I liked learning about the instructor's role in attrition managment - it's nice to know on one hand that we can have an affect and also a little scary at times. We always need to be vigilant!
Toni
Students that are not engaged in an online course need to be addressed. Particularly their reasons why.
This Module certainly gave mmany "house keeping" tips. With on-ground teaching, you have file cabinets to keep your work as well as the students work that will evenually make it to their permanent file. e-learning records should be easily accessible too. Managing students behavior online and reducing the possibility of attrition can be managed by being aware of the overwhelmed student's needs and helping the mis-behaving student to see how they can contribute in another positive way.
I learned issues and concerns that may arise in the elearning environment and how to prepare for them.
I learned why students may chooose to exit e-leaning. How to handle noisy learners and the problems they may introduce, and the do and don't of counseling by chat. I learned a lot of new things about how to handle the situations that will come up with e-learning that I hadn't even thought of.
I learned that it is important to create a system to keep student communications organized and accessible. One should create file for all the different types of communication you might have with students.
Interesting as to managing disruptive behavior. I'm not sure if it works but anxious to try it.
After reviewing this module I have taken away from it the importance of staying organized and communicating effectively online with students. Some of the best ways to communicate with online learning would be through email or live chats.
Not all conflict can be avoided, therefore handle it privately and not in group discussion. Encourage students to as question and if technical issues arise re assure the. And help get them technical support.
Reply to Tracie Buffaloe's post: I like that idea. I typically provide a code of conduct that I expect people to follow verbally during first discussion and remind them frequently. Having it written down is an excellent way to provide quick reference back and to make sure it is spelled out clearly for everyone with no room for misinterpretation.
The part of this module that I found interesting was the characterization of different types of students. I was able to picture, in my mind, these different personalities matching up with different students from my various classes. Even as some personality types can be problematic, I found the simple guidelines that were laid out to be helpful in an almost “common sense” kind of way. Sometimes it is good to have things laid out in plain English to reinforce what you may already know but didn’t think of originally as being so simple and direct. Dealing with a “problem child” in class can be difficult and we could have more than one type of these problematic personalities in a single class setting. You can’t necessarily deal with each one in the same way, but we can still follow the same general guidelines to get positive results.
I have learned that I need to type up a code of conduct for online participation. I need to present the code of conduct at the beginning of the class, have students sign off on it and review the code of conduct throughout the course.
I have learned that the instructor and his interaction with the online students in the CMS is going to be critical to the success of the program. Just like in the classroom a failure to control the discussion, direction, and tone of discussions will result in poor learning outcomes.
That students can try to gaffle the system
A takeaway I received from this module is that conflict can be both positive and negative in the online learning environment. The positive aspects of conflict include generating meaningful discussion and engaging the students more thoroughly. Of course, managing those students who provide negative conflict or dominate conversations need to be dealt with swiftly but fairly. I will definitely put this into practice.
the online learning will be challenging at first for most students and teachers.
But with practice and learning new teaching technique as time goes by we will adjust.
Wow, I am the shy student who does not want to attract attention to himself. I have material to learn, just leave me alone and I will return it to you completed at a level better than the other students.
Online learning may be difficult for some students for various reasons. Students behaviors are very important to keep track of especially during online discussions and online learning. Most students can be emailed but it is good to check in with them to prevent attrition. Also, they can have other conflicts such as technology or being overwhelmed or just procrastination.
Email can be overwhelming in any work environment. With e-learning, the teacher much have a email management system that allows for within 24 hour replies and a strong connection with the student. Organization is key.
I learned that you will encounter difficulties in any teaching environment but you need to stick to your expectations you set at the beginning of the course and with what your schools sees as acceptable response to behavior. Also you need to keep good records of interactions and be an effective communicator through email.
