Tina Stavredes

Hi Marcus, well put! I think it depends on the instructor, but there is no comparison between the way information can be delivered via lecture and the written word in an online environment! The energy in the class has a huge impact! Tina

Hi Tim, do you worry that sharing too much in the discussions will lead learners to think about an issue the same way you do? Tina

Hi Tim, I have also had issues with learners not understanding the role I will play in course activities such as discussions, so it's a good idea to be very clear to learners how you will engage with them throughout the course. Tina

Hi Tim, one of the ways we overcome this is a roadmap that shows the alignment of all of the course activities to the goals and objectives of the course. In addition, by helping learners understand the relevance of the activities to real world practice they are less likely to challenge the activities. Tina

Hi Tim, I agree; however, the cost of keeping up f2f classrooms is great, so there are advantages to offering more classes online. At some institutions, they are offering most of their f2f classes to freshmans and sophmores and moving juniors and seniors to the online environment. Tina

Hi Jenny, one of the ways we have been trying to support learners is by developing more visual representations of the course content. We are trying to organize content using different types of graphical organizers to help learners visually represent and organize information for improved learning. Tina

Hi John, we have larger classes at Capella University [25-30], which requires us to find additional strategies for developing presence in discussions. We have been using weaving techniques, to summarize discussions continuously throughout the week and provide additional ideas to direct the discussion. It has been working well. Tina

Hi Charlotte, this is important information to include in your expectations. Do you have expectations for your students to follow? Tina

Hi Cindy, does that mean you would be willing to change the discussion to meet an individual learners' needs? Tina

Hi Cindy, for instance you can state the number of days they need to be active in discussions, how many learners they need to interact with in discussion, the expectations for learners if they get behind, policies and procedures. You should also make it clear what they can expect from you in regards to the turn around time on grading assignments, how you will interact with them in discussions, etc. By setting expectations at the beginning of the course, you can keep from disunderstandings, frustration, and unmet expectations from occuring. Tina