LATOYA,
Nice post....do you think that students like EBooks?
Shelly Crider
Thank you!
Yes, I personally believe that Ebooks are great and I do believe that students like Ebooks for various reasons. For example, Ebooks are small, easy to navigate, cost efficient, they can save lots of time and have a lot of memory to hold and store data.
In addition, students no longer have to purchase or carry those heavy text books around anymore but could benefit from upgrading and advancing with modern technology by investing in a Ebook. Also, Ebooks are very affordable and could be a lot cheaper than buying the textbooks that are required for different courses. There are a variety of resources that offer free Ebooks online. There are also different Ebook resources and memberships were students can join for less than $39.99 for unlimited access. One textbook alone can cost more than that.
Students may also like the fact that Ebooks can save lots of time. While some students may travel to bookstores and libraries to get books, most students are downloading Ebooks to their computers from the comfort of their own homes.
Ebooks are great and while many students may like all of these benefits, some students still may not be as interested. It really depends on the student. Some students dread reading and may never want to invest in having an Ebook. Although, I do believe that Ebooks are here to stay and that we will be hearing a lot more about them in the near future; especially within the educational system.
I believe the layout of an online course is very important. It should be easy to navigate through. It could be very stressful for the user if they have difficulty finding the information that they need. This would then discourage them from taking more courses in the future.
Neidra,
I like how you said stressful! Yes, we can navigate through most everything, but we get stressed when we have too many things to do.
Shelly Crider
I agree completely. In the classroom or online, the look and feel of the course is as important as the knowledge and skills because without a good presentation, the information being presented can be lost. The look and feel of an online course sets the tone for the class as a whole. If the course doesn't have the right look and feel from day one, some students may not be engaged or take the course seriously.
Easy to navigate and clear instructions on assigmnets. The look is not as important to me as the aove two issues.
Sari,
There is nothing worse than feeling lost in a class.
Shelly Crider
adarian,
Clear instructions are a must in an online course or a face to face course. Good job.
Shelly Crider
The look and feel of an online course is as important as the knowledge to be imparted because when the online courses are organized, the knowledge are well understood and transfer to students easier.
manuel,
I like how you say transfer to the student....that is exactly what online learning is.....a transfer of knowledge.
Shelly Crider
I feel it is extremely important that the look, feel, and as well as the ease of use are just as important as the knowledge and skill impart. If something does not catch a person’s eye, they will be less likely to use or want to spend the time with it. In addition, if a teacher is not right there looking a person to make sure they have their attention, the media that is used must keep their attention. If we lose that, the student will not gain the necessary knowledge. Unfortunately, today’s society feels the need to constantly entertain and this has flowed into the classroom. If we do not keep someone engaged online, we will lose them.
Crystal,
You are so correct! Today's student wants to be entertained while learning!
Shelly Crider
It can sometimes be a very hard challenge to overcome. It is also something that I really need to be aware of with an online class, as the students will have many more “things†which could draw away their attention.
Absolutely agree! The look and feel of the course has to engage the learner from the start, otherwise you will lose them. If the learner dis-engages the best content in the world won't help much.
Jim
Jim,
Disengage......no show....no show....no education!
Shelly Crider
Yes, I do agree that the look and feel of an online course is extremely important. The less intimidating the look of the online course the better. I think a "very busy" looking online course (home page) may seem overwhelming to some students. I am particularly concerned with adult learners, many of whom (given my experience as an instructor) may not be computer savy and learning to navigate and operate computer much less an online course in it self is a challenge (and a separate learning experience). Distance learning has become a popular mode of education delivery due to many adult learners seeking to upgrade their human capital while trying to balance work, family, etc. The look and feel of an online course should come across as and feel user friendly. The effort and the work put into an online course should focus more on the subject matter presented versus working toward trying to figure out or navigate the different components of an online course. I would recommend keeping it simple and even breaking up the online content into weekly segments to narrow the presentation and the student's focus.
Victor,
You hit on a very good topic....intimidation. There are many students who look at something and become instantly afraid.
Shelly Crider
I would hesitate to declare the look and feel of an online course to be AS important as the knowledge/skills it is designed to impart. I'll make the analogy of a course taught by an effective instructor and the same course taught by a monotone mumbler. While the mastery of the material by the students of the effective instructor will no doubt be greater, assimilated with less difficulty and overall be a more enjoyable experience, the value of the course material as a set of terminal objectives is not diminished by the poor performance of the second instructor.
Without a doubt, the the look and feel of an online course could be typified as an instructor who continually misspeaks (broken or poorly constructed links), instructional equipment that does not work (corrupted powerpoint files) or a boring speaker (pages of text instead of short videos or slide sets interspersed with activities).
The look and feel of an online course can be the spark of an inspiring instructor in an onsite course, or unfortunately, the reverse.
Tim,
An effective online instructor is very important to the student's learning. Excellent post.
Shelly Crider
I agree that the "Look and feel" experience needs to be there in order to insure that the student does not feel more overwhelmed.
I come from a diverse educational environment. I went back to school in my thirties for my BSIT. I looked at the Online schools, and even though I have a computer technical background, felt that I needed that face to face interaction. After I completed my BS I chose the online environment for my Master's. I knew I was moving and needed that flexibility that I did not have before.
Going back to the question, I have recently been allowed to evaluate the newer Blackboard at the Online school that I teach at. I looked at everything as if I had no idea on how to navigate. I highly criticize the location of several needed functions and at one point felt lost. I would hate for any student to have to navigate such a complexity. Good thing, the roll out has stopped and now there are looking into some of my request.
