Students should not feel alone. Students need to feel comfortable sharing ideas, opinions and facts with others.
The instructor is prime in this so the students do well.
In this unit I learned about the various ways to communicate with students online. It is important for the instructor to have multiple, reliable ways to communicate with online students.
Communication of the overall goals and formatting to students makes the online learning process run smoothly. The interactive syllabus should lay out a road map for students to discover thwere the class will take them.
Use the dynamic syllabus to link scaffolding topics to allow students to return to inforamtion that they may not be as confident with yet.
The idea of a dynamic syllabus is very interesting. I have been used to our standard syllabus which is pretty straight forward, but in this changing education landscape, it could definitely use some updating. The scaffolding is very useful as well and helps to point out all of the various communication dynamics in an online learning community and how to utilize them.
I learned that scaffolding provides structure for student learning and focus for student activities. Scaffolding allow students to build upon their prior knowledge, experiences, and skills with new knowledge presented in the online course.
Reply to Courtland Grimm's post:I think that it necessary that scaffolding is in both planning and learning. One needs to have prior knowledge before learning a something new. It's lke teaching reading. I want my students to read an article, story or book but I just can't give it to them and say read it. I have students that don't know the vocabulary. I need to teach that vocab first before expecting my students to do what I want. Things have to be differinated/scaffolded. I can't expect a newcomer to the USA to understand and perform as someone who is fluent in English and has prior knowledge and they don't.
Scaffolding and building skills on already existing skills is crucial to student success. Using effective communication is also key.
I learned that the syllabus is the roadmap to the class. Everything you need to know about the course should be included in the syllabus. Communication is the key to success. Scaffolding is also important in learning the content of the course because it building on prior knowledge.
I like the idea of a dynamic syllabus and the FAQ section of a dynamic syllabus. It would have saved me time the past few weeks addressing student issues
This section has enlightened me as to methods and ways that I can improve current online instruction that is utilized in our CTE area. There were 3 areas that interested me and that I will pursue more information on. They are:
- Dynamic Syllabus
- Wikis
- Scaffolding
For those of us that are accustom to a normal flat syllabus where students must read what is expected of them, we must now start to think a bit differently on how we organize the information. In some cases, this may be doing the student a disservice when they enter the working world of manufacturing. Having said that, there is a need to present information in a logical matter in an electronic file.
Wikis pages or equivalent similar methods have not been used in my area but I will be exploring this further however I must be careful with the links as this is sometimes problematic with some students and even school districts.
The eight scaffolding methods mentioned to build upon previous knowledge/skills and experiences is something I had have utilized in the past but perhaps have not fully utilized all items mentioned. More attention will be focused on
- Clarify purpose
- Keep students on task
- Create momentum
The tips on how to effectively communicate with the students and showing them how to effectively communicate with each other were the most valuable lessons in this module.
Two key components in an E-learning course is a dynamic syllabus and good communication.
Within our technology era, communication covers a vast allotement of possibilities. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to guide the on-line learner to use the proper guidelines of instruction within their choice of communication effectively.
Having a dynamic and changing syllabus will help to create a better learning environment.
I hope to be able to incorporate all of these tasks!
I need to add, since my expertise is construction, scaffolding is important. But if I may add another, foundation is most paramount, in my experience.
Direction, or moreover a tourguide approach to help and guide the students will definitely be one of my objectives. Communication is very important.
I have learned that creating an interactive syllabus, a sense of community and building upon prior knowledge are all important.
Most students in college rely on a syllabus. In high school, they aren't used as much but for an online course, it will help keep students on track and informed of what is next.
I took many notes on creating a dynamic syllabus. I wrote word-for-word the disclaimer to make sure I include that in my next syllabus What is hitting me the most is the reminder to solicit student feedback in order to continue building the learning community and relationship. I am beginning to realize all my usual ways of "checking in" with students in a physical classroom setting will have to adapt to our new reality of learning virtually. The student feedback questions provided are good and I will use them at scheduled points (after first module, at the semester halfway point and as a part of a larger course survey). At other times I am considering building in reflection questions at the end of each unit, as this program has.
Several technology tools were given as choices to accommodate the students' varied learning styles (example: wikis, blogs, chat rooms, web conferencing, etc.) My online Syllabus will be written with more dynamics and details than my F2F Syllabus.
