Jennifer Sheets

Setting clear expectations for communication is key to successful communication.

The transition from F@F to online learning is not as easy as recording your lectures.  We need to remember that anything over 5-10 minutes is too long.  It is necessary to boil down the content to the most important learning objectives and clearly state those.  It is important to build community and engagement.

Feedback is the most important aspect of the facilitator role.  It is important, though, for all facilitators to assess all aspects of their teaching to increase student engagement.

There is no right answer between synchronous and asynchronous learning.  It is going to depend on the situation.  I am seeing in this class, how important it is to have clear learning outcomes that students are aware of.

From this module, I learned that an instructor should carefully curate the list of technology tools they use.  Limiting the options and choosing the appropriate tool in each situation will help students to better learn the tools themselves, know what to expect, and to focus on the learning, rather than the technology.

It is important to make sure you receive feedback from all stakeholders.

I love the idea of providing screencasted feedback. It is important to tie feedback to the learning objectives and to keep feedback positive.  The rubric should tell them about the grae.

Building community through interaction is most important.  Students need to feel as though they are not alone but actually part of a larger community.  Instructors need to scaffold instruction by making sure student understanding is assessed periodically before moving on and before students are asked to apply their understanding.

Consistency is important.  The students need to know what to do and where to find information in each unit.  It is also important that all units take about the same amount of time to complete.

I loved how the student who is avoiding work is identified as the one who always has technical difficulties.  That is so common.  The tips to handle these students were great.  As a teacher in a high school, who may be teaching more online, I don't think true attrition will be my problem, but identifying those things that make students want to leave a course is important.