Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Marc: You have mentioned some factors that can influence an instructor's ability of effectively manage students in an online environment as well as in a tradilitonal classroom delivery environment. I encourage you to look forward to your first online teaching experience; then compare the ease with you are able to manage students in an online evironment versus an on-the-ground setting. Satrohan

Discussion Comment

Managing students...

Shanel: I am strongly inclined to support the claim that teaching in an online environment is much more demanding than teaching in a traditional classroom environment, the primary reason being that,as Instructors, we have to perform our duties from a distance. Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Learning online...

Marcia: You have made an extremely important point which is that the primary difference between an online course and one offered in a traditional classroom setting is the convenient of access to the online course once one has access to the Internet. Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Getting to know your students...

Shanel: In my work with online programs with Universities and Colleges, we have found the online bios to be very effective. We usually recommend the posting of the Bio as the first assignment to be completed on the first day the student accesses the course. Moreover, we encourage Instructors to respond to this assignment before the ending of the first week of class. Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Can any course be taught online?

Shanel: Thank you for sharing the kinds of technology you adopt in your courses. Learning technologies of that nature go a far way in coming as close as possible to simulating the traditional classroom experience. Having said this, I fully agree with you on the importance of both students and instructors having the desired level of preparedness to use such technologies. We should always keep in mind your first point that not all competencies can be satisfactorily taught and measured in an online environment-----a confirmation of your second point in the above. Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Managing students...

Rebecca: I am quite surprised that based on the description of the student population you teach the student to teacher ratio is so high. Is this the norm for the region in which yuou teach? Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Managing students...

Rebecca: Agreed that it is more tedious and that it can take a long time, much more than can be available for the duration fo the online course. Some regard this as a possible shortcoming of online learning. While this may not be significant factor for graduate level courses and beyond; it certainly can be an area fo concern for programs below these levels. Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Learning online...

Rebecca: You have made some very interesting and controversial statements. we can build an entire course around these statements. These are my thoughts on your snswer. I believe that face-to-face instruction should also be learner-centered. Time management as well as task management are equally important regardless of whether students are in a traditional classroom seting or in an online environment. Students are more likely to seek help in an online environment than in a traditional classroom setting. Satrohan

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Getting to know your students...

Rebecca: This feedback is based on the assumption that you have written the course content and that you will be teaching the course. The universities I serve maintain this practice. There is a master version of the course to which no one except for the System Administrator or the person responsible for implementing changes to the course are allowed access to the master. Almost always, the Course Writer is not the person authorized to make changes as this would require indepth knowledge of the Course Delivery Platform. The request for additions are usually sent for us to implement; unless they… >>>

Guest Facilitator Satrohan Mangal

Discussion Comment

Getting to know your students...

Rebecca: You have raised some important points. I share with you my experience in those areas for your consideration. Agreed that a well-constructed initial survey can result in more open responses in an online environment than in a face-to-face environment. However, methods of assessing students' entry level skills should yield about the same results regardless of the environment in which they are administerd. A comprehensive survey can resolve the problem of having only an hour per class. Consider yourself lucky that in an online environment, you have all the time to learn about your students. Every program I have worked… >>>