Ramo Lord’s Class Members,
Thank you for reading our book, Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners. Your insights are very important to us. This blog area has been reserved for the course Teaching in the Online Environment. Post your comments in this blog area by reflecting on the following questions:
· Think about an online course you have taken in the past, what strategies were used to create a sense of presence? How did you feel presence impacted your learning?
· How did your thinking, emotions, and behavior interplay with your sense of presence during the learning experience?
· Reflecting on your past online course experience, what determinants of presence were used in the course to create presence? Please provide examples for each determinant of presence.
· How do you define presence now?
· Now that you know how important it is to create a sense of presence in online instruction, what strategies do you plan to use when designing your next online course?
Thank you.
Rosemary and Simone
eInterface
Wow...I have a lot of work to do for the online courses I am teaching. Though I work hard at the beginning of the semester to create a sense of presence, I've realized I "lose steam" as the semester progresses. I need to be steady and consistent in providing my students what they need. One of the most important methods I want to employ is the use of the video chat (much like the one we had the other night!)...this made me feel like a part of the group! I loved being welcomed, by name, by all three moderators (Rosemary, Simone, and Ramo). I want to give my students this same sense of welcome and belonging. I also loved being an active participant of the chat. Just pushing a button to deliver my answers and then seeing all the answers tabulated was fun. Again, I want my class to have a fun element. Thanks for sharing these great ideas!
ReplyDeleteTerri, thanks for your insights. Planning ahead will help you feel less overwhelmed with your courses. At least you will know what to expect of your during the course and manage your workload. It was great to have you all in the discussion!
ReplyDeleteI've had only one online course prior to the one I am currently taking. Presence was developed through the use of online forums that required us to respond to our class mates posts.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it was most helpful to have everyone in the class post an introduction of themselves that included their personal and professional background and their motivation for being in the program. This helped me to connect with them on a more personal level and greatly influenced our subsequent interactions.
It gave me a frame of reference that continued throughout the course. What they told me about themselves initially, continued to inform and frame my perspective of their observations. I’m not sure exactly why knowing someone was the mother of two or they were a retired public school administrator helped me discuss paradox in the classroom with them but for whatever reason it did.
I think, as humans, we try so hard to find a context for everything. Lacking a definitive context, we take what little we know and build the rest out of our own head. I think we are doing this because we are striving to build the community even if we have to fill in the gaps resulting from a lack of direct, face to face contact.
I have shared with my classmates (Dr. Lord's class) that as an instructor I did not have the proper training to teach an effective online course. My understanding was that I could simply take my seated class approach, and make it an online class. I have learned so much more each semester. I am enjoying your book. The information is helping me tremendously.
ReplyDeleteOnline teaching demands a different mindset. I have to mentally go to a different place when I am teaching online. Placing the student at the center of the learning experience helps me to empathize with them as the learner. This has changed my approach. I am no longer simply posting a busy list of weekly assignments, but creating an atmosphere of learning and community.
Thank you!
This is my last semester in the distance education T&D program at NCSU, so I've been exposed to a number of different instructional styles and strategies intended to create "presence" and "community" in the online environment. It's been beneficial experiencing online learning from the student learner's perspective before venturing into an online setting as the instructor.
ReplyDeleteIt's exciting learning (in Dr. Lord's class) about the practical issues associated with creating presence and building an online learning community in the virtual classroom. My online experience serves as a beneficial frame of reference as we explore what presence or community is and is not.
I wish that I had taken this course earlier in my program because some of my perceptions about the way students and instructors should interact were off base and rooted in lack of information. Of course if I had taken the class earlier I might not have had the same level of appreciation. Your book is providing valuable insights into essential aspects of online learning and instruction. Thanks for making your book an easy and straightforward read.
The word - presence - echoed with me in part to my belief that teaching and learning is a social construction firmly entrenched in the context and space. As far as reading and responding, I attempt to be "there on site" everyday (except a day when I am camping/backpacking) and I do attempt to draw further discussion from the students as well as maintain my awareness of their discussions and keep concept-related postings on task.
ReplyDeleteMy belief is to make the distance component transparent where online students can have the similar feeling of professor-access as their on-campus peers. My take on this is modeling community-building grounded in presence and access. In addition, I think that this lessens their feelings of isolation and confusion thus allowing a relaxed approach to engaging with the content providing increased learning transfer.
As far as my posting to a thread, I find that one of two outcomes occur. The first and my intended outcome is students will respond and talk more about their interpretations and opinions and take the discussion thread to a deeper level. The second and unintended outcome is shuts the thread down where no one will respond to my prompts to draw deeper investigation.
Anyone have an opinion regarding my points?
Dr. Lord,
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with your overall philosophy of teaching. Teachers who place a focus only on relaying information to students do them a dis-service. Real learning happens when the material and the conversation inspires the students reach their own conclusions about the subject matter based on the context of their own lives and experiences.
A course or an instructor who is able to build an environment where this type of self-actualization can occur has truly accomplished the mission of teaching.
I view this philosophy as central to the type of teacher I want to be regardless of the environment.
The key part of any teaching medium is building the environment but the reality is "If you build it... some will join you... others may not. It's ultimately up to the student to make that leap.
The online environment will be a help for some in making the intellectual leap to truly thinking about the subject but it will be a hindrance for others. As you mention, I think the accessibility and involvement of the instructor in the class is crucial to the establishment of that environment and the success of the class as a whole.
Chris