The course stated students need the following:
- open mindedness
- communication (written and verbal)
- self-motivation
- self-discipline
- time management
- computer competency
- critical thinking
- teamwork
Of all of these skills, I've most often seen good students fail when they lack self-motivation, self-discipline, and time management. It's very frustrating to me as an instructor when a student habitually turns in A work late. This is especially frustrating in discussions because their work is of high quality and would have enhanced the discussion for the entire class if it had been posted on time. That's an aspect of teamwork that you don't think about initially -- discussions are, in a sense, a team activity and when you fall short there, you hurt the entire class.
Nancy Tosh
The online environment for learning does requiremore work than a traditional class room setting. I've found that it forces the student to participate by requiring 8 significiat post per week on tope of the homework assigned for the week. Wehreas, if in a classs room setting a student may not participate verbally at all and just sit through class.
Seth Soronnadi.
Learned that; "Understanding communication differences among generations will help the instructor provide differentiated instruction. It will also help instructors alter their communication and/or design activities to more appropriately reach each student and help them achieve the learning outcomes/objectives. It will also help build a viable online learning community."
I think knowing a bit about the different generational groups is very helpful in communication with students. In my experience, I have seen differences between the groups. The older students often do need a little more support to ensure they know how to use the course tools. All students have equal ability, some just need a bit more help at the start.
From this Module I learned the importance of knowing the various generations of my students. This will assist me in knowing where they're coming from and how to differentiate the curriculum.
One of the most important ways to motivate a student to participate in a class and prevent them from getting bored is by providing prompt and frequent feedback. This will aid in their motivation while they develop and refine technical and time management skills.
I learned the gross generalizations about how different generations differ; I do agree with the genral point that any group of student will have heterogenous communication patterns and technology skills, but I do not think it is helpful to make generalized assumptions based on age groups.
This module emphasized the need to provide differentiated instruction to address the needs of students that may come from various generations and have differing skills in regards to technology and communication. Applying the Golden Rule to class communication can alleviate many of the issues that may arise in online communication. I think it is important to emphasize to students in the beginning of the course the qualities of a successfull online student, so they have a clear understanding of the expectations and demands to be successful in an online course.
As a general rule of thumb, you want to make sure that you diffuse any conflicts that occur online quickly. Understand that different age groups will interpret different communications differently and to remember to use Netiquette at all times.
When interacting with students in an online course it is important for instructors to keep in mind that they are not dealing with a homogeneous group and that they will likely have students born in multiple Generations in their courses. This is important to keep in mind because each Generation has different traits and preferences, and will require the Instructor to interact with them in a unique manner.
We need to understand that different age groups learn differently. We need to set guidelines for communication and hold every student to them and encourage participation from all students.
This module provided me an understanding of the challanges that may arise with different generations of students.
Effective communication can be difficult for some learners and instructors in the online environment.
The section on communication styles of various age groups was very interesting. Most likely, any online course I teach will have all generations represented.
Communication is critical in an online platform. The student body consists of various age groups and the instructor must understand the differences of the generational gaps and communicate effectively according to the individual's generation.
Instructors need to be good role models for communication. Instructors also should establish guidelines for the communication process online, and these guidelines must be patterned according to the different generations of students that we deal with. Instructors should establish communication guidelines in the course syllabus. If there are questions from students, prompt feedback should be given by the instructor.
It is important to commuinicate as much as possible in an online class so all students are on the sam page, getting the right information, and clearning up questions/concerns. Maintain positive feedback, use clear language and keep it simple. Make sure you are avaiable to answer questions.
CTC
Trying to match everyday life, like the job and family is tough. There have been times that I would have preferred going to a class at the scheduled time.
It truly is a time management process.
I have learned that differentiated communication is important in order to understand the different groups within an online course and the qualities of each one are essential in order to create the competencies that are needed to progress in an online course; such as discipline, time management, teamwork and writing critically are qualities that the instructor must motivate the students and that the instructor must achieve in a motivational way for greater student efficiency.
I learned that students must be made aware of the skills required to be successful in an online course. The instructor must also model the desired behavior.
