BARB’S
JOURNEY INTO THE ONLINE TEACHING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
END
OF PART I (ONTL 6101 LESSONS 1-5) BLOG
OCTOBER
14, 2014
I have made it through the first
part of Introduction to Online Teaching ONTL 6101 with flying colors! It was not easy, but I expended a lot of time
and effort to learn and participate as much as I could for this online learning
experience. Since this was my first
class as an online student the course orientation and first lesson were critical
to my success. In order to learn or
participate I needed to learn to use a variety of course tools to begin
accomplishing tasks in unit 1. Having
experience with Blackboard (BB) gave me helpful background in being able to
start and navigate in this course. I
already knew how to login and generally navigate around a course managed by BB
so I did not have that early barrier to getting started. Even though I had this experience I felt that
the course orientation was really helpful with building my profile, learning
about how this course would work each week, how course members and the
instructor would communicate, and the completion of such items as group
projects, blogs, and e portfolios. The
first two weeks in the course were very busy!
In order to be successful and finish the course, getting that basic
foundation of what to do and how to do it were essential in the beginning. Time management is critical to success when
taking an online course. With assignments
or discussion posts due on Wednesdays and Sundays I found out very quickly that
checking in to the course these two days was woefully inadequate. It became very easy for me to check in almost
every day and put in time each day
working to stay on top of announcements, emails, discussion posts,
mini-lectures, reading, researching, and doing the assignments. By signing in and working often I felt less
pressured and more connected to my new “online class community.” The syllabus, course schedule, calendar, and
BB tutorial videos are also helpful to stay on track. I felt that the Learning Agreement Contract
was a good tool to focus on what tasks would be required for a success from the
start. Success is also dependent on
communicating well with other class members and the instructor. The BB system allows an easy system for
communication for the use of course email, discussion posts and threads, phone
calls, BB IM (chat or voice), and Collaborate for a group meeting. I found it important to communicate early and
often, especially if I needed extra help with something. When communicating online there is etiquette
(“netiquette”) which should be followed just as if you were communicating in
person. For example, using all caps is
like shouting and therefore it is not used often in online communication. Any rules of politeness and consideration
used in regular communication are applicable to online communications. Online teaching and learning is likely to
continue to increase in importance in higher education. It is very flexible, is available to all
students, and can be done from most any location in the world. Students who have work or family obligations
can often take online classes that fit their schedule. On the other hand students in the online
setting really need high levels of self-motivation, self-discipline, time
management skills, and good study and technology skills. Online courses can take a variety of forms
from face-to-face (F2F) web-enhanced to fully online, from teacher – student
centered, from passive to active, and utilizes a variety of activities that
help both students and teachers for different learning and teaching
styles. I expect to be much more
proficient in the use of BB, online technology, well versed in methods of
online communication, and the possibilities for meeting the needs of students
with different learning styles to promote their success. I continue to look forward to being a valued
group member, sharing and exchanging ideas with my class members, and being an
important active member in Introduction to Online Teaching 6101 during Fall
2014.
In lesson 2 we learned about the
High Tech High Touch dichotomy. When I interviewed several colleagues (who had
never taught online before) about online courses their primary focus was on the
course format and presentation. Not one of then mentioned the importance of the
relationship with students to allow for their success. All online courses will have “High Tech”
levels with needed technology skills on the computer, use of the internet,
using and being able to navigate a LMS like BB, constructing and posting posts,
blogs, and e portfolios. Our presentation of course materials is important, but
the color and flashiness of our course is not more important than the
relationship with our students. This
relationship between student and instructor and student-student is probably
even more important in the online environment than F2F since we don’t actually
see students several times per week. If
they believe that they are in a safe, fair, ad collaborative environment then
chances of success are greater. Therefore
“High Touch” where students feel connected to their classmates and instructor
in an active community are much more important to success in the course than
how fancy the technology is. In the
online class that I teach, I try to keep everyone connected by doing a Weekly
Wrap Up each week to make announcements, remind students about assignment due
that week, and to give a general pep talk.
My early education in high school and college was for the most part
instructor centered whereby the instructor was the expert, lectured, knowledge
was measured by memorization, and most learning was passive without questioning
the learning process. As I have
progressed in my teaching career of 43 years (8 high school and 35 community
college) I have evolved in my teaching format.
For about the past 25 years I have experimented and have used increasing
amounts of student group activity, inquiry type labs, and have tried to act
more like a coach to facilitate learning rather than the expert only imparting
knowledge. In my teaching I have begun
moving from the instructor centered toward the student centered classroom. Much of online learning is based on student
centered learning. Student centered
learning is advantageous because it is active, works on the difficult nitty
gritty process of the real learning-not
just the end product, allows for application, and involves collaboration and
cooperation. Dr. Luci’s presentation
suggested that online learning must be student centered so that the learning is
very active to provide deeper levels of learning for online classes. I did not know what to expect with the online
communication tools of Collaborate and BB IM.
The first Collaborate session did not go so well for me as I was not
able to scroll down the scripted page.
The second session was more useful with the presentation of another
lecture by Dr. Luci. If the program was
working well I can see great value in being able to present a lecture or have a
group/class discussion where the whole group could participate. I signed up for BB IM first and actually was
surprised one day when our instructor saw that I was on that program and
contacted me. I don’t use chat often,
but I thought that this could be a real useful way to communicate with the instructor,
group members, or other classmates. Both
Collaborate and BB IM are synchronous (real time communication together at the
same time) tools that can help a class become an active community due to
communication. Asynchronous (not real
time, not together) communication can also be used. This takes into consideration that all
members may not be available to “chat” at the same time. We can use email or posts in discussion
threads to communicate with a time delay.
In lesson 3 we learned that online
courses could take on a variety of forms.
At the low end of the online experience you might take a web-enhanced
course which is a F2F class with additional web activities. The meeting format (in the classroom) is the
same. Additional web activity could
include a learning management system (LMS) like BB where you could include
online versions of the syllabus, notes, powerpoints, discussion capabilities, reading
sources, quizzes and assessments, and grades.
The blended or hybrid online experience changes the format whereby a
portion of the class is still F2F, while the other portion is online. The online portion could include videos,
animations, articles, discussion threads, etc.
This change often increases student activity and engagement in the
course. Fully online classes are
conducted completely online in the web environment. All course materials, collaboration, and
assessment is done online. This movement
toward online teaching/learning has both strengths and weaknesses. Online learning is advantageous because any
student anywhere in the world with access to the internet can participate,
students who are shy or disabled feel comfortable, it is available anytime no
matter what your work or personal schedule is, and it is flexible. Online learning is more student centered so
the learning is more active, collaborative, and reflective. Online learning can have such difficulties as
computer literacy, technology literacy or problems, and students who are not
independent learners in terms of good time management or independent study
skills. Many additions can be made to
web-enhance an existing F2F course. A
LMS like BB could be used to incorporate email, course materials like a
syllabus, lectures as powerpoints, discussion threads,
and
grades. Outside of class activities
could include web materials like articles, lectures, videos, animations, and
simulation lab experiments. An
orientation for courses that move toward the online environment could be very
useful to prepare students. In my case, a
Principles of Biology 1151 (majors) course could either be web-enhanced or
developed as a hybrid course. As a hybrid
course the lab would remain F2F, while the lecture, discussion, and assessment
activities could take place in the online environment.
In lesson 4 we looked at different
learning styles, accessibility, and the start of our group project. There are four main learning styles within
the VARK system. Students have different
methods of learning for which they are best suited. Some students learn best by using
vision. Charts, graphs, diagrams,
pictures, photos, and videos are useful learning tools. Auditory learning is by hearing and
listening. Students who prefer this
learning style do well listening to a lecture or tape, as well as discussing or
explaining ideas to others (“talk it out”).
Students who prefer the read/write style use the text, handouts, lists,
notes, and rewriting notes as strategies.
The kinesthetic learner benefits most by “doing” activities such as labs
or role playing. Some students are
referred to as multimodal when they use a combination of these learning styles
to acquire and process knowledge. I took
the VARK Inventory and had the following scores: Visual = 9, Auditory = 8, Read/Write = 11, and
Kinesthetic = 7 à Total = 35. I think that my results are fairly accurate,
but since my total score is > 30 I am considered multimodal. That indicates that I use a variety of
learning styles to acquire and process knowledge. When creating learning activities for the
classroom it is important to use a variety of activities utilizing all of these
learning styles. In this way every
student will have ample opportunity to learn in one or more preferred learning
styles. This will promote student success.
If an instructor continuously uses only text and articles only the read/write
students are serviced and visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners are
disadvantaged. Early in my teaching
career at the community college I can vividly remember a speaker from a fall
in-service meeting who discussed four learning styles. Two of these were active experimentation and
reflective operational. For many years
on the first or second day of class I administered that learning style
inventory to my students to identify their learning style. I made it a priority to vary my classroom
activities to accommodate each of those learning styles. This is also important when developing online
course materials. Online learning should
present no barriers or student exclusion because of physical, auditory, or
physical disability. When developing
online class activities they must be accessible to all students. Resources and activities must be useable by
students who could have disabilities. In
most cases you have no way to know when there are disabled students enrolled in
your class. When necessary, notetakers,
closed caption, and other strategies must be available for students who need
them. We had our first group project in
lesson 4. Effective group strategies can
make or break the success of a group project.
Communication throughout the project is critical for support,
collaboration, and sharing the work load.
We used the following forms of communication: email, discussion threads, and a phone
conference. Collaborate and BB IM were
also available but they did not work well for us. The file exchange within the group tab was
invaluable for sharing our sections of the project. The leader was important to help divide tasks, set deadlines, submit a
group code of conduct, check our project with Turnitin.com, edit, and submit
the final paper. In order to be
effective we were organized, divided the tasks fairly, took responsibility,
helped and supported each other, and viewed the final group paper as important
as our own.
In lesson 5 we learned about
teaching styles, our personal preferred teaching style, that student learning
strategies require different teaching strategies, and digital portfolios. There are four main teaching styles
recognized. Formal authority (“expert”)
is instructor centered whereby the instructor gives information without much instructor-student
relationship. The personal model is
instructor centered, but the instructor acts more like a coach to help the
student apply the knowledge, uses a variety of strategies to reach students
with different learning styles, and suggests methods for improvement. The facilitator is a student centered
approach to teaching where students are able to use active learning, student
learning is more independent, and there is much student-student
collaboration. The delegator is also a student
centered teaching strategy where the student has a lot of control over their
own learning, critical thinking skills are developed, and student relationships
are important. My preferred teaching
style scores from the Grasha-Riechmann Teaching Style Inventory are as follows: Formal Authority = 2.75 low, Personal Model
(coach) = 3.625 high, Facilitator = 4.25 high, and Delegator = 3.5 high. Early in my teaching career my style was
formal authority. Over my teaching
career I have definitely moved from the instructor centered expert toward the
more student centered facilitator giving students more responsibility for their
own learning. Students who use different
learning styles will require a variety of different teaching strategies to
promote their success. Instructors are
most likely to use strategies or activities that align with their learning
style and their preferred teaching strategies.
As instructors we must be really aware and careful to include a variety
of teaching strategies and activities that will help all students attain
success. In our online classes we need
to use a variety of activities, edit our courses often, and modify them as
needed to help students be successful.
Also presented at the end of lesson
5 were digital portfolios. Portfolios
online will be used increasingly in the worlds of business and education. In the field of education e portfolios can be
used for the college accreditation process or for student assessment. Students can be evaluated on learning,
individual and group work, progress toward a degree or certificate, to showcase
accomplishments, or to reflect. I looked
at examples of digital portfolio styles at both Google Sites and Weebly. I prefer the design of Weebly because it
seems more organized and engaging to the viewer. I will design the shell for my e portfolio
and publish it very soon.
The first part of ONTL 6101 has been
interesting, engaging, and a lot of hard work.
I have learned valuable techniques and have acquired knowledge that will
assist me in going forward in this class and the three classes that follow in
the certificate program. I am most appreciative for the collaborative nature of
our classroom community and for instructor help throughout this class.
