Fifth Week

Strategies for Student Success
This week we discussed key elements instructors need to include in an online course's orientation and at the beginning of the course to help the students be successful. The instructor needs to set all the groundwork in place. Students must understand what is expected of them very clearly, and if they don't, they need to ask questions.

Procedures and policies need to be reviewed, and students need to be familiarized with the vocabulary and lingo of this learning environment. During the orientation process, students should be given a syllabus, and they should review it and make any inquiries at that time. The communication piece is crucial during the initial stages because if the student feels unconnected like they have no social presence anxiety will set in and they will give up.

The student needs to be a self motivated and determined learner. I don't feel this environment is conducive to all learners, but one way an instructor can assist a non-motivated learner is by setting up a calendar so the student can monitor their progress. The learner must also be organized, and they should be methodical and map out a course of action. This can be done by chunking assignments so they are not looking at the course as a whole.

For students with low level computer skills, there must be a training session at the beginning, and there needs to be technology support. We learned earlier the more we become familiar with our environment the more we will participate which will increase our social presence. This is important because it keeps the student from feeling lost and alone. Instructors can improve this feeling of uneasiness by providing the student with feedback and a relatively quick turnaround time.

Another thing that is crucial to the success of a student is addressing technology issues. These should be addressed in the course description before a student even signs up. They should include all aspects of the students technology needs. Including the software requirements needed, the hardware needed, and any settings they may need to change.


Don Bates

Fourth Week

Participation in Discussions
We discussed how to improve student participation in both synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments. The number one factor that influences most students is their grade. Many stated that making it a requirement to participate was the easiest way to encourage participation, but the grade would have to be significant enough to ensure participation. I think providing positive feedback will increase student participation regardless of the learning environment. One method for increasing participation in the synchronous environment would be to turn on a "Raise Hand" action key. This would give the instructor more control over the conversation, and students would be more apt to respond if they didn't feel like they were on a game show.

Instructors must also develop a clear criteria, and they must explain the requirements to students. Planning is another factor that can determine the level of participation. The questions need to be well thought in order to develop students higher order thinking skills, and the material needs to be relevant. In the online environment, providing examples will also increase student participation because it gives the students a reference.

Third Week

Moodle
This week I revisited Moodle. It is always an interesting learning experience. I have still not learned how to include mathtype code in the HTML for Moodle. So, I improvised and posted the questions as images. This seemed to work ok, but there was a snag. Some of the respondents got questions wrong because they included a period after their response. Another detail I will have to learn from in Moodle. I still think this system could benefit my students.

Many of the people participating commented on how the visual resources and practice helped them to remember how to do an operation. This I think is the greatest strength in using Moodle or any other course management system. It could be a great resource for reteaching or intevention, and I think it would be a good source for review for an assessment, but I don't think at the high school level it could be used exclusively. Students at this level need feedback and encouragement to complete tasks, and I am not sure this environment would provide those entangibles.

Direct Instruction
During this week, we also discussed direct instruction in general. The main downfall with this instructional method was its rigidness because it limited a students creativity. It is also hard to use this method with complex tasks. The other stumbling block was the pace. With the implementation of one new idea, it would almost be impossible to get through everything. One way of overcoming this that came to mind while completing the Moodle was that lower level content could be delivered from the Moodle, and the more complex concepts could be covered in greater detail in the classroom. This would be an option to make the direct instruction approach work because I do like the use of ability groups.

Don Bates