May different methods and adjustments makes for a great instructor and facilitator. There will always be room for improvement and feedback helps make for a great instructor.
Teachers need to be prepared to handle any issues that may arise throughout the course effectively. Different students will have different issues as well as potential technical issues have to be dealt with effectively.
Some of our students are not tech savey, and i am not the best either, so communication is vital and i have seen situations were instructions were not followed or vage on my part.
There are 3 ways to facilitate: 1 Teacher centered, 2 teacher centered and student centered, 3student centered
Student feedback helps instructor know what needs to be looked at in the course .
Be familiar with all of your required roles as an online instructor. Be intentional with those roles as well because when offering feedback for example, students can not read your body language or read between the lines of what you say. You must make yourself clear and be clear of the expectations you have with the students.
Facilitation and messaging are important.
Instructor should develop their own facilatation methods while practicing good pedagogy. Feedback is very important.
The importance of clearly specifying the means of communication between students and instrcutors really struck me, especially in a fully-online environment.
As the instructor, it is important for you to activley engage studnets in different ways and provide timely feedback.
I really think this module reminded me how active I need to be in my online classroom. I need to give timely and effective feedback more often, but at the same time set guidelines so that I do not appear to be availabl 24/7. I also really want to find the ways to motivate students to want to be engaged.
I need to make sure all communication is lear because it will be received exactly as stated.
Also use different methods of communication and evaluations from the students to evalute the course.
An Instructor must evaluate the effectiveness of a course by student grades and student comments.
Clear a presise communication is essential in the online learning process. It will enhance the learning experience and help the students from becoming frustrated and disengaged.
I think I am up to hat #6 or 7, not just 4, as I review all that I will need to master before starting to teach virtually, and grow into more of a faciliator of learning. I do think most of the content presumes that the styudents are very active participants in their learning; I hope a future module addresses how to influence those who are not (maybe a third of my population requires a lot of encouragment, chivying, and just flat out sitting down with them to get them started on assignments).
Feedback from students is the best way to make adjustments and ensure they you're providing the best for your students.
Successfully facilitating skills such as promoting student engagement, managing online discussions, and providing feedback helps to build relationships in an online course. It is important for me to eventually become the "guide on the side."
Online discussions among students enable them to vocalize their thoughts and learn from the knowledge shared by other participants in the course. The instructor can facilitate the discussions by intervening when necessary to make sure that students remain respectful to each other and that the discussions are centered around the actual lesson or topic of discussion. Student evaluations of the teacher's performance will vary based on the the expectations they have for their own learning outcomes.
As a facilitator or learning, the students can be responsible for their own learning, however, clear communication given by the instructor is vital to a better learning outcome. In an online environement, students cannot see body language and will take what is being said literally and may misinterpret the intended message. In order to have a higher learning outcome, students need organization, interaction, participation, and feedback. Feedback will keep them more engaged, better informed, and less isolated. Instructors must learn and feel comfortable with the technology being utilized in order to assist students navigate an LMS system and other technology being used.
As the Guide on the Side, a strong facilatator will determine their method, develop a plan, evaluate the process, and reflect on how it went. In my instruction, I want to be this guide on the side and facilitate a true problem based learning experience for my students.
