Online learning is increasingly embraced in K-12 teaching, professional development, as well as graduate education, because the interactive tools and platforms of Web 2.0 have the potential to offer learning opportunities that help transcend distance and maximize time. But howcan the depth of learning and connection that is derived from face-to-face interactions bereplicated in the online environment, especially when engaging in deep reflective equity centered conversations? For three years, the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) at the University of California at Berkeley engaged in experimentation and discussion around four related questions:
- What are the barriers for equity centered discussions in the online space?
- What are the facilitation challenges and adaptations needed?
- How and when does the online space best support equity centered discussions?
- What support is needed for participants and facilitators who are new to online environments?
Through our extended experimentation, we have become convinced that under the right conditions, equity centered discussions can effectively occur in the online space. This was not, in fact, where we started in 2011. At that time, we were deeply skeptical and believed strongly that would not be possible in the online space. However, we had analumni base of over 400 educational leaders who repeatedly expressed interest in ongoing support and they identified important constraints for participation in professional learning suchas childcare, transportation, and traffic challenges, as well as demanding work schedules. The
convenience of online meetings is what piqued our initial interest and compelled us to interrogate the possibilities. Now, we integrate online meetings as a part of our preparation program, induction program, teacher leadership certificate, and other professional development offerings.
This paper describes our findings and strategies for optimizing the online space for equity centered discussions. We start with the assumption that the readers of this article are experienced facilitators of equity centered discussions. Therefore, we have focused on the implications of transferring discussions into the online environment rather than the nuts and bolts of facilitating the meetings themselves. Specifically, we will focus on the configurations and environments where we have had the most success, specific strategies and models for participant and facilitator support, as well as facilitation adjustments.