What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?
Knowing the technology available to you, as an instructor is
very important because it allows the instructor to prepare the students for the
online learner environment. Not only, knowing the technology but also being
familiar with the course management system (CMS) the institution decides to use
for the online course. According to Boettcher & Conrad (2010), “ some of
the most used systems in higher education are Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle,
Web study and Sakai”.
Why is it essential
to communicate clear expectations to learner?
Since the online learning environment
encounters some communication challenges, setting clear expectation for the
learners is an important piece to the learners’ success in the online
course. As an online learner, knowing
what to expect from the instructor and the course set the tone for successful
learning outcomes. For example, the
syllabus sets the foundation for the course because it provides the learners
clear expectation such as Course description, Performance goals, Assignments
and grading rubrics. As well as, establishing a forum of communication with the
learners so that they understand what to expect from the instructor and how to
communicate with the instruction if they have questions about the course. In my
opinion, clear expectation is essentially important in the online environment
because through the syllabus is the only true form of communication to set the
expectation for the learners. They don’t have the use of the face-to face
communication with the instructor so the more information provided online the
better.
What additional consideration should the instructor take into account
when setting up an online learning experience?
The instructor should
have a back up plan for technology deficiencies while setting up the online
course. Even though we always count on the technology working to our advantage
however there are times when thing are not working correctly the instructor has
to be sure they communicating with the learners. In addition making sure the learner know what
interment browser to use for the course. For example, at Walden University the
Internet browser that we encourage learners to use is Google chrome or Mozilla
because it more user friendly for our Blackboard system. In addition, when
setting up an online course making sure the Course management system (CMS) is user friendly and that students are
able to navigate through the system.
In my opinion, to be
successful in setting up an online course you have to plan, plan plan. Create a
checklist of things that you need to do as the instructor and possibly the
designer of the course. I realize the
importance of week one because it helps the learner get familiar with the
learning environment and know what to expect from the instructor and the course.
Now that I think about it myself, the anxiety of week one and just getting use
to the expectation of the instructor can be a bit over whelming at times. Therefore having access to the course a
couple of days before can be very helpful and it also gives the instructor the
opportunity to communicate with the learners as well as set the expectations of
the course.
References:
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad,
R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical
pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
No comments:
Post a Comment