Dennis,
I have found that I can provide that level of support oftentimes by just sending a quick email message from my smart phone that says, "I can't get back with you right now, but I wil in the next ___ hour or so..." and then get back with them in a timely manner. They realize you are on the other end, you did get their message, and an answer is coming soon. That doesn't mean I answer every question 24/7/365 but ensures that the students still feel supported.
Herbert Brown III
Becomming an effective "Guide on the Side" has much to do with taking on a proactive role as a mentor and coach to help guide the student toward a successful and gratifying course completion. Being available and present to accommodate the student can be a challenge from a time management perspective, but can make all the difference in the world to those requiring a helping hand. It has a way of promoting an open dialog and communication to assure the student that help is near if required and the reliance of obtaining feedback in a timely manner.
Instructor interaction is extremely important in the online environment! Student in the online environment are looking for answers. They do not sit face to face so they are looking for immediate feedback through emails, phone calls, or corrections on assignments.
These online students are looking for someone to give the guidance they need to head in the right direction. A lot of the material that they will learn will be self taught, so they are looking for guidance in the right direction.
Being present to offer the needed guidance is imperative for your student's success! It is somewhat different than the traditional classroom where you are more of a lecturer. In the online classroom, you become more of a motivator which is an AWESOME role to place in the success of students.
Christine,
I could also see this as a problem in a traditional class. I always have some students that have very clearly NOT prepared for class with the assigned readings, etc. The CMS systems have tracking features that you can at least see if the students are accessing the content and at what days and times. You still can't guarantee that they read the materials for proper engaged the content for learning. The tracking logs at least give you something to take to the students to encourage them to complete the course materials (i.e. "...I see you have not accessed the readings for the upcoming class...you will want to do that before tuesday...")
Herbert Brown III
The biggest challenge is that it is harder to view what level of engagement students have in an online classroom. Are they doing the reading? Are they watching the recorded lectures? How much time are they spending on class?
It is much easier to help a student if you know at what level they are participating, if they are carefully reviewing the content fo the class, and are having problems, then that is a very different situation to work with than students who are not.
This has probably been one of the largest issues I have had to address as an online instructor.
One school I work with gives instructors the ability to track classroom usage, it is incredibly valuable!
I have never actually taught in a traditional class room so there was never really a transition for me. I feel like it would be tough to pull back from your particular traditional teaching style and directing the course coming into a situation where the lesson plan is usually already done for you. This really makes you a "cheerleader" for your students. You are there to help them along answer any questions and make sure they are not giving up.
I solve the issue by asking probing questions, making the writen communication part of the students grade and being persistant.
Jared,
I also feel that being unable to read student body language is a major hurdle to overcome. More written communication will help, but then there's the issue of a student's willingness, or lack thereof, of writing back...or engaging you in a written "conversation." As an instructor, how can we solve that issue?
Jean,
Can you "tier" assignments around a concept to determine their level and depth of understanding? For example, provide them a relatively simple short assignment first to determine where they are at, then another that is a little more in depth and then another that requires them to apply the concept in a deeper way. This might give you the ability to see where they do or don't understand and the depth of understanding.
Herbert Brown III
Besty,
I agree with you totally. I am always scanning the room while teaching to see if all the students are picking up and understanding the information I am sending out to them. I am looking for the "light bulb" to turn on and if it doesn't, I will rephrase or ask more questions to see where I am failing in my delivery of the material. This way I can relate the information in a different way until everyone has an understanding of the material and trying to do this online is extremely difficult. The students that "get it" will do well, but you don't know for sure if the others that aren't doing so well are just not getting the material as it is delivered or not bothering to learn the material. If it is due to the student not having an depth understanding and they don't keep asking the instructor for clarification, you can't know the real reason that they are doing poorly, because you have no non-verbal communication with those students.
Definitely the non-verbal side of communication. I share with my students that I am funnier in person than I am in emails. I relate a particular correspondence that I had with a student that caused me to re-assess my online persona. As I re-read our back and forth emails during a particular session, I had to stop and email him an apology for the tone of the email that I had sent him. As I was writing, the tone really took on a sarcastic sound to it, which couldn't have been farther from what I intended it to be. He, thankfully didn't take it that way, but I could really see another student being turned off by the tone. I tell my students to read out loud their responses before hitting the "send" or "submit" button to avoid exactly that situation as they should be able to pick up on an unwanted tone to their response before they might cause injury to someone's feelings.
I feel that as an online instructor to be a successful "guide on the side" you need to be able to understand what students want or are needing almost before they do. When you have students in front of you, you can see if they are getting the content or not. In the online environment you have no way to know if the content is getting through or not. So being able to explain in several different ways the same thing is key.
Heather
Mountasser,
It can. I do try to be responsive as much as possible and will often send them a quick message from my phone (if not near a computer) such as "I will address this with you tomorrow morning..." something like that so they know their message did come through - if I can. Just be very clear on your syllabus regarding communications expectations and refer them back to the course expectations if they fuss about you not responding at 2 am. Faculty have lives too and are allowed to live them.
Herbert Brown III
The biggest challenge for me is when some students expect their online instructor to be available 24/7 and all the time. I do have office hours every day but some students still expect me to be available at all time. This can be a challenge to meet.
Judy,
You can teach in almost anything online until you start to do more video conferencing . :-)
Herbert Brown III
Hello Herbert and Class. I think the biggest challenge for me in the online environment is not being able to have as much interaction with the students as I would want. In ground classes, even if the student is not paying attention, I can use some strategies to engage them since they are basically a captive audience for those 90 or so minutes of the course. In an online environment, students can choose to do the minimum amount of work and not respond to my repeated attempts to reach them. That can be very frustrating to someone who wants very much to energize students into succeeding and not just doing the minimum necessary to pass.
Maureen
I really like your reference to "Sage on the Stage" to "Guide on the Side." I am both an online instructor and graduate student and I can really appreciate the professors I have had that took their role as "guide" to heart. I teach in a F2F environment and have for over 20 years. I am perfectly happy stepping out of the lime light and into a virtual presence. I have joked with colleagues that online you can "teach in your pajamas" and nobody cares!
Adding video of an explanation so students can see your face, or at the least, some audio of some exponential thoughts that will help enlighten the subject. Also, by directing correspondence directly to them, they will know you have communication with them.
Rene,
Are there other things that you can do as the instructor to ensure that students "feel" your presence in an online course. Students can feel disconnected from the learning and other students depending on the design of the course. Is there anything you can think of to help the students feel are you there and present and active in the course?
Herbert Brown III
I feel very comfortable being the "guide on the side". I check emails constantly and reply several times throughout the day. I never give short replies and at the end of the email I always instruct the student to contact me if they do not understand what I wrote or if they have further questions. If I see a student is struggling with tests or assignments I reach out to them and offer help or suggestions.I use encouraging words and smiley faces in my emails. They always respond and thank me for giving them the extra time. I make positive comments and feedback on every assignment for every student every week. It lets them know I am paying attention,reading what they wrote, and that I am taking an interest to help them. I get many emails thanking me for my comments and suggestions so I feel I am being effective.I always use a passive tone when writing to a student and if a student seems upset I can tell right away by how they wrote their message to me. When I reply I try to make sure that they feel that I am validating their concern and that I am going to put the effort into helping them resolve the problem.
