Your First Online Course: Care Instructions

Setting up your first online course can be a huge challenge but equipped with the expertise of others more experienced in it and a self-assuring ‘mantra’ of your personal choice you can do it!

Technology

Boettcher & Conrad (2010) stress the importance of not overloading yourself as an instructor while designing the course for the first time and be open to accepting help from your students and just add more tools to your course when you teach it the second or the third time. Mostly what you need to get acquainted with or decide on is the Course Management System (CMS) and what components you are going to use within it. As I explained in my previous post I will be relating all the questions to the real course I am thinking of designing. My asynchronous Mnemonics course 2 weeks long will be delivered using the following technology: Blackboard CMS and an added synchronous collaboration tool like Skype or OOVOO messenger or Elluminate depending on how big the class is going to be. The tools within the CMS I am planning to use are quizzes, discussion boards and announcements. I will be delivering the content through short subtitled video lectures that will be immediately followed by taking a related quiz. For example, after learning about association method used for memorising vocabulary the students will be asked to choose the best association for a selection of vocabulary units. There also will be text material available for download but I am planning to make content interactive to suit all learners’ individual styles.

Expectations

To make sure learners feel comfortable I will present them with a set of expectations through the announcement tool. They will be informed about the netiquette, deadlines and contact information (however most of my first class for the first course are going to be the students that I have been teaching synchronously for quite some time, I will still make sure they have my mobile number as well as email and Skype contacts).  

The rubric for their discussion activities with explanation for grading is another important step that will ensure participation as Boettcher & Conrad (2010) said 'if something can be done anywhere and anytime, it usually never gets done'.

Discussion

Additionally discussion questions and structure of discussion and its facilitation are at the core of my consideration in creating this course. Boettcher & Conrad (2010) describe discussion boards as the 'campfire' around which course community and bonding occur at the same time that content processing and knowledge development are happening.  I am still in the process of designing the questions but I can share one already. The idea is that students will be given up to 10 words that are easy to create mnemonics for and asked to come up with mnemonics to at least 3 of them and post them by a certain day. They will also be invited to post up to 5 words that their groupmates will come up with mnemonics for. They are required to post their mnemonics suggestions to at least 3 other students’ vocabulary units. This is an open end problem solving question that is challenging and stimulating but at the same time is conducted in a game like form. This discussion activity gives students a way to describe how they are integrating incoming knowledge with their existing knowledge structure, which is coincidentally what mnemonics is all about.

Presence

This week also taught me how to establish presence for both an instructor and students in a fun informal way through ice breaking activities. You can see my Little Men and Little Miss activity that I am planning to use in my course here.  Boettcher & Conrad (2010) emphasise that establishing presence is crucial to building trust between the participants of the learning process as without it it's impossible for students to be open and vulnerable about their beliefs. Also Pratt and Palloff (2010) suggest that you can refer to your students' bios throughout the course to make informed comments and responses.

References:

Boettcher, J., & Conrad, R.-M. (2010). Ten best practices for teaching online. In The Online Teaching Survival Guide (pp. 36–47). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Video: Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Launching the online learning experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Go on, Have an Icebreaker!

Mr Men Books by Roger Hargreaves

I am a big believer in fun in education as are Pratt and Palloff (2010). That’s why I came up with 2 activities that tick several boxes in an Effective Icebreaker Checklist designed by Conrad and Donaldson (2011). It’s fun and non-threatening, it is person-focused, not content-focused, it requires learners to read one-another’s entries, it requires using imagination and being creative, and learners are required to read each other’s entries and respond to one another (only in one of them they do not directly respond to one another but have a follow-up quiz instead).

Black Box Recorder - Child Psychology

Activity: Mr Men and Little Miss

Method: Asynchronous

Instructions: the learners are invited to open the images of the characters from popular children’s books ‘Mr Men’ and ‘Little Miss’ which Roger Hargreaves commenced in 1971 and which since then got televised as well (See the images attached). The students and the instructor are invited to find 2 positive and 2 negative characters of Mr Men or Little Miss  that best describe their personality. They are also invited to comment on at least one other student’s description that is similar to theirs or someone’s whose they find exceptionally funny or clever.

Notes: Additionally students are invited to use the picture of a chosen Mr Man or Little Miss as their avatar if they don’t feel like putting up one of their own.

The technique I described goes well with Pratt and Palloff (2010) speaking of the importance of the informal introduction that should be initiated by the instructor, they noted that many instructors’ introduction sounds like their Curriculum Vitae. They continue saying that talking more about the human aspect of their life an instructor becomes more of an equal player in the learning community. At the same time an instructor can provide their students with a visual, a graphic image that some students might want to use as their avatar instead of a photo if they prefer to stay anonymous for personal reasons (Pratt and Palloff, 2010).

Pratt and Palloff (2010) recommend to throw another icebreaking activity in the middle of the course and reenergise the course in a fun way. For the middle of the course ice-breaker I would recommend the students to use a choice of interactive software that is very easy to use and one of them (Voki) fits the description of the free software Pratt and Palloff (2010) were talking about saying you can have an animal, a person or even a plant talking with your recorded voice.

Activity: Create a Voki / Prezi / Glogster

Method: Asynchronous

Instructions: the learners are asked to create a one minute Voki / a short Prezi / a Glogster Poster introduction that is centered around a question “What are the 3 things most important to you in your life and why?” for which they will receive extra credit. The follow up activity that goes into the next week is a little fun quiz that includes questions from all the students’ Voki’s / Prezi’s / Glogster’s and those who get all the questions right will receive some more extra credit.

Notes: This activity will also get students to use a fun easy app that can be used in the future in a presentation setting. The instructor will determine how much credit the students get for doing the task but the credit system makes the activity more motivated than if it is just optional.

Examples of all the software used you can see on my school’s website (it is in Russian unfortunately)

Prezi and Voki Here

and Glogster Here

Little Miss Books  by Roger Hargreaves

Here is mine: I am a Little Miss Everything really like most of us but one of the strongest in me is Little Miss Giggles (7). I love giggling over things and making people smile, I even have a ‘Whimsy’ day where a chosen friend and I are supposed to come up with whimsical ideas over a glass of cider. Thus was born an apron that has  Vladimir Putin (the infamous Russian President) cross-stitched on it. Big success that was. Actually after reading what I have just written I might be assigned Little Miss Cuckoo (not invented yet).

And I think of myself as Little Miss Wise (21), too. I am a big fan of Eckhart Tolle Spiritual teachings, which is a mix of Zen and Mystical Christianity. Always and forever stopping myself from having the end of the world exaggerated reaction to things. Like when Ruble is plummeting (my business depends on that currency as it caters to Russians) I keep reminding myself that nothing in life has an absolute value and that the world of form is transient and ever changing.

My husband says I imagine myself to be Little Miss Wise but I am in reality Little Miss Scary and Little Miss Stubborn. Scary because I am Russian, all British people I know do not get tired of making KGB spy and other inappropriate jokes about me. Stubborn because I sometimes find it hard to see others’ point of view, though I am working on it.

All in all this is what my ginger half-Irish cheeky twit of a husband says,  I would never say such things about myself, what a nuisance and how simply dare he (in my best British voice)! But I love him really :)

References:

Conrad, R.-M., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Learning in an online environment. In Engaging the Online Learner (pp. 1–14). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Video: Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Launching the online learning experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Sofware:

Voki http://www.voki.com

Prezi http://prezi.com

Glogster http://edu.glogster.com

Online Learning Community: A Learner who Learnt how to Learn

Alien schoolbus illustration

Safety Net

An online community is a dynamic and safe place where a student can be who they want to be, who they can be, say Dr. Pratt and Dr. Palloff. It is true for any kind of community - we crave that feeling of acceptance and nothing is more destructive than that of rejection. For instance I come from the background of Linguistics, always and forever storytelling and digressing. My mind is not a map, it doesn’t work like that. It is more suited to creating poetry than diagrams and it is my gift and a downfall. But so is everyone else’s way of thinking and learning. It is the ability to see our shortcomings and the desire to help others and accept help from them that matter at the end of the day. That feeling of affiliation with your peers is facilitated by the sense of online presence.

Online Presence

As Dr. Pratt and Dr. Palloff explained when adult learners used to traditional learning engage in online learning they might experience a feeling of isolation and the two first weeks of a course are a critical time for an instructor - they might lose a student. Online community, they continue, begins before the class even starts. A warm and friendly instructor who relates personally to students will set the tone for the students and will affect how they relate to the instructor and to each other. Add communication tools and strategies that will facilitate students to engage with each other to create meaning together and you are almost there.

Traditional vs Online

An online learning community is where the magic of learning happens but only if the instruction was not merely moved from a book to a screen. Effective online learning shifts from an instructor to a student, and the goal of learning community is to co-create knowledge and meaning and there is no place for a ‘talking head’ instruction, as Pratt & Paloff say. However if we do not consider the concept of digital natives and immigrants there will be a huge drop out rate and without facilitating those who initially feel challenged by technology we will create unnecessary barriers.

Rules that Support

Students need to be aware of their role in online learning. It is important to inform them of what their expected conduct is, whether it is the content of the course or their behaviour within the learning community. It is no difference really to any community whether it’s a Secondary school or a corporate environment. In the first you are not allowed to bang your mate on the head with a chair and in the second people are expected to not turn up to work drunk and disorderly. Similarly school kids will have a curriculum and a company will expect its employees to do their jobs. But also both environments will provide training and support to those who needs it. At school you go through grades and have a form teacher to look after you, at work you have got training sessions and HR. An online community according to Pratt & Paloff will be most effective if it keeps it simple and gradually builds the technology skills. They do not recommended to use technology just for the sake of using technology - drop it, if it doesn't serve any purpose apart from being shiny.

Transformation

Transformation is the simplest way to explain what the primary goal of online learning is. And not just in the way that a student will be transformed into a more knowledgeable, skilled self. But a learner who learnt how to learn in an effective autonomous way. Who at that learnt it in a dialogue with others, who is now more reflective and self-directed with a developed sense of online presence. Der Überstudent.  

References:

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Online learning communities [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

TVenglish Online School - Project Description

For millions of people today, distance learning provides a compelling, convenient, and enriching experience that, until recently, was not feasible. Fueled by technological advances that have made profound changes in teaching and learning possible, distance learning continues to expand as its applications and advantages to business, education, and everyday life become widely known and appreciated.

A project “TVenglish Online School – Watch TV and Learn English!” is motivated by the fact that learning a foreign language at a distance is rapidly becoming a preferred choice of many adult and adolescent learners all over the world. One of the reasons for that is a paradigm shift from the Teacher-Centered traditional model of education to Learner-Centered individualized instruction that “strongly promotes active learning, collaboration, mastery of course material and student control over the learning process” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 123).

This document’s aim is to provide a high-level overview of the entire training solution for the online school TVenglish™ and serve as a major quality assurance checkpoint.

In this document we will consider the following questions in order to produce an instructional strategy:

• What course materials will allow achieving learning outcomes?

• How will course materials be grouped and sequenced?

• What instructional methods and tactics will be used to present material?

• How will assessments measure a learner's success?

Materials for instruction will be represented by a variety of contemporary text, audio and video content delivered via Web 2.0 technology.

1. The course will be built around an English course pack New English File™ (Basic, Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate and Advanced) It is a four-skills English course with engaging lessons, digital resources and strong online support. Resources include iPacks and iTools, DVDs, MultiROMs, popular websites, plus Online Skills Practice material – completely new for 2011.

2. TVenglish online school also suggests using learning materials based on popular TV shows and cartoons as a means of engaging students and providing them with an opportunity to master skills of understanding conversational English in a situation close to real life.

3. Students will also be encouraged to use the power of Web 2.0 tools to achieve their learning goals through:

• joining online language learning communities;

• downloading ESL podcasts;

• reading and listening to e-books on their computer, iPod™ or a similar device;

Content is grouped and sequenced according to the European Language Portfolio that describes “the levels of proficiency required by existing standards, tests and examinations in order to facilitate comparisons between different systems of qualifications.” The six levels (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2) are an interpretation of the classic division into basic, intermediate and advanced. Each level is built around a corresponding course pack and video course, suplemented by additional online resourses. The students will be placed into levels after passing a placement test and completing an Online Orientation course delivered through a Course Management System.

The delivery mode of the course is blended with most of the content delivered in asynchronous mode: reading, writing and listening. However, speaking will be essentially face-to-face and synchronous to ensure that students are engaged and have an opportunity to master their skills in a live communication with a native speaker or a Russian speaking tutor.

Students will interact with the content, instructors and faculty using the following tools:

• Skype™;

• Course Management System CourseSites™;

• Interactive whiteboard TitanPad™.

Another issue we consider is assessing the progress of learners. Assessment will be conducted in a form of informal examinations – every 6 months students will be offered an opportunity to take a mock international language exam that corresponds to their proficiency level. They will also be asked for a permission to record one of their Skype™ lessons for an academic progress report to be written by a member of faculty other than a student’s personal tutor. Assessment here enables students “to gain a sense of control and they can take greater responsibilities for their learning, if they know how well they are doing, compared with an established set of criteria” (Simonson et al, 2012).

For young learners assessment will also include progress reports directed to their parents emails every months and an online gradebook.

Reference

Kilimci, S. (2010). Integration of the Internet into a Language Curriculum in a Multicultural Society. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 9(1), 107-113.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Reflection on Distance Learning

Distance Learning: Expanding Horizons

In his video George Siemens speaks of growing acceptance of distance education that is fueled by:

• The increase in online communication; 
• Practical experience with new tools;
• Growing comfort with online discourse; and
• Ability to communicate with diverse and global groups (Laureate, 2010).

Despite Siemens’ optimistic vision of what the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future, currently there are some concerns, whether online education is as valuable and effective as traditional education. Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008) mention a stigma attached to distance education, poor organisation of training and shortage of instructional design professionals. Many in traditional education view distance education institutions as “diploma mills” with no classrooms, untrained or non-existent faculties, and unqualified administrators with profit as their primary motivation. Gambescia and Paolucci (2009) stress that while the flexibility and convenience factor afforded by online learning is a natural selling point, these attributes shouldn’t be much more prominent than those factors that speak to academic fidelity. Correspondingly Moller et al (Part 1, p. 70) specifically criticize economics and access as the only rationale for distance education by pointing out that "effectiveness [then] is either naively assumed or not particularly valued.”

However Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek (2012, p. 9) claim that the research proves that distance education works and provide 6 postulates directly related to its effectiveness:

1. Training in effective instructional strategies is critical for teachers of distant learners.
2. Distance education courses should be carefully designed and developed before instruction begins.
3. Visualization of ideas and concepts is critical when designing instruction to be delivered to distant learners
4. Adequate support systems must be in place to provide the distant learner with access to resources and services.
5. Interaction between the instructor and students and among students must be possible and encouraged.
6. Assessment should be designed to relate to the specific learning outcomes of the instructional experiences.

Success of online learning, as further explained by Simonson et al (2008, p.15), is enabled by technology, since it can provide optimal learning experiences for learners of diverse educational, technical, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds; in situations where classroom-based learning is either impossible or impractical.

So the future does look optimistic as “emerging technologies are changing online distance learning because they offer new solutions, add flexibility to integrate student interaction, and evoke real-life collaboration opportunities” (Beldarrain, 2006, p. 152).

Educational Paradigm: The Need for Change

In 1988 Keegan spoke about a negative impact the lack of theory had had on distance education “...there had been a lack of identity, a sense of belonging to the periphery and the lack of touchstone against which decisions on methods, on media, on financing, on student support, when they have to be made, can be made with confidence” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 41).

Would you agree with Moller et al (2008) that distance learning ''can do more damage than good if it is not designed or implemented properly''? I think it is not only a matter of quality of instructional design but as Moller et al (2008) put it ''reconsideration by contemporary views of what constitutes instruction''. So I have discovered that my personal learning preferences correspond to the principles of Charles Wedemeyer’s Theory of Independent Study that identifies such characteristics of distance learning as communication, pacing, convenience and self-determination of goals and activities (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 43).

In the video Changing Education Paradigms (2010), adapted from his talk given at the RSA, Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert, speaks of the theoretical underpinnings that cause a clash of mainstream education and real needs of today’s students.

Make a Difference: One Online English School

My primary motivation when I started at Walden was to gain skills and knowledge for launching my own online English school. So far I have made a number of important steps towards my dream.

1. I have realized the importance of of a theoretical basis for decision making. So far my heart is in Wedemeyer’s Theory of Independent Study because of the nature of my project. However, in the process of considering the project constraints I am not going to dismiss the rest of the distance education theories presented by Simonson et al (2012).

2. Planning in distant education is crucial and though it is very time-consuming and needs a lot of effort it is well worth all the trouble, because “well-designed instruction is repeatable” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 165). So I decided to devote a couple of years to designing and evaluating my online English school. Being a practitioner of online education I can ask my students to beta-test my course, as “learners can give feedback in lesson design and instruction delivery” (Simonson et al, 2012).

3. After completing the Distance Learning course, I can finally see the importance of identifying learners’ needs at the very beginning. Moore (1998) has noted that technologies are not critical elements in shaping students satisfaction with their distance course. Rather, student’s satisfaction is determined by “the attention students receive from teachers and from the system they work in to meet their needs”. Those needs include:

Content that they feel is relevant to their needs

Clear directions for what they should do at every stage of the course

As much control of the pace of learning as possible

A means to drawing attention to individual concerns

A way of testing their progress and getting feedback from the instructors

Materials that are useful, active, and interesting (Simonson et al, 2012,p. 169).

4. Another issue I am going to consider when designing an online instruction is assessing the progress of learners. Until recently the assessment that I have employed in my teaching practice was informal and it seemed enough to provide feedback and keep students motivated. However, unlike face-to-face synchronous private studies, an online language course catering to a bigger group of students with most of its content delivered online has different constraints. Assessment here enables students “to gain a sense of control and they can take greater responsibilities for their learning, if they know how well they are doing, compared with an established set of criteria” (Simonson et al, 2012).

5. Another important thing for me to consider is evaluation. While the notion of evaluation is not new to anyone involved in institutionally based teaching process, nowadays it is departing from a traditional quantitative approach and is increasingly incorporating “more naturalistic methodologies with holistic perspectives” (Simonson et al, 2012). These counter-approach methods include focus groups, interviews, observations, ratings and journals.

I consider AEIOU approach (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 351) to be optimal for evaluating an online language course, as it benefits both from quantitative and qualitative methodologies and examines the following important components of instruction:

Accountability (accountability data is collected);

Effectiveness (achievement and attitude are measured);

Impact (longitudinal data is collected);

Organizational Context (environmental/contextual factors that have affected the instruction are identified);

Unanticipated Consequences (unexpected positive or negative changes that occurred as a result of instruction are identified) (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 351).

6. I am currently teaching a face-to-face synchronous online course, however, I don't see this delivery method appropriate for such a big project as an online language school. I am very concerned about the quality and effectiveness of online schools in Russia. I have worked for a couple of online schools including higher education distance language courses and have done a lot of research in this sphere. It turns out there is no evaluation or assessment which I see as crucial to students’s success. I am planning for the most of the content to be delivered in asynchronous mode: teaching reading, writing and listening skills. However, in my program speaking will be essentially face-to-face and synchronous to ensure that students are engaged and have an opportunity to master their skills in a live communication with a native speaker.

My desire to explore the asynchronous realm is dictated by the fact that none of online English schools that work in Russia makes it possible for students to study asynchronously, they all heavily depend on a teacher, whereas I am looking to implement Wedemeyer’s vision. The online learning resources will be selected to help students navigate their own learning and provide them with “a wider choice of methods and formats to reach their learning goal” (Simonson et al 2012, p. 44).

Finally, the biggest selling point of my language course will be the fact that “With the growing population and advancements in technology, school is no longer seen as the only place to have the education” (Kilimci, S., 2010, p. 109). So private sector emerges with costs lower than traditional language courses, as individualized learning happens from the comfort of both teacher’s and learner’s homes and offers wider choices in courses, formats and methodologies.

Reference

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2),139–153.

Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

Kilimci, S. (2010). Integration of the Internet into a Language Curriculum in a Multicultural Society. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 9(1), 107-113.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). The future of distance education [Video Program].

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development).TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75

RSA Animate (Producer). (2010). Changing Education Paradigms [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/videos/

Simonson, H., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S., (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of education at a distance. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Online Course Conversion Guide

Scenario: A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.

1. Educational Theory

Because the issue raised in the scenario is the quality of communication it is helpful to start with considering an educational theory that will guide the conversion of the course to an online format. The author of the Theory of Interaction and Communication Börje Holmberg argued in favour of a conversational approach to course development and I based this Online Course Conversion Guide on the following assumption:

“The core of teaching is interaction between the teaching and learning parties; it is assumed that simulated interaction through subject-matter presentation in pre-produced courses can take over part of the interaction by causing students to consider different views, approaches, and solutions and generally interact with a course” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012, p. 48).

Teaching methods conducive to learning according to Holmberg include mediated interaction of student-student, student-instructor and student-content character and problem oriented assignments.

2. Multimedia

I recommend revising the course activities in favour of those conducive to creating a learning community. As new technologies emerge, instructional designers and educators have unique opportunities to foster interaction and collaboration among learners, thus creating a true learning community (Beldarrain, 2006).

When selecting the technology for delivering the online component of the course it is important to keep in mind seven principles for implementing new technologies in distance education programs (Chickering, Ehrmann, 1996):

Selecting Technology Tools on Prezi by Yulia Tolstopyatova

To incorporate some or all of those tools into your course I suggest using Course Management Systems that “have become the de facto standard by which the vast majority of the asynchronous distance education courses are delivered” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 238).

CMS tools are expected to promote power, affiliation, and achievement which according to McClelland and Burnham (1976) are basic motivators. “In an online environment, affiliation needs are often satisfied by means of an interactive discussion board or chat area. Instant messaging also often satisfies that need. Any learning object that helps improve collaboration and interactivity among learners is likely to help a learner or user achieve affiliation needs. Further, any learning object that encourages learners to want to identify with the identity of the institution, and to improve self-concept through affiliation is also likely to increase an individual’s sense of power and achievement” (Smith Nash, 2005, p. 224).

3. Course Activities

According to Simonson et al (2012, p. 239) one of the most powerful tools used in distance education are discussion forums.

A discussion board fulfills several important functions in an online environment:

- Helps CREATE THE LEARNING COMMUNITY. Each member of the discussion contributes to “the building of community of understanding” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 240).

- ENGAGES STUDENTS in active learning. Distance students involved in weekly discussions are responsible for their own learning, so Simonson (2012, p. 245) speaks of the “”kiss of death” that is the lack of student participation for any distance course.

- Serves as an ASSESSMENT TOOL. “Instructors with a belief in and appreciation for constructivist learning acknowledge the importance of using authentic tasks for evaluating students’ performance in online courses” (Comeaux, 2006, 14).

- Provides FEEDBACK. Feedback on a discussion board performance enhances critical thinking, writing literacy and scholarly behavior. Therefore, Simonson (2012) suggests that “threaded discussions should be graded, from minimal setup expectations to a truly exemplary level.”

However there might be some students reluctant to participate in online discussions, in this case Connolly et al (2007) recommend providing more input in the early stages to foster trust and develop confidence. Students involved in the study provided the following reasons for the lack of participation:

- lack of confidence;

- discussion boards were not linked to the assessment;

- exclusion by the rest of the group;

- lack of tutor guidance.

Source: Adapted from Connolly, Jones & Jones (2007)

It is important to remember that Instructor’s feedback to a discussion board is like wood to fire. It is best expressed by an undergraduate student involved in a distance education study "I liked the moderator who gave us the most feedback, with further comments and questions to keep our threads going and to stimulate further discussion and to make us think laterally and beyond what was said" (Connolly et al, 2007).

4. The Role of the Instructor

Distance education, states Simonson (2012, p. 241), is an opportunity to revisit the role of the instructor in the learning environment. And Dr. George Piskurich singles out the following attributes of a successful online facilitator:

They know the software used in the course;

They know the lesson plan;

They try to constantly communicate with their students online;

They actively participate in synchronous and asynchronous discussions;

They care about learners’ success.

They induce active learning by providing activities that help students to learn the content.

“Distance learning demands that students become engaged in the learning process” (Simonson et al, 2012, p. 243).  Discussion thread is one of the best tools to encourage students to socially construct and discover their knowledge. One measure of the success of a threaded discussion sequence, says Simonson (2012), is a reduced role played by the instructor. Simonson et al (2012) advise against posting to more than 1 post out of 4 in a thread, and recommend monitoring the thread without overpowering it, letting the students build on one another’s comments and self-regulate.

And finally, remember that while the content is important, the activities are the heart of your course and engaging activities keep this heart healthy and beating; taking dull and old activities of a traditional teacher-centered classroom and dumping them online will just result in a cardiac arrest of your course’s heart.

This Online Course Conversion Guide is also available in PDF, just click the highlighted words to download the document.

References:

Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance Education Trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education 27(2), 139-153

Comeaux, P., Assessing Students’ Online Learning: Strategies and Resources (2006). Retrieved from http://www.podnetwork.org/publications/teachingexcellence/05-06/V17,%20N3%20Comeaux.pdf

Connolly, M., Jones, C., & Jones, N. (2007). New Approaches, New Vision: Capturing Teacher Experiences in a Brave New Online World. Open Learning, 22(1), 43-56. Retrieved from ERIC research database in the Walden Library.

Piskurich, G. Chauser, J. (n.d). (2012). Facilitating online learning. (Video program). Laureate Education Inc. Retrieved from Walden Online University

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Smith Nash, S. (2005). Learning objects, learning object repositories, and learning theory: preliminary best practices for online courses. Interdisciplinary Journal of Knowledge and Learning Objects, 1. Retrieved from http://www.ijello.org/Volume1/v1p217-228Nash.pdf