When using technology, the follow are items I deem important:
1. Ability of the student to use the technology is important
2. Troubleshooting Guide
3. All students have the same technology
(1) If the student does not know how to save a file (as an example), detailed instructions need to be provided. I send them to YouTube!
(2) A trouble shooting guide has been a life saver for me in a Microsoft Office Applications class. Students panic and cannot find a link right under their noses!
(3) Some on line students are a version or two behind in Office products and operating systems. Again, You Tube has saved the day!
1) Communication with the student
2) Answer e-mails the same day or within hours
3) Be available during reasonable hours to answer student questions
Carolyn,
Yes. The students ability and access are essential. When they are able to effectively use and troubleshoot their technology issues, the better. Thanks for your input.
Steven ,
Right on. These are all excellent suggestions for effective communications with students.
Nice job.
Hello Tena,
I agree with you. I tend to spend a good 15 minutes in the first chat trying to find a rapport with my students. The most important part is taking an interest in their future plans and attempting to assess how they are looking to use the information they learn in the class towards those goals. Brion.
Tena,
I think that there are several things that I would look at in evaluating my tools. Firat, would the tools make things more efficient for my students or complicate things? If these are new students, I think that it would be better to take it slow at first with new students rather than overwhelming. Second, I think it would be important to assess the type of course that I would be instructing. For instance, a research course may be more effective with a simple chalk board and text to allow the students questions to be responded to -while it may be more effective to use more advanced technology in other courses. I also think that it really depends on the teaching style of the instructor. An instructor that uses the socratic methods may have different needs than an instructor that uses a more visual learning technique. Just my thoughts. Brion.
Hello Jill,
Yes, I agree with you about your statement about downloading. I have noticed that with the most advanced technology that I have used- it has seemed to have caused much more headaches for students and tech help. Thus, sometimes the most advanced technology, though effective as it is, can be the most counterproductive. Brion.
When assessing the use of technology communication tools in a virtual learning environment, I would say that three of the most important things to consider are function of the technology, the way in which it will be used, and the needs of the students. All of these things should match because a disconnect in either area would undoubtedly diminish effectiveness of the tool.
Kevin
Brion.,
Excellent. Sounds like you are trying to get to know your students and develop that community. Keep up the good work.
Brion.,
It's hard to narrow it down sometimes, but you've done a good job. The content and type of course does impact how we teach and connect with our students. Thanks again for your input.
Brion & Jill,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. I always try to use the lowest technology that will work for what I need it to do. It alleviates some headaches.
Dr. Kevin,
Yes, the technology has to do what you want it to do and help the students learn. Thanks for your input.
How effective is the tool for communicating the message.
How esay is the tool for the student to use and is it asynchronous.
How easy is the tool for the instructor to use.
I believe when assessing the use of technology communication tools in a virtual learning environment it is wise to consider the following: 1) As the instructor, do I love this tool? What is my comfort level or skill level? Will I be able to be a positive role model using this tool? Will I be able to be an expert and help tutor students? Is this tool worth the time investment or will it soon be replace by another tool?
2) Does the technology enhance the overall communication? The tool must enhance the process, not be a burden. It must increase effectiveness, not decrease. Don’t just use technology for the sake of using technology.
3) Are the requirements of the technology communication tools in alignment with the university’s requirements for students? Many programs have technological requirements upon a student’s enrollment. It would be wise to know if the tool you are considering fits within the student’s current requirements. Are there any associated costs for the student?
Alan,
Good questions. We need to carefully consider the technology tool and how we communicate with our students.
Thanks.
Donna,
Thank you for providing your input through this forum in the question format. This helps others think about the questions they should ask when planning and teaching their online class. Thanks.
The important things to focus on can greatly change from class to class depending on the following aspects:
1. lecture or topic taught
2. class size
3. profile of students and their knolwedge and comfort in using one or the other technology.
While we are in a service oriented industry, we need to cater to our students in order for them retain and understand the information delivered and consider it also valuable to their learning progress.
When assessing the technology communication tool, it's essential to examine how the technology will impact the communication process. Before we choose a tool, we should plan how to communicate with students or how we prefer they communicate with you or each other.
Careful planning helps to have a smooth transition for those students who are not familiar with communicating online.
After careful planning, it’s very important for facilitator to gather data from students, analyze the data, and make necessary changes.
The assessment of the technology communication tool should be done in formative (during the course timeframe) and summative (end of course) formats. This provides feedback throughout the course timeframe and at the culmination of the course. It is important to assess the ease of use, instructor or learner control, technology requirements, etc. It is typical for online instructors to ask students approximately every three to five weeks (depending on the course timeframe) for formative feedback to ensure the communication technology is working properly and determine whether or not it is efficient. With ongoing feedback throughout the course, changes can be implemented immediately. With summative assessment, the entire communication tool can be assessed at the end of the course.
Three criteria or areas I look at when determining communication tools are student capabilities; student understanding, and assessment of course work.
With student capabilities, we all have students in our online courses who know much, much more than you or I when it comes to the tools and accessible functions for a virtual classroom. At the same time, we have all probably had students in our online courses who knew very little and were quickly overwhelmed with the technology requirements for the course. This falls into my second component- student understanding. As others have suggested in this thread, it is a great idea and thought to discuss capabilities and student understanding in a chat session or office hour very early in the course to allow for students to share their concerns.
Finally, the amount of assessment that is necessary in the course should factor in. Some students are verbal/linguistic learners and others fall into one of any of the other domains as suggested by Gardner and his MI approach. Some students need to hear us, some need to see us, and others can figure it out through an email or announcement in our virtual classroom.
You are correct. We have to adjust and be flexible. All of us have experienced that "down time" when the virtual campus is going through "maintenance" issues and upgrades. Always seems to happen about the time grades are due- ha ha!
