I would have to say that course content created for a face-to-face course can not be appropriate for an online course because face-to-face courses are designed for synchronous communication. Online courses are designed for asynchronous communication to accommodate the various schedules of distance learners.
I find online learning much more difficult to teach than F2F communication. I cannot read students and getting their responses is sometimes like pulling teath.
One thing I have noticed in an online environment is that students don't always listen to the live chat recordings. I usually discuss the assignment in the first of our two live chats and even give them hints to the answers. They sometimes get a little confused when they read the unit assignment. I can always tell by the quality of their work if they listened to my discussion.
Being very clear on what the requirements are is important in the online environment. That is why it is so important to write the assignment so there is no confusion. In an F2F environment you can explain the assignment to the students and see if they have that confused look on their faces.
Much of the F2F course content is designed for immediate feedback and continuous interaction. An online environment usually has a different evaluation method of the course objectives. With this in mind, the entire course does not align in the same fashion. The objectives can be the same for F2F courses and online, however the ability to "read" a student in an online environment is not the same and therefore the evaluation methods must be modified. As the program states, it would be easier to design a new course with similar objectives then attempt to modify a F2F course.
I agree with Anthony that some classes are designed for synchronous communication and the online class is designed for asynchronous and sometimes they should not be compromised.
Ty,
You are right, I would also add consistency to the point of repetition.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Keisha,
Do you think it is the content or the delivery? If it isn't appropriate, would you have to go through curriculum process to change a course to f2f to online?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jim,
Do you set expectations and hold students to the expectations? I find when I make it points worthy. It can be a challenge. . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Marie,
You are right. I find unless you make it "valuable" to the student they won't listen. You can make it participation points. if that would help.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Bill,
I agree with you. It may not be the content that needs to be changed but course design and delivery. Course design becomes a very important to the online environment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
William,
That is true. Also, if an instructor seems dead set against teaching online, maybe they shouldn't. If an instructor doesn't believe they can be successful, what do you think the students should believe?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I believe that much of the course content created for face-to-face courses is appropriate for an online course. The transformation of the content to create a more interactive course is the issue. In a f2f, information is often presented as a "lecture" to the students. In an online course, that same information can be presented in smaller bites, then some time of interactive technologies (including web links, videos) can be used to enhance the smaller bites of "lecture" material then interactive quiz questions (such as drag and drop, matching questions) to review material/evaluate learning before moving on to the next small bite of materials. I have created several online course reviews for traditional classroom courses with a great deal success. Students have been engaged and enthusiastic about these course reviews. It is possible to take that content from a f2f course and transform it to successful online content.
Hello All,
Many actions and reactions that are part of the learning process in a F2F are communicated through body language and other environmental actions that require the instructor and students to be physically present. This factor and the pace and asynchronous method of online delivery prevents exact replication.
Thank you.
Kelly
Beverly,
I agree with you. It is about design and delivery. The smaller learning "chunks" have to be done. Do you think your f2f courses get better when you convert it to online?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kelly,
You are right! You have to find a way to create and read new "cues" that will help in online learning. It may be creating learning quizzes that determine learning. It may be having them evaluate the course regarding comfort and ease of learning. We typically do these tasks with classroom discussion.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
F2F courses rely heavily on lecture and on small group projects done within the classroom. These are times when the instructor circulates and reinforces the activities. Lectures are interactive as well.
And some may not work well without faculty-student interaction. Especially not when there's no way to interpret short comments.
I teach medical courses and always have extremely interactive discussions in F2F classrooms about patient privacy. But they rely on controversial topics which engage the students before they really think about the privacy topic that we're discussing. I wouldn't take the same risk in an online classroom. I can't see the faces and can't anticipate their responses well enough. I'd risk offending someone. And that might throw them off participating in the course.
Nancy
Nancy,
You may be able to do it as long as you have expectations set as part of the course. You may want them to share but you set the tone and make sure students understand what you expect regarding integrity of the course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Wilkinson,
The content created for a face-to-face could be appropriate for an online course with modifications to fit the multiple learning styles that are unknown, and the unknown times of access. With those changes, we might find the time to modify was greater than simply starting over!
Thanks,
Cynthia
cynthia,
Great point. I do think it is in the instructional design, matching objectives to learning objects, to assessments. But, that could help the f2f courses too!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Course content created for a face-to-face (F2F) course is not appropriate for an online course because online course content must be developed to synchronize with all components of the curriculum, meeting course objectives conducive to the online learning environment. Student engagement is an important factor in online teaching with course design being suitable for all students involved in the course.
