Preparing An Online Environment

What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?

When setting up an online environment for a distance learning course it is extremely important to both be aware of and know how to utilize the technology that is available to you. While it is not necessary to master all of the tools that are available to you right away (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010), you should focus on and familiarize yourself with the essential tools of the CMS/LMS that is being utilized, as well as those that are required for course completion. Knowing the technology also puts you in a position to assist students with the basic technological tasks required by the course, as well as giving you the opportunity to gather information resources to share. Having at least a working knowledge of available tools also opens up the opportunity to dialogue with students that may have valuable information that they can provide.

Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?

In an asynchronous online environment, where teacher and students are often separated by many miles and time zones clear and concise communication is of the utmost importance. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that when expectations are not clearly communicated, it can be a costly and time consuming endeavor. Those participating on online courses are often adults with busy home lives (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011) which makes time a precious commodity. If a student does not have a clear understanding of the course expectations or expectations for a particular assignment, it will inevitably lead to the student having to go back and edit work that has been done, or worse, lose valuable points on an assignment, affecting their course grade. 

Clearly communicating to students also opens up lines of dialogue between the instructor and the students. Even expectations that are expressed clearly will garner questions from students. This provides the instructor with a chance to engage, familiarize themselves with and challenge students in unscripted and random ways. This helps to build a rapport, comfort and respect between both parties which will improve over all communication for the duration of the course.

What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?

An instructor should take into account the differences that each student brings to the table (Laureatte, 2013); both to learn more about the their students, as well as to be aware of sensitivities that students may possess based on things such as religion, cultural beliefs or personal life experiences. A student that does not feel comfortable in an online environment is more inclined to drop the course, which is not a desired. Also, knowing and respecting your students background allows you to engage them on a personal level, leading to a higher comfort level and hopefully a more engaged and active student.

Instructors should also take care to:

·     *Properly establish an active and robust online presence because students relate a strong teacher presence   course effectiveness (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)

·        * Prepare a syllabus particular to the online course, not simply copy a syllabus from a face-to-face course

·         *Provide an engaging and fun ice breaker

·         *Perform a quality check for the course site and tools required for the course

Please feel free to leave comments and questions below J

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

 Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Laureate Education, Inc. (2013). Launching the Online Learning Experience [Video webcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2818946_1%26url%3D

Building An Online Learning Community

Online learning communities provide an arena where both the student and the facilitator have equal access and relevance in discussions and activities; it also provides an atmosphere where peers can interact with one another on a level that is usually not possible in a face-to-face setting, simultaneously providing added comfort openly communicating with others that are facing the same obstacles.

Some of the essential elements of online community building

People

*Method- The way people interact, communicate & connect with each other

*Social presence: establishing online identity)

Purpose- Why these people are brought together (the class)

Process- The way that the course is delivered

When attempting to build a productive online community, one must make sure that the rules of engagement (Frequency, expectations, rules & regulations) are reasonable and appropriate for each particular audience, lest you risk alienating parts of your community and even driving people away. You also want to make sure that there shared responsibility between all parties (students and facilitators) in maintaining and improving communications and learning within the community. 

In order to sustain an online learning community it is important to design a good orientation, reach out to drifters, peer support, community comfort, account for life outside the course, start technologically simple and build, provide ice breakers and relationship-building activities.

All of the aforementioned factors related to community building serve to strengthen the online instruction portion of a course. No matter how well constructed a course is, having an active community that feel comfortable communicating with and assisting others goes a long way in creating a strong and healthy online learning environment. While the source video for this post did not provide an abundance of new information, it did introduce the concept of proper course introductions. Aside from proper over all course design, I am now aware of the importance of not front-loading online courses with too much information or too many tasks; this may intimidate and ultimately led to the departure of participants that are not as prepared for the online environment as others are.