A comparison of techniques to get your online class off the ground.
For many teachers, especially the ones who prefer the "old ways," creating an online course may seem like a project that will inevitably end up on DIY Disasters. Students won't engage...discussions and projects become lifeless....and the course load for the teacher is more than the students! BUT, these are fears we must face and overcome. I enjoyed reading these chapters on online course start-up, because it helped alleviate the thought,
"Where do I even begin?"
So, if you are having trouble like I was, here's a great video to help you become inspired.
Daphne Koller, Co-founder of Coursera
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Inspired? Let's get started:
Choosing the best method to get started can be as versatile as our courses themselves. Comparing the two texts we are reading is proof of that. Both offer sound advice and tools/tips for starting up an online course, but who is the advice actually meant for?
As you can see, our texts are highly contrasting in many areas; however, one of the most important ideas is front and foremost for both texts: Have a PRESENCE online.
As I read up on Boettcher's Survival Guide, I felt that the tips were more for the novice, not the tech savvy. The authors make many valid points, such as going slow and starting small, but many people who are embarking on online courses are further along than the basics.
On the other hand, Kostina encourages people to jump in, guns blazing. In The Golden Climate of Distance Learning, my head began to swim with all of the tips and examples for startup.
Here is a little organizer that sums up the two main strategies from our texts. The Online Teaching Survival Guide strategies are on the left, The Golden Climate in Distance Learning on the right.
As you can see, our texts are highly contrasting in many areas; however, one of the most important ideas is front and foremost for both texts: Have a PRESENCE online.
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So, with all of this in mind, I think it's necessary that we all take a moment to reflect:
What is best for you?
In your replies, answer the questions below, and take the first steps to starting your online class:
Who do you want to be online?
What is your ideal teaching self?
What would you like learners to say about you as a teacher?
How are you going to be that person, right from the beginning?
What is your ideal learner?
How are you going to help your learner become that person?
Awesome post, Andrea. I loved your circle graphics summaries of each of the readings. Your lists helped me appreciate that both perspectives emphasize supportive, trusting, online interactions. Without the benefit of tone of voice and non-verbal communication that we receive face-to-face, digital communication may be easy to misinterpret. So finding ways to add positive feedback along with positive coaching for student improvement is key.
ReplyDeleteMy ideal learner is one who is kind, curious, tries, and has a sense of humor.
As an online or classroom teacher, I’d most like to be thought of as an adult that made students feel that they mattered, to me, and in the world; a teacher that challenged them to try and to think, even in the face of frustrations; and a teacher that helped them laugh, and to take things both seriously, and not so seriously.
My simplest response to "How will I help a learner become that person?" is a Zen answer: by trying to stay present and conscious to what is happening with each student.
What is the sound of one hand clapping? (Zen Koan)
DeleteI liked your reference to Zen teaching. I thought it was funny because throughout my readings I was thinking that the authors were saying things that are frequently stated in Buddhist texts (mutual respect, be present, do one think at a time, etc.). I made a connection to your post because of this.
I appreciated that you value humor in your students. I think that is important to keep an online course engaging and productive.
Perhaps we could write our own Zen Koan for online learning: "What is the sound of one student in a class discussion?"
Mark, your Zen Koan gave me a chuckle, and made me think of two thoughts: first, that all students have a something important to say in an online discussion (and need to find a way to have a voice and be perceived as important); second, that it can be tricky to keep some students feeling like they are important enough if peers don't respond. So developing a "groupthink" attitude to be inclusive is really a needed area of teacher awareness and a skill to be taught to students. Great koan! It made me laugh--and think!
DeleteGood stuff here Andrea. The overarching theme I see from your post and our readings is that there are differing views on how to get to an online course which I think is a great thing to keep in mind. I don't see a one size fits all model working here with everyone having differing comfort levels, prior knowledge, and objectives. Because of this, I think teachers need to just jump in and start exploring. With my role in the district, I can certainly point people in a direction to get started and learn more, but the "on-the-line" portion of their course is something that should be personal and unique to that class and students.
ReplyDeleteTo answer some of Andrea's prompts, in an online environment I'd want to have a clear, consistent presence with a focus on interactive and engaging learning for my participants. I feel as if many reasons online courses may not work for some has to do with issues you'd see in a traditional class - if expectations are not clear and content is not engaging, students won't learn to the best of their ability and inevitably find themselves off task having a bad learning experience. Easier said then done but everyone has to start somewhere - our students have started and will eventually get to a point where they expect online content and portions of classes, if not complete online learning.
Do you feel that as a district, we should focus our courses on one or two LMS's, or leave it up to the individual teacher? I agree that there is never a one size fits all, but feel that to make the students "comfortable," having one or two places where they regularly visit would be beneficial.
DeleteI love the idea of being able to choose LMS's for ourselves, especially given the variety of learner levels and learner abilities, and with new LMS's being developed. Is there an online district go-to page that lists some of the popular ones and that compares and contrasts features? My impression is that with so many great tutorials available online, we can figure it out somehow, but maybe that's just after I finished my first OHX class and got a bit braver. Personally, I like having the choice so that I can figure out what my students might respond to, what will support them, and that will match my tech abilities.
DeleteThe other side of the argument is that some teachers would be overwhelmed by choices and might have a better shot at picking from narrowed choices of LMS's. That's why I think some sort of menu board with descriptions and comparisons might be great.
I wonder about something that teachers can add comments to? Maybe Google+ would work for that purpose?
Christian and some others have highlighted the importance of having clear expectations and interactive and engaging content. These lesson goals are speaking to me as I think of planning my part of a multi-disciplinary unit for this course. My expectations for student learning are frequently divergent (often best-practice for identified-gifted learners), and so I'll be looking at making sure my online unit goals and activities stress the most important learning goals clearly, while allowing for tangential learning, too.
DeleteWow Andrea. Wonderful job encapsulating the readings and writing a concise and engaging post. As mentioned in the previous posts, I found the graphic organizer to be particularly helpful. I am finding that using an electronic textbook leaves me taking less time to take notes or draw organizers like this. I liked having the opportunity to review the major headings using this chart.Your characterization of the two texts was spot-on with my thinking also.
ReplyDeleteHere are my responses to your questions:
Who do you want to be online?
Positive, encouraging, and able to inspire risk-taking (I think that this is a secret to successfully bringing students and teachers into the world of online learning).
What is your ideal teaching self?
Responsive. As The Golden Climate of Distance Learning stated very clearly. Presence is very important.
What would you like learners to say about you as a teacher?
That they could relate to me and that I help them overcome their fears and interact with the materials in an online environment.
How are you going to be that person, right from the beginning?
Obviously, the key is to be prepared and making time for the students.
What is your ideal learner?
Willing to take risks and having a desire to learn the content.
How are you going to help your learner become that person?
By creating engaging resources and materials that meet their needs and leave them wanting to log-on.
Nice job summing up the chapters of the book. You are correct, starting an online classroom, even just working with an LMS is overwhelming at the beginning. It is scary to take that jump into the unknown. I really like the graphic you provided, regarding the tips/strategies outlined in the book. Although the two resources may vary on their tips I believe they are both helpful when just started an online classroom.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you include these questions, it really go me thinking about my the online classroom I have been working on for my students.
-I want to be a facilitator of learning, online
-I would like my students to say I was helpful and was able to guide them to learn new things.
-From the beginning I think it is important to have clear expectations for the yourself and students.
-I would like my students to become life-long learners who are motivated to seek new information
I think as teachers we have to embrace our craft- we are craftsmen.. every day we are honing our craft, polishing our abilities, adding tools to our craft... I learned that from a great mentor. I try to carry it in everything that is important to me- being a father, a teacher, a friend. OUr students will become craftsmen as well- when they see us embrace this technology and hone our skills and display our craft day in and day out.
DeleteAndrea - I love the graphic organizer/venn diagram look….it really helped me to look at important specifics that were addressed in our readings. As far as this year goes, I am feeling overwhelmed at this point and know that I am not alone...so seeing these two approaches makes me think about the various teaching styles and knowing that there are some like Boettcher’s Survival Guide and are hesitant/ slow to join the process yet there are many that are like Kostina and Go All In. I am finding myself being a little cautious but willing to learn as I go and allow myself to make mistakes and have my students help teach me as well.
ReplyDeleteWho do you want to be online?
- I want to be accessible, organized and positive. I would love to be able to keep my class engaging & interactive. I want to have structure but also have the wiggle room for students to explore and challenge themselves. Important note to keep the door open for communication if at any time a student is lost, confused or stumped so that they are comfortable approaching this conversation with me and mutually finding a solution.
What is your ideal teaching self?
- I liked the tools listed in The Golden Compass - especially Be Yourself & Be Present. It is important as a teacher that typically multi-task but important as the text states to be in the moment and focused on one item at a time. If I were to teach a class online, I would have to make office hours that are a guarantee and are always going to be a time when I am fully available for my students.
What would you like learners to say about you as a teacher?
- I would hope that learners would say that I am a positive, hard worker that is invested in their education and well being. I want them to know that I am approachable and that their is a mutual respect and I want to always be encouraging but also push them to want to learn more and challenge themselves in order to reach their full potential.
How are you going to be that person, right from the beginning?
- I would have to establish the comfortable atmosphere with my students that I am able to show and have them physically feel in my classroom. I want them to be comfortable and able to have an opinion but also willing to try at all times. I will promote the open door policy for discussion board of questions and concerns and make sure that all involved know that this is their space for all to learn from each other from suggestions/questions/concerns/ideas/etc.
What is your ideal learner?
- My ideal learner is willing to make mistakes, take risks and learn from both. I would love to have my learners be curious and always positive. I would hope that they would be honest, hardworking and dependable.
How are you going to help your learner become that person?
- I will promote my students to be risk takers and active learners.
I would like my students are to be proactive and curious. I want them to ‘want’ to be engaged and challenged and would hope that they gain this want by me providing them the resources and materials that will challenge and engage them to learn more.
Jeanna, I loved what you said about wanting to provide structure but allowing for the flexibility for students to "explore and challenge themselves." This room for spontaneity in student learning seems often pushed to the backburner, but it's so important. With so many new demands attached to Common Core and assessments, sometimes letting students be exploratory with their learning and challenge themselves can be difficult. I like how online learning offers a forum for both carefully prepared answers and spontaneous, creative conversations. I like how the asynchronous (out-of-class) learning and responding in online classrooms allows for more self-directed and perhaps creative input from students. I have students, even at the elementary levels, responding on the weekends and at times when they could be watching t.v. on a school night.
DeleteAnyway, I find it is always a balancing act between keeping planned structure and going with students' individual, divergent learning tangents. I want to keep curious kids curious, and help the less curious kids to be more curious. Sometimes developing curiosity and feeding these kids' need for complexity is tricky to balance with structure. Strategies, anyone?
Great job Andrea. I really like how you outlined specific strategies. Focusing on 2 of those strategies, "add as you go" and "provide extra resources" are often overlooked. Nothing can be perfect, and having taught an online class, in a hybrid model, you face a lot of situations where you ahve to adapt or die- hence, providing notes, and handouts in order to help is ok. OUr job is to teach, and make things comfortable for our kids. Typically after having done that, they slowly slide into the online class and learn how to use the tools at their own pace, eventually gaining a comfort level.
ReplyDeleteAs far as adding as you go- i find new stuff all the time, and there is no shame in changing up the syllabus, or adding along the way- if you think it will help students learn! Again, that is objective #1- teach!!!! Using multiple sources of media and providing simple, easily accessible resources (most importantly yourself) is a great way to help the students feel like you are in this together.
Like Jeanna said, we want our kids to be risk takers, and if we provide an outlet to take risks, with us holding their hands early on... they will learn how to take chances, learn how to fail, and learn to get back on the horse. We have nothing to fear, but fear itself!
I could not agree more with the tips you highlighted. Sometimes it is hard to give an unfinished product to students. As teachers, we want everything to work perfectly the first time through, when in reality, that will not be the case.
DeleteI love the analogy to the DYI, as it something that I relate well with. My personal learning style has always been to dive in and figure it out. However, as your diagrams show, and as we know as educators, many different styles can accomplish the same goals.
ReplyDeleteI want my online presence to be a resource and one stop shopping for all materials that deal with my class. I want to provide students with an opportunity to seek out answers and investigate. I want to pique the students interest and flip my classroom so that students come to class eager and engaged.
Personally, I don't think the LMS matters as much as the content and material. I do feel that the material needs to be easily accessible for students and provide them a format to investigate and respond. The tip on "feedback and be yourself" can't be overstated. The feedback aspect offers instructors the opportunity to get to know students and make connections that are sometimes lost in the online format.
I like your focus here on the content and material. This really is the key to online learning and something that I feel many people have trouble thinking about as they spend too much time thinking about the platform and delivery format which I feel like should take a back seat to the content. As in the traditional classroom, content is king!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Christian. It is difficult to let go of the format of online learning and really focus on the actual content.
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