Mod. 4

Module 4 – Blog Posting – Sarah Crawford

The tools that face-to-face learning environment utilize can be also brought into online learning communities. However some of the strategies involved in traditional classrooms will need to be reevaluated for quality learning in online class room situations. There are three aspects that will be addressed to create an online classroom that closely mirrors that of a traditional face to face classroom. These three aspects that need to be address for online classes include content, communication, and collaboration.

The idea of content in online learning communities needs to direct and detailed. For instance the syllabus and rubrics need to be written with care so as to ensure little to no questions. One of the issues with distance learning is there is no oral question and answer time to further explain any vague details. Adding more detail to a syllabus and rubrics is a benefit to both the teacher and the student. The student can reference the syllabus online throughout the semester and then the instructor does not have to spend extra time answering the same questions over and over again from different students. However, there should be a section in the dashboard classroom for a frequently asked question (FAQ) section just in case there are specific questions concerning any aspect of the class. In addition to written details, providing examples of work that is appropriate and work that is sub par will also guide the students in their understanding of what is expected of them for assignments in distance learning classes. The quality of information used in the classroom will only help to build content knowledge. Further, the teacher should provide information in multiple formats such as videos, book, and research articles to ensure all learning styles are addressed. If all of these content aspects are addressed for a distance education class then the each individual student should increase their knowledge base.

Communication is another aspect of great importance for distance education. This aspect is either created or destroyed in large part by the professor. Online communication cuts out tonality and body language which can allude to different emotions such as humor. When the professor is communicating with the students they should respond in a timely manner, be careful to not be too concise with their email responses, and try to include some emotion in their responses such as exclamation points (!) or smiley faces (J) ((Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006). Also, professors can help to create open communication by picking topics that can be viewed from many angles so to ensure multiple perspective responses (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006). The professor can also stimulate discussion by asking specific and direct questions to students via discussion postings and/or emails (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006). If a student is specifically addressed then they feel appreciated for their hard work and in turn will continue to be transparent and share information with fellow classmates.

Collaboration is the final aspect being discussed and not only benefits the fellow classmates involved in that specific class, but if this concept needs to be taken outside the classroom as well. Business and schools alike can benefit from information learned in the classroom to enhance business and/or spread new learning ideas throughout a school, county, state or even region (Mayadas, Bourne, & Moore (2005). Collaboration can take place in many informal or formal settings. Some of the informal settings include wikispaces and blogs. This type of communication is not instantaneous as compared to face to face communication (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006), but it does allows for further thought on an aspect being discussed since it is written and can be viewed over and over again. And if the question is thought provoking then that will also increase communication and thus collaboration among the group members. The last aspect of collaboration that can be effective is the idea of student-moderator discussions (Durrington, Berryhill, & Swafford, 2006). Sometimes student-moderated discussions can feel less restrictive than those moderated by the professor thus leading to additional communication on that topic which would fall under the classification of collaboration.

All of these aspects that were address individually can be of help to a distance learning environment. When the professor and students are equal participants in online learning class this creates a sense of community and a bond then the synchronous and asynchronous learning aspects of distance education can emulate traditional classroom learning.

References:
Durrington, V. A., Berryhill, A., & Swafford, J. (2006). Strategies for enhancing student interactivity in an online environment. College Teaching, 54(1), 190-193. Use the Academic Search Premier database, and search using the article's Accession Number: 19754742.

Mayadas, F., Bourne, J., & Moore C. (2005). Introduction. In Bourne, J., & Moore, J. C., (Eds.), Elements of quality online education: Vol. 6. Engaging communities (pp. 7–10). The Sloan Consortium.