Knowing the Technology
It is vital to know the technology available to you as an online instructor. When I worked for Polk Virtual School, they sent us to a special franchise training course through Florida Virtual School. The two day training taught us how to work virtually, of course, but mostly spent time on the ins and outs of the CMS. One suggestion from our text is one that I noticed they mentioned quite a bit in our training: make sure to only add tools one at a time and only when you feel comfortable (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). One of the tips they suggested for us was to create the bulletin board slides in advance and then they also added to put in other information – like tips the kids needed to work on as a whole. I tried, but couldn’t successfully add those each week, but I did put the kids who were “on track” on the bulletin board slide. This helped with keeping the kids motivated because they wanted to see their names on the front page of the course every time they logged in. However, I hope to – in the future – add in more synchronous chat sessions so they can ask more questions face-to-face, but I know that I have to add tools over time instead of all at once.
Clear Expectations
Chapter 5 in the text is all about how to create clear expectations for students. However, I see very little difference in this requirement from teaching face-to-face to teaching online. I think it is vital that we create an atmosphere where students know exactly what they are expected to do from the start of a course or assignment. Models should be provided for discussion boards, for example, so that students know what level of posting they should be creating. Rubrics should be present for every assignment and with clearly defined parameters. Not only does this help the student when crafting the response, but it also helps the instructor with the grading and creating a fair environment. The creation of a “living” syllabus is essential to help establish and maintain these expectations. It is the faculty’s responsibility to make sure to have well defined and stated expectations that are upheld throughout the course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).
Additional Considerations
One additional consideration that needs to be taken into account when setting up an online learning experience is the role of the instructor. The instructor must establish a social presence that is very regular and timely. Research shows that students feel more satisfied when they see their instructor interacting within the course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). Therefore, an instructor must consider ways to become involved. They can e-mail students, chat with them through various programs, set up synchronous sessions, or even add to the discussion boards. The getting acquainted posting, like the ones we have been working on for our course applications, are essential in establishing the rapport you have with your students. This posting helps connect with your students and really adds to the online learning experience. The more I feel I know about my professor, the more I can see that he/she is human and really does care about my education – rather than just hitting in a few grades.
Synthesis
I think that there are quite a few things I would do in the future when I work as a virtual instructor. For one, I will make sure to create clear expectations and to have a social presence within my course. I think the initial posting will really be helpful - like the one we are working on for this course. I learned about how to get to know the students individually and remember doing that when I taught online briefly. Even if it was just asking about their guitar lessons, I noticed they were more likely to work for me because they saw I cared about them on a level other than grades.
Synthesis
I think that there are quite a few things I would do in the future when I work as a virtual instructor. For one, I will make sure to create clear expectations and to have a social presence within my course. I think the initial posting will really be helpful - like the one we are working on for this course. I learned about how to get to know the students individually and remember doing that when I taught online briefly. Even if it was just asking about their guitar lessons, I noticed they were more likely to work for me because they saw I cared about them on a level other than grades.
I apologize for this post being a day late... I've been in NYC monitoring a school spring break trip and it's a very tiring schedule.
Christin -
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I am trying to improve the virtual school provided by my district, and your experiences are very helpful in confirming some of the actions I am considering. One thing that you mentioned really resonated with me. You noted that a lot of the initial training on being a virtual instructor had to do with the use of the content management system. Unfortunately we are also finding that just learning how to use the content management system is a significant training effort. In fact, we are in the process of migrating from one content management system to another. It is important that I help our leadership team understand that learning how to use the content management product is only a piece of the training required for our online teachers. More important, the teachers need to understand how to identify, create, and use the essential course elements. As you pointed out, tools can be limited and introduced one at a time, helping teachers to manage the tremendous amount of training related to online tools.
Another factor that you affirmed was the importance of building an effective learning community. If I can help our teachers create strong online learning communities with their students, we can weather a few challenges related to the availability of online course elements. The great teacher with committed students can overcome issues or shortcomings of a content management system.
Thanks for your post!