Chantel Clark

It is important to continuously update and revise the course as necessary. As formative feedback is given those changes should be made in a timely manner so they do not get fogotten about, or the changes that need to be made take a long time after the summative, which is not a time management strategy. 

Group work has always been a struggle for me personally, and I deal with students being reluctant in F2F environments to work in groups. I think that assigning roles and having students participate in peer feedback prior to evaluating the end product will help with students working together productively. 

It is importand to make sure that you plan and create a viable schedule that makes sense within the scope of your life. The times that you are available to students need to be clearly conveyed to aviod frustration among students, or for them to assume that you are ALWAYS online and avilable to assist them. Then more planning that is done for the overall design and function of the course prior to the course being active, the more time the instructor has to support students.

Individuals who have not had experience in the online learning environment may not understand the importance of organization and time management within the online learning platform. As an instructor the way the class is organized and the way expectations are initially set up can cause ineffeciency in communication which can waste time. I especially appreciate the idea of only checking e-mail at specific times in the day to aviod getting distracted and completing other tasks in a more efficient manner.

It is imparative to help students recognize what their goals are and how the course fits within the scope of their goals. Once there is that realization the instuctor needs to help students manage their time appropriately by encouraging students to use a calendar, give reminders of upcoming due dates and give an approximation of how long an assignment may take. Procrastination can lead to students to give low quality work or to stress themselves out. 

As an online instructor there are many tools that can be used for synchronous and asynchronous comminucation. Based off the course the instructor needs to decide what is going to be best to deliver the content, with the thought in mind of students' abilities. Not all tools need to be used, and these digital platforms should not be overwhelming but support and engage learners.

In order for our courses to be successful online we need to be effective communicators and we need to clearly communicate our expectations to our students about how to communicate. I know personally, I tend to process information quickly, and I tend to overlook my errors when I submit messages, and I know that can lead to a lot of confusion- I need to make sure that I take the time to carefully double check my messages before I send them out. 

Starting off the course it is important to gauge students current abilities including strengths and weaknesses related to learning online. It is important for instructors to use that information and provide resources and support students with their weaker areas so they can be successful within the course. 

It is important to create a class community and keep discussion boards organized as a way to set a framework of the discussion- This keeps discussions more on track and prevents an overly long feed. Students need to be provided with rubrics if they are going to be assessed on their discussion posts so they understand the expectation of the content specfic discussion forums. 

I have always considered the different abilities in technology, but never necessarily by generations. It is important to be clear and consise in communication and to use a variety of tools to allow for communication among all stakeholder groups- while keeping in mind not to overwhelm students with unnecessary or irrelevent communication tools.