Roles and Responsibilities
The following paragraphs describe the role of the online community, the role of a course facilitator, and your role and responsibilities as a learner. Please read this information carefully.
Role of the Online Learning Community
An online learning community is one that is created around an electronic learning environment like the one for this course. Members (facilitator and learner cohort) of this special community are expected to explore and reflect on various topics, socially construct knowledge through collaboration, openly share ideas with others, and provide support to each other.
Roles and Responsibilities of the Learner
As a member of this learning community you are expected to support the learning and professional development of your fellow learners. Specifically, you must:
- Participate and actively engage in discussions with your fellow learners while contributing to the social construction of knowledge. The sooner you post your ideas and questions, the more time others have to respond and deepen the discussion.
- Reflect on newly acquired knowledge and assess your own progress.
- Create a time management structure that works for you and complete all assignments accordingly.
- Be self-directed and self-motivated.
Roles and Responsibilities of the Facilitator
With the emergence of online learning communities, the roles of learners and instructors have changed from those found in traditional educational settings. Most significantly, in learning communities, facilitators help guide the group toward collaborative group learning, rather than providing traditional "teacher-led" instruction. Therefore, you can expect that your facilitator will:
- Guide and support your learning of the subject matter.
- Share his/her knowledge and experience, but also participate as a learner when he/she is not an "expert" on a certain topic.
- Provide additional resources when appropriate.
- Facilitate productive and collaborative discussions.
- Establish a comfortable learning environment and help you with any problems or questions.
- Provide feedback and assess your work:
- For the online journal activities and final project within seven days of submission.
- For participation in discussion forums.