readings.
Skype Skype (www.skype.com) is used for pair conversations and also for audio conference calling.
Blog The programme blog is setup for specific conversations where initial postings are made by the session facilitator and comments are added by participants.
Second Life Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is an interactive 3D world where people can interact with each other using an avatar or a virtual character. Participants create their own virtual character and meet in Second Life to explore different aspects of facilitating in online 3D interactive environments.
Video conferencing The WebEx (www.webex.com) video conferencing tool is used for facilitated conversations related to weekly topics.

Programme Leaders

Programme leaders are experienced facilitators who are part of the Zenergy Team and work together to create Zenergy's leading edge technology.

	Stephen Thorpe Dr. Stephen Thorpe is an academic and facilitator who specializes in online groups. With a background in researching computer assisted group work and lecturing he assists leaders, facilitators and groups in online communication and group process. He loves to assist people to develop the capabilities and skills for facilitating and leading online groups. more >>>
	Dale Hunter Dr. Dale Hunter is a group facilitator, mediator, coach and author in the field of facilitation. Her work includes conferences, public meetings, conflict resolution, team building and individual coaching. more >>>

Dates

The 2011 programme dates are yet to be confirmed

Tuition

NZD1450(+GST), ~USD1,210, ~CAD1,280, ~€960, ~£780, ~AUD1,345, Special rates for LEDCs.
Plus you will need 8-10 hours of your time per week over the 10 week programme.