Online vs in classroom
As a new online instructor, I feel that it very important that one is comfortable with the applicaitons that available for the student as well as the instructor.
Kelly:
Agreed. Instructors must have the required level of expertise in the features of the Course Delivery Platform they, as well as the students will be using to complete the online course.
Satrohan
Comfort is nice, but not always possible. Once I had a student who was legally blind for a computer class. She was excellent at using the magnifier to find things on the screen. Now when I have a class, some of whom are not familiar with navigating a particular interface, I use vocal cues for them to find things. For example, "At the top of your screen, in your menu, click File and then Page Setup," instead of telling them simply File/Setup.
It's easier online as you can use graphics or a short movie to show where things are.
Ann:
The more detailed the instructions; the better. This applies to both oral and written instructions. You certaily are going to the right level of detail to guide them to the desired destination.
Satrohan
I think it is essential to understand that the online experience is different than the in class experience. What I wrestle with often is the challenge of translating the in class learning experience to online...in particular in many of my classes the in class experience is more of a work session rather than a lecture...in the lecture format it is fairly easy to translate to online, however a working session is harder. one thing we do is have live on line chat sessions where the students can log in to a work session. mastering the technology in the delivery of course material is a great challenge.
In the traditional classes that I teach, the classroom discussion is a critical part of the classroom experience. I have had to adjust my teaching style a bit to transfer that experience in the online classroom, so I understand what you are struggling with.
However, I think it is important to keep in mind that there are many different ways to teach students--and all of those different ways are successful. I would encourage you to think about what objectives you are trying to accomplish with your work sessions and think about different ways of accomplishing those same objectives but in a different way.
I've found that students more often than not go to the instructor when something does not work or they don't understand some concepts. It is therefore important that the instructor understand what the student may be doing in the future and anticipate their needs so as to be able to adequately handle student requests. This includes helping students to manage their timing by posting announcements on when and what is due and any penalties that may occur.
My experience in anticipating student needs includes helping them in working in group projects. This may include setting up group projects and teams, rules to follow, and how to handle team members to choose not to participate. At the start of every group project, I typically set up an announcement addressing what students need to do and what to do if something is not right.
I've found that students in an online environment work harder than in-ground classes. This occurs because students need to perform in an online setting while in an in-ground setting, students may just show up and not really participate. Also time management becomes very important for students in an online setting as they need to be aware of what is expected of them and by what date.
I can remember when I took my first online course as the anxiety level is up as the systems were new, and I had to be aggressive in terms of finding what what needed to get done. There was no one to remind me except my own motivate to read what the instructor posted in the classroom.
Roberto,
Much of this anticipation comes with time as well. The more you teach a class the more you have experienced. Hopefully you have had the opportunity to gather these experiences and put systems and expectations in place that will head off most of the typical problems students will have.
Herbert Brown III
Roberto,
I agree with what you say, but I am saddened. It is a shame that we might consider it ok for the onground students to just show up and not really participate, when we require them to participate in an online environment. Shouldn't we have high expectations for both populations?
Herbert Brown III
