Internet-Based Multimedia Resources for Online Learning

As I searched the internet in hopes of finding a multimedia resource, one site kept popping up over and over. This site is MERLOT II (http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm), a program of the California State University, in partnership with higher education institutions, professional societies, and industry. This site focuses on multimedia educational resources for learning and online teaching. I was able to find many multimedia resources within this site, but my favorite was Make Beliefs Comix (http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/). This is a free online resource that permits anyone to create their own comic strip. I found it very easy to use. As long as you have the ability to make a selection from the options given and can pick letters from the keyboard to type sentences, you too can be an author of a comic strip. An excellent benefit of this resource is that it can be used by both the educator and the student. For example, ESL teachers can use this tool to teach their students how to give directions to their home (a skill that is commonly taught). The instructor may choose to do a comic strip which illustrates how to properly give directions and then have the students create their own. This can be followed by a time of sharing within their group or class and a discussion encouraging one another. The only drawback with this resource is that the only way to share it is by printing or emailing it, which could limit how or if the strip can be used.

Another wonderful multimedia resource is NASA’s official website (http://www.nasa.gov/). This amazing site has a section for educators and one for students, but both sections are loaded with multimedia (from pictures of astronauts taking spacewalks to many NASA apps). One of the NASA apps that I enjoyed the most is NASA Spinoff. Through this app, which unfortunately is only available for iPad, one is able to learn how the vast role of NASA goes beyond space exploration and touches our daily lives. NASA’s logo for this is app is, “there is more space in your life than you think,” and they do an excellent job of demonstrating how what we have learned from space can, and in many cases does, have benefits (like a robot that was originally built for space, but now is helping take care of patients in hospitals) that go beyond exploring space. As stated earlier, the only drawback for this resource is that fact that its multimedia is only built to support iOS. This leaves many users at the wayside, preventing them from using it.

Setting Up Effective Online Learning Experience

One of my favorite things in life is the satisfaction of checking things off as “DONE.” This, however, gets me in trouble because, in my haste to try to get things done, I sometimes barrel through whatever needs to get done just to check it off my list. Understandably, this eagerness to get done means that I don’t always stop to set up an effective plan of execution. When it comes to developing an online course, taking time to set up an effective learning experience makes a world of difference. To this end, it is essential that we establish and build community, communicate clear expectations to the online learners, and give our learners a sense that we know them.

An excellent way of establishing and building community is by the use of icebreakers. An icebreaker sets the tone for the learning environment, by establishing the presence of individuals and opening the lines of communication in a nonthreatening way (Conrad & Donaldson, 2011, p. 51). Your icebreaker is as important, if not more important, than the material that is being taught. Nothing is harder than to engage a student that has already been turned off by the icebreaker. Therefore, this is not an activity that you, as an educator, should take lightly. That being said, when designing the icebreaker, take into consideration that it should be fun. Conrad & Donaldson (2011, p. 52), recommend that the following checklist be considered:

1.      Is the activity fun and nonthreatening?

2.      Is it person-focused not content-focused?

3.      Does it require learners to read one another’s entries?

4.      Does it require the learner to find something in common with at least 10 percent of the community?

5.      Does it require a person to be imaginative or express genuine emotions or openness?

6.      Are learners required to respond to one another?

Another great way to establish and build community is by the way the educator introduces her or himself to their learners. Palloff & Pratt (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012), strongly recommend that educators not use their Curriculum Vitae as their introduction. They caution that doing so dehumanizes the teacher and creates a space between the learners and educator that may be too big to bridge. Instead they indorse taking a route that is not academic. Like posting information about ourselves that we do not mind sharing. In sharing these benign parts of us (like the fact that we have two dogs, we like photography, or mix martial arts) will help humanize us to our students and begin to bridge the space that naturally exist between teacher and student.

Communicate clear expectations to the learners is a necessary regardless of whether the course is online of face to face, but ensuring that it is done well for an online class may prevent a prolong delay in rectifying something that is going wrong. Boettcher & Conrad (2010, p. 55) state that communicating clear expectations makes a “significant contribution to ensuring understanding and satisfaction in an online course.” This is because there are other variables that come into play in an online setting that often do not exist in a face to face environment. For example, letting your student know how to turn in an assignment when the site is down, or giving them the alternate activity ahead of time for when the intended technological tool does not work are both expectations that need to be addressed. Not communicating your expectations to the learners will result in sundry misunderstandings.

In addition, instructors should take into account the importance of giving our learners a sense that we know them when setting up an online learning experience. A while back, in the United States, there was a commercial that asked, “What’s in a name?” and the answer was “EVERYTHING.” In an online course where there is not any physical interaction, it becomes easy for many of the student to feel that they are all alone. This loneliness can then be transformed into a sense of just being a number in the class and nothing more. This is why letting them know that we know them, we know their name, is so important. For introverts, like me that do not like to share personal photos or information, often our name is the only thing we are okay with giving. This small link is what many online educator may have for their students. Therefore, you want to make the most of it. Palloff & Pratt (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012) suggest that instructors quickly begin to use their students’ names. A good way of doing this is by always making sure that the learner’s name is in the post, and I would add any other form of communication with them. In doing so, we give them a sense that we know them and are trying to reach out to them. After all, is it not our goal as educators, to reach each of our students so that knowledge can freely flow?

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Launching the online learning experience. Baltimore, MD: Author. (approximate length: 25 minutes)
Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt discuss what successful online instructors do to start the online learning experience. What are the essential preparations? How can online instructors get to know their learners? How can icebreakers be incorporated effectively?

Online Learning Communities

As a pastor I see the benefits that building community has for a group. A strong sense of community in a church is vital for growth and successfully moving towards the organization’s common goals. I have also experienced how the lack of community is not just devastating for the church as a whole, but how this deficiency touches each individual member. This is why it is easy for me to grasp the concept that learning groups also have the need for developing a sense of community. Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012) in the Online Learning Communities video explain how building learning communities require three essential elements: people, purpose, and process.

It seems obvious that “people” needs to be at the top of the list of essential elements needed for learning communities to exist, what is not so apparent is who make up the “people.” Naturally one would assume that if we are talking about learning communities then “the class” taking the course would be the people. “The class,” however, may not be a good definition, because “just in time” courses (or courses that are created to disseminate information that staff is required to show proficiency in; i.e. the organization’s privacy policies) may entail an individual signing into the company’s online learning module, reading the necessary material, and taking a test afterwards. Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt (2012) clarify that even in this, apparently, individualistic course it is important to build a sense of community. They recommend that the facilitator create a learners’ lounge area where staff can comment, reflect, or ask their coworkers (or the person guiding the course) for clarification.

The second essential element for building an online community is purpose. Since people are already coming together to take the class, one could easily conclude that taking the class should be the purpose. Palloff & Pratt (2012) expand the scope of what the “purpose” should encompass by listing five other reasons why community occurs, such as to co-construct meaning and knowledge about the content. Another purpose that they mentioned is to challenge each other. While I would not have realized that challenging each other would be a purpose for coming together to build community, I now see how doing so bring the group to a higher level of understanding and knowledge. This is because in doing so learners can draw things out of one another that the learner alone would not have thought of.

The last piece of building community is the process. It is in this section that the educator plays a pivotal role. Much of how the course is delivered and received lies in the hands of the mentor. I was amazed that Palloff & Pratt (2012) view the role of “process” as such an important portion that they believe it needs to start in week zero. In other words, the “process” of developing a community of online learners should begin before the course ever does. Both agree that a welcome letter needs to be emailed to the class and posted prior to the class even beginning. They also recommend that an orientation module be required to be completed before the course starts, to familiarize the learners to technology and the environment that will be used. This “process,” which may range from the use of an ice breaker at the beginning of the course to a class project or activity, must continue throughout the course in order for the community of online learners to flourish.

Although the challenges of building a community of online learners are great, the benefits of doing so are tremendous. In a time when growing and retaining the number of learners/employees is becoming a priority in many organizations, ensuring that administration, educators, and learners become responsible for the development of the sense of community is becoming more important. For in doing so student/employee satisfaction increases, the perception of learning increases and retention increases. Palloff & Pratt (2012) denote that the reason why people are now willing to “stick around,” even when times are hard, is because they feel like they're part of a larger process, and therefore they are not taking on the world all alone. I am encourage to see that when community is accomplished the voices of all its members are not just heard or listen to, but become necessary for knowledge and meaning to reach a higher level of learning, exploring and reflection. I never would have guess that the benefits of building a community of online learners could extend beyond the virtual “walls” of the online classroom.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Online learning communities. Baltimore, MD: Author. (approximate length: 44 minutes)
Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt define “online learning communities” and highlight the benefits of creating a learning community for facilitators of online learning experiences.