You’ve decided to teach your amazing gifts. You’ve got a lot of decisions to make.  Instructional design is… multifaceted decision making.

It’s easier if we chunk up the decisions.

Let’s look at whether building an online community is part of your offering.

Social media, audio conferencing, chat pages in a membership sight, collaborative technologies, online learning forums, Skype, webinars, surveys, …. So many opportunities to connect and collaborate, but do they contribute to what your participant learns? Do they assist your tribe to implement and perfect their new skills?

NO technology will substitute for excellent design and instruction.

Technology is a tool in your tool belt of learning design and you need to be really clear about how and why you are using it.

Just because you could technically install an iPad in your car steering wheel, doesn’t make it a good idea!  That is, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Activity

Think of online courses you have completed that included an online community element.

• What did you notice?
• What parts of it did you appreciate?
• What parts were you less enthusiastic about?
• What seemed to work well?
• How would you have done it differently?
• Was the online community used for collaboration?
• Do you feel the online aspect was really important to the purpose of the course (ie the solution to your need/problem/desire)?

Remember. You are unique. Other participants may have perceived the experiences in very different ways. Not sure…. Ask your clients how important connection and collaboration are to their learning.

Benefits of encouraging peer to peer connection

There are obvious benefits of creating a space for your participants to connect and share;

• Engage each other in specific activities. Builds community.
• Share experiences. What does/doesn’t work. Reality checks.
• Share resources (sometimes).
• Gain understanding of other people’s experiences/perspectives.
• Support each other through the course.
• Be accountable – to the larger group – can keep some people on track.
• Help ‘reframe’ or contextualise the activities to improve their understanding and ability to put it into practice through seeing other people’s experiences.
• Vehicle for reflective practice (learning from experience, restructure/reframe ideas and actions, continual improvement by consideration of what works and what doesn’t).
• Minimise isolation.
• Acknowledge shared fears/barriers/blocks/beliefs.
• Can really benefit introverts who have time to craft their contribution.
• Broadens and enriches learning.
• Build loyalty – you (as the host) are active in the learning. Your tone, style, expertise. You connect.

Technology for collaboration…. Or confusion.

Just because technology allows for collaboration and connection doesn’t mean that it always works well.

• Sometimes the chat rooms, private groups, webinars are all set up and….. silence.
• Other times there may be someone who has an authoritative voice who seems to be moderating and correcting the discussions…. Yet has no authority/skills/permission to do so and the discussion is shut down, people are confused and upset and of course, disconnect.
• The tone is inappropriate or competitive.
• A culture of complaining develops and isn’t stopped.
• No-one knows what to do.
• The technology just doesn’t work.
• The facilitator obviously doesn’t know how to work the technology or the process.

Collaboration, using virtual tools works well when;

• Thoughtful learning design supports the technology as a useful tool.
• An appropriate tool is used.
• The facilitator knows how to work the technology.
• The facilitator knows how to set appropriate ground rules and monitors the discussions.
• Collaboration revolves around assigned questions, actions, reflections – ie begins with a plan and is steered appropriately.
• The tone is supportive and collaborative.
• The participants are engaged and ready to dig in and get dirty.

Technology for collaboration is a purposeful choice

So let’s start at the beginning.

Let’s talk about your situation…

• What are you all about?
• Are your gifts best learned individually?
• What are the benefits you notice when you teach more than one person at a time, perhaps in a workshop situation?
• Is one of your core desired outcomes to build and empower connection and collaboration?

The answer will be very different depending on the nature of your work and the level of expertise of the participant. I’m not saying collaboration is required in all courses, because it isn’t. Your business. You decide.

THE big question….

Are you willing to share?  Collaborative learning is really powerful, when done well. Peers learn from each other. They share resources, experiences, clarify information for each other, they dive deeper and move faster.

But you are relinquishing some control.

You are saying, “I’ve started the discussion. I’ve given you some tools and activities. Now try it out. Learn from each other. Make yours great.”

Are you comfortable with sharing the teaching with your learners?

Collaboration worksheet….

Too many questions here. I get that. Download the wisdom worksheet (Collaborate worksheet) and make an informed decision. ACTUALLY the worksheet goes much deeper.

Think about saving the blank copy so that you can use it again with another offering. I know you have loads of products itching to surface to serve your tribe and grow your wealth.

You’re welcome 🙂

What have you found works?

Share with us what you have found works really well in collaborative learning. Or share, constructively and with purpose, some aspects that have been done poorly. (Complaining is wasted energy.) Let’s hear what you learned!