Mary Downs
I have always felt that it was important to help students improve their Communication Skills. I now know it is an essential component for success in the ON-LINE ENVIRONMENT. Students cannot meet face to face so it is essential to ensure that they understand Expectations and Guidelines for Course Communication and to alleviate misunderstandings. I will use the Syllabus to impress upon the students that Effective Communication should be CPA (Clear, Professional, and appropriate). Do not use texting language.
Respectful discourse is a great way to ensure that students gain from their online experience. Teaching students how to disagree is vital.
Based on what I learned, I developed an "orientation to online class" which list the course objectives, expectation from the instructor, and the guidelines of small group case study project.
This module is helping me to become more organized and clear in my communication to student expectations. I like the idea of community of practice very much!
Clear communication is important from both instructor and learners no matter the format, I2S, S2I or S2S.
This module reinforced that when students are involved in the communication venues within the class they should feel more engaged. There will always be students who don't like to participate in a class. A virtual classroom will give them a place to "hide" and not participate. Again, communication will be key in getting the expectations out to everyone. A Small group activity is a great way to get more people to participate within the classroom. Jigsaw activities can get the small groups to feel like a part of the "whole" class.
I plan to communicate to students how I would like them to communicate with me, and provide a modified list of what to include in their communication. For example, I want to remind students to include a discriptive subject line and to include their name at the bottom of the communication. Also, I already implement a learning community within my classroom, and I plan to structure my online class to enable students to support each other in small group break-out settings. However, I also plan to engage students in planning a rubric for participation in these small group settings to ensure group norms and also consistent evaluation of participation.
developing a CoP will be a great when teaching classes online
With online learners it is important to connect with each learner and help them understand why the content is important to their lives. This may come in different forms for different learners.
Online citizenship is crucial to having a great online class and class environment.
Students should know what is expected of them and those expectations should be clearly projected to them throught the LMS.
This is a great course gpt instructors new to the online classroom. The informatin provided is a good tool and very helpful for active open communication with the students.
It is important for the instructor to develop good techinical skills for online teaching
Having clear expectations and rules when online learning is a must to ensure an optimal learning experience!
Just as the students need to focus on their studies and be engaged in the learning process, instructors should also focus on teaching and learning and be interactive participants.
Commumication by the entire community is importaqnt. Be clear and professional in your communication. Have students work in teams when possible. I will desgin the course that requires communication from everyone. Have the students give online presentations.
Communication is essential to student and instructor success.
Communication online increases in importance as you lose things like body language when online. In my F2F classroom I could see if a student was having a hard time. Being online the student must be comfortable with reaching out.
Communication and motivation are the two main non-technical skills that should be encouraged. Communication not just with instructors but with other students and understanding that they are a part of this community. Create that sense of doing things together and it will make them more motivated to come to classes.
It is important to set guidelines so students know what is expected of them. Reading and writing skills are needed within an online environment. Communication skills have to be a priority, you want to keep your students engaged.
I plan to use the following two new techniques: the FAQ Discussion Board as an ongoing tool throughout the course to address questions related to the overall course and assignments. This will not be used for content questions but rather for more system / technical / course operations questions. I also plan to utilize the Exit Slip method for synchronous classes early in the course and anytime I have students who are struggling to participate in a meaningful way.
