The Responsibilities of Teaching Online
I have to disagree. The responsibilities, whether teaching a residential or online course, should be the same... which is to ensure that the students achieve the learning outcomes of the course. Although the responsibilities are the same, the method of teaching is different. Even the skills needed for an online instructor versus a residential instructor are different.
In a traditional classroom setting, teachers have the immediacy of face-to-face interaction with students. In an online course, however, that face-to-face interaction is not there. Even if the online class is synchronous, that face-to-face interaction becomes very different.
In a traditional classroom, an instructor may never have to write an email. On the other hand, on online instructor will have to be an expert in communicating via email.
As someone who has taught both in traditional classroom settings, and online at multiple universities, yes, the level of responsibility is probably different, but not in the way implied by the question. Different skills are required to engage the online student, however, in some cases, the responsibility intensity in that setting is even higher. Because of the absence of face-to-face communication and non-verbal queues essential in normal exchanges, in the online environment, it can be even more challenging to get important points across relative to learning objectives and/or counselling student performance.
Teaching a course online does not equate to the same responsibilities when teaching the same course in a traditional classroom setting. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer.
Dr. Anastasia,
Good point and one of the challenges of being an online instructor. We are working without the benefit of individual personal interaction.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Phyllis,
Right you are about pushing buttons and challenging instructors at times. This is why planning and organization has to be completed so that there is a consistency to all that is being asked of the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think that the responsibilities are different for teaching online and teaching in the classroom. You may have your course outlined on the computer if you are teaching online and the preparation is different. Teaching online requires that you communicate more effectively since they cannot see your face to judge the non verbal communication we get from seeing face to face. Online students will push your buttons more since they cannot see your face. You have to decide how you will handle the situation when you are faced with something like this.
Wrong. Not only do we have the same resonsibilities as on campus instructors, but we also have to facilitate in an online environment. The online environment includes the ability to make informed judgement without the advantage of face-to-face communication. This means we have to pay special attention to writing and comments.
Kathleen,
This is an ongoing challenge for online instructors because many of them have the same work schedule as you. The majority of online instructors are adjunct so they have to balance their various responsibilities to find time to meet their obligations. You will do fine if you set a schedule for yourself and don't get behind or let yourself become overwhelmed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have yet to teach an online course, but I do teach in a classroom and have for almost 2 years. I am concerned about the responsbilites that the online is going to entail. While in my own online classes, I see the instructors ususally log-in once a day if they are not good, and a minimum of 8 hours if they are good. I will be teaching alday in the classroom and then have to field the email and discussion posts. I am hoping i will have the time to spread myself to the students at home as well as the students waiting "online" for my attention. I am going to read others posts here in this discussion for tips on how to juggle my responsiblites.
Monica,
Online teaching certainly does have challenges just as you mention. I seem to constantly be frustrated with technology issues as I get my class up and running. Not having the face to face to "fix" some of the issues I know I seem to thrash around a bit until I get everyone up and on line in a way that helps them to be successful.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I disagree; I feel that teaching a class on-line poses more challenges than teaching face to face. You must be prepared for more student questions and feedback in the form of emails and chat sessions etc.
In addition the on-line environment has challenges that the face to face class may be easier to resolve. Using computer software to complete assignments dealing with electronic health records is an example. The on-line student will face more technology difficulty in downloading the CD to allow the software to work. Sometimes there are systems requirements such as java and java plug in to allow the software to work properly. If the student is not familiar with technology and there is not an IT dept. available to assist the student they lose interest and become disengaged.
It is the instructor’s responsibility to keep the student engaged by being supportive, as a mentor.
I would say that you are right except for one issue: the student will feel more alienated in an online experience when all other things are held as equal simply because of the interface. Our responsibility to provide regular, meaningful contact goes up as a result of accepting an online instructing position (when compared with a classroom position), and we must rise to the challenge to be as successful as we would have been in the classroom. The motivation of teaching students something that they did not already know is the same, but the way it is approached is different, and more complex, in the online experience, and therefore, the responsibility on the part of the instructor (and the student) is greater.
It is true. The authority you have in person is far greater than your authority as an online instructor, even if you could ensure that the lecture style comes across in EXACTLY the same way, which is far from certain. The fact that a student COULD be reached for a face-to-face meeting in the same room keeps students more motivated and helps to avoid alienation whether this meeting actually takes place or not. There is far more presence as a classroom instructor, and this deficit must be made up by an online instructor if he/she is to be successful.
Lawrence,
Yes, very good points. Thank you.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I do not agree with the statement that online learning requirements are different than on-site courses. Why should they be different just because the transport of the information is different? If you look at the syllabus for a Cisco CCNA course online vs. one in a classroom, the subject matter is the same as well as most of the exercise. ...or they should be! If you are paying multi thousands of dollars to ensure you are trained and able to pass the CCNA exams, you don't want to find out on the day of the exam that the online course you took had less or inferior material! I think on a related topic that while the subject matter as well as learning advantages/disadvantages differ between online and onsite courses, the common thread is that the instructor has to find the most effective way to 1. Convey the information required within the course syllabus, and 2. Provide the best possible learning environment for the students so that they gain both factual as well as conceptual knowledge relating to their own professional background. Whether in a classroom or over the internet, what makes a classroom great is how the student can take the knowledge presented and apply it to their own lives, this is done through interaction with other students and association through assignments/discussions.
I disagree. I think the time commitment and planning budgeting are still essential. We still have to grade on time, provide feedback on time, and close out the course on time. If anything, I think that an online course requires more discipline than the on ground format.
Face to Face classroom has more responsibilities. The student has more focus and more interactions with their peers and instructor. Online class allows for more latencies.
Dan S
I agree - they are not the same because on-line classes require more responsibilities. The burden is on the teacher in the on-line arena to set the parameters for performance and then to monitor that performance as well as to track and record the performance. Inspiration and motivation is critical to student success in any classroom, but especially in the on-line classroom.
Rebecca Smith
Vimlarani,
These are very astute observations. The understanding of the changes is of paramount importance. I agree we (as an 'industry') have not yet embraced the direction, scope or significance of many of these changes. Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
When educators began to explore the Net as a teaching and learning tool, I think we were attracted partly by the novelty of it, and partly by the opportunity to reach the hitherto unreachable student: the person too far from the classroom, too poor or too busy to return to school. Online instruction is considered as the continuation of classroom teaching by other means. But the trends and issues that interest me most in online instruction are those that challenge the ideas about teaching and learning that we have always taken for granted. Every time we teach an online course, we learn something new and unsettling about ourselves. Our role is changing; so is that of our students. None of us is entirely comfortable with the change. It's almost like going through adolescence again: the changes are exhilarating but frightening, and we feel torn between the desire to try out our new powers and the fear that we'll foolishly waste or misuse them or find out we don't really have them after all. It's NOT cheaper or easier than F2F (face-to-face) teaching. It's NOT for everyone. Perhaps it's NOT better than F2F teaching. I am not sure if it is the wave of the future. It's NOT organized like a F2F course. It's encouraging an egalitarian mentor-apprentice relationship, in which it's sometimes hard to tell who's mentoring whom. If we think we can bring our old educators habits and attitudes into this new world, like jungle explorers dressing for dinner, we're going to waste our own time and that of our students.
