User:Randyfisher/TORs/Project Services/OF

Learning Objectives

 * Define a virtual team collaboration environment
 * Understand team objectives and timelines
 * Define collaboration and social networking
 * Develop collaboration and social networking skills
 * Discover how appropriate tools meet requirements
 * Select the best tool for the job depending on requirements
 * Apply collaboration and networking skills within a virtual team environment
 * Share experiences
 * Discuss challenges and how to overcome them
 * Evaluate success

Course Outline
Our practical and relevant courses develop your competency in online facilitation, and give you practical tools and techniques for using collaborative and social networking tools. We address topics such as:


 * what can online facilitation do for me, my team and my organization??
 * how can online facilitation reduce my costs of program / service delivery?
 * how can online facilitation achieve better performance and learning outcomes?

Foundations OF 101, participants will learn the foundational skills of online facilitation, and discover the challenges, opportunities and change strategies required in a 21stst century networked, blended learning environment. They will explore how online facilitation can support increased productivity and effectiveness, and support scalable implementation of training programs. Through practical, hands-on experiences, participants will gain valuable expertise in using these valuable skills

Advanced OF 201, participants will explore through interactive discussions, mentoring and hands-on experiences, specific collaboration and social networking tools to implement their projects in a supportive environment.
 * 1) Address facilitation mechanics and relational and power dynamics beyond etiquette, introductions and do’s and don’ts


 * 1) Increase practical real-world, real-time relevance, where participants can practice on-the-job
 * 2) Uses a blended learning approach and build in synchronous learning and practice opportunities, including archived options for follow-on discussions and feedback
 * 3) A greater emphasis on community participation and action research / learning
 * 4) Addresses challenging situations, cultural differences and varying geographies and languages using a variety of multimedia

Foundation 101: OF explored
Collaborative and social networking tools are often associated with Web 2.0 and social media such as blogs, wikis, YouTube, Skype, VOIP, Ning and Google Groups. When effectively used, collaboration and social networking tools can provide teams with an enriching experience: of accelerated productivity; stronger relationships and connections; a trusted and supportive working environment; and faster goal attainment.

Adopting new technologies is never as easy as it seems. While collaboration and social networking tools are widely-accessible, they also represent a significant change which affects team culture, adoption behaviour and performance. This includes changes in team members' beliefs and how they work together; addressing fear, anxiety and resistance to change; adjusting expectations and perceptions; and building new behaviours, skills and competencies. When these tools are effectively deployed, they can provide an stimulating and powerful environment to support project implementation, group cohesion and individual productivity and enjoyment.

This session will examine the challenges and opportunities for virtual team collaboration and social networking, pertaining to change and transition, and performance and effectiveness; and selecting the best tools for project implementation requirements.

Outcomes
By the end of the session, participants will be competent as Online Facilitators who can:


 * 1) Clearly understand project team goals and objectives
 * 2) Identify characteristics of high performing virtual teams, and what team leads / members need to do to meet these characteristics
 * 3) Understand the benefits, challenges and use cases of collaboration and social networking tools
 * 4) Discover various collaboration and social networking tools to support virtual team performance
 * 5) Select the best tool for the job, depending on requirements
 * 6) Share experiences among peers - to build your 'learning community'
 * 7) Understand strategies to overcome barriers and resistance to change

Advanced 201: Applying OF to Increase Performance
For high impact, collaboration and social networking tools on the connected, social Web 2.0 networked reality, must engage team members, and be directly relevant to project work. An inclusive and participatory collaborative environment sets the stage for employees and project teams to achieve their own project goals and objectives and co-develop their digital learning agenda.

This hands-on session explores OF using specific digital tools; identifies opportunities for stakeholder engagement, 'buy-in' and productivity, and provides real-time mentoring to workshop participants on how to increase on-the-job performance, innovation and collaboration.


 * personalities; conflict, power, relational dynamics

Outcomes:
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:


 * 1) Use a specific collaboration and social networking tool for an applied project(i.e., a wiki)
 * 2) Understand basic wiki editing skills
 * 3) Have an 'experience of success' in using the wiki
 * 4) Enable dialogues and collaboration, synergies and innovation through accelerating sharing of employees' ideas and knowledge.
 * 5) Enable organizational learning, strategic alignment and faster time-to-market (including associated individual and team identities, cognition and competencies).
 * 6) Increase knowledge flow across projects (incorporating action learning) for improved knowledge management and performance.

Resources

 * 3-Os & Learning Communities
 * IICD - ICT4E Facilitator's Manual
 * Facilitating Online Communities (Otago)
 * |High Performing Teams (WikiBooks)
 * Making Virtual Teams Fly
 * Evaluation of eLearning for Best Practice
 * Flexible Learning Guidebook, NZ