Get Your Students Hired
James,
As you scaffold the information, you can help them to be successful in your class. You're right in that they are all different, but it's great to see you working to help all students. Nice job.
Nancy,
Everything you do may help motivate the students. Knowing the content, proving good feedback, and helping them learn are all motivating. Thanks!
David and Donna,
Our feedback should help motivate students to learn and help them see how to improve. This definitely should boost self-esteem and not reduce it. Thanks for bring up that point.
Debra,
We are all different (just as our students are) and it's great to see you working toward enhancing the learning of all students. So many times those "cracks" get big and students get lost. Thanks!
Hello Donna,
I agree that the quality of the educational experience is the ultimate goal. Utilizing a number of learning approaches and providing substantive feedback are two excellent ways to ensure a quality experience.
Jim
Tena,
I believe that the three most important things to consider when teaching an online course are: the learning modes of the students, the backgrounds of the students and the course information to provide. I feel that these three things are critical to enabling the students to build their scaffold of information. The overarching question is: What can I do to enable a student to successfully build and maintain their scaffold. Each student’s scaffold will be built differently. I need to provide the necessary tools to allow this to happen.
Jim
If you are not designing the course but teaching it, the three most important things to consider are:
1) to know all the contents and evaluations to help students when they require advice.
2) to motivate students to participate by asking them questions related to the material to verify learning.
3) to make them remember they have to comply with all the activities to get good grades.
HI Donna,
I agree with your posting but I think that one aspect that should be added to your topic is the critique of the student should attempt to avoid causing a lack of self esteem. If the student is not receiving understanding with the criticism then my experience is they shut down.
David
When teaching online courses, I think the 3 most important things to consider are:
1. Who are my students, and am I reaching all of them? Everyone is different, and not all of them will want to communicate the same way. Some of them truly want to be left alone, while others want to be checked on periodically, and some want to stay in constant communication. Being okay with any of them, while making sure everyone’s needs are met, is important.
2. Don’t let anyone fall through the cracks. It’s so easy to “forget†about students who gradually fade away. And once they’ve faded, it’s incredibly difficult to get them back on track.
3. Enthusiasm. The students’ enthusiasm for the subject reflects my own enthusiasm. If I’m not passionate about the topic I’m teaching, the students won’t be, either.
Sean,
A good "welcome" can go a long way. I seem to do it differently each semester and always think i can do it better. But, the key is to do it. Thanks for your input.
What I consider to be three important things to consider when teaching an online course are:
1. How to engage/communicate to my students. I send out a "Welcome" email to my students with a lot of information and ask what are the best options of how to contact them. The letter also contains the various ways of contacting me.
2. The level of information to the level of the students. Teaching computers online I talk about how to get from point A to Point B but focus on the means of getting there. I don't make things overly complicated for students to not understand.
3. Supporting my students. If issues arise I work with them in the context of the class. If they need an extension on an assignment or test because of a serious issue I let them have it. I don't want them to feel that they are doing the class alone.
Katherine,
These all definitely relate to each other. We have to know who we are teaching and what we are teaching. This all leads to the learning objectives and the course expectations. Thanks for your input.
It is important to consider your audience, the curriculum, and the expectations of the course.
Robert,
Right on! Time management skills are important and we have to help students learn how to prioritize things and get assignments done on time. Thank you.
Robert and Craig,
Thanks for continuing the conversation and the references to help others learn. Keep it up.
Thanks!
Robert,
Thanks for your extensive post. You provide great content to help others learn more about teaching online. Communication must be clear and timely and it's important to assess each technology tool to make sure it meets our needs. Developing those time management skills and helping motivate students is key elements as well. Nice job.
Delivering assignments on time is a real world skill!! I also emphasize this expectation.
I very much agree with you Craig regarding preparation. Doing sound research about the topic can make the difference between an interesting and "tune it out" instructor presentation. I recently delivered a lecture in a grad healthcare course about Kotter's 8 steps for organizational change and its application to hospital administration. I added background about Alfred Kotter and the historical context in which he worked. Perhaps not surprising many of the students assumed he was dead! Which would be a great surprise to his family. By providing some background the students could engage better with his work and concepts.
In response to this forum question I’d offer the following four significant key instructor lessons. These are in addition to the other well stated replies from our group.
1. Students appreciate regular communication and timely feedback on their progress.
I teach clinical and non-clinical healthcare courses, so students often come to my courses feeling anxious about the subject matter. Students may also feel anxious at the thought of taking an online course and it should be part of the instructor's job to put students at ease right from the beginning.
It is important for the students to know I'm there if they need help. I strive to create a supportive online community where students can be free to take risks in discussion, attempting to explain their understanding of challenging concepts and ideas. For this reason, it's crucial that the instructor have a presence online using all of the tech vehicles available, e.g. chat rooms, live lecture, discussion boards, etc.
2. Many great tools exist but aren't always necessary.
Many amazingly cool tools can be used in online courses but it's important to balance what's necessary against what will make the site look impressive.
My approach has been to keep things simple. Video, audio, and live lecture supported by slides and use of a ‘blackboard’ all have their place, but I worry about the student who has technological barriers to accessing it all.
Slowly over the years I have selectively added and used technology. But I’m cautious to identify what is absolutely necessary to achieve the learning goals and separate these tools from those that are simply snazzy.
3. Students need extrinsic motivation.
Some students are motivated by wanting to learn the material and wanting to practice applying what they learn, while other students need to be motivated extrinsically. In a traditional F2F classroom an instructor presenting directly in front of the students may be extrinsic motivation enough. Online, however, if an assignment is not collected or graded, some students will simply skip it, even if you strongly encourage them to do it for the sake of their education, careers, and obtaining a better understanding the material.
If I see a student making significant progress in a course I’ll send them an email of encouragement. Also, substantive postings that truly add to a discussion are recognized with an acknowledgment.
4. Provide students with work deadlines.
Deadlines keep students on task and ensure that they are working through the material at a similar pace. Sometimes, I've heard students use the terms "self-paced" and "individual study" to describe online learning, and it makes me cringe. Flexibility is one thing, but it doesn't mean "no deadlines," nor does it mean that students can work at whatever pace they want.
Flexibility means that from week to week students can have some choice in terms of when they sit down to do their work. But they will encounter deadlines on a weekly basis. In learning, ideas build on others and take advantage of scaffolding in course content, and instructors need to help students create the foundation they need to better understand the more complex ideas and concepts that they will encounter later in the course or even in the successive course. And, I want to make sure that students are working at a similar pace so they can engage in real discussion.
Ejike,
Rubrics help us provide timely communication and help us also provide meaningful feedback. This instills a good communication process as well. Thanks!