I didn’t realize that I had to post a recap about the lecture on Talkshoe, maybe I should read the syllabus or look at the schedule once in a while. I actually had to listen to the lecture again since the laptop that I used does not have a high enough volume to drown out my son’s (or my mother’s) voice.
Maintaining Motivation and Engagement:
Maintaining motivation and engagement is pretty hard to do in almost every facet of life, but it is especially difficult in eLearning (online learning, distance education, etc…) because a lot more independence or self-discipline is required from the student. I have learned that if there are not enough activities to keep the student involved on a consisant basis or enough structure throughout the week, very little learning will take place or the information learned will be not be retained. I have seen this happen on many occasions, that is probably why I continue to take courses with Dr. Newberry, since I am comfortable in his online classes and confident that the level of work assigned will be both challenging and engaging.
Motivation in online learning is critical in facilitating learning and it is necessary to engage the learners in activities that promote this process. During the lecture Dr. Newberry touched on several important tools necessary in eLearning such as: Communication, schedule of assignments, instructional presence, and grading.
Communication:
Communication in eLearning is not as easy to do since most classes are online and asynchronous. I personally enjoy face to face classes since I feel that the time spent in a class facilitates interaction between the students and with the instructor. Since online classes do not function this way than communication needs to get creative. As in this class the requirement to create a blog and post to other classmates blogs is an essential function of communicating. This process also allows for the instructor to easily view any questions or areas of confusion and intervene.
Assignments:
Creating a schedule of assignments and making the assignments both engaging and challenging is an important aspect of online learning, they are integral in facilitating learning. Keeping assignments consistant is a good way of keeping the course challenging and provides the learner more chances to interact via e-mail and blog posts about questions or comments.
Instructional Presence:
It is important for the instructor to maintain a presence in the “class” so that students feel comfortable in contacting the instructor with questions or for additional clarification of assignments. I especially like that Dr. Newberry will comment on our blogs on every Monday, this lets me know that he has visited my site and evaluated my assignment. Having an introduction, such as Dr. Newberry’s (Newberries?) podcast during the first week of class sets a tone for the course of the instructors involvement.
Grading:
Keeping grading consistant is an important step in evaluating the course. Making the requirements and expectations of the course clear from the beginning allows the student to plan accordingly, especially since an online course is more demanding than traditional classes. Also using a grading rubric that is both simple and clear allows for the student to continually know his standing (and of course how many points we can miss before we fall below a B).
