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Home > Technology Channel > Administrators Desk Archives, Technology Archives > Education World Columnists, Technology Experts, Using Technology > Miguel Guhlin > Miguel Guhlin Article |
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| MIGUEL GUHLIN | ||
The IT CrowdEight Tips for Successful Online Course Facilitation"Learning should be social…and in today’s world being social means being connected while you learn. Do we help create these social connections or are we to be worried about the time students might waste being social and being connected?" ~ The Thinking Stick Blog 
Easy access to course management systems like Moodle and Sakai, among others, make online learning possible for K-16 educational institutions. At a presentation at the 2009 Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA) Conference, colleague Tonya Mills and I had the opportunity to share our thoughts on online course facilitation. We both had the opportunity to share with a state-wide audience the wisdom that comes from reflecting on past mistakes with online course facilitation. This article encapsulates eight tips based on what we’ve learned, both as online facilitators ourselves, and through the constant reading and reflection we’ve engaged in.
"This online learning experience kept my interest and provided me with learning that I know will benefit me as an educator and, thus, will positively impact student learning. I especially enjoyed being able to log in at my convenience and from multiple portals (home and work). The content was challenging and interesting, and I found that the activities/projects were relevant and, thus, met my needs as an adult learner." LEARNING IS SOCIALLearning is social…and online learning environments engage students in that way. But we have to be careful to avoid trying to engage students in online learning environments with face to face approaches…the effects of F2F engagement methods may be different than what we expect. We discovered that through our own professional online learning experiences -- as students and facilitators. We often joke that we’d probably still be wandering in the desert of online course facilitation if we’d not taken advantage of some course facilitation opportunities. Even though efforts are still beginning in our school district, we’ve developed these eight tips to make your experiences go more smoothly. TIP #1Address the logistics of the course in your course materials and make sure they’re obvious and easily accessible, not buried in a syllabus or other document. Logistics can include how often students should log in and participate in the course, assessment rubrics, and so on. For example, Tonya and I have found it helpful to craft a syllabus and an assignment checklist (that also can be printed) for course participants. That enables participants -- and us -- to know exactly where they should be throughout the course. Another approach to streamlining organization of the course is to place content in virtual textbooks organized by topic. If you are familiar with Moodle, you know you can use the Book module to organize text, audio, and video as chapters in a book. That enables your virtual students to work their way through the content for a specific topic within the overall course of study. That organizational principle can save students a lot of time and effort -- as opposed to the traditional approach of organizing everything in resources at the end of the course. For example, here is one participant's introduction:
"I too am a Middle School Math teacher. I teach 7th grade. What grade do you teach? Is this your first technology course? I just finished the TILT course and it was an awesome experience. It's nice to see other Math teachers getting involved beyond the classroom. We are so consumed with so much, with TAKS and all. I don't know about you, but I’m glad TAKS testing is over with. We have a little time for freedom to incorporate the technology now. It's nice to meet you and I look forward to working with you this week." TIP #2Personalize your online learning environment with multimedia. You can accomplish that by including video testimonials from former students and course introductions by district facilitators. One of my favorite examples of that approach was (when designing a course for librarians being introduced to Web 2.0) to request audio introductions to the topics from such well-known library advocates as Doug Johnson and Joyce Valenza. The expectation was that they would provide a brief introduction for each topic from their "library" perspective. That kind of personalization helps build a real connection with course participants. In one online class, participants had the opportunity to view videos that illustrated how to subscribe to education blogs using Google Reader. Below is some of the positive feedback from using the videos. "Before I took this class, I had no idea how blogging could be so helpful to myself and my class. I had wanted to create a classroom Web page; however I see that a blogging site would be so much better. I think it will really help my class communicate with other classes and gather ideas from other children their age. I can use it to reflect on lessons and classroom management. I also can use it to post special projects, lessons, and homework, as well as showcase their work. Subscribing to RSS feeds has made it easier to obtain information. By using Google Reader, I will save so much time....These videos and articles put so much more into place, and answered many of the questions I had concerning creating a blog and what to do with it. I am excited about the possibilities!" ~ SAISD Blogging Online Course Obviously, the power of videos helped that participant better understand what is involved and grasp the concept of blogging and RSS feeds, without the presence of a face-to-face presentation. TIP #3Develop and share materials (e.g. brochures) with potential participants. Making course materials available online is important, but it's also necessary to share the print resources you are using to advertise the class online. Often, course participants request access to the flyer that enticed them to sign-up for the online course. By revisiting the flyer, they can remember visually what their purpose for registering for the course was. TIP #4Set up forums that address the “social dimension" of introducing people and getting to know one another, as well as forums for dealing with technical aspects. If someone hasn’t logged in, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call them or send an e-mail a day until they respond. In one instance, technical issues at the district level interfered with the class, resulting in this question from a participant in the Technical Support Forum: Question from Learner #1: “I just received and e-mail saying our district server was going to be down Friday through Saturday. Does that affect our Internet course? Also, I wanted to follow up on the blog request form. Is there still a problem with the setting up of our blogs? I submitted the request and still haven't heard anything. I'm just concerned about completing the assignments on time. I know that something was mentioned about an extension, but I wanted to know if that still applied and also how much longer we had. Thank you." Response from Learner #2: "Yes. Will we be allowed extra time to complete our assignments? With the blog site down and then the entire network down, it will be hard to complete assignments on time." The power of support forums is that when your online learners start to come together as a community of learners, they start to help one another. As facilitator, I did not get a chance to respond quickly enough, but another participant stepped up...and stepping up to help others learn fundamentally changes -- in a positive way -- the teaching and learning dynamic. TIP #5Remember to scaffold and support learning conversations rather than dominate them. Part of your scaffolding and support is providing regular feedback and interacting with participants online. That is especially important up front, since your level of activity serves as a model for the level of interaction students will exhibit when you are present but not as active. Initial high interactivity sloping down to omni-presence enables participants to learn to rely on one another for answers, rather than on you. Consider this exchange between participants in their first attempts to create a podcast using a free online service that, unfortunately, was blocked within the district (but unblocked later). Learner #1: “After trying repeatedly to create a podcast at school without success, I was very determined to accomplish the task. Finally, I had success at home. I found it very rewarding to achieve that. It was actually very simple once I was unblocked by school servers. The possibilities for podcasts are endless. I can envision student comments as they work on a project or go on a field trip as Ms Farias suggested. If I was undertaking a project on butterflies, I would have my students comment on each life stage we observe. Once the data was uploaded onto a blog, it would be there for review. Pictures could be added to go with the dialogue." Learner #2: “Great to hear of your success. I listened to your podcast and was inspired to give it a try. I too was successful and you're correct -- not too difficult, despite the multi-steps." Learner #3: “I like your idea about the butterfly, Jenny! As you already know, since we work at the same school, next year our campus will incorporate a gallery walk. The purpose of the gallery walk is to showcase student learning. Podcasting would be a great way to showcase a theme while incorporating technology. The students would showcase their expertise on the life cycles of the butterfly. Maybe each student could comment on a different stage of the butterfly. You also could discuss habitat and food. Great ideas! Thanks." TIP #6Don’t be afraid to summarize -- or landscape -- the ongoing conversations periodically. Also, at regular intervals (such as at the start point, mid-point, and end-points) remind everyone what expectations are. That helps everyone stay on focus. TIP #7Avoid long discussion posts, as well as posts that feature a lot of questions. Focus discussions around one central question that resembles an ill-structured problem. For example, consider how many questions are introduced in the discussion prompt below. Each question achieves equal status for participants; how could one question or scenario help participants focus?
"Ms. Jones," began Teri, the new assistant principal, in conversation with the principal. "Mr. Cervantez was absent from work yesterday and the substitute teacher marked attendance wrong in the electronic grade book. What we think happened is that the substitute marked Ramon Johnson tardy, but it was really Ramon Jimenez who was absent. Ramon Johnson actually transferred from Mr. Cervantez' class to Ms. Derrick's class. What should I tell Mr. Cervantez about changing his grade book? And, is there any way we can run a report on attendance totals to see what other issues there might be?" While that is one attempt to weave various questions and issues into a real life scenario, it's critical to engage course participants with ill-structured problems. Ill-structured problems can be an effective way of engaging students with experiences that scaffold higher order thinking. Such problems need to achieve curriculum objectives; be engaging, but not frustrating; and be developmentally appropriate for the learner. TIP #8Encourage people to discover one another’s strengths and what they each have to bring to the table. One of the most rewarding aspects of online learning conversations is that people discover one anther -- and themselves -- online. Some of the feedback that can result includes the following. "I have found that this course has made sharing information with my students and their families easier. Online professional learning/development for work-related purposes is a great experience. It allows you to learn at your own pace, and still offers support for those who need support. I enjoy trying to solve each task set forth independently, and only seek assistance when needed...I got many ideas and helpful suggestions from the other participants." “Online courses make it easy to obtain professional development in different areas of need...This online learning experience kept my interest and provided me with learning that I know will benefit me as an educator and positively impact student learning. I especially enjoyed being able to log in at my convenience, and from multiple portals (home and work). The content was challenging and interesting, and I found that the activities/projects were relevant and met my needs as an adult learner." Finally, as learners discover the benefits of online learning for themselves -- especially when they work with other people -- that positive reaction encompasses their online professional learning program. I encourage you to employ these eight tips for successful online course facilitation. Be sure to share back other tips you learn along the way!
Article by Miguel Guhlin |
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