Team Facilitation Activity Online courses are becoming more and more popular over time. There are complete degree programs that can be obtained online only. Online degrees or courses offer flexibility and allow a person to participate from anywhere and at any time. The online environment is very different from the classroom environment. It takes a lot more participation and determination to take online courses. Running an online course can be difficult. I never knew how difficult it was until I participated in this activity. To have a successful discussion, people need to respond. There is so much information to cover that it is impossible to cover every detail. I learned the importance of reading the material on my own, instead of relying solely on notes and discussions. The discussions only cover some of the material, but there is much more. I also did some additional research to better understand the topic. After I did this, I wanted to share more information with the class. Participation is not something that can be forced. Students are the driving force behind class discussions. If no one responds to a message, there is nothing to do. Even if you try to lead a discussion if no one participates, the discussion won't work. I posted the initial discussion post on Saturday to make sure it was available to everyone early Sunday morning. The first person posted Sunday evening. I was afraid no one would respond to my message. Class participation is very important for the online environment. In order to get class participation, you need to keep everyone engaged. To make the class more engaging, I asked many open-ended questions. Open question... middle of paper... I feel like she didn't help me with her part of the assignment. However, she should get credit for her research there, as I would give Rosita a C (75) for this assignment. Overall, this assignment made me realize how difficult it is to run an online course. Online courses demand much more from the teacher and students. There is so much material to cover and so little time that it can be difficult to fit all the information in. Class participation is what motivates the class in the online environment. If students are not engaged in the lesson, there will be no discussions. The online environment needs classroom participation and discussion to be successful. This mission also reinforced the difficulty of working in a group. There is no way to guarantee that everyone will do their part. If someone does not do their part, the other members of the group will have to.