I agree that the look and feel of the online course is important. For many students, taking an online course can make them a little anxious because of the unknown. This is true for any course. That’s why it’s important to do whatever can be done to make them feel comfortable. If the course’s site is easy to navigate, that’s one less thing that they have to worry about. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment and not frustrate them into thinking that they can’t successfully pass the course if they can’t figure out the site. It’s comparable to children in classroom settings. The actual room should be conducive to learning and stimulate their minds.
good point....many students are taking online classes for the first time and do feel anxious.
I absolutely agree! Recently I took an online course concerning US History. Although there were not a lot of bells and whistles, I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which my professor set up her page within Blackboard. Far from beimg stuffy and utliltarian,the links to documents were very easy to access, as well as pertinent information from the textbook that we were to repsond to. I even enjoyed her historical graphics, photos and videos. Because of her thoughtful attention to detail, it was a pleasure to write 5-page papers at 3 o'clock in the morning,(well almost). In fact, taking that class has inspired me to teach an online class in the near future.
I agree the look and feel of an online course is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. If an on-line course is hard to understand (how or what to do) most students will not be motivated to learn the subject. Most likely the student will be too frustrated and wonder why they started the course and how can they get out of it and find one that is easier to use.
Christopher,
Frustration can lead to failure....good point
Shelly Crider
I agree but it is more important to make the subject matter interesting and engaging to the learner to start with.
For example, this very course is written in an extremely obtuse manner that is off-putting.
I feel like that if it was written and presented in a less-dry way, I would develop more interest in online learning.
Since I teach, work in music production, and design Web sites, I thought I could make use of what I learn here instead of just "jumping through the hoop" to fulfill the requirements of the government.
But maybe it gets better after this first hour.
Barry,
I do hope you find it interesting. Very good post.
Shelly Crider
Yes, the ambience of the classroom is important. Besides the structural integrity and ease of navigation, the online classroom needs to be developed by the professor as a warm and nurturing environment. You are establishing a learning community. This is the tone and flavor of the classroom. I also provide "Fodder for Thought" and pictures that depict the topics for the week as well are symbolic or provide an/or example. Students report that they enjoy the parables, metaphors and symbolic pictures I post as well as the socratic questions I post to them.
William,
Pictures are worth a 1000 words! I believe that to be true. We can tell how something works, but seeing something is believing!
Shelly Crider
Indeed Shelly, that is so true and with animation and interactive sites you get even better learning through active manipulation and dynamic action similation. ;-) BC
Yes, I agree that the look and feel of an online course is important. If a student is to fully utilize an online course, the look and feel of the course must peak their interest and provide for easy navigation. If the course does not "look interesting" it will lose students from the beginning. With the generation of learners that are being targeted, it is important to grab and keep their interest...they are used to being entertained by multimedia and NOT used to "just reading something".
Beverly,
That brings up a good point! Our younger generation needs the multimedia, but our older generation is not as familiar with all the multimedia out there. We have to have a nice balance in our courses.
Shelly Crider
