There are many technologies that can enhance the online learning experience and if used the right way can create a situation where social presence is accomplished.
I learned the definition of "social presence" -- the degree to which students perceive an online voice as a human personality.
There is no such thing as online learning without technology. But, technology is a double-edged sword - the current technology of smartphones and social media has grabbed the attention of the current student and now becomes a brain drained of motivation and individual thought. This makes for distractions in face 2 face but there is no control over these activities when online.
While much of my interaction with my students this year will be through video conferencing, it seems like one of the most important things I will need to do at the beginning of the year will be to set norms for communication between students and with me. This is especially true for written communication. I intent to be very clear about the methods by which students should contact me and each other, and what type of language and tone should be used in communication. Professional communication skills are important for any workplace, so the additional benefit to this lesson is that I will also be teaching students employability skills.
the greatest challenge was providing adequate student services for online students. Faculty, staff, and administrators need to understand the ways in which technology influences the capacity for engaging online students.
Technology is key to support online courses.
We use technology to reach out to our students and try many different ways to engage them and make sure that they are getting the gist of what we are trying to teach.
Technology is the key but the technology needs to wrok in order for the student to be successful
Technology has become very important in education. Therefore in order for us to continually improve our students educational experience we must continue to improve the benefits of technology in our students lives.
Technology is the key to success for the online program, having students that can navigate easily the platform is essential
So in this module, I learned about how online encompasses a variety of different course options-- this based on varying levels of technology-enhanced instruction-- as techhnology is playing a critical role in shaping the quality of online instruction, support services, and the overall student experience.
I think using today’s technology is benefits for both instructor and students. Provides current information and wider access and support students can practice collaboration skins. Teachers can use technology to meet the individual needs.
Communicating with students through technology is quite different from face to face interactions. Keeping students engaged will be a new challenge.
Embrace tecnology. I like looking at student's work on their desktop as we do a classroom task online with the software tool we are learning.
I think when it comes to having a real connection with students synchronous communication is key (as opposed to asynchronous communication) as it states "... videoconference would be more capable of conveying social presence than an email because this medium can transmit the warm smiles, head nods, and eye contact that usually accompany face-to-face interactions in real time. This sort of immediate, sensory-rich communication makes the experience seem more “real.” Text-based communications lack the cues that accompany face-to-face interactions, which can make relationship-building a bit more challenging without proper training."
Technology plays a big part in this however regardless students must feel they are connecting with the instructor, course, peers and the program in general in order to learn effectively.
Adaptive Learning platforms can identify a student's weak points and make recommendations to help students enhance their knowledge, thus creating a more personalized learning experience.
Starting to see why Hi-Tech requires Hi-Touch. It's a computer. Part of a teacher's job is to make it feel less like a computer, more like a real person here, teaching you.
Seth Soronnadi
I agree with the highlight that "Communicating with students through technology is quite different from face-to-face interactions. Education professionals need to be aware of these differences if they wish to develop strong working alliances with students they may never meet face-to-face."
Technology is here to stay, 2/3 of students have it and can not live without it.
I leanred that 47% of young professionals and students surveyed found the internet to be as important as basic human needs.
