I disagree. Whether you are teaching in the classroom or online you must teach the same. You must give positive feedback to the students. You still give the students assignments and tests. You still encourage class participation. And there is still discussion going on, its just on discussion boards and not in person.
Hello,
I agree. The responsibilities are not the same and the interactions are very different. Many students are not available for live chats and open dialogue and teachers must rely on emails and recorded videos to teach lesson plans.
The end result of learning should be the same but the delivery method is very different.
-Audrey
The responsibilities are just different. In a traditional classroom setting it's important to wear professional attire and project an academic image. In an online environment, you can dress however you like. Having said that, online faculty have greater responsibilities to master the material independently; there is no communal effort like in a traditional college.
James,
Thank you for your considered observations.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Maritza,
Very true. Thank you for your contribution.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
John,
Well put. These are good observations.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Amaris,
...and probably a little more effort than the same class on site.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I can see where those who have not done this might feel this way, but I would disagree. I have found that the responsibilities are different but just as demanding as a traditional classroom. First, communication takes on a whole different meaning. It is easier to communicate effectively when face-to-fact than onlne as your tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions can all be seen -- but online your words are your only tone of voice and thus require much greater attention to detail. Also, in this type of environment, you have to be able to understand your students without ever seeing them face-to-face, which also presents a whole new set of issues. Teaching in a classroom may require more physical presece, but I believe that teaching online requires more mental presence.
In my experience, the responsibilities have all been the same--right down to holding office hours in which students and I can meet. Even though we don't meet face-to-face with students, we have the same responsibility to be there for them.
There are a different set of responsibilites. One of the biggest issues is making sure that students understand that online courses still require a great deal of effort.
I feel strongly that the responsibility to the student, the university's integrity, and course outcomes is the same regardless if it's an online class or traditional classroom. The differences lie in delivery and time of day you actually spend teaching but that is about it. Otherwise, instructors have to place the same expectations on themselves in either setting.
I believe that the overarching responsibility is similar, that is to help the student be sucessful in acheiving the terminal course objectives. However, while the responsibilities are similar, the tasks necessary in fulfilling our responsibilities differ in a number of mechanical ways.
Technology may not be a primary consideration in an on ground setting while effective utilization of a CMS technology is a critical necessity in an onloine environment.
John
Dr. Kimberly,
This the heart of the instructor responsibilities. Well stated.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Earl,
I believe there are few who would argue the additional effort and time for students and instructors in the online environment over the traditional. Good point about the additional benefit of the discussion board.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Shawna,
Well stated. This puts it in a nutshell.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I disagree.
I find that my responsibilities are the same however; at times, can be more time consuming.
I have a responsibility to each student as well as the institution to ensure that a quality educational opportunity is being offered.
When I am in the traditional classroom setting, I have the same responsibility. My role is to foster the quality educational opportunity regardless of the method of delivery.
I disagree, like many of my colleagues here. The overall responsibilities are the same, the methods differ.
Our responsibilities are to help our students meet the learning objectives. We are to provide feedback of their work, and encourage them toward success. We do all these things whether we are online or in a classroom.
Online we have the additional challenges that asynchronous learning presents.
I agree that teaching a course online does not equate to the same responsibilities when teaching the same course in a traditional classroom setting. Teaching on a brick and mortar campus, in my experience, is far less demanding than teaching online. If for no other reason that the majority of interaction takes place synchronously, in a physical classroom where we see one another and can interact with everyone at once in real time. There are other reasons but, for me, this is the most profound and challenging difference.
Because attendance at instruction sessions is optional (at least at my school), I rarely have more than 9 students together at a single time for real-time interaction. Moreover, many do no view archived instruction sessions afterwards. Thus, the message board becomes the sole place that loosely mimics the class setting of a brick-and-mortar school. However, a message board functions very differently. It can be more beneficial than a traditional classroom setting because our 'classroom' is not limited to 2 hours a week. However, it also requires more diligence on the part of the instructor and students. Monitoring and strong participation in message boards, the closest option to a brick-and-mortar class meeting, requires much more work than a traditional classroom, for both students and instructor
Leigh,
Very good observations. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Robert,
Very good. Thank you for sharing your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
