In the effort to help ourselves and our students prepare to become successful participants in online learning, the following are key steps: preassessment of staff and student preparedness with corresponding follow-up adjustments; developed open communication; developed well organized syllabus, course structure, communication maintenance strategy, encouragement/reward system, and individualized communication and plans for students with special needs.
Would I make an effective online instructor? Is online instruction for every student? These questions can be answered by taking a self-analysis by both the instructor and the students. As online instructors we are to assist the student in improving their weaknesses so they become better online learners. We are to encourage the learners and motivate them. Have online learners understand time management. Concerning students with special needs, there are a number of strategies to help them as well should they chose to take your course online. These strategies were provided in this module.
Online instruction needs to have a clear syllabus so that students know the expectations of the class. Students should schedule time within their week to complete the online assignments.
It is becoming apparent that this form of instruction can be much more up close and personal than I originally thought.
With email and other forms of contact, you can aid the learner in a more detailed and comprehensive way than in a classroom with a time restriction.
The two issuse of motivation and time management were most informative to me, both for the instructor and the student. The 10 to 20 hours to prepare for 1 hour of class seems to me to be about the same for online or face to face. The big thing is to motivate the students to realize that the 3 to 5 hours each lesson is a necessity for success (no procrastinating).
Positive motivation has a greater probability of creating positive results.
Students need to have a good understanding of the time commitment of online learning. They need to understand that 3 to 5 hours of work outside of "class time" is necessary for preparation and homework.They need to understand that online learning is as much of a commitment as F 2 F learning.
I've learned that I should start my eLearning students off with an online learning readiness survey. Many of them have never taken an online course before, and are unaware of their strengths and weakness as they relate to their ability to succeed in an online environment. The survey feedbck should also give students techniquies to improve areas of weakness. I believe the most common of these weaknesses for students that I will be dealing with is time management.
In addition to helping students become self-aware of potential obstacles to their success (and giving them strategies they can implement), I believe it is important for the instructor to build in many of these strategies with the assumption that some students may be unable or unwilling to implement them themselves. A good online class will lay out all the assignments upfront, their due dates, and help students set up reminders in their calendar. The instructor will break down larger assignments into smaller, more manageable sections, and give individual due dates with some form of instructor/student communication tied to them. The instructor will also assist students in developing a study plan to schedule out blocks of time they can commit to working on their course. Based on this plan, the instructor will help the student set daily or weekly goals to help students easily determine if they are on the path to success, or falling behind.
Time management and motivation are giant issues for students in an online environment and should be given lots of attention. Students should be given coaching and feedback on those things to help.
The beauty of an online course is that students are able to work around their personal schedules. But even though they have this schedule of their own, they must accomidate to their class deadlines. Encourage assigments to be priority first working around their schedule.
I learned that time management is very important with an online course as it takes additional time to complete as compared to a F2F class. Also, it is imporant to know the needs of the students and what accommodations are needed for students.
In my experience, the concept of viewing time as "tangible, visual, and measurable" is something students find difficult. They are easily distracted by the "right now" and fail to plan for what is coming.
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.
