When it comes to an “Aha” moment in this course, the closest I have come to that experience was the realization that online courses can, and should, endeavor to encourage a sense of community and autonomy. Online courses are often criticized as leaving students feeling isolated. Additionally, they are regularly conflated with correspondence courses where teachers post lectures and students take tests and write papers. This course has demonstrated not only that these stereotypes can be false, but also that they must be false if our online courses are well designed. As I work to prepare my courses, I plan to follow the approach outlined in Engaging the Online Learner, working to foster a classroom community early on and then allowing students to grow and learn within that community.
As written above, the text emphasizes collaboration and community building as hallmarks of an effective online class. I have been reticent to release control of my class in order to allow students to create their own learning communities. I have been afraid that they would not put in sufficient effort or that they might not be able to understand the complex directions. I plan to change this in my first fully online course. I expect it to be a significant challenge, especially because the course will take place in a summer session. However, I see this course design as foundational in changing perceptions of online courses and in providing my students with the most rewarding and engaging learning experience. I still have questions about how to move through the stages, especially with a six-week course, as well as how to ensure that the activities are clear for my multilingual students, who are taking my class specifically because they have difficulties with reading and writing. I believe I have a good sense of what needs to happen in my course, and will only be able to work towards my goal through actual classroom practice.
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AuthorI am currently taking a class about best practices in online teaching. This is a blog to share my reflections. ArchivesCategories |