Students should know what is expected of them and those expectations should be clearly projected to them throught the LMS.
Online citizenship is crucial to having a great online class and class environment.
With online learners it is important to connect with each learner and help them understand why the content is important to their lives. This may come in different forms for different learners.
developing a CoP will be a great when teaching classes online
I plan to communicate to students how I would like them to communicate with me, and provide a modified list of what to include in their communication. For example, I want to remind students to include a discriptive subject line and to include their name at the bottom of the communication. Also, I already implement a learning community within my classroom, and I plan to structure my online class to enable students to support each other in small group break-out settings. However, I also plan to engage students in planning a rubric for participation in these small group settings to ensure group norms and also consistent evaluation of participation.
This module reinforced that when students are involved in the communication venues within the class they should feel more engaged. There will always be students who don't like to participate in a class. A virtual classroom will give them a place to "hide" and not participate. Again, communication will be key in getting the expectations out to everyone. A Small group activity is a great way to get more people to participate within the classroom. Jigsaw activities can get the small groups to feel like a part of the "whole" class.
Clear communication is important from both instructor and learners no matter the format, I2S, S2I or S2S.
Based on what I learned, I developed an "orientation to online class" which list the course objectives, expectation from the instructor, and the guidelines of small group case study project.
This module is helping me to become more organized and clear in my communication to student expectations. I like the idea of community of practice very much!
Respectful discourse is a great way to ensure that students gain from their online experience. Teaching students how to disagree is vital.
Mary Downs
I have always felt that it was important to help students improve their Communication Skills. I now know it is an essential component for success in the ON-LINE ENVIRONMENT. Students cannot meet face to face so it is essential to ensure that they understand Expectations and Guidelines for Course Communication and to alleviate misunderstandings. I will use the Syllabus to impress upon the students that Effective Communication should be CPA (Clear, Professional, and appropriate). Do not use texting language.
It is important that students are good online citizens, have the skills to be a good reader and writer, are willing to participate and engage with other learners, start taking control over their learning in a Community of Practice and effectiviely communicate with others so they are successful in learning and life.
I liked the the idea of good online citizenship as a way of improving the online experience.
An effort must be made to enable learners to individually and collectively construct the learning that is occurring - both n terms of social and cognitive learning.
Community of practice is important to facilitate online learning. Mutual respect should be demonstrated by all members of the online community. The instructor should use bullet points and be very clear with messages and expectations.
Communication and effective feedback is critical.
Having good communication skills is vital in online learning.
Communication and writing skills are just as important as technical skills. Both of these combined will make a better instructor which will in turn help students learn the course content.
Creating a community within the course is critical to the students feeling and wanting to engage.
I have had students do discussion boards and they have to respectively reply to other students. They have had some great conversations going and actually learned how to look at others points of view even though they are not face to face.
Reading and writing skills need to be emphasized to students more for an online course than f2f courses.
