I found this topic to be quite interesting to think about. As a people person and someone who thrives on interacting with individuals, I chose the aspect of building community in an online class. The video below shares some of the information that I found on this topic.
Believe it or not... I've attempted to re-record and re-upload this video at least 5 times. YouTube was not kind to me today.
References:
Cerniglia, E. G. (2011, May). Modeling Best Practice through Online Learning: Building Relationships. YC Young Children, 66(3), 54-56.
Finch, D., & Jacobs, K. (2012, September). Online Education: Best Practices to Promote Learning. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society Annual Meegin, 56(1), 546-550.
Maddix, M. A. (2013). DEVELOPING ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITIES1. Christian Education Journal, 10(1), 139-148. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1344055966?accountid=12085
Dear Jason,
ReplyDeleteIn my research, I also found that the aspect of teacher-student communication was mentioned as one of the factors described for best practices. It is the teacher feedback that enables the technical part of the online or distance education actually to move forward creating an atmosphere of exciting learning and discovery. The teacher feedback and communication was a key component according to Mariki (2013) in a study to find the best practices to apply to their distance learning university in Tanzania. Also, The British Journal of Educational Technology, in the article Adult learners’ intention to adopt mobile learning: A motivational perspective (Hashim, K. F., Tan, F. B., & Rashid, A., 2015) uncover that not only the adult learners are highly motivated regarding m-learning, they still look forward that student teacher contact and feedback.
I will have to agree with you in regards to the role of the teacher in the online learning community.
Regards,
Ina
References
Hashim, K. F., Tan, F. B., & Rashid, A. (2015). Adult learners' intention to adopt mobile
learning: A motivational perspective. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2), 381-390.
Mariki, B. E. (2013). Use of ICT in Distance Education at Hanyang Cyber University:
Possible Best Practices for the Institute of Adult Education. Turkish Online
Journal Of Distance Education, 14(2), 185-195.
Hey there!
ReplyDeleteWow, I just like watching how enthusiastic you are in your videos! I feel so boring in mine now compared to you. Anyway, I think you made some really GREAT points about best practices in distance education in regards to how a community could and should be built within online courses. One of the main ideas that you mentioned that really resonated with me was that teachers should place themselves inside the community instead of being on the outside looking in. From every course I have taken now at Liberty, especially in these education courses, I have seen this firsthand. Our instructors do a phenomenal job at immersing themselves into each course, being available for discussion or questions, and taking the time to make sure individual projects benefit the learner's own situations. Songunro (2015) states “a quality instruction embodies strong andragogical skills which includes effective planning and organization, manifestation of currency of knowledge of content, use of modern technology, and instructor’s embracing personality attributes (e. g., communication—verbal and written, commitment, dedication, approachability, energy, empathy, care, empowerment, enthusiasm, humor, respect, and listening, and so on) (p.29). These traits of quality instruction point straight back to instructor involvement and how that involvement enhances the learning environment. Thank you for your meaningful post and for being so entertaining in your video! Good luck with your future courses here at Liberty and I hope to see you again in the future.
Amanda Parton
References:
Songunro, O.A. (2015). Motivating factors for adult learners in higher education. International
Journal of Higher Education. 4(1). p.22-37. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1060548.pdf
I totally agree with you that when instructing courses online that the environment needs to feel like a community and that should be the instructors’ job. When this type of environment is created the students do not feel like they are on an island alone. Students will be more likely to be more engaged in the course and it also helps set them up for success. In the classroom or online environment a technical success arises when an instructor prepares his or her student to succeed, and technical failure exists when he or she set them up to fail (Frieman & Abramson, 2013).
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that supportive learning environments are important. Studies show that the emerging concept of a supportive learning environment and themes of needs that revolve around the instructor, structured learning resources and regulation of learning activities (Abdul Rahman & Alias, 2013).
I really enjoyed your post and finish strong!
Abdul Rahman, S., & Alias, N. (2013). The supportive distance learning environment: a study on the learning support needs of Malaysian online learners. European Journal of Open and Distance Learning , 8188.
Frieman, R., & Abramson, C. (2013). Setting Students Up for Success. Education Next, 88.
Interesting point Juliet! It would be interesting to see some research about the effects of online learning when it comes to personalities. We know it effects how people learn and interact socially in the traditional classroom setting. Shouldn't the same be true about an online classroom?
ReplyDelete