What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?
My second year in college, I loaned one of my dorm mates my car to run into town and purchase a birthday cake for her roommate. Because she was in a rush to get to her destination and I was distracted by studying, I did not take the time to orientate her to my vehicle prior to her departure. When her absence turned from one hour to four, I began to worry. What I later discovered is that she got into a severe car accident where she injured another motorist as well as herself and another passenger. Why? She was looking the switch to turn the lights on as it became dark! Not knowing the tools/technology available to you can be very detrimental to those in your online community especially being the facilitator. My first response in hindsight was to make sure if I loaned anyone else my car that I would give them a tour of every nook and cranny of my car prior to their departure. This is not wise either. What I should have done was calculated what would be needed for her trip: lights due to the sunset and access to the windshield wipers due to the impending storm. Instead of tackling all of the "tools" to ensure she would arrive at her destination, I should have (and have since then) chosen what is essential. Keeping that in mind, when I taught my first online class, I made sure I picked tools that would be essential not only for communication but for the purpose of the course which is technology integration. During the orientation session, I did an in-depth introduction and overview of the Learning Management System (LMS) used at the time, Moodle.
Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?
Communicating clear expectations to learners is essential in any learning environment whether you are a classroom teacher or a corporate trainer. When I conduct training sessions for my school district, there are a few expectations that I dictate to the audience every time I begin such as location of restrooms and procedures for dismissing themselves to use it, procedures for asking questions or seeking assistance during the course of the training, cell phone usages, session objectives and agenda. I have found, in my experience, not making these clear have not only provided a distraction to the other learners in the environment but to myself as the instructor. In the online environment, this is usually covered by the syllabus, which "sets out the overall course plan with performance goals, learning outcomes, and requirements" (Boettcher, 2010). I usually take the first three weeks amidst the content in the course to ensure that the learning objectives and expectations for participation in the course are clear. I also try to make sure that the participants have read them (at least once) and have had an opportunity to ask any questions or clear any misconceptions before the "real work" begins.
What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?
Prior to setting up on online learning experience, the instructor must complete a course syllabus, weekly plans and discussion postings and the course site (Boettcher, 2010). One additional consideration the instructor should take into account is the characteristics of the learners. Knowing the learner or at least the audience you will entertain is important to creating engaging activities and increasing participation in the course. Additionally, knowing your learners will assist in building and maintaining a common theme for the community. The first step in the ADDIE model for designing effective instruction dictates that one identify the characteristics of the learners involved. This can be done a myriad of ways including icebreakers during the first two weeks of the course. Not only will knowing your learners help you address various learning styles and personalities but it will also help identify any additional needs such as having learners with disabilities.
Resources:
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Morrison, G., Ross, S., Kalman, H., & Kemp, J. (2011). Designing Effective Instruction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Seems silly, doesn't it. We "meet" people on various social networks and share all kinds of information and create "relationships". We engage each other with stories, resources, advice and participate actively in a "community" of like-minded people centered around a common goal. Won't we, as Online Instructors and Facilitators, ask the same things of our students who join an online class, some for the very first time? Isn't our goal to engage the learners in the online environment and build community among its participants? Conrad and Donaldson state "The involvement of the learner in the course, whether one calls it interaction, engagement or building community, is critical if an online course is to be more than a lecture-oriented course in which interaction is primarily between the learner and the content or the learner and the instructor." Building community is life or death to an online course and I believe there are some essential elements, as mentioned by Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt, which help create that: People, Purpose, and Process.
People are the backbone of an online course or community. Without people, there is no true need for a community. In order to engage people in this environment, we must highly consider our introductions and our interactions. Introductions can take on various forms in the online community. It can be as simple as "In the Student Lounge, tell us your name, which state you are located in" or as detailed and creative as "You are going to create a collage of images that describe who you are". Creating introductions allow the participants of the course to establish a "social presence." Now they are much more than a name, Susie Johnson, but a person who has real-life responsibility, aspirations and goals. Just as important are the interactions you, as the Instructor, create in your community. They must be engaging, foster higher-order thinking and provide an opportunity for discussion and feedback. If your learners will not be engaged beyond the content of the course, then the course should be one week long with all of the content of the course deposited into one module. In an online course for teachers I taught, I tried to provide opportunities for the "people" to connect with each other beyond the required course activities and assignments. I will admit it was a challenge in addition to keeping up with grading and providing feedback but it proved to be the most beneficial aspect of the course in the end.
Purpose sets the tone for the course and provides the learners a roadmap. This purpose can be defined by the learning theories introduced within the course or the rules for engagement within the course itself. Inside the course, you must have guidelines for sharing information and interacting as well as goals established. Your guidelines for sharing will indicate the frequency and location for sharing. Each week the learner should be reminded of opportunities to be engaged with other learners and where that can happen. For the Instructor, this may mean establishing a weekly activity in which learners will have to communicate with each other or posting a thought-provoking question in Student Lounge. The Instructor must also set clear goals for the course and establish those early and often. These goals provide the learner with the direction they are heading and what they will accomplish by participating in this course.
Process by definition means "a systematic series of actions directed at some end" (Dictionary, nd). In an online course, the process is the weekly activities, discussions and content learners will interact with in order to achieve the goals set for the course. In order to be successful in completing this, you must have the right materials and a clear method of delivery. The materials used in the online community should be well-chosen and highly-considered. They should not be a list of random links but articles, video and other multimedia that allows the learner to construct their own meaning. They should be up-to-date and relevant to current industry standards. Once you have a solid set of materials, you must decide and carefully consider how you are going to deliver them. If as a leaner, I am presented with a list of links in my course, I am not going to be engaged nor am I encouraged to participate actively. Instructors should consider methods like debates, role playing, real-world scenarios or even webquests to give students the opportunity to interact with the course materials.
As an Instructor, online community is important and a community does not exist without engagement whether it is social, academic or both. You must consider the People in your course, the Purpose of your course and how you are going to convey that as well as the Process of your course and the materials you use.
References:
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Englishnationalopera. (2011, June 8). Can I be your friend? Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDycZH0CA4I.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Online Learning Communities. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5364570&Survey=1&47=4114519&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.
process. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved July 22, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/process
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
