Online Classes With Collaboration? Impossible!

Summary

“Learning Everywhere, All the Time” gives teachers, specifically instructors of online courses, great tips regarding how to teach a course online effectively.  The author also encourages teachers to make sure that they are creating a classroom community, even without the benefit of face-to-face meetings.  She asserts that connections between students and teachers as well as between students are a crucial element in online instruction.

Response to article

            This article seems to be highlighting many ideas and tips that we’ve received from professors and teachers about effective instruction.  Cook uses terms and ideas we use almost every day in our CADRE classes: “good online teachers know how to connect to their students, how to differentiate instruction, and how to design a course to meet the social, emotional, and learning needs of their students” (Cook 2012).  From what I’ve heard about online courses, having never taken one myself, most professors don’t take the time to show their personalities or learn about those of their students through activities other than assigned work.  This part of the article seemed like a no-brainer to me, but many college professors would benefit from reading about effective teaching strategies such as differentiation and connecting to students. 

            Cook also emphasizes the idea of continuing the learning process in a very collaborative way outside class meetings.  I love this!  Many online courses offer a recorded lecture, Powerpoints, a syllabus, and assignment expectations.  These are really the bare bones of a class.  Without interaction, learning is not as effective or as exciting, which is why I never wanted to participate in an online class.  Cook offers many ideas for connecting students, such as collaborative websites like Skype and Google Plus.  This encourages thought and connectivity outside of what’s videotaped in the professor’s lecture.  When I thought of online classes as a kid, I always imagined they would be like a sci-fi movie: students are still seated together in some sort of classroom, while a hologram of a teacher gives the lecture and answers questions.  The ideas for interaction that Cook proposes in this article provide an environment that would have almost the same effect, though not as Star Wars-esque: the teacher would have a presence within the online class and would strive to fuel discussion, even without a hologram.  

            Based on what we’ve been talking about in Effective Teaching Practices with Ryan and Riewer, Cook seems to be on the right track.  Providing avenues for connectivity allows students to process information and apply it, evaluate it, and synthesize it, rather than just learn and regurgitate knowledge for a finite amount of time before forgetting it.  Cook’s advice could apply to both the online classroom and our own classrooms.  We could provide resources such as Google Docs or Google Hangout (on Google Plus; this depends on parent permission and student age, as well as the way you would use it) to our students so that they could discuss reading or group projects outside of class and learn from one another’s perspective. 

My opinion

            I still don’t think I’d enjoy an online class as much as an actual meeting, but I like the ideas that Cook puts forth to encourage students to connect with one another without ever meeting in person.  Also, she echoes the thoughts spoken by Dan Brown, a former University of Nebraska student with a YouTube channel.  Jodie posted a video of his on Twitter recently, and I definitely think his ideas connect with Cook’s.  It’s called “An Open Letter to Educators”, and here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P2PGGeTOA4&feature=youtu.be

Once you get past his semi-obnoxious manner of speaking and emphasizing his points, he has a great message.  He reminds us that today, knowledge is at our students’ fingertips.  A teacher’s job has gone from dissemination of knowledge to helping students make sense of what they’re learning. 

            I think most of us have recognized this.  Our lesson objective probably doesn’t ever read: Today, my students will be able to take the definitions of processes or terms they’ve written on their notes and regurgitate them for credit on a test.  We want our students to show understanding!  This doesn’t mean we can’t ask, “What’s a powerful quote from this poem/speech/story?”  This DOES mean that we can ask afterwards, “How do you know?  What kind of tone was the author using based on the word choice?  How does this quote relate to the overall meaning of the poem/speech/story?”  Not every child will have the same answer, and that’s great.  However, if students aren’t interacting with one another or the instructor, they won’t have the benefit of another’s perspective.  Connectivity is SO IMPORTANT, and it’s what makes learning difficult, frustrating, diverse, and fun!