Capabilities of online facilitators

Capabilities of online facilitators¹

The capabilities outlined here are indicators of what expert online facilitators are expected to be able to do. These capabilities required for facilitating learning online are organised into five categories:

• supporting online learning;

• social skills;

• online communication skills;

• technical skills; and

• social networking skills.

	Beginner	Intermediate		Expert
Supporting online learning	Recognises challenges faced by participants	Recognises challenges faced by participants and provides support to participants		Recognises challenges faced by participants, provides support to participants and anticipates participants’ challenges
	Engages in knowledge construction by participating in discussions	Facilitates knowledge construction by using questioning and providing feedback to participants		Facilitates knowledge construction by using stimulating questioning, providing generative feedback to participants, exploring ideas by stimulating debate and knowing when to be silent
	Participates as a group member and uses time effectively	Manages individuals and groups, uses time effectively and paces discussions		Manages individuals and groups with ease, uses time effectively and paces discussions appropriately
Social Skills	Participates in making a welcoming and enabling learning environment	Creates a welcoming and enabling environment and attempts to build trust amongst participants	Creates a welcoming and enabling environment with ease and builds trust easily amongst participants
	Recognises why individuals are not participating	Possesses some strategies for engaging individuals who are not participating	Possesses a range of strategies for engaging individuals who are not participating
	Acknowledges diversity and is aware of personal role in potential conflict	Acknowledges diversity, is aware of interpersonal dynamics and attempts to manage diversity and conflict	Acknowledges diversity, is aware of interpersonal dynamics and manages diversity and conflict constructively
Online Communication  skills	Writes clearly and concisely online	Writes clearly and concisely online and produces engaging messages encouraging participation		Writes clearly and concisely online, produces engaging messages encouraging participation and communicates in multi-modal forms
Technical Skills	Navigates learning environment	Navigates learning environment easily and is able to provide basic technical support in relation to learning environment to participants		Navigates learning environment easily and knows how to deliver support to participants quickly
	Uses basic tools such as email, chat and discussions in online environments	Uses advanced tools such as wikis, blogs and online meeting rooms in online environments		Uses advanced tools such as wikis, blogs and online meeting rooms in online environments and manages learning environments
Social Networking Skills	Participates in social networks by participating in discussions and accessing resources	Participates in social networks by participating in discussions and accessing and sharing resources		Participates in social networks by participating in discussions, accessing and sharing resources and initiating and facilitating groups

[1]   Facilitating online: A course leader’s guide, Tony Carr, Shaheeda Jaffer and Jeanne Smuts, 2009, Published by the Centre for Educational Technology, University of Cape Town.