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Resource 6
Here is an example of one of the Resources for Practitioners - a topic that is probably the most critical of all for successful e-moderating.
Summarising and weaving
Both techniques are effective regardless of the technology being employed - they work in asynchronous contexts (such as discussion boards, wikis, shared blogs) and synchronous ones (such as online classrooms, videoconferencing, virtual worlds).
They also work in hybrid contexts, where an 'offline' reflection is needed to make sense of a real-time exchange - for example, turning a long sequence of Tweets or Facebook live feeds into a meaningful message.
How to summarize
- 'Collect' up all the contributions into one message (if your software allows you to do this) or cut and paste them into your word processor;
- Read through quickly and colour code the key themes;
- Create a list in the file for each of these, with titles;
- Identify the unifying themes;
- Identify the points of disagreement;
- Summarize by a sentence or bullet point or two for each of the themes, identifying points of agreement and disagreement, perhaps by giving examples, attributed to the originator;
- Add your positive and reinforcing feedback;
- Add your criticisms and point out omissions;
- Add your congratulations;
- Add your 'meta' (overall) comments or teaching points;
- If you wish to move on the discussion, ask specific but open-ended questions;
- Delete all the original data and create simple formatting for ease of reading;
- Post in the conference with a clear title, invite further comment.
And an example: Latecomers' summary
We were asked to compose a brief message as if to a participant in one of our own courses - someone who has not yet contributed to our online sessions - to encourage them to take part.
What came across were warmth and encouragement/reassurance - and no big stick waving - as we couldn't always know what lay behind the seeming reluctance.
Everybody sought generally to reassure the latecomers by, for example:
- Checking that all was OK (and prompting the latecomer to respond);
- Stressing that their contribution would be valued, and offering help (private if necessary) if the student was experiencing any problems (Lauren, Brenda, Alexander, Alejandra, Neville, Joan);
- Reassurance that using the VLE/LMS was not difficult (and hints and tips were there to use) and that it was good for keeping students informed and for tracking progress;
- Give it a go, was the message! (Marie-Claire, Una, Brenda, Pierre)
- A new thread with an encouraging title - something like 'finding your way through the messages' - to stick out as something helpful that was not based on having read all the messages before.
- Reassurance that although the number of messages could appear daunting, there were ways to manage them - and advice was given as to how to do so (Heike, Karen, Pieter).
Fair summary? Nathan.
Resource 18
This resource is one answer to the 'I have no time' cry...also it encourages participants to become more self-sufficient.
Encouraging self-managing groups
E-moderating large groups can be time-consuming, and participants benefit from becoming self-managing, at least by Stage 4.
The basic framework for encouragement includes:
Describe the form and type of output (and of course by when) that the group should produce and where they should post it. Aim to be prescriptive without being too restrictive. Indicate the main issues that must be addressed.
- Set out the plenary process in the plenary thread. This can be part of your welcoming message and will let them know that you'll be back later to help.
- Suggest that the first task of the groups is to decide what they have to do and who will do what to arrive at the sort of outcome to be produced. This can take some time for more complicated tasks! For new groups it would be better to suggest how they tackle the task. You could offer them this structure as a starting point.
- Agree what tasks are required (a thread may be needed for each task);
- Who will lead for each task, who will contribute, and when the task should be completed by?
- Designate a thread to place the outcomes of each task;
- One person to pull the outcomes together;
- All to agree or suggest changes to produce final outcome;
- Post to the plenary thread;
- Invite larger groups into smaller work teams. Give them plenty of time to complete the e-tivity and then report back to the larger group in plenary;
- Offer clarification about the task, the timescale and the form of presentation if necessary;
- Leave them to get on with the task, only intervening if they fail to post their contribution to the plenary on time;
- Start a discussion on the results of the plenary contributions but do not dominate it. Summarize yourself or ask an experienced participant to do this.
There are some special characteristics that will help groups to self-manage online:
- Ask individuals to confirm when they have joined in. A simple joining activity in the thread will leave a trace to indicate that participants have arrived. A cross-check against a list of participants will reveal who is late. Designate a participant from each work team to follow up less visible contributors;
- State the purpose of the task. The task will motivate the participants. Offer clarification if necessary but allow opportunities for flexible interpretations;
- Describe how groups will be formed. An element of self-selection helps to maintain interest, but ensure that the method is simply described and incapable of being misunderstood;
- Set up a thread for each group and let the group know where to locate the thread. If you don't, they'll only ask you!
- Ask the participants to review both content and the process. Include setting up the group, the degree to which they found the task motivating, how they collaborated, their approach to feeding back as part of the learning points, so it becomes 'natural and normal' for them to reflect on not just their outputs but also on how they worked together.
Thanks to Naomi Lawless and David Shepherd for their input for this resource.
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