Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators.

This book, aimed specifically at new or relatively new facilitators of online education or training courses, is a guide to learning the ground-breaking techniques and skills necessary to effectively facilitate online dialogue, community, and ultimately, education. The book offers a theoretical framework and practical guidelines to help online moderators meet the challenges of starting and sustaining quality dialogue in online courses or working groups. The system of voices and critical thinking strategies outlined in the book provides an effective and adaptable set of pathways for both analysis of dialogues and composition of interventions so that moderators can leverage more focused or deepened attention toward the objectives of any virtual community. Many of the facilitation skills for the online venue, described in this book, are also suited for face-to-face dialogue. Chapters include, (1) "Principles that Support Effective Moderating"; (2) "Negotiating Space: Forms of Dialogue and Goals of Moderating"; (3) "Key Facilitator Roles"; (4) "Healthy Online Communities"; (5) "Voice"; (6) "Tone"; (7) "Critical Thinking Strategies"; and (8) "Roadblocks and Getting Back on Track." An Epilogue, "Evaluation of Success," and a glossary are also included. (Contains 16 references.) (AEF)