Richard,
What would you do to make a distance course work?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Oh Im def not saying they don't exist, its just not currently part of the school I teach in. Ive actually seen a couple really cool online courses in the audio world and I would not be surprised if at some point we incorporate one into our program.
Richard,
I know of a program that has hands on apps and is online! It can be done.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jodi,
I think that is a great idea. The building of community is so important.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Fawzi,
Really, where does that team come from?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I would say that I would see my students by watching what they post on the class discussion forum, by their grades, and their personal interactions with me and other students. This def a bit hypothetical for me as I dont teach online and probably wont be anytime soon since I work in a school that is very hands on and we dont have an online program.
I use the chat room and I make one available to them at all times, so they can talk amongst themselves. I also post questions in the Student Lounge which have nothing to do with coding, just to encourage other dialogue. Favorite movie, what's the weather like, etc.
Dr. Wilkinson,
In a well established online environment the different roles - pedagogical, social, managerial, and technical – need not be carried out by the facilitator himself all the time. And should be carried out by a “facilitator team†insead.
Jodi,
How would you get students to talk to each other?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Fawzi,
What do you think about the different roles?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Richard,
How do you "see" your students online?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
In a lot of cases, the instructor may be the only person that student has communication with, so it is imperative for us to serve all roles. Communication with the instructor is probably the easiest thing to do as well, so we are the first place a student goes. It's important to be able to answer most of their questions so they don't feel like they are getting sent all over the place.
The role of the online facilitator is more complex than that of the traditional classroom instructor, since he/she is suppose to establish and sustain a sense of community among the students. This could be done by promoting productive communication between the learners while solving their technical problems, and providing content in a well organized manner to optimize learning and minimize confusion. Now, to succeed in doing all that you need to wear four pairs of shoes, so to speak.
Beside the pedagogical shoes, which – just by being an instructor - you are already wearing, you need to wear three other pair of shoes; Social, Managerial and Technical. The social to create that comfortable virtual community, the managerial to organize the contents and prevent mishandling of procedural and administrative tasks and the technical to make the students comfortable with the different aspects of technology so they can focus more on the learning objectives. Obviously that is not going to happen if the facilitator himself is not thoroughly comfortable with the technologies.
Will the facilitator wear the four pairs of shoes all at once?! No, but by the magic of “multitasking†it seems as if he/she is doing just that.
Its def a lot harder online. I would try to cover as many examples as possible of the information being presented. Try to have examples for people who learn by the studying and taking notes approach to more hands on type stuff for people who learn by a more hands on approach.
If I saw a student was having problems in a course it might be possible to email him privately and try to pinpoint the issues.
Richard,
How do you determine those needs online?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Michael ,
Hi Michael! With the type of student and the type of delivery, do you see the technical aspect as a barrier to learning or do they push through to achieve their goal?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Course u\Facilitator
Each student has his own unique needs and as the instructor, being able to wear 4 different pairs of shoes will them to help a wider range of students.
Hi Kelly,
In my experience, there are a few of things that make online classes different from f2f classes. Online are typically presented for asynchronous learning. And, using computers and the internet makes that possible.
So yes, in my opinioin, the technical dimension differentiates online from f2f learning. The mode of delivery differs since students and instructors don't meet in a physical location and often don't "meet" at the same time.
Finally, my online students are typically non-traditional students. They are older, working adults. Since they have so many demands on their time, the online environment works well for them. It allows them to fit study time, chats, etc, into their busy schedules.
Michael ,
Well said. What really makes this different than face to face? the technical aspect?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The needs of learners and the online learning process itself dictate the roles that online facilitators must assume. Those things imply four dimensions in an online course: content delivery, social interaction, course administration, and technical matters.
First, as an instructor, the facilitator must in some way present the course content and guide their students through that content. The reason we have separate courses is because our human experiences, our world, and our universe are so varied. The content of each course addresses a small portion of the above. It’s the instructor’s responsibility to communicate that content in as effectively as they can. So, their facilitation includes not only presentation of content, but also to suggest strategies of learning and to help students with any material they may have missed in earlier coursework.
Second, there is a social dimension to learning. The notion here is that humans are social beings and do learn best when they are able to interact with their peers. Thus, the facilitator can encourage interaction and participation in the course. For instance, they may have some sort of social forum in the online classroom where students can get to know one another and help each other. Taking it farther, they may have a question and answer forum where students my post and discuss questions concerning the material. The instructor can also use assessment to give feedback to the students, to encourage them and to develop a rapport; all of which in turn (hopefully) can foster greater commitment with the student to their own learner process.
Third, the instructor has to effectively administer the course. Grades and grade comments have to be accurate and made on time. The sequencing of the content has to be organized, tidy, and effective.
Finally, the online environment requires some degree of technical ability on the part of the facilitator. They need to be able to navigate the learning platform and to explain the use of that platform to the students effectively. Moreover, the instructor should be familiar with a variety of applications so that they may be able to choose those software packages, LMS or other means to provide a complete learning environment for their students.
