I was an online student during the completion of my Master’s Degree. I appreciated that I could work on my schedule to complete the work and I feel the same about teaching. I don’t have to be in a classroom at a particular time of day in order to interact and complete the requirements and expectations to my students. I love when I connect with students that have the same passion for learning that they would in a traditional classroom and find online learning convenient. There are students that require more attention and coaxing to perform at their optimal capacity and it is tougher to engage them online but not impossible.
I think I have to do more detective work online since I don’t see nonverbal but the student that is engaged in both environments makes it worth the while. Overall, the job is the same even if the level of effort is different.
Jim,
What are some reasons you like to teach online? What kind of special attributes do you believe it takes to be successful?
Herbert Brown III
Teaching online is more difficult than teaching in a classroom. Its easy to assess student attitudes and feelings when in the classroom, but there is no way to assess student's attitudes when teaching online. There are more reasons I would rather teach online but it takes someone special and to be able to know the difference.
Donte,
Very true. There are some real differences though in the design of the course or re-design as it may be. You need to examine what you do in a traditional course and determine how you can best accomplish those tasks using online tools. You really have to work in an online course to connect with your students and stay connected with them and keep them engaged.
Herbert Brown III
I feel that you're going to have the same teaching responsibilities in both setting. Although students in the online setting may need a bit more attention and teaching in the traditional setting individuals still come to class to seek out the information the instructor has.
There are some responsibilities which are exactly alike and then others that are quite different. Grading and communication must still be done, but in online courses the emphasis in keeping the student interactive and engaged so as not to lose them seems to be greater, because of the lack of face to face contact.
Randall,
I agree with your comments. It is harder to stay engaged and maintain the same level of enthusiasm in an online course. There is something powerful in the personal interaction of a traditional classroom especially when students engage the content with you. It encourages me! I feel that way sometimes with online classes, but not typically at the same level.
Herbert Brown III
My thoughts on Teaching online
EL102
Facilitator: Herbert Brown III
By Randall Aungst
12/20/2012
Discussion Question:
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.
Response:
Online instructors face the same roadblocks as online learners do regarding self-direction and self-discipline. I feel fortunate that the university that I teach for sets up standardized guidelines for online instruction where student interaction and instructor engagement is concerned. This however becomes a double edged sword.
With online instruction being aware of student interaction is critical to their success and by proxy critical to how successful you are as an instructor. In an online environment it is twice as easy for students to ignore the instructor and the opportunities for interactivity as it is in a brick and mortar setting. Likewise it is twice as easy for an instructor to overlook students that are low hanging fruit regarding interactivity. Further it is easier for an instructor to become disenchanted with the effort it takes to provide the student with a highly engaging environment facilitating learning. As such it is vital that the instructor maintain their own enthusiasm for the course and the practice of teaching online in an effort to foster encouragement for student engagement.
In short I agree that teaching an online course does not equate to the same responsibilities as traditional classrooms it requires more responsibility to be taken on by the instructor as well as the student.
Just food for thought.
Randall Aungst
David,
I agree that preparation of the content of the course and the organization will likely be the same. However, there are times that you have to re-vision the course for online delivery. For example, a discussion you have in a normal on-ground class might not work the same way in the online course and you need to look at ways to accomplish the same "learning" process but with different tools and strategies to reach the same goal.
Herbert Brown III
I agree to some extent with this statement. The two environments are different, and require more emphasis in some areas. For example, students in the classroom may not email you as often because they know they will see you one or more times a week in class, and can ask their questions then. In the online setting, email is vital and directly impacts the student's perception of you as an instructor and the class. In general, the two are the same... you have to communicate with students, facilitate discussion, teach new skills and concepts, grade assignments and direct the students towards success. How you go about doing that is different in the online environment and the traditional classroom.
I disagree. You grade the same papers, you prepare the same lesson plan, and you interact with the same students. The only difference is that you don't have to be in a specific place at a specific time presenting a lecture to them. At some Online Universities you do have to still provide the lecture via live chat. The answer would certainly depend on where you taught..but overall I prepare my courses exactly the same way.
David Pittman
Nelson,
Sometimes they are more reluctant to get the help they really need. How do you connect with the reluctant ones that really need help?
Herbert Brown III
Joan,
So what do you think would be te next step? Or do you just write them off for the course?
Herbert Brown III
I think the responsibilities are the same that how you handle them are different. In an online setting instructor has to spend a lot of time contacting the student when they are struggling. Since you don't have them in an on ground setting it can be more difficult to reach them. Many students don't respond to phone calls or emails and you have no other option on how to reach them to give them help or try to get them engaged.
I teach in both environments and one of the greatest differences in the two is that the online environment often includes the responsibility and opportunity to counsel students. Certainly, counseling may be a component of learning in an onground environment as well but students seem to need 'more' guidance in an online environment.
Morissa,
What kind of responsibilities specifically would you say are increased in an online setting?
Herbert Brown III
I agree. I think the responsibilities are increased in an online setting because it takes extra effort to make sure students do not fall through the cracks.
Morissa Pawl
Stephanie,
The how is different and the what may be the same, but are there any specifics that are different between online and onground courses and responsibilities? Is the level of communication the same? Are student expectations for communication and interaction the same?
Herbert Brown III
I think it depends upon what responsibilities you are discussion. Guiding student to learn knowledge? Being available to students? Being friendly while still maintaining high academic standards? Yes...sure. Perhaps the differences lie more than the HOW than the WHAT.
Joseph,
Can you explain your comments a little more specifically, I am not sure I understand. Maybe an example?
Herbert Brown III
