Transferring a course to an online format will take time and must be thought out specifically to match the learning objectives.
The 4 O's provide insight into course organization and structuring for student learning outcomes. Taking part in engaging students is necessary as it provides them to be involved in the learning process and allows instructors to add a personal touch to make the learning more relevant.
Online instructors must develop student engagement by creating a welcome letter and best wishes statement at the end of the course. We must include varied course content that includes only need to know details and minimal main ideas to increase student retention and engagement.
Keeping your modules consistent and the lines of communication open are important. Having students and peers review your lessons and make comments so that you can make changes that will benefit your students and you.
The most interesting idea in this section was that it may be easier to build an online course from scratch than convert a F2F course to online. Not-with-standing the academic procedural challenges this actually makes a lot of sense. If this is the case we may find that some courses are not suited to online and we may find that t some courses are very well suited to online. This is really the direction that education needs to go, not in 100% online or 100% F2F but optimizing specific courses to their delivery method.
Organization and feedback is important because it will allow us to figure what the strengths and weaknesses are of the online course and where we need to make improvements or adjustment to course content, layout, or delivery.
Looking forward to finding and using tools that seem “fun” and collaborative. Blogging and gaming aspects in the classroom could really prove valuable to my students!
Having an organized approch to the course objectives and accepting student feedback and the willingness to refocus those objectives in order to better qacheive positive outcomes are key to the success of the course.
Being organized and providing feedback is important for students to learn.
Sharing appropriate personal information such as hobbies or interests can be a good way to foster engagement. When students are engaged they become more invested in the course and will put forth effort.
I enjoyed approaching online courses as their own animal - maybe ditching the F2F approach is best! Adapt, remember to check the learning objectives, and keep segments to the point and conscience.
Providing a consistant look and feel for each module is helpful for the students. They get used to ow you structure your class and can then focuso on the earning objectives. You should also use many of the best practices in online learning... communication, timely feedback, friendly environment, kudos, course announcements , using discussion boards and crerate ne for course questions. You should use different teaching techniques and try different tools, but make sure you achieve the learning objective. explaining "why" we assign some assignments helps the studnts buy in and learn the assignment better , in my experience.
The "4 Os" is key when transferring F2F lectures in online content. Also it is important to transform information/lectures making it suitable for the online audience.
When moving from a traditional F2F classroom setting into an online class, the instructor needs to make sure that the instructions, grading, posting rules, where to find your textbooks, etc. is in the syllabus and the course layout is easy to use and find items.
It is very important that the instructor pays attention to the course layout, the length of announcements, videos, or audio uploads. Students will lose interest and become frustrated if they are too long and they are unable to locate what they need. The instructor also needs to make sure that their course online structure reflects their teaching styles.
And again, in this section, it is noted how important feedback is from you colleagues and your students. The feedback is the only way to see what areas are working well for you and what areas of your course needs improvement.
Variety of instruction is important. Catering to the different learning styles is essential to student learning.
It will be a benefit using a blog in an online course.
Consideration of what students need hasn't changed too much, but the way you present information must change. Students still learn in different ways, so the way you present your class has to address these different ways.
I do feel one must put in a lot more thouight in how the class is structured in order to meet most of the same needs...there are several more ways of transfering infrmation beside those ways some of us older teachers were used to...
I really enjoyed this topic! I learned about the importance of understanding that the online course is an experience. Students should be provided with a dynamic range of activities and resources that will properly benefit their learning. By the same token, it's important not to overwhelm the students. Therefore, students need to also be able to depend on consistency, ease of use, and reliability.
It is important to review tools for effectiveness and stay organized. I Also feel that sending a Welcome letter and best wishes letter at the end of the course is important. I always implement those letters. Also on the first day of school i have a Welcome powerpoint presentation that allows me to introduce myself to the class an tell them a little bit about my educational background. I then do an ice breaker to help them get to know each other.
I agree that the content or the order in which content is designed and displayed plays an intricate part in the gradual building of information into more advanced studies.
