It's All About Community...

This week, we've been asked to reflect on the existence (or lack thereof) of community in our online course experiences. As I sit here thinking about it, I find it hard to generalize about these classes, as each of them has had different levels of community presence. I've only taken three online courses (this one included), and all three were run very differently.

The first was through a professional organization that I belong to, and ran only three weeks. Based on this timeframe, and what we've been discussing this semester, three weeks is not nearly enough time to create a community of learners. There were few (if any) opportunities for personal introductions, and each of us completed individual projects with no peer feedback. In fact, the course could have easily been offered as an unpaced program, because teacher presence was nearly absent.

The second course was definitely a step in the right direction, and was part of the Instructional Design program. We started the semester-long class with personalized introductions that helped to break the ice and help us establish some connection with other students. Something small, but helpful in this was the use of a Google map to visually pinpoint where all of us were from. In addition, as the semseter went on, we partnered up with another student in the class to provide feedback for our final projects. All in all, this offered more opportunities to 'mingle' with classmates. On the other hand, these experiences were limited to the one or two people that we worked with, outside of the discussion groups.

Finally, there's this course. We began with an 'ice breaker' that not only encouraged, but *required* that we interact with each other on a personal level, from the first session. The use of blogs offers a bit less formal opportunity to share our experiences, as well as express individual personalities. In addition, we had the chance to work in a synchronous setting with one of our classmates, and have been given opportunities to work in small groups on the wiki as well as the forthcoming peer review projects. These activities give us a chance to be 'people' instead of just nearly anonymous keystrokes, and also encourage/require working together.

So, as you can see, my experience with online classes have been very different from one another. The only consistent thing that I have been able to see about these classes is that each has become *more* community-based. Now, this could be one of three things... either,

1. each course is better designed for community building than the last, or
2. I'm getting better at participating in an online learning community, or
3. it's a combination of both.

One other observation I made was that there was a lot of talk at the beginning of the semester about the shared Nantucket experience. Those students who had been to one of the summer courses seemed to feel a stronger connection with those that had been there with them. I think that this says something about the nature of community-building activites in an online experience. The more opportunities that students have to independently work together, the better the chance for community to build. Without these experiences, or with too rigid a control over activities, students are simply going through the motions to complete assignments.

Week 3: Some thoughts about online instruction...

This week’s readings focused on how teaching in an online environment differs from a face-to-face classroom.

As an academic librarian, I *do* spend some time in the Library’s instructional classroom, although my main charge is to create stand-alone, online instructional modules. So, believe it or not, I hadn’t really given much thought to the instructor’s role in online education.

Most of the library instruction that we provide happens during a single class session, and doesn’t require the long-term planning necessary for ongoing classes. In fact, most of the schools that I’ve worked for don’t require library instruction as part of the curriculum. Basically, it’s something that the faculty choose to incorporate into their classes, when a research project is assigned.

So, when I started considering the role of instructor in online education, I thought about my own experiences in the classroom, and how this would be different in an online setting. What would *I* have to change in order to teach online?

The first difference that I can see is the amount of time that would go into planning for an online course. While the overall concepts of the lessons would transfer nicely to online, designing *how* to present it all would be the real challenge. There would be decisions about the format of my lecture portion, which could be presented as text or in streaming audio/video (which would better convey my excitement about the content). And, rather than working from an outline, everything would have to be scripted… not to mention any actual recording (audio or video) of the lecture.

In addition to the time spent with planning, a certain level of creativity would be necessary to create engaging discussions and activities. From the readings we know that community is a big part of online education, and this means generating a *reason* for learners to work together. This would not only include interesting discussion topics, but also a variety of activities to engage the different learning styles.

Both of these activities (planning and facilitating) require that I become familiar and comfortable with (to some level) the technologies that I am asking the students to use. In the classroom, this is as simple as showing them how to use the different databases. The CMS used in an online class, though, requires that I help students to understand how to use its different components (whiteboard, discussion boards, assignment submissions, etc.), which can be a challenge in itself.

On the flip side of things, though, there may also be some things that are *easier* to do in an online class… Because of the asynchronous nature of some discussions, some of the issues of classroom management might be easier to address. It’s less likely that students will ‘act out’, and the technology usually allows time to thoughtfully address the issue. Another benefit is the ability to continually modify the lesson, as questions or problems arise throughout the course.

All in all, it should be interesting to put it all together for the final project.

Week 2: Reflections on Theory...

This week’s readings gave me a lot to think about in terms of how effective online learning can be. In the end, though, I tended to agree with those that saw technology as a medium, but that a sound design model and theoretical basis were what made any educational experience a success. While technology’s come a long way, it is still developing. But, that doesn’t mean that we should not explore its capabilities and application in different learning contexts.

So, with that said, let me comment on a few of the suggested topics for this week’s blog post:

In Foundations of Educational Theory for Online Learning, Mohamed Ally argues that no one school of thought on learning is used exclusively in online design, and that an online developer must know the different approaches to learning in order to select the appropriate instructional strategies (p. 6). What do you think of this claim?

This goes back to my introductory statement. Good instructional design is good instructional design. If designers are aware of their learners’ strengths and limitations, have a sense of the technological capabilities, and base their lessons on sound practices, there is a high probability of success.

Now, I don’t profess to be an expert on the different learning approaches and schools of thought. I do think that those of us that have had some experience or training in education have an idea of how students learn and how to best reach them with instruction. So, while I think it’s important to understand the different approaches, I think that this knowledge can be held either “tacitly or explicitly”, as Ally suggests (p. 6). In the end, it’s important to understand these approaches, but not be tied down by them. I’d say that they’re good guidelines for developing online and classroom instruction, but should be flexible enough to integrate emerging technologies.

Mohamed Ally talks about the implications of different learning theories--behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist--on online learning. How and where are the implications of these theories different for online learning than they are for face-to-face instruction? Does technology make a difference? If so, how?

I would say that there is no difference between face-to-face and online instruction, when it comes to the use of learning theories. Theories help us to understand and influence different situations, and should be applicable across a variety of settings and situations. In the cases of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, the main object of the theory is the learner. This is an important point, because Ally’s descriptions of each theory made little or no mention to the delivery method. His sections entitled “Implications for Online Learning” really just provided tips, or best practices, for following the tenets of each theory, in an online environment.

This, of course, does point to the fact that online and face-to-face instruction are different, and that there will be differing approaches to learning. This doesn’t mean that the theoretical approaches to learning will be different.

Anderson cites studies that claim that effective instruction is learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered. Given these dimensions, what impact does technology mediation have on instruction?

I think that technology mediation has the opportunity to help create and support all of these components. But, again, we have to go back to the idea that a good design can equal effective instruction, regardless of the delivery method.

In some ways, this becomes more difficult, because students and instructors may have a harder time gaining an understanding of each other and the social/educational complexities of the class. There is also the issue of technological competencies and access that might be an issue for some students. These factors can affect the learner and community centered aspects of online instruction.

On the other hand, delivery of instruction using technology has the opportunity to enhance assessment by building it directly into the interface, and providing immediate feedback and support. This is also true from the knowledge centered aspect, in that it can pull together a variety of resources that might otherwise be rare commodities to face-to-face learners.

Ultimately, though, I think that Anderson’s model seems sound for online instruction. Sure, there are accommodations that need to be made for learners, but the same might be said for students in a face-to-face course.

Is there any validity to the arguments of David Noble, Hubert Dreyfus, and Mark Bauerline or are they just curmedgeony luddites?

Haha! Curmudgeony luddites… Well, I will say that I was a bit put off by these readings. While I appreciate that there are programs out there that use online education as a money-maker, it seemed as if the arguments were based on personal experiences and not a broader presentation of the facts. Even Rothfork, who seemed to be supportive of Dreyfus’ book, points out that “Dreyfus relies too much on his own experience to imply that elite universities offer true education, while thousands of lesser schools throughout America offer mere training and competency…” (p.3).

So, while I think it is important to keep in mind that there are less than great online programs out there, it is not necessarily true across the board. As for being curmudgeony luddites? Well… not necessarily. But, they certainly have a beef with online education. As somebody pointed out (I’ve forgotten who), “distance learning isn’t for everyone.”

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, I mentioned the 251 Club in my first (or was it my second...) post, and thought I'd share a few of my favorite photos from my trip to Vermont, last weekend. I was able to get to 10 new towns, including: Addison, Barre, Brandon, Essex, Leicester (home of Satan's Kingdom, VT!), Montpelier, Panton, Pittsford, Salisbury, and Weybridge.

This brings me up to about 33 towns (give or take), which I hope to get up on a website at some point in the near future. I try to spend some time driving around and talking to people, and have made it a personal mission to visit all of the public libraries in the state... harder than you might think.

Addison, VT

Barre, VT
Random Gorilla...
didn't know we had those in VT, did you?
Brandon, VT
Camel's Hump
From my folks' place in Williston, VT
Weybridge, VT
Essex, VT
Montpelier, VT
The capital building
Panton, VT
The obligatory picture in front of a sign...
Pittsford, VT
One of the 4 covered bridges in town
Salisbury, VT

3 Things

What are 3 things that anyone who knows me knows about me?

Vermonter:
I’m originally from Vermont, where most of my family still lives. I love to explore different parts of the state when I visit, and always bring my camera along. As part of the 251 Club (http://redjar.org/everytown/), I'm visiting each town and have begun to develop an online journal of my travels.

Librarianism:
When people ask me why I chose to be a librarian, I usually answer “fate”. I seem to have been involved with libraries since I was a kid, even holding the position of librarian in my Boy Scout troop.

Travel:
Beyond my exploration of Vermont, my travel log is fairly limited, with only Canada and Ireland on the list, so far. I’m hoping to squeeze a few trips in before finishing up the M.Ed. program, with France and The Netherlands and maybe another trip to Ireland.

What made you want to take this course?

My goal for this entire degree program is to help me to develop online materials for the Library. Most of these materials will take the form of self-contained, online tutorials, which are essentially small scale "online courses". Therefore, I think that the content of this class will give me a better sense of the process and resources for creating more effective tutorials.

While I feel pretty proficient in the technical aspects of online instruction, there's plenty left to learn about the planning and design, from an educational standpoint. Ultimately, this course is another piece in the puzzle for creating effective and engaging online lessons for my work.