Janis,
Great example of converting an f2f course to online. I have some colleagues that do that it reduces workload of the instructor. The secret is you watched them!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Perry,
Do you really think online learning is a different type of learning or is it just the delivery we have to get used to (both instructors and students).
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jenifer,
I don't think it is a can't; it is a different. I find that focusing on my online course with tools and methodology helps my f2f course and vice versa.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Robert,
Great post. I haven't gone strictly no audio/video in a long time. I think that does make learning a challenge. If you are forced to do that, you really have to have great textbooks and elegant discussions.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Earl,
I love your analogy. It is not about content; it is about tools and delivery. You make great points!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kristina,
Thank you for sharing your tools. Do you now use these online tools in your f2f courses?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Carolyn,
True! When I first started teaching online I scripted my "lectures" recordings and thought I was very methodical and precise. Students thought I thought they were "slow" and hated the way I talked. This was so different than how I taught online. After that I threw out my script and did what I did in my f2f course, I was me. I use humor in my f2f; i use humor in my online. I am more deliberate about my speech but I try to be human.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Linda,
What a great post! You make great points, it is really not about the content; it is about the delivery!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Erica,
I do use quite a bit of group work in my online courses and to be honest, my group work in my f2f courses has really become more of a virtual team concept. So many of my f2f students work or have odd schedules and have begun "meeting" online. There are some great tools in my LMS to help facilitate this.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Beth,
I agree with you. You have to alter your delivery. I think we make it a bigger deal than it really is.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Terry,
I am not sure that f2f courses have feedback that is as robust as an online course. Good post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kimberly,
Great post. You are exactly right, you may have to "chunk" your content in smaller parts. That can be a challenge.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Hello Darlene!
That is wonderful that you have the experience in every single type of environment. I am sure that you are able to apply your knowledge across multiple courses. How do you use the knowledge you have obtained in the face-to-face environment to the online environment?
Hello,
There are several reasons why the face-to-face course content is not appropriate for the online courses. The face-to-face course content is intended for the teacher-centered environment. In this environment the instructor performs lectures and students interact very little. Typically, the online environment is student-centered. This requires a high degree of interactions. As a result, discussion boards and step-by-step process for completing tasks needs to be created. In addition, the material from PowerPoint lectures needs to be transferred with more information and additional examples of the material.
The first thing that comes to mind is assessments and a curriculum. These are some of the items that both a face to face and online course have in common. The presentation of these may be different but they are both needed in both types of delivery.
I do a lot of experiential activities and group discussions in my face-to-face courses. These personal, student interactions have to adapted to online courses.
On a face-to-face course, you may easily impart what you want the students to learn because you are there and the students are there. Whatever clarifications/questions they may have, you can address right away. This may not always be possible on an online course.
The educator is unable to relay the facial expressions, tone or voice enunciations and inflections. If the right technology can be blended such as with a Wiki you can use the pre-recorded voice over/video to record your lectures which may give it more of a real-life feel
Deanna, I agree that both learning platforms need to be more interactive. I can't tell you how bored I was listenting to lecture after lecture in a huge lecture hall for my undergraduate work.
Those instructors that were able to engage the class, ask questions, make students part of the learning experience really made a difference.
I think the online environment has taught us all that we need to be more engaging and sensitive to student's learning styles. I know I have seen some positive changes in F2F and online envrionments.
Some F2F content may be appropriate for online but it depends on the interactive components needed to meet the teaching and learning styles of instructors and students.
With F2F there is a built-in interactive component in lectures and discussions where visual cues are available to allow instructor to guage the interest and understanding of students. This is not the case in the online environments.
I am a big fan of project-based authentic learning and feel it should be used more in F2F. It is a great fit for online because it allows students to construct their learning based on their knowledge, research, etc.
Content needs to be adapted to meet the needs of the learning environment, teaching style of the instructor and learning styles of the students.
What to do in a hands on lab where observation and guidance is needed? Can you set up a web cam system to observe and guide? Sure, but this takes time, technology, and money to make this effective.
Bottom, line, it depends on a variety of factors.
