7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses - Step 7

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be "an experience" where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?  

Step 7. The seventh step for creating online presence is to use the Framework described in Step 6 to create a Design Plan. Remember, the Framework includes the Learner-Centered Model and the Determinants of Presence. Let's look at an example of how the plan was developed by a science instructor. In her course, 1) the Content she created was both content- and process-based; 2) the Format included a blend of individual and group work (more individual in the beginning, transitioning to group work after the first few weeks); 
3) the Interaction Activities she selected supported the Content and fit her students’ needs; 4) the Roles she played as instructor were determined by the level of institutional Support she had, the course Content, and the Format she had created (as a result, she played a number of Roles); 5) the Technologies she chose were to implement the Format and enable the Interaction Activities; 6) the Support she used included three types: instructional, technical, and self support. Self support is an important new addition to this determinant and focuses on setting self boundaries and taking care of self. This is important not only for the instructor but also for the learners. The science instructor's Design Plan below illustrates this seventh step. 

But Step 7 is an expansive step. In online learning you are creating a “learning experience”…so you’re designing in phases; not just when the course happens (during) but also before the course begins, at the end of the course, and even after. In the next weeks you’ll see how our instructor expanded the Design Plan to develop these phases. 

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses - Step 6

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be an experience where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?

6. The sixth step is to actually design your course step-by-step for presence and community. For this you'll need a design framework. The Design Framework we created in our presence book (Lehman and Conceição, 2010) includes the Learner-Centered Model discussed in Step 5 and six tools to use – we call the tools the Determinants of Presence: 1) Content, 2) Format, 3) Instructor Roles, 4) Strategies, 5) Technologies, and 6) Support. The arrows connecting the model to the instructor and the determinants is the dynamic process you go through to revisit the Model and the Determinants as you develop your course. 

Lehman and Conceição (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence: How to ‘Be There’ for Distance Learners (p 31). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses - Step 5

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be an experience where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?

5. The fifth step is to use a LEARNER-CENTERED MODEL. The learner-centered model we created in our presence book (Lehman and Conceição, 2010) helps instructors better understand the perceptual nature of students and ways in which the educational experience can be designed to create presence. 

Learners are at the center of the model, with their thoughts, emotions and behavior. We call this center circle the Who. The next circle is the What, which indicates the interactive experiences that can be created for learners. For example, the instructor can incorporate 1) objective experiences (Skype or electronic office hours to create a sense of objective presence); 2) subjective experiences (the use of names and learners’ experiences to incorporate the personal); 3) social experiences (interactive activities, group and team work, or discussion); and 4) environmental experiences (which allow students to actually change the learning environment through feedback and formative course change). The circle around the What is the How or Modes of Presence, the ways in which these interactions can be carried out. For example, the instructor can use 1) realism (a simulation or a real life project); 2) immersion, (Second Life or gamification); 3) involvement (debates, the discussion board, group work, or team projects), and 4) suspension-of-disbelief (the use of videos, reading materials, or audio podcasts). The outer circle is the Where, the online environment (described in the Differences Chart) that the instructor participates in, partnering with learners.

Lehman and Conceição (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence: How to ‘Be There’ for Distance Learners (p 22). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses - Step 4

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be an experience where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?

4. The fourth step is CONSIDER THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL. Designing for online learning It has to do with our senses and perceptions (remember the Differences Chart) and this requires that we learn to adjust our senses and perceptions to these new ways of reaching out to our students (after all, perceptions drive our thinking.) Think carefully about this - what we’re doing is appealing to our students psychologically and emotionally, as well as cognitively, and creating an illusion of presence. We’re not “really” present with them (nor they with us) but want to make them think we are - that we’re alltogether in the same virtual space.

Lehman and Conceição (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence: How to ‘Be There’ for Distance Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses – Step 3

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be an experience where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?

3. The third step is LOOKING AT ONLINE LEARNING AS A HUMAN EXPERIENCE. Credit Marshall McLuhan with researching and discussing this as early as the 70’s - see his Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Other researchers have built on this idea – John Short and colleagues who developed a concept of presence (in the 70’s), Lani Gunawardena whose research emphasized engaging learners (in the 80’s and 90’s), Palloff and Pratt who more recently researched and wrote on creating community in cyberspace, Caspi and Blau who focused on online learners as partners, and Lehman and Conceição whose book in 2010 Creating a Sense of Presence: How to ‘Be There’ for Distance Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass helps integrate and expand on the research.

 

 

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses - Step 2

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be an experience where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?

2. The second step is to UNDERSTAND THE NEW ENVIRONMENT. The chart below can help you understand how the Face-to-Face and the Virtual Online Worlds are different. With this chart you can begin to see how you need to change and adapt your teaching to reach across space in a very human way to your students. Next week - Step 3.

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses - Step 1

7 Steps to Creating Presence in Online Courses. Online teaching and learning should be an experience where presence is felt by both instructors and learners. How is presence created?

1 - The first critical step is to WALK IN YOUR STUDENTS' SHOES - in other words take an online course or two. Unless you’ve been a student in an online course you have no idea what your students will be experiencing. Understanding the experience they will have is critical!! Next week - Step 2.

Support Strategies for Staying Motivated Online. We’ll Focus on One Support Strategy – “Institutional.”

Institutional support is important because it helps students easily access campus resources and services to complete their coursework.

Institutional Support
Many support services are embedded into the course management system as links or available in the institutional Web site. Students in our study stated that they could also reach these services via telephone or in-person. They used the library resources to conduct searches, to access electronic reserve, and to download or borrow books or articles. In some cases, a dedicated librarian and a Web page for online students to use in their research were available.

One of the institutional support services students in our study identified was the help desk for technology support. They used the help desk to inquire about and resolve technical problems. In this instance, a message board was available for questions and answers. Students appreciated quick responses from support services because it decreased their frustrations. Another type of support that was mentioned was related to student services such as special needs, writing center, mentoring, and so on. Having available resources and consultation beyond just the instructor was an effective strategy for students in our study.

Reference

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O (2014.) Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research-Based Strategies That Work, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Student Strategies for Staying Motivated Online. We’ll Focus on One Student Strategy – “Self-efficacy”

Student strategies for staying motivated online are based on a process that students go through in an online course and form a pathway that students follow. This process begins with a student’s awareness of self, situation, and consequences; continues to self-efficacy; goes on to a purpose or goal; and is completed as the student gains rewards after achieving the goal. The process is cyclical as the student continues to take new online courses. Instructors can incorporate effective and efficient design strategies, by incorporating these student strategies into the online course.

Self-efficacy
In our study findings, self-efficacy was an important student strategy. Self-efficacy was the conviction of a student’s value and capability to organize and put into action what was necessary to move ahead successfully in an online course and complete that course. Self-efficacy was determined by the way students thought, felt, and behaved in the online environment. Motivation was the reason for the desire to accomplish something. One participant in our study described her feeling of self-efficacy and strategies to stay motivated in accomplishing the online coursework in this way:

“As a nontraditional student, my main motivating factors are self-determination [cognitive] and positive thinking [psychological]. Before the course begins, I access the syllabus and identify expectations and learning outcomes. If possible I start working on assignments ahead of time [behavioral]. I try not to allow my assignments [to] pile up on me [psychological]. To keep up with group discussions, I check in anytime I am in front of a computer [behavioral], I don't have to respond each of these times if I need more time to process my thoughts [cognitive].”

In this instance, self-efficacy is the student’s belief to put into action the goals to complete the online course. By using self-determination and positive thinking as the reason and desire to complete the course, the student then lays out the strategies to accomplish that goal: access the syllabus, identify expectations and learning outcomes, start working on assignments, and so on. Self-efficacy and motivation played an important role in this student’s perceptions. For more information on the other student strategies see:

Reference

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O (2014.) Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research-Based Strategies That Work, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Next Week: Support Strategies for Staying Motivated Online. We’ll Focus on One Support Strategy – “Institutional.”

Intentional Design Elements Help Keep Students Motivated Online – We’ll Focus on One Element “Consistency”

Instructors in the study we conducted for our book, Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research-Based Strategies That Work, identified a number of elements to help keep students motivated online: consistency, variety, relevance, and content prioritization. This week we’re going to focus on “consistency.”

Consistency
Consistency means how the information is displayed and the regularity with which the information is presented. It provides flow for the course and makes it easier for students to create a mental image of what to expect from the course. One of the instructors in our study said, “I use a regular routine of introduction, reading, discussion, assignments, feedback, [and then] repeat” for the period of each module or unit to help students form a clear image in their minds of what was going to happen. A strategy that was shared by a few instructors in our study to create consistency and flow was to email students reminders and updates weekly as this instructor said, “I email reminders for assignments or posts twice a week in addition to course announcements on [the course management system].” Yet, another strategy was to send an announcement at the time grades were posted in the learning management system, including rubrics and detailed feedback. These strategies maintained consistency and flow and were connected to deadlines. They helped provide students with structure and helped them manage course workload. For more information on the other elements see:

Reference

Lehman, R. M. & Conceição, S. C. O (2014.) Motivating and Retaining Online Students: Research-Based Strategies That Work, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Next Week: Student Strategies for Staying Motivated Online. We'll Focus on One Strategy - "Self-efficacy."