David,
Audience analysis - that's what it is all about. Facilitation is enhanced when the audience is understood. Nice job.
Rick,
You are so right. We have to provide opportunities for our students to learn about themselves as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Rick,
We all do have various groups of students in our classes and no two classes are alike. It makes it challenging, but yet, I like the challenge. Thanks for your input.
Perry,
Yes, just as with an oral presentation, we have to analyze our audience for effective communication. That's key in the online environment.
Robert,
Those life experiences vary so much between students and instructors. It's good when we all come together and share our experiences and learn from each other. Thank you.
Debra,
Yes and building that community is so important in the online environment. We all do have different writing styles and preferences. Thanks for your input.
One needs to know their audience. Enrollment in my current F2F course includes a retired postal worker who appears slow when participating in class discussions but consistantly submits neat, complete work in a timely manner. The class also includes 18 year olds both with and without a high degree of technological literacy. The same is true in an online course.
This said, I do nto view this as an obsticle to effective class cohesiveness. A good facilitator undestands that each person brings something of value to the table as long as the space has been created for that to occur.
You make a great point and I also think beyond the instructor needing to be aware of the generational gaps among students, the students must also be aware of this gap as well. So many online courses include chat sessions and discussion board threads in which students are collaborating and communicating with one another at which time they must determine how to effectively share insight and opinions with one another.
As a teacher of English who now also works in an online environment, the generation role is quite obvious to me. First, you have a generation of learners who did not grow up with nor incorporate technology into their learning and educational environment, yet understand such components of an online classroom in terms of writing and knowing audience, tone, intent, and using sources. At the same time, we see younger students in our classrooms who are tech savvy, yet lack an understanding of the formality of communicating or writing in a scholarly setting vs. the type of communication many have grown up with in their social networking groups. I also think the maturity issue is a factor and the motivation level from one generation to the next.
Understanding the different generation roles within your class environment help you to adjust your communication to the students. By understanding the different age groups that your dealing with, you can use more technology for one set of students, and then offer different approach to student unfamiliar with the technology. By understanding your student base, and changing your techniques, hopefully the instructor can keep the lines of communication open, and interactive.
Perry
Every generation has different life's experiences that have shaped their skills and knowledge and also the way they approach/face challenges and also their learning progress.
When multiple generation join a class or a course, they all have the same goal: get something out of the class and increase their knowledge. But the path they will use to get it will greatly differ from individual to individual based on their own profile, history and age bracket.
Therefore, it becomes a key aspect for the instrucotr to be aware of this reality in his/her classroom and adopt a communicative attitude that will best get each student's attention and increase his/her commitment in class.
It is important to understand generational roles as they pertain to the online community because research has shown that there is a distinct difference in the manner in which the generations communicate. In my classes, I often see these differences in the writing styles and communication techniques of Millennials, GenX/Y, and Baby Boomers. For example, Baby boomers often express courtesies in their writings and Gen X/Y may utilize more shortcuts to communicating. They also differ in the mode of communication that they prefer to utilize.
Dena,
Thank you for your affirmation of the importance of getting to know all stipudents and how communication is affected. Your input is appreciated and helpful.
Dr. Kevin,
The better we understand the students the more we can provide content in a more appropriate method. Keep up the efforts of effective communication. Thanks.
Carolyn,
Set your expectations for communication in your class to exclude texting and make sure students understand that they need to use professional communication. Keep up the good work.
This is an extremely important question to address. Generations play a huge role in communication in the online community. Baby Boomers have a completely different mindset than Generation X people and Millenials. The Baby Boomer era technically ended in 1964 (but I consider myself a Baby Boomer even though I was born in 1968). These are the people to whom the Internet is a new and amazing tool. It's something we've had to learn later in life. However, it's the opposite end of the spectrum for Millenials. These are the people for whom technology and online communication is mother's milk -- they've had exposure to it from extreme youth. It is an intuitive part of their upbringing. These are the people who will be much more likely to have a strong comfort with an enjoyment of communicating via posts, Facebook, Twitter, texting, IMing, Ning, etc. Baby Boomers may feel more comfortable starting with email before conquering other means of online communication. Generation X'ers may fall somewhere in between, depending upon their ages and how much technology they have picked up and infused into their lives. It is vital that the instructor learn about his/her students' backgrounds and approach communication guidance accordingly.
It is important to understand the role generations play in communication in the online community in order to be able to effectively engage each student in an effort to help them achieve learning outcomes. In other words, a communications style/approach might be effective in working with one student, but prove ineffective in communicating with another student from a different generation. Understanding the role generations play allows an instructor to adapt their approach accordingly.
Kevin
I am from the 'old school' and boy does is show! This so-called 'texting' used by the younger learned drives me nuts! I feel instructors can tell who are the 'baby-boomers' and who are the 'generation x' just by the lack of proper English skills. Texting being the worst!
robert,
Understanding our students is essential to helping instructors deliver content appropriately. The generations commonalities help us increase our understanding. Thanks!
As instructors we need to be aware of the role generations play in communication within the online community. This awareness will help us communicate with individuals from different generations more effectively be it face-to-face or in the online environment. We also should be aware of cultural differences students from around the world bring to the classroom.
