Scott Olsen

I have said for years that any degree is also a degree in organization. This has not decreased with technology but rather increased as file systems and hard copy paper forms have become digital. However, while most of us would not dream of having analog files in one stack in a corner and consider that organized, many do not consider their electronic system of organization with files, nesting, and ease of access a focus or priority. This not only needs to occur with the professor but that needs to be transmitted to the student, lest they are buried in the… >>>

After significant emphasis on a personal connection, timely response and grading, and regular communication this course begins to address the kind of organization that makes those efforts possible. Unless an instructor wants their one, part-time, online class to eat up 40 hours of their workweek, then organization, and creating systems is a must. 

This section covers important are including helping students establish goals and see goals as relevant to their lives, and planning. Perhaps most interesting is suggesting timeframes that will be needed for the completion of specific tasks. It is interesting that on one hand social science studies suggest that our attention span is shorter than ever, students still have the capacity to spend long durations of time binge playing video games or binge-watching streaming services. Maybe it isn't the attention span but a vision for the task that needs to be evaluated?

There is much to consider with learning tools. The incorporation of too few tools may lead to a boring environment that does not tap into the full potential of learning, but the incorporation of too many tools may lead to the course serving the tools more than the tools serving the learning. Finding the balance or what works best for any given course and its objectives is what is important. And then making the most of those tools so that students can construct learning and build community.

As these sessions continue it becomes more clear that miscommunication with students is much different than F2F classroom teaching. Also the development of a community or a Community of Practice (CoP) is also challenging. This certainly underlines what has been previously discussed relative to the communication skills of the instructor.

The student's readiness has multiple parts. The access and abilities with technology, their experience in learning systems, and their time management and self-motivation. While none of these can be taken for granted, the third aspect is one that I find students are often ill-prepared for. In the home, some have no model of ongoing self-education or continuing education from which to learn, nor do they have in-home coaches and support systems that underline the importance of and the practical necessities when it comes to keeping up with concrete let alone abstract commitments. Much needs to be done relative to time-management… >>>

Communication and Collaboration as necessary complementary elements is a new goal for me. Within course, the potential weakness of communicating facts onto a discussion board and often getting limited feedback can be improved by collaboration which encourages knowledge generation and negotiation for consensus.

So much is determined by expectations. Without clarification of expectations, communication may never elevate above a reflective text message however if expectations are clear, robust, and professional communication among students will thrive. Establishing expectations has to be the first order of business so that all students get off-and-running- from the first days of class.

Seems simple, but thinking through this process is so important. In reality, this kind of communication helps to ensure that all students have even access to instructors the time and can develop an appropriate connection to the instructor. Additionally, guidelines that are created assist the evenness of student engagement with each other or in group projects.

Communication continues to be a challenge, despite the various options for communicating. We have now begun to experience a dependency on technology, and the standstill that occurs when servers fail or networks are downs. But it is also challenging in trying to organize communication and then save attachments, send and receive sort communications, share files for collaboration. All this is evidence that communication protocols need to be communicated for each class, at the outset of the class, to ensure that the needed communication for the specific class occurs. Communication theorist affirms that as relationship increase so does the communication channels.… >>>