Instructors are facilitators of an online course and need to provide students with expectations of effective communications in order to have a successful online course.
A instructor should define the expectations of the students, the syllabus should establish the expectations of student engagment. Communication is a key factor in a online cousre .
Looking at graes of student assessment as well as student feedback is essential in modifying how the instructor is getting information across.
Feedback is important and a good gauge of the effectiveness of the course. It is normal to expect a certain degree of complaining about technology and the facilitator but if it is excessive it would be an indicator that something is wrong and re-evaluation needs to occur. As facilitator, it is the instructor's job to foster communication of all types and build relationships.
Feedback is key!! You need to structure the course in such a way that engages students and helps them to to buy into the course from the start. This can even include having the students participate in structuring as well.
Learned techiques to promote effective interaction and dialogue.
Students need feedback on assignments. Educators also must self evaluate what is working and what can be improved in courses.
Its, again, interesting how the author of this course was able to categorize the roles a teacher plays in a class - instructor, social director, program manager and IT asst. I feet like I have always filled one or the other shoe in a class but it never occured to me to "name" these roles.
Also interesting how important a syllabus becomes in communicating course expectations, esp when learning transitions online.
It is important to determine how successful facilitation was in the course. Healthy online communication important with all participants.
In the Teaching and Organizing a Virtual Learning Environment class module three, I learned about the many roles of the instructor and how important each role is to the success of his/her students. Also, the need to reflect on the course and its many facets is important as instructors need to continuously improve their teaching methods.
Feedback must be provided consistently. It is important to note that whatever is shared will be taken literally by the students. The learning-outcomes are directly affected by the instructional vehicles the instructor chooses to use to communicate content. Student evaluations and assessments help inform the instructor if changes need to be made in order to more effectively provide what students need.
Communication is key and providing feedbackto the students is extremely helpful.Engaging then makes the learning process so much easier. Being available for them as well.
Overall, another well written and organized module full of good teaching tips for the online environment, but on balance, a fair amount of the information provided applies to a well-run traditional classroom as well. For example, whether you are teaching a synchronous, asynchronous or traditional classroom, technology and technology tools are important in all three environments. The same is true for having a good course framework, consistent guidelines and effective teacher communications. Finally, being able to facilitate and encourage student engagement and having student growth and success is the most important measurement or result that makes all that effort worthwhile!
Feedback is important for students to know where they are and how they are doing. It is also important for teachers to use all their knowledge of the students for evaluation.
Feedback is essential to updating a course to improve student learning but should not just be from students.
I have learned how to be an effective facilitator of learning through independent learning. I like the idea of asynchronous learning, but the maturity of the student must be evaluated often in order to have positive outcomes.
THe teacher acts a a facilitator in many ways.
Watch for "busy" work. Make sure engagement has pupose.
Feedback between student and teacher is highly important; it impacts student's participation during the course.
The instructor should be an administrator, technology helper, social administrator. Feedback is an important part of communication.
