Get Your Students Hired
I'm ready! I would much prefer to fill in the blanks and oversee lab activities rather than try and explain in several learning styles the point at hand
Lealan,
Have you personally experienced issues where the missing non-verbal was an issue for you? Is it your non-verbal to the students or the students non-verbal toward you?
Herbert Brown III
Instructor presence adds to student success. I believe the biggest challenge is the lack of non-verbal communication. This is harder to convey in the online learning environment.
Andrea,
I agree with your reference to "tone." I have been teaching many years online and find that I can pick up the tone of message rather well. This is something that comes with time and experience online. First time online instructors will have to work on developing this over time.
Herbert Brown III
Professor Brown:
You are right you cannot read the body language, unless maybe you are doing a lot of synchronous video conferencing. I have found though over a number of years of teaching online that I can establish "tone" pretty well in the written communication with students (postings, email, etc.). It may not be as good as body language but the more you teach online I believe you establish a better feel for this.
Andrea: Hi Professor. Agreed. I don't really need a video chat, as I feel I am able to read students pretty well after instructing many years in the online environment utilizing audio and Power Point.
Jared: I feel to work around this problem more writen comunication will be needed. Also when reading a students response you have to read what the intent of the message is, not just the words.
Andrea: Hi Jared! I find always addressing a student by first name is beneficial in opening communication. I also relate personal experience from my daily work to open communication lines. Students also like to hear you may have a pet like they may.
What do you feel will be your biggest challenge in transitioning to a "guide on the side"?
During online courses, I am able to understand from student tone on the discussion board, email, and in class, how students are reading me as far as tone is concerned. I attribute this to nine years in facilitating online courses.
In a traditional classroom setting, students may read my body language as less engaging, as I find I am better relaying information online.
Hello,
As many on this post has already stated, not being able to visualize the student's body language and facial expressions is the biggest challenge for me in on-line teaching. Being a relative new instructor to the on-line environment, I struggle with whether the student is comprehending the subject matter.
I find that maintaining constant communication helps me to overcome this challenge for those that are responsive to you. Now, the students tha are not actively engaged and choose not to communicate with me, I'm still challenged with this issue.
One of the most important ways to maintain an Instructor presence is to be active in the discussions and quickly responsive in providing feedback on discussions and assignments.
Online in fact provides a greater "presence" than on campus classes. Consider that on campus a student will have class one or two times per week.
Online, that can happen every day.
Anthony j Matias
Aida,
I am glad you noted that you like to be the facilitator for BOTH online and face to face. Sometimes we forget that the facilitator role works just as effectively in the traditional classroom as online.
Herbert Brown III
I enjoy being the "guide on the side" in both my face to face classes and online. Communication is the key and critical especially when you are trying to reach those who have difficulty understanding the assignments.
I struggled with this topic when first developing a course. It is a hard transition to go from the classroom to the virtual classroom. However, being tech savvy and being able to have access to my course, e-mail and other forms of communication at all times will help me to interact with my students. Also, this will allow my personality and body language shine through.
Alicia,
Do you have opportunities to connect with the students through a "live" medium (phone, video conf.) when the feedback is sensitive? Oftentimes it is a little easier and portrays a much clearer message through live medium.
Herbert Brown III
I have found that it's very challenging to discern the tone and intent of the student (and vice versa), especially when discussing sensitive issues such as poor performance or reprimand. It's important that students feel supported and encouraged, therefore, we must be especially cautious of conveying disappointed or frustration in our communication with them.
I think that the biggest challenge is getting students comfortable asking questions - either in the public forum or in a private e-mail. In the traditional classroom I am able to see the look on their face along with completing immediate application activities that help guage the students level of comfort with the material. In an online classroom, I have to rely on student communication.
John,
I am sure your relaxed approach allows students to feel they can open up a little more and might encourage stronger discussions and interactions.
Herbert Brown III
Not only do I set the tone of the classroom through my personal bios but also through ongoing encouraging posting. I enjoy posting Inspirational quotes that go with the topic I am teaching that week. I want to students to feel like they are in a relax atmosphere like a coffee shop but with the professionalism of an office environment. It’s a delicate balance but I do feel that it necessary to have in an educational setting.
Best Wishes,
John
Kimberly,
It is not wrong. The online environment does have more of what you describe. I find that I can head off a good bit of this by having very clear expectations articulated to the students at the beginning of the semester. However, I do admit that I am a little more lenient with my online classes and excuses than in my traditional courses.
Herbert Brown III
This may sound "wrong", but I think the biggest challenge I face is getting used to "hand holding" more. It seems within an online environment students seem to procrastinate more and expect instructors to give extensions on assignments for reasons such as "I forgot" or "I got busy". I seem to do more reminding about reading announcements to find important information.
By paying attention to the what the student is saying and how they do on their graded assignments. Being proactive and showing them you're open to and like to help them when they have problems is key. The biggest hurdle in the program I teach is fear of math. I tell them fear is False Evidence Appearing Real and that they not only create the fear but that equates to giving their power away to math and letting it rule them. My favorite example is females who say they suck at math and then you talk to them about their hobbies like shopping at the mall and going into a shoe sale. I can show them they are doing Algebra and percentages in their head and now they say they fear the same thing when the only difference is we are doing it with the metric system and not money.