When your online lesson doesn't work it is very frustrating for the instructor and students.I always have a back up plan for this reason.
Effective and reliable technolgies are necessary for and on line courses
Online instructors and instructors that spend hours on the course content do to often go unnoticed. Incentives are great motivators for time and effort.
Online students must take responsibility for their own learning when taking a course which uses active learning techniques. Active learning courses are not for students who want an easy, passive learning online environment. ALong with the instructor making sure everything is working on there side, will help ensure the students success
Yes having the technology not work can really throw the who lesson plan off, always checking it ahead of time and having plan A and B is a must.
When I read the statement "Nothing can ruin an online course environment quicker than when the technology doesn’t work on the instructor’s side." made me realize that making sure the instructor is proficient in the technology used for a course, is just as important and the students understadnig. We constantly highlight that a student's understanding is key to their succsess but we forget that the instructor is just as important in this equation!
A key take away was gamification . The purpose gamifying an eLearning course is to encourage learners to engage in desired learning behavior by taking advantage of the human psychological predisposition towards gaming.Gamification is meant to assign real benefits for the learner, the training department, and the organization as a whole. Hence, your gamification-thinking must go beyond just developing appoint system where points are collected for the sake of collecting badges. Though this can be a good start and leverage one’s competitive drive, it should be seen as a means to an end (the initial boost) and not an end in itself.
It appears an issue in online learning, especially at the undergraduate level, students expect to be fed the information from the instructor and simply answer what is on the test moving on to the next course. The thought of actually learning the material and developing an expertise if you will does not seem to be a goal of many students. It could be a result of how they were taught in high school, or our current ‘quick fix’ society. Another thing is students seem to have an aversion to correction especially in written assignments. It is almost as the expectation is whatever is submitted should be considered acceptable by the instructor.
The expectations of higher education have changed over time and the ability to think critically and develop a philosophy of life have taken a backseat to the goal of obtaining the degree to satisfy a checkmark in the hiring or promotion process, and the overall goal of seeking higher education is now to increase a person’s earning potential. The actual journey itself is not seen as valuable by many learners.
