How is an effective online learning experience constructed?

Academic institutions rely on Course Management Systems (CMS) as a pre-packaged way to create a virtual learning environment. Sometimes they are called Learning Management Systems (LMS). My experience with these systems is just beginning, and I have yet to form a complete opinion on them. I do have some thoughts and musings about exactly how they can be made to work effectively.

There are a great many difference between the traditional Face to Face (f2f) learning environment, and that of the virtual online classroom.

Classroom instruction is a captive audience and it happens at a predetermined time and location in accordance with the class schedule.

Online learning is none of this. The literature and purveyors of online learning tell us “Build it and they will come”. I don’t necessarily think this is true. What if I threw a party and no one showed up?

Online teaching is very different, and the “classroom” must be constructed in a new and different way. My earlier posts spoke about the tools of technology. We know how to use them, but how do we assemble them in a way that makes online teaching work?

My research shows me that anyone who thinks teaching an online class is easy is gravely mistaken. Teaching online is more than converting your existing course materials and posting them on a website. Neither is it building a webpage and filling it with links.

Online teaching requires the instructor to almost write a textbook if it is going to be interesting and of use to the students. Hyperlinks to external sites may make it easier, but a lot of research still is necessary, and citing of sources is critical.

I have experience with the tools used to make online content. I am far from a professional web designer, but I am already finding the framework for the CMS to be constraining.

Do we really need the CMS program? I am beginning to think that we do not. These systems have their usefulness, but just because you have a race car doesn’t mean you will win the Indy 500. As educators we must understand the basics of learning, and how they apply to the online environment.

Once we do this we will succeed.

Why would people NOT like online classes?
How is this possible?
Isn’t this the ultimate in flexibility?
All the schools offer Online Learning!
Online!!!!!

Well maybe people don’t like online classes because the ones they see offered, or the one they took last semester was CRAP.

I am not in Academia, so I don’t know how it responds to technology. BUT now that I am taking classes for my Postsecondary Teaching Certification I am getting a peek into the world of Academia and I am making interesting observations.

My background in manufacturing has taken me many places. I have worked in the semiconductor world, and that is the height of technology in all aspects of the business.

I think that Academia is 5 – 10 years behind in the technology world. Therefore many of the tools of technology that are used everyday in a “technology company” are only being used by the Academic “early adopters”.

I see a “bandwagon” approach here. Online teaching is a buzzword that seems to have been grasped by Academia of late and they are running with it. All the colleges now seem to offer online classes. Because of the lag in Academic technology acceptance and use, the implementation of these so called Online courses can be pretty poor. A poorly done course is a poorly done course whether online or f2f. (as Dr. Bob has told us)

Until this technology gap is narrowed I think we will continue to see crap presented as “online learning”. Thus the response of the students “I don’t like online classes.”

I will do my best in Online Teaching to make the course engaging and useful for the student. Online Learning is in it’s early stages, and I feel there is much to learn. I don’t think that many of the Institutions that offer online classes really know what they are, let alone how they should be taught. They are just on the Bandwagon with everyone else.

I don’t have any solutions to this dilemma, but as the next generation moves into the world of teaching we will see the gap close. Maybe some of the issues will work themselves out, and maybe they won’t. I guess we shall see.

The tools of Internet technology are all around us. They are in use all the time. I want to harness the power of the tools and the people who understand how to use them.

Lets look at an example:
World of Warcraft is one of the most popular online games ever devised.
Take a look at the Forums and Message boards.

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/

The information found on these pages is absolutely amazing. The strategies, tips, and research rivals that of any encyclopedia. If you want to learn how to get your orc to level 50 in a specific dungeon, you will find exactly how to do it here.

The collaborative power of this online community knows no bounds, but remember.

THIS IS A GAME!

What if we could harness this behavior to solve real problems and perform research in the academic realm.

I see the use of these tools as becoming commonplace in the near future. Many are used right now. The key element that they lack in their use is structure and discipline.

A message board can quickly becomes a mass of information that is disorganized and useless. File upload areas become graveyards of obscurely named documents that no one can understand. Online chat becomes informal text strings of “omg, rotfl, and lol“.

I seek to create an online virtual environment where these tools are used in a structured way.

Message boards must be moderated and postings organized. File upload areas must have naming convention rules. Chat must be complete words and sentences.

The beauty of this environment is that it can be populated with students who already know the tools and how to use them. Even if they aren’t familiar with specifics, they can be taught.

1. Tools are defined and students demonstrate how to use them.
2. Rules and discipline are applied to the use of the tools
3. The virtual classroom is built, and problem solving and learning can begin

The tools of internet technology surround us. Now we must put them to use.

Have you ever observed a modern student work?
She will be sitting at the keyboard typing away on a term paper. Every couple of minutes stopping to type a short message into an instant messaging window. There is also a browser window open in the background and she is reading and posting to a message board about the latest strategies for her favorite online game. She finishes up her paper after doing some quick fact checking on the university’s online library. Her term paper is complete. She finishes the assignment by uploading the paper to the professors website. Taking off her headphones she shuts down the mp3 player and closes all of the open windows on her screen. It is after midnight, and she has a face to face class in less than seven hours. She smiles to herself, it was a very productive evening working online.

The tools of technology and the internet are all around us. Some people would find them amazing, but to this girl they are commonplace. Most of the time they are used in informal and unstructured ways. This class will change that.

The course Online Collaboration, Research and Problem Solving will teach the student how to use these online tools of technology in a highly structured and productive way.

There are three parts to the course. The first part will introduce the tools that will be used. In the second part we will structure a virtual classroom that contains the tools and set the rules for their use. Finally we will use the tools, and the classroom to perform research and solve a problem. The entire class is online, and the students and instructor will never meet face to face.

This would be a good place to start:

I have been working with computers since the Commodore 64, so I guess that would give me over 20 years of computer experience.

I am not an IT professional, nor do I have a degree in Computer Science. I barely made it through my required programming class in college!

I am a Mechanical Engineer by trade. Specifically a Manufacturing Engineer. I have many years of experience working with and supporting production lines and systems. I am part Engineer and Part Educator. For many years, I have studied and practiced adult instruction and training methods.

I am also an Education Professional and am completing my coursework to become a certified PostSecondary Teacher. My Masters Degreee gives me the qualification to teach in many areas of engineering and technology.

Along with my role as an educator, I am a computer hobbyist, so naturally when a computer problem arises, I am asked to help.

I do not strive to sell products or software, I want to educate people on how to use and run their computers effecively.
“Teach a man to fish.”