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First published in Polish by Noemi Gryczko

Much has already been said about the advantages of cohort-based courses, which form a specific type of online training during which participants learn in a group using course materials and are encouraged to participate in a shared space where knowledge, experiences and feedback are exchanged. In the case of courses where participants are tasked with specific projects, such a space should also foster remote collaboration.

When designing a cohort course, it is necessary to determine beforehand where participants will meet and what their interactions will look like. In other words, you must choose a platform supporting community-based learning or assemble your system from available solutions.

Given the popularity of Facebook among adults in Poland and the possibility of setting up free groups on this platform, many educators choose to invite their students there. This solution has many advantages and restrictions, described below in the article, starting a series entitled "Where to move from Facebook?".

Discover your powers

A year ago, we were working on a video for a course addressed to NGO and social movement activists. The very nature of their work in NGOs contributes to burnout. The course developed by the Culture Shock Foundation was intended to equip the participants with methods to counteract burnout and provide support and relief.

Being aware of the challenges faced by activists and their lack of time, we wanted to offer them a unique educational programme that:

• is based on a community of participants,
• is light (it does not contain too much content) and is funny,
• can be accessed on the move (e.g. on a walk),
• provides practical tools - templates, scenarios, checklists and short videos,
• is concise (less is more) but contains specific tips, exercises and recommendations for collaboration within the organisation.

Facebook group

Did you know that more than 63% of adults in Poland use Facebook? Wanting to minimise the barrier to entry and following the principle of 'go where your audience is', many creators and educators have adapted the functionality of groups, where learner communities can be moderated. This was also our decision when creating the Catch Your Breath programme. An anti-course for people working in the 3rd sector. However, it is important to remember that, despite a relatively broad range of functionalities, Facebook Groups have not been designed with having online courses in mind.

Evaluation of the implementation of the Catch Your Breath cohort-based course

Chaos

Facebook/Meta uses ample opportunities to attract users and make them spend as much time as possible viewing content on its feed. However, one of the problems Facebook course creators face is the lack of control over the content group members see. Although pinning posts and announcements helps increase the visibility of important content, the site's algorithm decides which posts and comments are visible to any user. The novelty effect means that new posts push older ones to the bottom of the page. The Guides functionality, created to organise content in a Group, is ineffective because it is difficult for participants to find the course content. As a result, it is displayed randomly, making it difficult for participants to learn.

^{Screenshot - example of a guide in the "Catch Your Breath" group}

Rabbit hole

The ubiquitous advertisements driving Meta's business model can distract course participants from its content. With notifications from other users and an ever-changing feed, participants fall down the rabbit hole instead of achieving a calming and relieving effect.

Anonymity

While there is an option in Facebook Groups to add a comment to a post anonymously, it has its limitations. A course author cannot decide which activities a participant can complete anonymously and which under their name.

^{Screenshot - anonymous post}

Risks

A group can be set up from the site (in this case, the FB page of the Culture Shock Foundation) or an individual's profile. It is not mentioned often, but as service users, we have little influence on Meta's decisions, including one concerning closing your profile. It was painfully experienced by Wojciech Szot in 2021:

"I'm not going to hide that the past year is coming to a disastrous end for me. For the past two years, I have developed my FB page 'Zdaniem Szota', which, without giving any reason, FB took away from me. There is something unusual about the fact that even attempts to contact FB, promises from friends, "FB people", and so on did not work – to this day, I have not received any information as to why I do not have access to any of my content (...). I feel bitter because of this, and it seems that we are stuck in a matrix from which we don't have much of a way out, especially us - people who work on the Internet, whom an editorial board or an institution does not back."

It seems worth having a plan B.

What can be done differently?

Given the amount of work needed to design and produce an online course, it is rare to offer only one edition. Usually, the experience of the first one allows modifications to be made in subsequent editions so that the product is improved and better adapted to the needs and limitations of the target audience.

What decision would we make today? Which paid platform or solution system would most fully realise the vision guiding the authors of the 'Catch Your Breath' anti-course?

In the following episodes, I analyse three paid platforms. You are invited!

Noemi Gryczko - designs online and offline learning experiences. She teaches how to use technology to engage staff, students and conference participants better. She implements digital competence development projects. She has supported over 400 lecturers and PhD students at the University of Warsaw in their digital transformation. Co-author of the book Business in a Mobile World.

Further reading:

Where to move from Facebook? Cohort-based courses in practice (part 2)

Where to move from Facebook? Cohort-based courses in practice (part 3)