This entire Certified Online Instructor experience has really given me some insight into how to design my courses to be taught online. There are some difficulties, and I think that if I change my thinking to more of a discussion based model instead off just regurgitating the material back to me through review questions and non-informative assessments, I will have a better experience as well as the students. Most of the courses I teach require some prerequisites with computers, so every person I interact with in the online classroom should have something to contribute.
Taking this approach should also help me overcome the issue I mentioned in an earlier post with the grading timeline. I should be able to judge the quality of work and not make it about the quantity. I believe that if I make the structure very clear and give good examples of my expectations, the students should be able to hit the ground running with communicating with me and their fellow classmates without hesitation.
Utilizing this model will also allow me to push the students to dive in a little further with their research and really debate their peers on the things they are passionate about. I can play devil's advocate and even see if I can push conversations along where students clearly have a valid or invalid point of view. I think this will be much easier to do in an online environment because it will give students time to really think through their answers and craft them before reacting emotionally in a face to face situation.
All in all, I am excited to be able to revamp some off my course models to better fit this new environment. I am certain I will make my work less stressful after the initial headache, but I do believe it will give me a nice foundation to build upon from this point forward.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Day 3 Reflection
One big problem that I currently have that should be taken care of in the online environment is participation. By requiring the learners to involve themselves in discussion in an online environment, I should be able to more evenly evaluate the level of participation because it is more tangible.
Another issue that I experience now but may be even more apparent in the online environment is the inconsistent pre-defined objectives given by the Department of Education required for the students to complete the course. Most of the objectives that are set up for the Information Technology field actually are more geared to a semester type course and we are expected to squeeze in 16 weeks of material in 10 weeks.
The most strenuous issue that I currently deal with is the "last minute" decision to give a course to me to teach by the administration. Being an adjunct instructor, I am usually one of the last people to get a course to teach. I specialize in databases, but there is someone else that is available during the day that also is a database person. Because I enjoy teaching, I am open to teaching any Computer class that is offered, and I have taught just about all of them. However, it is rare for me to teach a certain course twice or before the curriculum or textbook changes. When I do find out that I am teaching the course, it is usually a couple of days before the term begins and it offers very little time to prepare. I am not sure how to get around this one, but I have repeatedly asked for more notice to no avail.
Another issue that I experience now but may be even more apparent in the online environment is the inconsistent pre-defined objectives given by the Department of Education required for the students to complete the course. Most of the objectives that are set up for the Information Technology field actually are more geared to a semester type course and we are expected to squeeze in 16 weeks of material in 10 weeks.
The most strenuous issue that I currently deal with is the "last minute" decision to give a course to me to teach by the administration. Being an adjunct instructor, I am usually one of the last people to get a course to teach. I specialize in databases, but there is someone else that is available during the day that also is a database person. Because I enjoy teaching, I am open to teaching any Computer class that is offered, and I have taught just about all of them. However, it is rare for me to teach a certain course twice or before the curriculum or textbook changes. When I do find out that I am teaching the course, it is usually a couple of days before the term begins and it offers very little time to prepare. I am not sure how to get around this one, but I have repeatedly asked for more notice to no avail.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Day 2 Reflection
Moving a course from a classroom to an online environment seems like a massive undertaking. To make sure that students are understanding the concepts, the requirements are a little different. If a student is in the classroom, unless they have a cheat sheet or you offer an open book test, it is much easier to determine the retention of the information. Online assessments don't truly gauge how much a student knows because they could be sitting there with the book or, if the test allows, they get crafty and print out the test, go answer the questions, and come back and complete it. I am certain there are some tools available to take care of the latter, but having that complication will be tough to overcome.
Having an asynchronous environment will also make assignment grading interesting. No matter what class I have, if something is due it is turned in when it is due. However, in an online environment you may have students that are gung ho and get it done early, some that turn it in right on time and some that are late. That could make grading a complete nightmare, especially if you are having them turn in answers to matching or true false questions or even essay questions.
The other thing that I will definitely have to think about is the capability of the users home computer. In a lab environment, I have a pretty good handle on what software is there and available to the students. If I have an assignment that requires the use of a certain piece of software, it should be available to the student in the lab. You don't get that guarantee in the online environment and students may have to come up with creative ways to submit assignments.
Having an asynchronous environment will also make assignment grading interesting. No matter what class I have, if something is due it is turned in when it is due. However, in an online environment you may have students that are gung ho and get it done early, some that turn it in right on time and some that are late. That could make grading a complete nightmare, especially if you are having them turn in answers to matching or true false questions or even essay questions.
The other thing that I will definitely have to think about is the capability of the users home computer. In a lab environment, I have a pretty good handle on what software is there and available to the students. If I have an assignment that requires the use of a certain piece of software, it should be available to the student in the lab. You don't get that guarantee in the online environment and students may have to come up with creative ways to submit assignments.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Day 1 Reflection
I have been thinking over the reasons why I teach the way I do. I seem to keep coming back to the idea that my methods all coincide with how I personally like to be taught. In all of my courses I require the students to complete a READIness document that was first introduced as I began my post-secondary instructor path. Among other things, this tool simply allows me to view a students preferred learning style and where the rank among other learning styles. in the IT world, it is interesting to me that most of the students are Aural and Logical.
Although all students don't fall into one specific category, I always try to make my course adaptable for the other learning styles. If I see a student works better in a team environment, I will usually try to pair them up with a more advanced student so they won't drag other students down. I am certain that this allows me to be a more effective instructor and is usually a foreign concept to my fellow instructors.
It is more difficult to transfer these things into an online environment because, unlike a classroom, it is easier to tell when students are not able to catch onto concepts or terms with facial expressions. Also, a lot of times roles are reversed - meaning that someone who may be outspoken in a physical setting is more reserved in an online environment whereas the publicly restrained student is more vocal online. I think that, as long as you meet the needs of the students and they are able to leave with more than the started with, you've been effective. Being flexible and accommodating allows for that.
Although all students don't fall into one specific category, I always try to make my course adaptable for the other learning styles. If I see a student works better in a team environment, I will usually try to pair them up with a more advanced student so they won't drag other students down. I am certain that this allows me to be a more effective instructor and is usually a foreign concept to my fellow instructors.
It is more difficult to transfer these things into an online environment because, unlike a classroom, it is easier to tell when students are not able to catch onto concepts or terms with facial expressions. Also, a lot of times roles are reversed - meaning that someone who may be outspoken in a physical setting is more reserved in an online environment whereas the publicly restrained student is more vocal online. I think that, as long as you meet the needs of the students and they are able to leave with more than the started with, you've been effective. Being flexible and accommodating allows for that.