Embedded Files
Online Learning
Learning Targets:
Define online learning
Explain how to effectively and efficiently teach online courses
Describe a successful online class
Online learning - Anywhere and Everywhere
Everyone will, and has had, a different experience with online learning. Covid-19 was many students' first experience with virtual classes, and many of them were not great due to the lack of time and resources teachers had when transitioning their courses online. Those experiences are valid, but they should not close us off completely to this form of learning.
Let's reflect on our own experiences with e-learning.
What is Online Learning?
What is Online Learning?
According to Urdan and Weggen (2000) as paraphrased by Keengwe and Kidd (2010), online learning refers to virtual learning, e-learning or distant learning, as it uses technology to teach a course through the internet without requiring in person meetings. Online learning has been on the rise since the 90's when the internet became more available to the average person and more households bought computers, according to John Vivolo (2016) and figures 1 and 2 displayed in his article Understanding and combating resistance to online learning.
Based on the graph, is it logical to assume Covid-19 lead to an even greater increase in internet users in the 2020's?
As a result of the increasing demand for online classes, more colleges have transitioned courses online (Vivolo, 2016).
Using figures 1 and 2, is there a connection between the increase in internet users and the increase in the number of online classes?
Looking at the data and the aftermath of Covid-19
At the time Vivolo wrote his article, many instructors still struggled with the idea of teaching online classes, but “[t]he COVID-19 pandemic forced schools and universities to transit from traditional class-based teaching to online learning” (De Paola et al., 2022, p. 1). Maria De Paola, Francesca Gioia, and Vincenzo Scoppa suggest Covid will lead to a continuation of the adoption of online courses and e-learning will become a key part of education in the future (2022). In my opinion, the normalization of online learning will demonstrate to both students and professors the benefits of using and taking virtual courses.
Effectively and Efficiently Teaching Online Courses
Effectively and Efficiently Teaching Online Courses
Three foundational Concepts to Use
Three foundational Concepts to Use
Teaching online classes is different from teaching in-person, traditional classes, but many of the same strategies can be applied to online classes to make them effective learning environments (Anderson, 2004).
Transactional Distance
Transactional Distance
Low transactional distance is key
Clear communication between professors and students.
The content should be simple to navigate and organized.
Examples: A homepage that links directly to that week's lesson and content. Put office hours and email in the syllabus.
Presences
Presences
Cognitive, Social, and Teaching
Each student should participate through exchanging ideas.
Collaboration with others is important, and students should share their questions and ideas with the community.
Teachers should facilitate engagement through the organization of the course
Example: Class or group discussions and projects
Independent Learners
Independent Learners
Teachers should encourage a curiosity for learning and push their students to grow their knowledge
Students should find their own way to learn and study
Examples: Offer helpful resources to students and give assignments with different options for completion: video, presentation, paper, etc.
(Rhim & Han, 2020)
By using and incorporating these key pieces of teaching into online classes, students will be able to learn the topics productively and teachers will be able to teach their students successfully.
Successful Online Classes
Successful Online Classes
Successful classes require teachers to consider the time it takes to complete an assignment or to do a lecture in a traditional class when they start to design their online class, as a similar amount of learning should be done in both environments (Vivolo, 2016). They should use a variety of online resources such as virtual simulators and different types of media; videos, images, charts, to fully engage the learners in the topics and materials (Rhim and Han, 2020).
Online learning has many benefits when incorporated successfully, but teachers and students should be cautious online, especially with the lack of quality control. Professors should encourage critical thinking because not everything on the internet is factual (Yuhanna et al., 2020). To best assist students, instructors can create assignments around evaluating sources and have students read articles on strategies for reading critically.
In Summary:
As we have discussed, transactional distance, presences; cognitive, social, teaching, and independent learners, are key components of online classes (Anderson, 2004 and Rhim & Han, 2020). In order for the benefits to emerge, teachers should have support in managing and creating online classes from the school or university (Vivolo, 2016). Other things to consider are students should be able to easily communicate with each other and their instructor, and the content should be simple to navigate and transmit the subject matter clearly to the learners with the use of web-based media to enhance the design of the class. We now know there are many benefits to online learning, one of which is that it is easier to obtain an advanced education no matter a student's schedule or location. We must also remember that though the disadvantages are small in comparison, they should still be considered so instructors and students can overcome them and learn the necessary skills to navigate the internet.
Quiz (Click arrow to the right for answers)
Why is it important for Instructors to communicate with their students?
A. Clear Communication leads to high transactional distance
B. Clear communication leads to low transactional distance
C. Instructors only need to communicate when students are failing
D. Students do not need communication to be successful in classA student is in an online class and the professor assigns a reading titled "Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources" and asks them to write a short paragraph on what they learned after reading. The student learns about critical thinking when it comes to reading and deciphering sources. They decide to apply the methods listed in the reading to their future research projects. What is this an example of?
A. Class collaboration
B. Independent learning
C. The cognitive presence
D. Thinking critically
1) B.
2) B
References
Anderson, T. (2004). Teaching in an online learning context. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University. 273–294. https://auspace.athabascau.ca/bitstream/handle/2149/758/teaching_in_an_online.pdf
De Paola, M., Gioia, F., & Scoppa, V. (2022). Online Teaching, Procrastination and Students’ Achievement: Evidence from COVID-19 Induced Remote Learning. IZA - Institute of Labor Economics. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep64153
Keengwe, J., & Kidd, T. T. (2010). Towards best practices in online learning and teaching in higher education. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 533–541. https://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no2/keengwe_0610.htm
Rhim, H. C., & Han, H. (2020). Teaching online: Foundational concepts of online learning and practical guidelines. Korean journal of medical education, 32(3), 175- 183. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2020.171
Vivolo, J. (2016). Understanding and combating resistance to online learning. Science Progress, 99(4), 399–412. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26406355
Yuhanna, I., Alexander, A., & Kachik, A. (2020). Advantages and disadvantages of online learning. Journal Educational Verkenning, 1(2), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.48173/jev.v1i2.54
How I used AI
I used Google Gemini to correct my citations and create images for my lesson and I had Microsoft copilot edit and change some of those images.
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