Reflections on CARDI Online Facilitation WorkshopWe came, we saw, we did and ...
A journey indeed it has been; and what an eventful journey!
I took time during the preparation phase to read what was expected out of the workshop and also read one or two of the resource materials, although Jamaica was, perhaps, the last to have received the resource package. On reflection, nothing I read at that stage prepared me sufficiently for the worth of the workshop.
Every journey entails some periods of “up” and periods of “downs”, but in our journey, the “downs” were equally insightful learning experience. Take for example, for almost a whole week I was “incommunicado”, thanks to a perfectly functioning anti-spam software that decided that our Dgroups was a spam content provider. However, thanks to the skills Luca (the chief techie) I was rescued. And the lessons from this “down” were: (1) a knowledgeable techie back up is sine qua non for effective functioning of online community, (2) there is the need for the facilitator should have the means to constantly “check on” members of the community; silence may not necessary mean lurking.
If the technological “downside” could be turned into learning opportunities then what about the technological “upside”? The exposure to and use of Dgroups, and the setup and use of a blog were priceless technological experiences. Together with the knowledge on Yahoo e-groups I believe I can confidently provide leadership in the deployment of these tools in our network.
Of course the journey was not only about technological tools. The processes of online facilitation were equally rich in content and more importantly, delivered flawlessly by Nancy in her own inimitable way. It will be very presumptuous of me to declare that I am now a mater of these processes, but surely, I have learnt enough (preparation, opening circle – welcome, introductions – purpose setting, norms, agreements, trust, opening topics, role modeling, sharing the burden, summarizing, etc.) to be able to stand at least on one leg squarely.
I join my colleagues in saying sincere thank you to Nancy, Luca and Andrew. We should not forget the “back office” members of the team – Kristen, Fabiola, Rodger and Claudette. Together, you all have guided us on this journey through the rite of passage across the neophyte threshold. We have to become grand masters as you are. And that is our next challenge!
For ourselves, let us reach across the circle and pat ourselves on the back, if nothing at all, for sheer endurance!
