FIT Experience – Specific Elluminate Sessions

As a Facilitator-in-Training with my specific courses, I’ve been able to experience two synchronous sessions. These sessions were held using Elluminate software, the chosen web conferencing tool for the course management system. Both sessions made a large impression on me, particularly in understanding more about the overall management of the course and the communication between the instructors and students.

The first session I attended (or rather, lurked in on) was focused on writing thesis statements. This session was fairly important to the final outcome of the course, as the students take an advanced placement written exam for credit after the course. The instructors utilized many of the web conferencing tools available within Elluminate to engage the students. Most, if not all, of the students had access to microphones for the audio portion of the session. The instructors encouraged the use of audio during the session and asked specific students questions throughout the session. They also encouraged use of the chat function. I was particularly impressed to note that both instructors were able to respond (one verbally and one through chat) to questions the students posed throughout the session. In addition, the instructors were able to gently guide the students if the chat appeared to veer off course. The instructors were very in-tune to the students needs and were therefore able to communicate with them very effectively.

The second session was equally informative, although more about the actual assignment discussed during the session. The assignment, a topical investigation in which each team of students answers several in-depth questions. Although the assignment is fairly traditional, the methods in which the students were allowed to complete the assignment in many different ways. I thought this was particularly interesting, as the students could select how to answer each question, whether it be a paper, art representation, or even a video posted on YouTube. The instructors focused quite a bit on YouTube, as they thought it would be a fit for at least some of the questions and an interesting format to use. I thought this was really important, to engage the high school students with a media that they may be familiar with and interested in.

Both sessions were helpful in understanding the basic interaction between the students and instructors. I think they were informative as a FIT, to get a better feel for the course and assignments. Even though as a FIT I lurked during the sessions, they were important part of my learning experience for this course.