Sunday, January 13, 2013

Online learning

In Education you have facilitators and learners, Knowing your role is very important. Most students have to have those boundaries set to set a tone or a mood. Essentials are defined roles between the student and the presenter to eliminate confusion. This starts with clear and direct communication from the Facilitator being teacher, instructor, Professor or what ever title you utilize.The course is only as easy as the knowledge you have and as good as the communication between the Facilitator and the learner. So yes you have an abundance of knowledge but can you present it to me, and can I convey it. The Facilitator should be accessible, in my experience professors who could not be reached made the situation challenging. Communities can be sustained through having people but you need clear direct communication and accessibility to one another. Social presence is needed for the course can be successful, meaning we are here even without the physical presence but we can interact via the set vehicles of communication. The online learning communities significantly impact both student learning learning because it creates a dynamic where the facilitator and the learner are equal participates.(Dr. Renata Palloff). Once again essentials are defined roles between the student and the presenter to eliminate confusion. One would say hook your student communicate with them, you retain them due to good communication and setting the tone. Video: "Evaluating Distance Learning Theory" (approximate length: 12 minutes). Dr. Saba discusses the importance of evaluating online learning theory and provides a rubric for determining which theories are best for building teaching strategies. Video: "Online Learning Communities" (approximate length: 44 minutes). Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt define "Online Learning Communities" and highlight the benefits of creating a learning community for facilitators of online learning experiences. Garcis, H. (2010). Getting successful as a distance learner. Retrieved May 25, 2011 from http://EzineArticles.com/3803925. Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson. Moore, M. (1991). Distance Education Theory. The American Journal of Distance Education, 5(3). Retrieved April 19, 2009, from http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol5_3.htm

1 comment:

  1. Hi Lawrance,
    I wholeheartedly agree with you about making the course appear easy for the learners. Course content needs to be delivered to the learners in a clear and concise way or they will be left to "figure it out" and become frustrated (Ragan, n.d.), possibly losing faith in online education. After all, what good is the delivery of knowledge when the learners can't use it because it is not understandable?
    Unfortunately, I have had instructors, both online and in f-2-f learning experiences, that seemed unreachable, or were difficult to reach. Boettcher and Conrad, (2010), believe that the number one Best Practice for teaching is to Be Present at the Course Site. Faculty that are present and available to the learners are considered the best instructors. The instructor's presence assures me that I have a fair chance of gaining knowledge and passing the course. It scares me when I need someone to help me with a course issue and no one answers my questions.

    References:
    Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
    Ragan, L. (2010). Faculty Focus. Penn State University. 10 Principles of Effective Online Teaching: Best Practices in Distance Education. Retrieved from www.FacultyFocus.comT he teaching professor blog.http://www.eou.edu/~bb/workshops/10%20Principles%20of%20Effective%20Online%20Te aching.pdf

    ReplyDelete