Good point about pressure Bob. Especially in healthcare, and other competitive businesses, the student will need to be prepared and develop a thick skin quickly in order to succeed.
Asking students to predict the future (future-trends) has worked well for me. I often ask students to reflect on the history of a particular subject like "patient confidentiality" and then analyze what is working well and what needs to be adjusted. Then I would ask them to predict what the future may look like if you were in charge. Anything to get them thinking creatively...
Robert,
I like this idea. I will borrow it if you don't mind. :)
Renee Shaffer
I agree that anxiety can be felt in a first time online student. But the opposite can also be just as troublesome. Students that enter with the belief that the course will be easy. Over confidence and attempts to prove the 'easy' part of their thinking can be their undoing. Have you ever experienced this with a student?
One method I use to encourage active participation is to assign 5 minutes of each chat session to two students to present in a ‘what’s new’ forum. Students are asked two weeks in advance to find something currently being studied or established in the healthcare field to present in the live session. Of course I have the student accept the ‘what’s new’ role and will build a question about the presentation in the discussion board.
Students may feel the pressure but are never pressured into presenting. But pressure is all around us in real life careers as leaders.
It is important for the online instructor to identify any negative attitudes or lack to completed assignments. Once these barriers have been identified, then we should be reaching out to student for assistance. Also, it is important for the instructor to listen to the student concerns and offer some solutions. Sometime, the student just needs to know that someone cares about them.
Beth,
No instructor can overcome the "i'll do it tomorrow" mentality. I am dealing with this in another class. No matter what I do to facilitate, they just won't participate.
Renee Shaffer
I agree with many of my colleagues thus far that reducing the fear of technology is critical. The students need to be comfortable with the technology that is at their disposal. With students coming from everywhere and every background, you can assume that there is not a level playing field of experience in the classroom. The school should provide the necessary resources to help and support students.
Once that is accomplished, the student needs to have the commitment, motivation and time management skills to complete the work. While the facilitator is important, a student needs to overcome the "I'll do it tomorrow" mentality. No instructor can overcome that.
So if those two elements can be addressed, then it is the facilitator who can make the materials come alive.
Patricia,
I also truly believe that presence in vital. A student just told me today how she loves the announcements that I send out that "poke" her into doing her work.
Renee Shaffer
For many students an online course is their first experience with learning in an online environment. It is a different learning environment and the first attitude the student experiences is fear. They feel uncomfortable with the platform and the use of technology. The next big difficulty is self-discipline. Many online students choose that platform for education because it is able to be done at their convenience or schedule. This often times becomes problematic because of outside distractions such as family, work or other obligations often get in the way.
The way that I help those types of students is to have communication with students. The students need to realize that I am there, even though it is behind a computer screen. By having a presence in the classroom I am able to help them elevate their fears, make they more comfortable with the e-learning environment and help them to learn and practice time-management. My presence is vital because that helps the students find their motivation and confidence, thus become successful.
Patricia Tyhurst
by getting involved with the student activity and fedback to motivate and educate with opinons and activities
A few things:
Instructor presence must be frequent and both push and pull information to/from the students
Make the "horses thirsty" for more engagement by making the learning meaningful to the students
Instructors must develop an online personality, otherwise they are just the faceless person on the other end of the dialog
Tina
In my opinion, Instructors are the first line to student communication. The online environment is different than the traditional classroom. It is vital that the instructor motivate students to adjust their roles when becoming an online learner. One item that I have implemented just recently is adding a course in which the student focuses only on the online learning environment and the instructor covers the essential parts to online learning. There is a significant role adjustment for students when they move to online learning and it is essential that the institution provides the students with the tools to be successful.
I think instructors need to let their students know they are there and available and are actually watching what the students are doing.
One of the best things we can do to help students with active learning is to be visible, present, and encouraging. If you have a discussion board, make sure to be active in it, to help facilitate discussions. Monitor who is and isn't participating, and contact those that are not active and encourage them to participate.
Tonia,
Presence. physical or virtual is so important. There used to be a study that said one of the most important contributors to student success in elementary and secondary schools was the presence of a strong and personable PRINCIPAL. Interesting.
Renee Shaffer
I believe that an instructor can help students embrace active learning in the online environment by presence! What mean by that is, let the students know that there a real person behind the computer and that we are there to assist in any way possible. A welcome call to new starts, and weekly follow-ups are ways that a student can ensure that have instructors whom care about them.
As an instructor it is important to make sure the students have all the necessary tools they need to be successful. Being their coach means being available and giving them the support they need to keep it interesting and fun.
The one main aspect of active learning is that instructor can assist students with not being afraid of the online environment and technology. When the online learner is confident of this they begin to take control of their success in the course. Once students are comfortable with these two concepts they tend to be more engaged and willing to participate in discussion as well as live labs.
Shundra Mosby
I think that we as online instructors have a responsibility to make the student feel comfortable in the online environment and also be accessible. We are there as a coach and a mentor and we have to have a positive and caring attitude to achieve these goals. We have to engage our students in the process and make them want to embrace active learning. We can achieve this by explaining the process and relieve them of their fears of active learning.
