The issue of "onlilne persona" has to be looked at from a number of different ways. Not only should the student and the instructor perform self-analysis / self assessments of their online skills and abilities, the instructor has to continously monitor student performance, relative to issues like motivation, time management and special needs issues that need to be identified, understood and addressed in order to help the student achieve his or her maximum potential in a particular learning experience.
In general, online courses are going to take more time outside of a traditional classroom. Students need to understand that upfront. During our continuous learning plan this last quarter we had time limits on how long students were going to work for each class, but many parents still said their student was spending hours on the computer. In reality that would be the case for an online class, because the traditional supports of a classroom are not physically there they are virtual. Another component that was a key takeaway is that special education students still receive their accommodations. It may take a little more creativity and utilization of online web tools, but we still must provide them.
I found it interesting to consider time management in the same terms as management of physical spaces. This idea spurred on some brainstroming for possible exercises that can be tacked on to the readiness for online learning/self-assessment portion of the online course. Relating time management to something that students do every day will make the concept less scary and more "manageable".
It is important to understand that time is important. It is essential to recognize if students have disabilities that may need assistance to help a student of any level be successful.
Although motivation is the responsibility of the student, it is important for the online instructor to be aware of the importance of motivation and helping students develop and sustain their own motivation.
I was unaware of the 'Pareta Principle" before this module It's good to know and understand for the teaching/learning process.
The online community is a setting including all type of learners just like the classroom. It is important and always necessary to prepare and analyze all your students and pay attention to be prepared to service each as the situation may arrive. Close attention should be given to those who show withdrawn, quiet or non-verbal during discussions.
Ihave learned that Student motivation is the biggest factor in online success so praise early and often and make the first few assignments those they can easily accomplish.Also, It is essential to provide appropriate interventions to help students overcome certain disabilities or develop startegies to assist in the learning process.
Tapping in on disabilities at the beginning of semesters are very important.. The teaching process is a must do (into. w/objectives, student-centered lessons, conclusion and measurement of the objective).
Time management in the online enviroment is essential in the learning process and the students need a little help with this.
I have learned that extroverted people take over conversations. Therefore, during a discussion about the lesson I would ask each indiviudal to specific time limit to speak.
Reply to Dawn Davies's post:I agree that preparation for online contact takes a lot more time than what's presented. I'd like to hear some best practices in organizing the prep work to avoid spending too much time on prep.
Seth Soronnadi
Learned " That whether learning face-to-face or in an online environment, students have different needs. Some students may have minor cognition problems, developmental issues, or serious learning disabilities. It is very important to recognize those with learning disorders so that the instructor can more effectively deliver content and design learning activities to help all students achieve the learning outcomes."
I loved the analogy of time management as cleaning a closet and I just shared that idea in an email to all of my new students. The idea of decluttering time is a great one and many of my students are likely struggling to manage the new online format and all the changes to their personal time due to Covid-19.
I am also thinking about students who may have learning disabilities - we are a small vocational school and it is likely that more than typical students have some learning challenges. However, we don't have a specific department for learning disabilities so I'm going to look into how we ask about them.
I am an ESE teacher in a middle school setting and I learned how accomodations are used in the online environment. I also can relate to the importance of organizational skills and time management skills for the students and the teacher. Organizational skills can be an ongoing challenge for me.
I liked this quote from the reading: "A student may come to class with a certain degree of motivation, but the instructor's behavior, teaching style, structure of the course, nature of the assignments, and informal interactions with students all have effect on student motivation." I agree with this and will implement this throughout any online courses I teach.
As so in a traditional face-to-face classroom environment, instructors should be prepared to identify learning styles and disabilities in their students. Accomodations are available for the online environment as in the traditional classroom. In orientation we have a learning styles inventory that students to complete. I now see the value in making sure my online students complete it and results are utilized to their benefit as well.
From this module I learned strategies to encourage and support self-motivation in students. As the module shared, online courses require a high degree of self-motivation to successfully complete the course. Form this module I will first evaluate my students to determine which students and intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. With those results I will use the appropriate strategies to encourage continued motivation for my students.
Preparing students for online learning with specific questions as how they learn and if will be the correct choice.
Time managemnt is key for all students of all abilities.
