Working Harder
I just want to stress the need I find as an online instructor to work maybe harder than a "real-live" instructor to get to know my students. We don't have the ability to shake anyone's hand or smile at them. We can't use body language or non-verbal cues to reassure our students. We also don't have them captive in a room that shares energy and enthusiasm. They are free to come and go as they please with very surface-level interaction from us and it is for that reason that we have check in more often and really work hard to connect through the medium of the internet. We should keep in mind that different students will respond to different types of feedback differently --some will love to call us, some will love chats, some discussions. We must work harder to recognize and satisfy the needs of our students.
Corinne:
Well positioned and expressed. Personally, I find teaching online to be more time consuming than teaching in a traditional clasroom setting. Many Professors with whom i work have expressed the same feeling. Som eof them, however, seem toresort to expending only the amount of effort for which they have been compensated.
Satrohan
I totally agree with you. It is harder to conduct a sucessful online class environment. I have tried to find new ways keep some of my class room studentd motivated. Motivation can be alot harder when face to face interaction isn't there.
LaTisha:
Motivating students from a distance can be more time consuming and challenging. That hs been the experience with many institutions with which I have worked, and continues to be the case, especially fornon-professional degree programs.
Satrohan
I agree on this. The online section of the courses I teach take more time and more concentration due to the amount of written work that is done. Those instructors that I have in my department who have trouble typing have more problems with time for online work as well.
I think the level of technical expertise makes a difference as well, especially if you are authorized to make changes to the courses you are teaching to keep them current.
-Chris
Chris:
I also support the position that teaching in an online environment is more time consuming than in a traditional classroom setting. I make this comment without any consideration that making changes to the course content on the Course Delivery Platform will just add more hours to the task.
Satrohan
I agree with all of the comments here. I do think there are challenges for the online instructor that a "real-time" classroom instructor would not have. Certainly there are challenges for both. I do think breaking the ice and building up that relationship with a student is a particular challenge in the online environment when you don't have an opportunity for that face to face contact. I have found that the students who have been most successful in my class are the ones that interact, come to me with questions, attend live chats, etc. Besides suggestions such as posting introductions, creating a general discussion board thread for non-school topics, etc. what other methods do people have for engaging and connecting with students who do not seem to be responding to the efforts made?
Working harder is good, but everytime I hear that phrase, I always think of "working smarter". Meaning, keep an open mind, look for solutions, and look for ways to help and encourage students to get the best out of their online experience.
