What do you see as the challenges of online learning and age mix?
What are the challenges others are facing when working with groups and a broad age-range mix, especially when it comes to technical savvy?
Cheryl ,
In my experience student in an online environment do not like working in groups for the following reason(s):
• They feel they work best alone
• Other will not give the same effort
• Does not have time to communicate with others
One sugestion would be to give let the class or student know how this will benefit them.
Example: Getting experience working with others with differing learning styles and capabilities is
highly beneficial because it will often happen to you in the workplace.
When it comes do dealing with age many of the younget student adapt and naviagte well with any learning management system. The older adult learners struggle with locating information and naviagating but often the older learnings are more organized and ask questions. The younger learnings may not ask as many questions or get in engage as much unless it benefits their grade. To combat that is always good to have a forum avaliable week one in which you poses questions that get the students talking about strenghth and weaknesses teachnical and as a leaner and what they hope to learn for the course. It will give you a pulse of the class.
Antoine Lewis
I have about 4 different age groups! I have the late 40's, 20-25, and 30-35 group and fresh out of high school. Plus a couple of my students have a language barrier. The older students don't have a computer at home and still have a flip phone with no internet or texting.(My hand is up cause I have a phone like that)Some have computers but don't have time for it or an intrest. Then there's the younger group that won't use the internet for nothing but socializing. It's a huge challenge keeping the phones turned off and out of sight.
Hands on lessons will keep the attention of the whole group, but the younger group catches on fast and becomes a disruption when waiting to move on.
I use humor or shock value when I' able to tell stories from over the years of working in the public. Does anyone have any other ways they have used humor to keep a class ingaged?
Corina,
Humor and real-world situations often help bring the focus back to the task at hand but can also lead to side conversations within the classroom so be careful with that. With such a large age range it may be best to have ice breaker related to the course and group projects or presentations to hold everyone accountable.
Antoine Lewis
Yes, humor does cause a group to get off subject. For an icebreaker, slides would come in handy? In cosmetolohy there are lots of things that are hard to picture by explaing. So if I had slides of infected toenails or pictures of lice under the microscope...that would be an ice breaker! Now I need to learn how to make a slide and show it thru the projector :O)
I tried groups and tried to mix up the calm students with hyper ones to balance them out. I had the same problem when some students just wanted to be alone, and a student complained later that she never wanted to be in a group with a partictular student again, because that student only copied and had no input at all.
Corina,
With groups and icebreakers it is good to have guidelines and keep the groups 3-5. One idea is to have a debate on a topic or situation they may experience in the field and each group must present was solution they came up with no right or wrong answer.
Antoine Lewis
I have found that my younger students (18-25) rely on internet/smart phones more so than students over the age of 40. The younger students are much better at staying in touch with me with questions about assignments via their smart phones. Students in their 30's rely much more on email. Younger students are not intimidated at all with online learning; they have usually had experience with online learning in high school. The challenges are in demonstrating to older students that it really is easy to obtain information they need from the internet. I have been able to find some excellent learning videos on teachertube that I show in the classroom, and students of all ages enjoy that.
Cheryl,
Often time the younger generation is teaching the older generation how to use the latest technology. It is important to incorporate the computer basics in a class at least because it is a generation gap in education when it comes to computers. Older students tend to push back. Giving options on how an assignment can be delivered, providing tutorials and allowing time to just navigate and become familiar with a technology helps.
Antoine Lewis
Whether or not the class is online or in-house, there is an extreme difference with students coming out of high school and those coming to school in their 40's or 50's. It is extremely difficult to teach on one level. You have to be extremely flexible and understand how to avoid being boring vs. technically overwhelming. Many older students have really never used a computer, so asking them to create a powerpoint would be a daunting task for them.
Kevin,
Teaching various age groups can be challenging because of learning styles and the tech generation. Adapting our teaching is important. Have at least three delivery methods can help when onsite or online. The student having the option to listen, read and/or go through a hands on experience can allow a student to stay more engaged. Lastly, treating the first day of a class like orientation and have an ice breaker can allow you to share information regarding possible technical challenges you may have to face and better prepare.
Antoine Lewis
The challenges are the lack of face to face conversation. In a true conversation there are not the 'taking turns' you have with online responses. In face to face conversation you can react to part of a sentence and the other person can response to that. Plus, the lack of facial expressions and voice tones.
Lanette,
I agree that face to face conversation is a component that is missed in an online environment. The plus is the flexibility to respond which allow student in various parts of the world to communicate.
According to the LA Times
" As colleges are rushing -- or being pushed -- to embrace online education, they might want to take pause: Most students prefer connecting with teachers and fellow students and don’t want to take all of their classes online, a new study suggests"
Antoine Lewis
With the different age groups you also have different learning experiences. Some of the more mature learners may have very little experience with technology and fear it. While your younger learners have grown up with technology and embrace it. Trying to find common ground can sometimes be quite challenging. This is compounded by having the class all online. I am sure there are many students that would love to learn the material. They may shy away from online class due to the lack of understanding how to use the technology of an online class.
Michelle,
This is a problem many faculty members face with an online course. The older students it can be technology and the younger students it is learning how to be an independent learning. By trail/error and communication/follow up one can help the student with any frustrations/challenges.-Good Luck
Antoine Lewis
I have a broad range of ages in my classroom from right out of high school at age 18 to mid 60's. Lucky for me, I happen to be right in the middle, so I can relate to both. I am trying to keep up with technological advancements as my older students do, while enjoying the knowledge I DO have like my younger students do. I am willing to share with my students as well as learn right along with them. So while it is a challenge keeping that happy medium with regards to technology in the classroom, it is also a pleasure keeping up with the younger students while at the same time adapting and learning the newest advancements with the older ones.
Maria,
This is a tough balancing act when you have a large range like the one you mentioned. Many instructors/institutions offer video tutorials to assist students with the technical aspect. Often the older students understand the material quicker but have trouble using the learning platform and vice versa for the younger students.
Antoine Lewis
Teaching any class now involves technology and the younger students are more involved with technology and easily comprehend and manipulate the programs with ease. The older students need more one-on-one instruction and coaxing to learn the systems and take advantage of what can be learned. In a classroom that is multi-generational if is sometimes difficult to reach all students. The best recourse is to have a course for students that are not tech savvy prior to entering a course that is technical. Also, allow the younger studenets to assist the other students can bring the classroom closer and allow the yournger students the oppotunity to understand that teaching others is a a great opportunity.
Janet,
This a good concept but often hard to do unless you have an assessment of some kind showing who how technically savy a student is. As faculty keeping it simple or providing alternate options as needed has worked for me when dealing with a multi-generational group
Antoine Lewis
I, like the responder above have found that the younger students rely on internet and smart phones more so than students over the age of 35. Younger students look forward to online learning, assignments and projects. Many of my older students 50 and above may not even have a computer, internet or a smart phone. I realize when making assignments due on-line in a campus based class, you also need to allow hard-copy turn-ins as well.
Linda,
This is a good compromise for our students. The problem we often have is one instructor does this but not all faculty will do this during their duration of the program. This accommodation could be used for quizzes also depending on the grading options for the institutions.
Antoine Lewis
