AJAY,
Facilitation is the key. It's easier to be a "content provider" and a facilitator of learning. Keep up the good work and engage your students. Thanks for your input.
Robert,
Just the word "pattern" is good for online learning. Consistency in communication is key. Thank you.
Debra,
These clear guidelines help students understand your expectations and the learning outcomes. Without that understanding, they cannot achieve set goals. Thanks for your input.
I believe that content and frequency are the two more importatn things to consider, and here's examples to show why.
The lounge or water cooler may be a free space where students may post as often as they please, but the content of these posts must still follow certain guidelines. Students can't bad-mouth others or be left unchecked to create a poor learning environment by nit-picking every aspect of the course. Just so, discussion forum posting guidelines require a stated number of posts and stated postsing content guidelines.
I think with clear and consistent, we need to add the importance of the tone being addressed. So many times our written communication can be taken the wrong way by the receiver of the communication, which is normally the student.
When establishing a pattern of communication, it goes without saying that modeling the type of communcication and the frequency of the communication have to be deemed important. In any online environment, particularly students who are new to an online environment, many will not know procedure or scholarly ways to communicate and will look to the instructor for help in this area. Many students today taking an online course can not differentiate between the way they communicate in a social online environment vs. a scholarly, classroom online environment.
In communication ,facilitator should make sure and provide proper guidance to students that what is expected and also make his presence felt throughout duration of course.
Discussion board is an excellent form of communication and keep everyone engaged students and instructor both.Facilitator should make discussion board interactive and relevant and guide students by high order questioning methods.
Establishing a pattern of communication should focus specifically on
1. creating consistency in regards to how communication should flow between students and their instructor.
2. settting up transparency and clarifying expectations of the communication process.
Bottom line, we need to understand the communication process should have a goal which is the exchange of key information between all parties, facilitating the understanding of the needs, saving time and providing the appropriate support.
Clear guidelines and accountability are two critical aspects of online courses. for example, I allow my students to post a minimum of 3 days per week. This ensures that they are active weekly in the class and not considering it a self-directed study. Students are given deadlines for which to post their response to the two required discussion board questions. Then, they must log back into the course and comment on two peer postings for each of the graded threads. Students know that they are graded on the quality of their postings, but also their attendance in the threaded forums.
Brion.,
One thing you consistently emphasized through this forum is clear expectations. The students must understand the expectations to be able to achieve them. Thank you for your input.
Perry,
Yes, student will follow the lead. As the instructor sets the tone for the class, they must serve as an excellent role model. Thanks for your input.
Dr. Kevin,
I like that you emphasized the use of examples. Many times students need to see others' work or some type of example to move forward. Good job.
Dena,
Right on. Your emphasis on standards and expectations is excellent. Thanks for sharing and making us all think.
Carolyn,
I think you hate the texting stuff. :-/. Ha! Many people "feel your pain.". We have to serve as good role models for our students and set clear communications for our students. Thanks for your input.
Hello All,
When establishing a pattern of communication with students, I believe that the type of student that I am resonding to and the nature in which I convey myself.
I tend to interact differently with graduate students than with first semester freshman students. I am cordial to both, but, I tend to have a different relationship with the two groups. This is not based on the age of the student- but, based on how much of a novice they are to school. With experienced students, I can trust that they understand how to navigate the system and understand their job as a student, so the conversation focuses more on the material.
With new students, I tend to spoon feed the information to them a bit more, and I never assume that they know where to access information, place an assignment or find research at the library.
With regard to my tone, it never changes based on the student. I am always friendsly and supportive, no matter what the situation. But, I am also very clear in my expectations.
Brion.
I believe we must lead by example at first. This includes good feedback and responses to homework and discussion boards. Good sentences when responding to email.
We then have to be consistent. Everyone must receive the same message. Using a Rubrics helps with consistency, and responses.
When establishing a pattern of communication, two of the most important things to consider are consistency and examples. Consistency is important because it helps with developing a pattern so that students know what to expect and the class progresses smoothly. Examples are also important because it cannot be assumed that all students understand expectations or the type of behavior they’re expected to exhibit.
Kevin
As an instructor teaching students not only content but also etiquette and ethics, I feel that the two most important issues that revolve around communication are as follows:
- setting appropriate standards
- following through with those standards via example and appropriate guidance.
Oftentimes, tone can be misconstrued in writing. Also, people often feel more comfortable writing certain things that they would not be likely to say aloud. Communicating in a written forum tends to embolden people. In a real-time class forum where students primarily communicate with me and with one another in a chat box, I've had times where I've accidentally misunderstood a student. I've also observed times when students have misunderstood each other. Even worse, I've experienced moments where students have breached standards of etiquette and have been rude or inappropriate during class.
As a person who values diplomacy, tact, and integrity, it is very important that I set a good example for appropriate written language choice, guidelines for what is and isn't acceptable, and clear expectations for how students should communicate with one another. When those expectations are not upheld by the students, it becomes my duty to guide and correct them in a way that is firm but fair. I can never let a student offend another student without addressing the situation and resolving it appropriately.
Two Items I hold true to are: set an example and consistency.
I HATE this texting stuff! Just HATE it. Can you tell I hate it? You probably can because of the capital letters used for the word ‘hate’. A student will look to an instructor to set an example no matter the area in question. I do not allow all caps because of the heavy emphasis placed on the word in caps. Therefore, the use of caps is for importance only in my communications. Following the same pattern over-and-over will expose the student to good worldly practices.
robert,
Communication is key to the success of the students especially in an online environment. When students understand the policies and expectations they can reach the learning outcomes more easily. Nice job.
