Fostering Interaction in the Online Environment_ Some Ideas for Instructors - DE Oracle

Abstract

DE Oracle @ UMUC An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty Center for Support of Instruction Fostering Interaction in the Online Environment: Some Ideas for Instructors Claudine SchWeber Graduate School of Management and Technology Category: » Online-pedagogy » Classroom-communication One of the challenges for the online instructor at the Graduate level is to foster interaction in such a way that involvement is balanced with faculty direction. As we know from our traditional, face-to-face classes, student involvement which can be applied to the work (or other) environment increases understanding of the concepts and the likely retention of the materials. It also makes the class much, much more interesting! In the online environment, the lack of visual contact, the asynchronous nature of the communication, and the need to use the technological tools requires conscious planning of activities which support the learning process in this medium. Moreover, the technology should support--not dominate or distract from--the learning process. Since this is sometimes difficult, the instructor must work at retaining student interest and involvement in the subject matter, and in the unique contributions of each student. At the Graduate School of Management & Technology we are fortunate that faculty and students bring to the learning environment many years of professional experience. This wealth of experience can expand exponentially when participants are located through the USA and the world. Here are several suggestions for fostering involvement: Group prjects: Class members are divided into groups, each of whom works on the same activity (to see different interpretations) or different aspects of a task. Groups work in their private "study group" area and then report back to the whole class, in the "public" area. Class members then comment, question, assess each group's work. The instructor's role is to periodically raise questions about the patterns or issues and then to summarize the main issues at the end of the time period for this activity. Case study analysis: A case is assigned to groups (as above) or to the class as individuals. After a specified period of time, the respondents present their analyses to the entire class. The instructor furthers the analysis by applying some of comments to the literature and asking additional questions. Role play/simulation: Students are assigned varied roles which they "act out" in writing either in small groups or in the class environment. The instructor intervenes at appropriate points to draw conceptual and practical lessons from the interplay. Students are asked to apply the points to their work situations. Guest/expert visit: Specialists in an area covered in the course can "visit" for a specified period of time, and work with the students on relevant topic(s). The challenge here, as in the face-to-face class, is to give clear guidance to the guest so that s/he stays on target with the instructor's goals. Student-led presentation/discussion: Student(s) are assigned a topic in which they must not only present the ideas (via text or power point slides) but also must lead a discussion. To assure that this is not just a lecture, the instructor will need to give guidance to the presenters and intervene with questions, points to foster discussion. Fostering Interaction in the Online Environment: Some Ideas for Instructors - DE Oracle Contact Site Manager Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College Powered by ArticleMS from ArticleTrader.com Self-assessment applications: Students are assigned to take a self-assessment instrument (i.e, Firo-B, Myers-Briggs, group effectiveness) and then asked to discuss the relevance of this assessment to the work environment. (note: they should not be required to reveal their own scores, unless critical to the learning process). You will likely think of other ways to foster interaction among students in your course. For further reference see Zane Berge's article "The Role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator (http://www.emoderators.com/moderators/teach_online.html) " (May 27, l998) and Jay Alden, "A Trainer's Guide to Web-Based Instruction" (Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press, l998). Rating: Not yet rated Comments No comments posted. You must be logged in and be a member of the UMUC community in order to comment. If you are a member of the UMUC community and do not have an account, please register for a FREE one. If you have a guest account but are Faculty/Staff of UMUC please send an email to the DE Oracle Site Manager (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Please Update my DE Oracle Guest Account) so that your guest account can be updated. Fostering Interaction in the Online Environment: Some Ideas for Instructors - DE Oracl