I appreciated the strategies for dealing with different types of difficult students who may or may not realize their behavior is impacting the general flow and progress of the class for themselves and others. Reviewing the policies of your district and following the guidelines is an important part of handling situations that arise. I would go so far as to add that if you are having specific issues that you cannot seem to get a handle on, it is a good idea to consult an advisor or administrator for advice sooner, rather than later.
By identifying struggling students and offering them clear communications about what the course expectations and time commitments are and how to access assistance in content and technical struggling situations is helpful to increase the likelihood that students will stick with you and you can reduce attrition.
Using online learning in a high school environment can create a variety of challenges. Maintaining a strong expectation policy along with keeping a record of all communication (communication logs) provides an easy way to keep track of the steps that have or haven't been taken so that every attempt has been made through communication, to address issues, be consistent, and for any future issue that could arise regarding instructor communication to the student.
I have noticed that some of my students have conflicting schedules. Several students are now working full-time and are struggling to find the time to do the lessons or to be pteent in a virtual chatroom. I need to communicate with students regulary and work with them at this time to give more opportunities where we can meet. I am thinking about doing an evening online class where those students can be reached.
In an online environment, procrastination can happen more frequently, just for the sheer fact that students are not expected to show up at class at a certain time and they don't necessarily feel the pressure of knowing their instructor and fellow students face to face. I also learned that it's import to know your university's polices around dispute resolution and to document everything.
Record keeping, communication and resolving conflicts are critical to managing a distance learning course and reducing attrition. Effective teachers communicate with students via timely feedback through email, chats (public and private) and also by maintaining records of assignments and communication.
I have experienced the noisy learner, and it can be very disruptive, unfortunately "mute" works even if just for a little while. Work overload is a big concern, instructors can fall into this very easily.
Establish and publish the class management plan... be consistient and fair. Minimal exceptions... unless concession is made to all.
This was all great information, what I learned most was to identify behavior issues online and how best to deal with them. The biggest piece is learning how to save all your information and putting it into a organized onllne filing system. This is also important for when you have a problem student to back up your reasoning with documentation.
I had not realized that it was possible to have behavior issues with online classes, this module has helped me identify them and ways to address them.
Have a CMS that allows you to document interactions with students, as well as, student interactions within the system. Monitoring discussions, as well as, contacting students individually will help with students feeling "alone" as they traverse the online learning community.
In this module, I learned how to keep student records effectively, how to communicate to students, what methods to use in counseling students, dealing with undesirable students, and student retention.
This module rwminds us of what we need to to to manage an e-learning environment:
Keep Records- in face to face classrooms records are maintained, this maybe a little more challenging as we need to identify what will be kept as the volume of information does increase. Emails themselves czn be overwhelming, Do we keep everything or set guidelines for filing as we did in face to face?
communicating with students can also present challenges as students may have a few undesirable traits and need redirecting while on the e-learning format. We need to know ways to redirect them mainting a degree of professionalism and observing the policy of the school district.
Counseling students which was done one on one now becomes a mater of sending an email or having a chat. Which can be risky because of things like tone,and maintaing private transmissions.
Dealing with conflict should happen early on so that the elearning environment runs smoothly. Refer to policy of instutiion and maintain professionalism when dealing with difficult students.
Minimizing Attrition can be done by closely monitoring students for feelings of alienation- reachout to students individually. Try to assist them to stay on pace,not to get behind. Make sure they know that they have assistance with technical issues and have them try to look at the big picture when faced with competing responsibilities and offer additional time if possible.
I learned that there may be students who will challenge the system. Keep good communication and any disruptions that may occur in their file. Remind them of the guidelines also, Ensure you are communicating with each student daily. Encourage the students to participate in the course discussions. Most students on-line with communicate with you by e-mail.
I learned that there may be students who will challenge the system. Keep good communication and any disruptions that may occur in their file. Remind them of the guidelines also. Ensure you are communicating with each student daily. Encourage the students to participate in the course discussions. Most students on-line with communicate with you by e-mail.
There will be many more distractions for the online Learner, so it is the instructor's responsibility to reach out to each student in an effort to persuade them that education is the one equalizer!
email messaging is the most convenient method of communication. Managing how we use email can be daunting. Conflict resolution, counselling , privacy issues, messaging, responding in a timely fashion , following company policy and procedures must be all taking into consideration. Working with students, guidelines must be set up and strickly enforced. We all have a lot to learn.
I wish my first online instructor had been thru this module. I definitely felt alienated during his class.
recognizing different learners' behavior, and they way they deal with possible challenges is a must. Communication and support is key.
As facilitors in the E-learning environment, it is important to monitor communication between students. Address behaviors immediatly. Be open to the realization that students come with behavior patterns that they have already developed or learn, as instructors we must know how to deal with all types of behaviors.
Just like in a traditional class, there are different types of learners taking online courses. Some may try to dominate or intimidate the instructor and other students, while others may be passive or procrastinate. Files should be kept to record different behaviors and as the instructor I should stay in contact with every student regardless of their behavior. Understanding my institutions code of conduct for online and class participation will help me with conflict management and resolution.
