LaFanya ,
You are so right! You have to make sure that the content is packages differently to help make sense to students. It is important to find ways to get the information to students in smaller chunks. Great point.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Laurie,
You make such good points. You are right, you have to find a way to "read" between the lines with student comments. It is also up to us to set the enthusiasm and find ways to engage students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Stephanie,
Agreed. . . it is about delivery
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Ola,
You make a great point. You have to use the tools that are available in a way to engage students. We don't have to recreate f2f we just have to create a great learning environment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
lindsey,
I am with you! Using technology to create videos is such an important part of online ed and it is effective.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Steven,
You make a great point. You must ensure that the message works with the medium. You can't assume that you can or can't use the content without that analysis.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cynthia,
Do you think that record content doesn't address the auditory learners needs?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Pamela,
Great insight, I agree with you. We do have the luxury of different forms of technology that enriches our online courses as well as our f2f.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Mary,
Yes, it is time lapse as well as the lack of nonverbals. You can create code words that students use as part of the nonverbals That can be interesting ( and fun). You also make a great point about quick adjustments; it is not that easy to do online.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Carolyne,
Wow, what powerful insight. I agree with you wholeheartedly. It is not the material but delivery. I also find many times when I teach the same content online and face to face the changes I make for the online course enhances my face to face delivery.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Esther,
You make great points. You don't have to "throw the baby out with the bath water" but you do ahve to make adjustments.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Dr. Kelly,
Great question! Course content created for face-face course is usually lengthy and taught at the instructor's pace. In a classroom, instructors have a more freedom on when and how they will assess their students. They are not held to strict weekly deadlines as in an online course. Therefore, online courses have to tailor the course content based on weekly assessments. The content needs to be short and to the point so that the relevant objectives are met for the week.
I believe that a good portion of the course content may be the same. However, the limitation I see is related to the feedback aspect. In the face-to-face class, there is the ability to observe the non verbals such as body language. We can pick up some of this through use of words, but may not be interpreted the same way.
This limitation can reduce the richness of discussions and excitement that can be created through the face-to-face interaction. An instructor may need to develop some interesting ways to incorporate technology into the online course to get the same enthusiasm going on a topic.
Laurie
Online delivery and face to face delivery are two different modalities. It's like saying, why can't you deliver a non-verbal communication the same way as a verbal communication -- it just doesn't make sense.
Content created for an online course have to be delivered in way to motivate students to want to learn the content. That could be through interactive Media material, videos, and even blogs that get the discussions and sharing going. There are tools that can create that F2F environment, however, that can only go so far.
I struggled with this topic when first creating an online course since it can be tricky to transition from a F2F course to an online course. However, the information cannot be the same since you are no longer in front of a class informing them of key points not only though your words, use of a blackboard, bodily expressions and more. You need to develop different ways of getting your message across without actually seeing the student. That is why I love the use of short Jing videos.
Since the delivery method will be different, a new set of content must be developed for a F2F course that will be presented online. The basics of the course can be repeated such the text and even some presentations. But, since the environment may be asynchronous (unlike F2F), one must ensure the message works with the medium.
In a F2F environment, auditory learners benefit from audible signals. Their listening skills are their strength. It is complicated to "transform" this strategy into online course material.
As a few of my peers have already noted, it is possible to incorporate content created for a face-to-face course into an online class. I believe that the key is to consider the manner in which the content translates from one delivery model to another. We have many different forms of technology that allows us to communicate the same material via multiple formats. Our primary responsibility is to deliver/communicate the material in a manner that will empower the students to take advantage of the learning opportunity. When we consider content that is designed for an face to face class, there will be instances when in its current form, it will not incorporate into an online class.
Ben,
I agree, just because you think that a class is online you can do a f2f as just synchronous. It still doesn't work well. Good point.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
