What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?
First off, the course facilitor will need to become familar with the Course Management System, such as Blackboard or E-College. Some of the technological tools may differ from CMS to CMS. The university that I am employed with, we have part of our dedicated online courses on Blackboard and E-College, which is totally confusing to our students and facilitators.
For a first time class, a facilitator should have focus on the basic technological tools, such as uploading text documents, setting up and creating class discussions, and setting up and using the gradebook. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 57) As the facilitator teaches more and more online courses, they will become very familiar with all of the technological tools that are available.
I think that it is very important for the facilitator to split discussions into groups, especially if the class is rather large. An example, my son told me last night that he is feeling overwhelmed with his online dicussions, because it is not split into groups, and his class is very large.
Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?
Clear and concise communication is very essential in the online learning environment. Information can be misconstrued so easily. For example, a rubric for a particular assignment is very helpful, as it scores using a matrix with more than one category basing it on a point scale system. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 97) A rubric is cut and dry, it keeps assignment grading consistent, and across the board. However, the rubric should be very clear and concise, and understandable to the student. For instance, The rubric should not contain medical terminology for the instructional design student.
What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?
I am just naming a few:
Course elements that consist of the course syllabus and assessment plans. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 63) I think of the course syllabyus as a bible. This document is the keeper of the course informaton, relating to performance goals, learning outcomes, and requirements just to name a few. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 64) For assignments, for example, the syllabus provides information as to how an assignment might be formatted. Take for instance, our Reflection assignments, they need to be completed in APA format. The assessment part encompasses discussions, assignments, quizzes, and projects. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 67)
The development of creating and developing class lectures. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 64) This task consists of the preparation of short text, audio or video introductions, or mini-lectures, developing and managing threaded discussions, and the management of student spaces. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 64) I like the idea of a short video piece for each week of the class that provides the student with goals and the activities for the week. (Boettcher, 2010, p. 64)
The reviewing of the course textbooks to see if it meets all of the course. Textbooks should be relevant to the course. Perhaps, paperback books would be relevant with digital material to complement them.
Be sure you are able to access the course site, and that all necessary functions work. There is nothing like trying to enter a class when there is no access. Where I work, we had some Blackboard issues in regards to students and facilitators having problems entering.
The university where I work, the class facilitators are not allowed to change their course shell. All they have the power to do is to modify assignment dates and delete assignments when necessary.
References:
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (Narrator). Launching the Online Learning Experience [Online video]. Laureate Education. Retrieved March 13, 2011
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Janet great points!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention the rubrics in my post. You are correct they are an essential part of assessing and allowing the learner to know the criteria that is expected for the assignment. As a teacher this is what I use for my students. They know exactly what they can obtain grade wise by following it.
I agree communicating is one of the top points in facilitating an online course. I personally have never had to use the Blackboard application in all the online courses that I have taken. However, I have friends who have often complained that they have issue regarding it.
Great post! Have a great weekend...
I believe that it is beter to work only with one CMS as opposed to two. BlackBoard can sufficiently handle "most" desired aspects of an online course and thus I feel that using two or more CMS simultaneously really causes more trouble than it's worth.
ReplyDeleteIs there a particular reason your school uses two CMS programs? I could maybe see usingtwoat the same time while ttransitioning from one to another, but I completelyagree with your ascertian tat havi ng two to use actively is just too much.
Hi Janet:
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post. It made a lot of sense to me. You spoke of the faciltator focusing on the basic tecnological tool. One of the things I mentioned is that even though these tools are excellent, we need not get "hung" up on them (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). As you said we can focus on the basic ones and I would agree with you.
Indeed, we could not mention it all but you did a great job of giving us the gist. Thanks.
Reference
Boettcher, J. & Conrad, R. (2010). The Online teaching Survival Guide. Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass.
Hello Wes,
ReplyDeleteI am not sure. Before we instituted blended learning, for all of our online class, we used e-college. Now, that we have blended insituted that only uses Blackboard, but our online classes use both.
Hello Janet,
ReplyDeleteGreat points! It is very true that tools differ from CMS to CMS or any program for that matter. Each CMS could have a slightly different goal or focus; therefore, their formats, menus, settings, etc. could all be different. Plus, some programs (e.g., Dreamweaver and Captivate) are completely different with different purposes, but work well together as you can create training material in Captivate and incorporate that on a website developed in Dreamweaver. So I think it is good that each program isn’t the same even if they are in the same category, but that also means it is essential for the facilitator to know the technology and their capability. At my work, I ask for the time to learn the new program and then time to create the course within that program. It’s a challenge for sure because everyone wants a quick turn-around time; however, I make the argument that if they want it to be effective, time is needed for me to learn the program and all of its capabilities.
On the flip side, it is also key for the students to be given time to explore the technology they will be using and having non-graded assignments that allow them to utilize something before they need to for a graded assignment is a great practice (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010). In addition, it is important for the facilitators to keep the technology simple (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010). Just because they have all of this technology they could use, doesn’t mean it should be used. Technology needs to enhance the learning and that is a key element to keep in mind when developing online courses. It’s easy to want to use every program we have access to because they all offer great features; however, those features may be better in one online course than in another – so focusing on the courses’ goals and purpose and the learners, will help in the choosing of technology.
Nice blog!
-Teri
References
Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hey Janet,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your example of your son. I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with these discussion groups, whenever people start to respond and after awhile all you see are tabs. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have everyone in just one big area like that. Discussion activities provide an expressive space for learners to process, analyze, and make connections among ideas (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010) I think with splitting the groups up you get more connections like we do in our class and definitely more discussion.
"Textbooks should be relevant to the course." That is so true, but as I think back to my college days I know there were many many classes that the textbook played a small role in the class. Never really thought about it until now about how good these classes at Walden have been with making sure the textbook meets the material being taught.
Resources:
Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Great points and blog!
Kyle
Hi Janet,
ReplyDeleteCommunicating effectively is very important in an online environment. The syllabus, rubric, textbook, deadlines, and resources have to be clear so the learner will know now to proceed with the lesson each week. Having a question and answer section is important because it allows students to get clarity on issues that may be confusing. As you stated, clear and concise communication are essential in the online learning environment
Hi Janet,
ReplyDeleteI see you mentioned Walden using Turnitin.com. This software we use in our high school. So now from what I hear this year they have started implementing plagiarism detection in Middle School. ( only occasionally)
When they get to 9th grade they are familiar with it and have an account.
Also you mention the facilitator where you work is unable to change the shell. This is a something I never give much thought to but make good sense. Thanks for sharing You have some great insight!
Great Post!