Teaching Online Requires Active Participation
I have had the opportunity over the past two terms to interact with online courses from the instructional stand point and the content/course development stand point. What I have discovered in this process is that online teaching, though often described as an isolating experience by numerous faculty, in fact requires active participation on the part of all involved in the course. This participation goes beyond the instructor and the students who are enrolled, but also involves those who are responsible for design.
In order for the course to be successful (and by success I mean there is a collaborative learning experience created for all involved) there needs to be collaboration when creating the course from the ground up. I just finished reading a report written by the CVU (Canadian Virtual University), entitled "Online University Education in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities." The full report is available as a pdf here.
Though I would have loved to see a similar study done for colleges, the report provides useful statistics and information on how Canada is lagging behind other countries in our post-secondary online education offerings. The reason we are falling behind is a complex combination of many factors such as a lack of innovation and a lack of accessibility. What I particularly enjoyed was a diagram that they provided illustrating "Quality and Ease of Use Factors" seen below:
Diagram 1 From: CVU. "Quality and Ease of Use Factors for Online University Education." Online University Education in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities.Web.12. January 2012.
What I love about this diagram is that it demonstrates how there are basic levels (light blue) and robust levels (dark blue) for each factor. What is happening in post-secondary institutions is that basic levels are being met for most factors but because there is a lack of robust provisions, we are losing students, not attracting potential students, and potentially scaring away faculty from teaching online courses.
I have recently started thinking about the reasons leading to students being frustrated with online course experiences or alternatively not interacting with the course or assignments in the way they have been instructed. I often wonder if when a student posts a course related question in the "Discussion Assignment Question 1" forum why they would not post it in the "Q&A" forum right above or even the "eClassroom". Is this a design fail, an instruction fail, or a literacy fail. Is this a case of having to move the mayo for our students so that they can see the cheese that is hiding behind it in the fridge?
Also there is always that tension as an online instructor about when to give the "answer" and when to sit back and see if they can find it themselves. I have been blessed this term in that my students seem very savvy and keen to help each other out. If someone posts a question, often another student has answered it before I get to it. This is an ideal situation.
I cringe when I hear of instructors who just let their online courses run themselves and all they do is grade what comes in. If you do not have interaction and collaborative educational experiences with your students you are not an instructor or educator at all. You are just a passive observer. Quality online education, as the diagram above suggests, requires instruction, course development, content which engages the student, a platform that is stable, and support beyond simple IT instructions. If you do not have these factors at a bare minimum you are cheating your students and yourself out of what could be a wonderful, engaging, and truly collaborative learning experience.
In order for the course to be successful (and by success I mean there is a collaborative learning experience created for all involved) there needs to be collaboration when creating the course from the ground up. I just finished reading a report written by the CVU (Canadian Virtual University), entitled "Online University Education in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities." The full report is available as a pdf here.
Though I would have loved to see a similar study done for colleges, the report provides useful statistics and information on how Canada is lagging behind other countries in our post-secondary online education offerings. The reason we are falling behind is a complex combination of many factors such as a lack of innovation and a lack of accessibility. What I particularly enjoyed was a diagram that they provided illustrating "Quality and Ease of Use Factors" seen below:
Diagram 1 From: CVU. "Quality and Ease of Use Factors for Online University Education." Online University Education in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities.Web.12. January 2012.
What I love about this diagram is that it demonstrates how there are basic levels (light blue) and robust levels (dark blue) for each factor. What is happening in post-secondary institutions is that basic levels are being met for most factors but because there is a lack of robust provisions, we are losing students, not attracting potential students, and potentially scaring away faculty from teaching online courses.
I have recently started thinking about the reasons leading to students being frustrated with online course experiences or alternatively not interacting with the course or assignments in the way they have been instructed. I often wonder if when a student posts a course related question in the "Discussion Assignment Question 1" forum why they would not post it in the "Q&A" forum right above or even the "eClassroom". Is this a design fail, an instruction fail, or a literacy fail. Is this a case of having to move the mayo for our students so that they can see the cheese that is hiding behind it in the fridge?
Also there is always that tension as an online instructor about when to give the "answer" and when to sit back and see if they can find it themselves. I have been blessed this term in that my students seem very savvy and keen to help each other out. If someone posts a question, often another student has answered it before I get to it. This is an ideal situation.
I cringe when I hear of instructors who just let their online courses run themselves and all they do is grade what comes in. If you do not have interaction and collaborative educational experiences with your students you are not an instructor or educator at all. You are just a passive observer. Quality online education, as the diagram above suggests, requires instruction, course development, content which engages the student, a platform that is stable, and support beyond simple IT instructions. If you do not have these factors at a bare minimum you are cheating your students and yourself out of what could be a wonderful, engaging, and truly collaborative learning experience.
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