developing and maintaining presence within the online classroom holds challenges unique from F2f environments.
E-learning environments are characteristic of anonimity and flexibility coupled with asyncronous communication and collaboration. Students are not in a physical classroom whereby the instructor can gauge body language and non-verbal cues and students cannot "see" their peers. Social and pragmatic dialogue is more difficult to begin. An online facilitators greatest task is getting everyone off to a great start (Lehmann & Chamberlin, 2009, p. 156). Communication holds a key role in obtaining this objective as well is a foundation for building and sustaining learning communities of practice. Pre-course planning and preparation prior to the course start date will demand the most commitment by the instructor. This is termed the 70/30 rule by Lehmann & Chamberlin (2009).
Further communication considerations include the trends in website viewing; some lending to scrolling and others to clicking. Vibethink identifies pros and cons for each option within web design and has been pivotal in learning to present information to students in relation to increased performance from limited page redraw from scrolling, user control and organization. |
Commitment to pre-course preparation through first week activities are paramount to build presence among course participants. Inclusion of my contact information along the introductory course email, first week ice breaker activity, and facilitator ice breaker response are artifact which promote presence and provide vital information for success within the course.
A community matrix aids in the purposeful selection and use of communication tools/forums to further supports contact between students and faculty. Adept skills within Learning Management Systems (LMS) and blogs are basic skills necessary for instructional facilitators to obtain within the e-learning environment. Reflections:
Purposeful and vital steps are imperative to starting a course with a positive tone among all participating members. Emails can be challenging to compose as you are balancing tone, expectation, clarity, specificity within concise transmissions. The ice-breaker activity can be simplistic in nature, yet has a complex impact on peer communication and collaboration. I have always felt passionately about bringing in multiple means of representation into eLearning courses. Web 2.0 tools are vast and accessible. It is paramount that we begin to synthesize their power and presence to build communities of practice outside the communication via text. |
Citation:
Lehmann, K. and Chamberline, L. (2009). Making the move to elearning: Putting your course online. Rowman ans LIttlefield Education.
Lehmann, K. and Chamberline, L. (2009). Making the move to elearning: Putting your course online. Rowman ans LIttlefield Education.