In the portion of the course, I learned that it is best to be a facilitator of learning at times as well as facilitating the course content. This portion is describing how crucial the timing and content of instructor responses are to discussion boards. I have experienced that if I give away the "punchline" too early, many of the students who have not responded will give very similar responses. I have since tailored my response to be encouraging and to ask questions to keep the discussion going without giving an outright message of correct vs. not correct right away. I also have been pleasantly surprised at how cohorts have become a community through these discussion boards and this trust spills out in to the live sessions.
I learned that over a rubrics makes it easier to asses and review assignments and allows us to give feedback to our students.
Providing the criteria and rubric ahead of time will ensure the students understand what is expected of them. This should be used consistently throughout the term and measure a student's progress.
The first thing we need to do as instructors are to clearly outline the expectations for communications, especially how discussion board posts should crafted. That would include both the initial response as well as participation posts with the instructor and other students. While the module states the instructor should not post too much, I believe to get the conversation moving it requires intervention by the instructor to facilitate and throw out ideas for discussion. I have seen limited online discussion in courses ranging from the 100 level courses at the undergraduate level to doctoral level courses. It seems without clear expectations and an active guide many students will do the minimum regardless of their educational level. Another good point is the need for the instructor to model proper behavior and how the communiques should be crafted.
Communication and collaborlation are important to on line learning.
collaboartion is key because your students and you are brainstorming to find a common ground that works
Just because they are online does not mean they are not in tthe class room.
Consulting your rubric when giving feedback informs consistent, accurate, and applicable feedback.
Rubricks help me look at students work and assign grades much more easily and fair accross the board.
A rubric is a great tool for being constant with grading student work.
By using a rubric this will help you effectively communicate the etiquette for posting and wait for the studnts to reply don't be so quick to answer.
Online instructors should clearly and effectively illustrate expectations via the syllabus and well-written rubrics.
I learned the importance to give detailed rubrics to the students so they can have good communication in the discussion forums.
Communication can be difficult for some, so I try and make it more of an activity than a "lesson". For instance, teaching the NEC book, I try and get students to not only come up with the answer to a code question, but then tell me in a PM so that others don't see the answer. Then I encourage the students to discuss how the found it, give small hints, and just generally improve everyones understanding of the material.
The guide-on-the-side is an interesting concept to me. This seems to allow for the students to become a little more independent and seek out the solutions to the problems before asking the instructor for help. The instructor must be sure to provide the right kind and amount of feedback so they can keep the students engaged, but also independent.
Being a good guide on the side and having rubrics for communication and expectations of online content.
It is important to give students a rubric prior to the studentss tarting to work on a project or assignment so they know up frotn what is expected of them. I use rubrics all the time to assess their knowledge on a topic, i.e. if we covered a lesson on how to follow a recipe & measure ingredients correctly, I have the students go through stations to practice measuring flour and brown sugar (which are not measured the same way), liquid ingredients & also using measuring smaller amounts with measuring spoons. I give them a rubric & they practice measuring & receive a grade as they complete the"hands-on" demos within the stations. Again, communication is key!
Rubrics are an important part of communication and should be given at the time of the assignment to better communicate the expectations for the project.
When entering grades I use the Rubrics and give them feedback on their discussion and or any assignment
It is essential to manage discussions effectively. The first discussion post should introduce students to each other. Guidelines for what is expected for postings, how often they occur, and the duraton of the discussions should be posted. Instructors should not be too quick to provide correct answers or intervene in a way that prevents students from thinking things through annd discussing them for thmselves. Rubrics are an effective tool for clear and fair grading and may include format, contribution, justification and responses to the posts of others.
