Motivation and Support for Online Learners and Instructors
In order for students to be successful in the online courses, a variety of tools must be used. I believe online learning must be mostly student-led, with the instructor taking more of a guidance role than the active educator like classroom-led learning tends to be. In order for the online learning environment to be student-led, the instructor should integrate technological tools to facilitate student engagement.
Pelz (2004) wrote a report on his Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. His first principle was to "let the students do most of the work." (Pelz, 2004) For example, students would lead discussions while the educator would support and contribute to the discussion with questions to help draw students into deeper discussions while deepening critical thinking. This would help with social presence in the classroom because students would interact with one another and the instructor, while also strengthening cognitive presence because they would be required to research resources on the Web and share with other students.
An instructor offering office hours to the students while using a Web 2.0 tool like Zoom helps also encourage social presence in the online classroom. Students would get a chance to learn from their peers, bounce ideas off them, while also getting feedback from peers and the instructor. Any interaction that includes students communicating with their professor or peers by email, text, etc helps promote social presence in the online classroom.
As I stepped into the Online Educator Specialization at Ashford, the online class changed. There wasn't any contact or communication with other students, and that was off-putting. It was a difficult adjustment for me, as a student, because it felt like motivation faded a little without that communication and needing to respond to classmates. When my instructor offered Office Hours or weekly meetings with her, that was very helpful and more motivating to me because I realized I wasn't alone. I believe it would be something to consider when being an instructor in the online environment because it would encourage motivation and success in my students.
In order to be successful as an online educator, establishing teaching presence will be a must. The Institute for Higher Education Policy emphasizes interaction and engagement in its best practices for online teaching/learning and course development. (IHEP, 2000) Teaching presence can be established by voice calls and/or email, as well as the instructor providing feedback to their students.
Sources:
Pelz, B., (2004). Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 8(3).
The Instititute for Higher Education Policy, (2000). Quality On The Line: Benchmarks for Success In Internet-Based Distance Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.ihep.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/pubs/qualityontheline.pdf
Pelz (2004) wrote a report on his Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. His first principle was to "let the students do most of the work." (Pelz, 2004) For example, students would lead discussions while the educator would support and contribute to the discussion with questions to help draw students into deeper discussions while deepening critical thinking. This would help with social presence in the classroom because students would interact with one another and the instructor, while also strengthening cognitive presence because they would be required to research resources on the Web and share with other students.
An instructor offering office hours to the students while using a Web 2.0 tool like Zoom helps also encourage social presence in the online classroom. Students would get a chance to learn from their peers, bounce ideas off them, while also getting feedback from peers and the instructor. Any interaction that includes students communicating with their professor or peers by email, text, etc helps promote social presence in the online classroom.
As I stepped into the Online Educator Specialization at Ashford, the online class changed. There wasn't any contact or communication with other students, and that was off-putting. It was a difficult adjustment for me, as a student, because it felt like motivation faded a little without that communication and needing to respond to classmates. When my instructor offered Office Hours or weekly meetings with her, that was very helpful and more motivating to me because I realized I wasn't alone. I believe it would be something to consider when being an instructor in the online environment because it would encourage motivation and success in my students.
In order to be successful as an online educator, establishing teaching presence will be a must. The Institute for Higher Education Policy emphasizes interaction and engagement in its best practices for online teaching/learning and course development. (IHEP, 2000) Teaching presence can be established by voice calls and/or email, as well as the instructor providing feedback to their students.
Sources:
Pelz, B., (2004). Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 8(3).
The Instititute for Higher Education Policy, (2000). Quality On The Line: Benchmarks for Success In Internet-Based Distance Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.ihep.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/pubs/qualityontheline.pdf
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