Online Facilitation Workshop

Upcoming Dates: The next workshop has not been scheduled. Please contact Nancy if you are interested!

NOTE: the format is CHANGING. It will now have three separate elements!

• The first part will be two intensive weeks on the basic processes of online facilitation.
• We will schedule a series of four one hour telecons and/or webmeetings/chats to look at topics of particular interest to the group between weeks.
• We will have a final two weeks online looking at the impact of new “web 2.0” technologies on online facilitation.

Please email if you need additional details.

Instructor: Nancy White, Full Circle Associates

Tuition: $750 (10% discount for groups of 5 or more or members of 501(C)3 non profit or international NGO organizations.) Payment is required in advance. Checks and wire transfers are accepted. No credit cards at this time, sorry!

There will be two scholarships for qualified NGO participants. Please submit your request before April 20th for consideration. If you want a scholarship, you must commit to active workshop participation all active weeks. That is your “fee!”

Registration: Currently not open.

Testimonials: from past workshop participants.

Online facilitation is an evolving art and expanding opportunity to empower groups to work across time and distance. Online work and interactions require facilitation skills beyond those used in face-to-face meetings. Group dynamics in the virtual environment combined with new communication technologies create unique conditions and opportunities calling for specific techniques and an expansion of our consciousness with mindful facilitation.

This 4-week INTENSIVE (and I’m not kidding – seriously intensive!) intermediate workshop brings together the basic processes of online facilitation in its first two weeks, and then an exploration of how online facilitation is changing with the introduction of new tools and the proliferation of many forms of online interaction, from groups, to communities, and even to wider, unbounded networks. The workshop will provide you with the initial skills to guide you through planning, process design and facilitation of online group interactions. We will explore concepts through key readings, discuss theory, reflect in personal learning logs, and practice technique. Participants should have some previous offline facilitation experience or understanding of group facilitation theory as well as at least one year of online interaction experience. This is NOT an introductory offering! If you are new to all of this, expect to spend additional time.

In addition, past members of the workshop are invited in as workshop mentors. These wonderful people bring their experiences and wisdom to the “table,” greatly enriching the experience. Know that after you take the workshop, you are invited back, free, anytime.

Learning Outcomes – First Section/Basic Online Facilitation

• Identify the similarities and differences of facilitating online interactions and offline
• Define the key purpose of an online interaction as a framework for facilitation
• Assess the group’s needs and select appropriate facilitation strategies for distributed teams, online communities and distance learning
• Self-evaluate one’s personal style and the impact on one’s facilitation approaches
• Develop processes for establishing relationship and trust online as a means for encouraging participation
• Explore processes for moving from purpose to action
• Extract value with summaries to highlight knowledge and learning
• Create a record of personal learning through a self-reflective online learning log
• Additional topics for focused one hour live events will be added according to group and individual interests. Teams are welcome to do a joint project together as part of the workshop.

Learning Outcomes – Second Section – Facilitating in a Web 2.0 World

• Explore a variety of tools, such as blogs, wikis, social network tools and others and consider how facilitation might be done. NOTE: This second section will happen on one or more online platforms. we will include synchronous and asynchronous tools. If you would like to host a session on your platform, that is invited!
• Consider voice as it shows up in different online interaction tools
• Experiment facilitating with at least one tool.
• Explore the intersection between online facilitation and technology stewardship.>

People who might benefit from the workshop

• distributed team members
• managers
• online teachers/instructors
• online community/network moderators/hosts
• community of practice (CoP) leaders
• consultants

Areas of application

• distributed teams
• online learning
• communities of practice
• online customer relationship management
• online communities (discussion sites)
• consulting
• serving any group that requires online interaction

Delivery Format

This is an INTENSIVE online workshop presented in English in a web-conference asynchronous environment allowing participants to engage at their own convenience from home or office. Additionally, we will have scheduled sessions with other synchronous tools such as telephone conference call, weekly chats and utilize instant messaging tools. The chats will initially be on Fridays of all active weeks at 16:00 GMT. These may be moved after the first week to accommodate the participants, depending on the time zones represented.The workshop workspace will remain open for 30 days after the workshop for individuals to review materials and a CD of the workshop is also made available for future reference. Please note: some of the diverse platform experiments in the second part of the workshop will not be on the CD. I will do my best to include screen captures, etc.

Workshop Requirements
To get the most out of this intensive workshop, a minimum of 2 hours/day is required depending on your learning style. Some people tell me it is more like 3-4. If you want to cover all the material, schedule the time and set aside away from other daily activities, to ensure focused and uninterrupted attention. The workshop space will be open on the Thursday prior to start of workshop for introductions, access to reading material and space for experimentation with the tools. Formal sessions starts on Monday.Participants should have a basic experience with and understanding of:

• the internet
• group facilitation
• some online interaction experience
• mastery of written English

The latest browser versions are recommended for this workshop: Netscape Navigator 6.0 / Internet Explorer 6.0 / Firefox 2.0, or higher versions.
Instructor – Nancy White
Nancy is the founder and president of Full Circle Associates, helping non-profits and businesses connect through online and offline strategies. Nancy has presented this course to over 450 individuals from all around the globe since 1999.

Nancy is a skilled online host and facilitator who actively hones her craft on both social conversational sites and focused, work-related online communities. She is an dedicated chronicler and collector of online facilitation resources, constantly seeking to understand “what works and why” in this evolving world of online communities. She also hosts the Online Facilitation list serv. Daily thoughts? Check out the Online Facilitation Blog.