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Building a GTC Web-based Community of e-Facilitators
http://www.efacilitators-project.net
In 2001 MirandaNet began to work in partnership with the General Teaching Council on the provision of a training programme for the e-facilitators working on the GTC website. The basic premise is that there are very few teachers with efacilitation skills in the UK currently. By its involvement in this project the GTC would be increasing the capacity of the profession to debate and the efacilitate policy issues online and face to face.
A recruitment and launch phase from September to December 2002 resulted in the selection of GTC e-facilitators in a National Competition.
A one year programme for efacilitators is intended to increase the numbers of expert GTC e-facilitators would promote GTC activities on and off line. The aim is to attract more teachers who were willing to talk about policy and bring in more networks of teachers.
The DFES/GTC funded programme commences with an e-facilitators induction workshop, followed by continued practice in efacilitation exercises throughout the year. Each student also pursues a practice based research project which provides a perspective on efacilitation and building online communities. This is intended to develop the deep learning of the students so that skills become intuitive and the efacilitation community becomes self sustaining.
When the studies are completed students work together online and face to face to share the evidence from their projects. They present their evidence about elearning issues to policy makers in November. These reports which will include detailed evidence about efacilitation and building online communities are intended as evidence for the GTC to plan their next steps in their web based communities.
This learning process is intended to replicate the activity of debate and policy making for the teachers who have not had this kind of opportunity before. Scholars who have gone through this process should be well placed to efaciltate policy discussions on the GTC website and participate in a community of efacilitators who are constantly examining and improving their practice.
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