Create online learning spaces that are warm, open, friendly and that promote learning, creation, and collaboration. Engage students in active learning.
Design your courses so you aren’t seen as the information provider but rather a facilitator. Instead of having students regurgitate information they will engage in higher order thinking skills. Focus will be on learning new ideas and concepts.
Since some students may be uncomfortable with online learning and the new technology that goes along with it, allow time for them to explore and learn how to utilize the new technology so that it won’t impede their learning. They may also be uncomfortable with the subject material. Make yourself accessible to students so if they have questions or need help you can help them and be sure to have their peers help as well.
Have areas in online virtual classroom for students to chat, share resources, collaborate with groups, etc. When students log on they will immediately be immersed in learning spaces where they can collaborate, reflect, converse, and learn. Whether you are using Moodle, Blackboard, AET Zone, Second Life, or anything else you can create a virtual learning space conducive to online learning via your institutions learning software or even through free Web 2.0 tools such as Skype, Oovoo, blogs, video conferencing, email, wikis, podcasts, Voicethread, etc. The best part is we don’t have to spend millions and millions of dollars on a new building, furniture, or technology. AET Zone is a perfect example. There, you can find a café, movie theatre, and many other places that promote learning, collaboration, exploration, and socializing. Why not have a class discussion in a virtual world so that students sit down by a tree in a beautiful park or on a comfortable sofa in a café and have a class discussion?
In online classes, students can often feel disconnected from the instructor and from peers which in turn causes them to become even more unmotivated and less likely to learn. Aside from the ideas listed above, why not create a virtual learning community similar to the Marianist Hall Learning Space? In online learning programs, instructors could team teach or at least collaborate and teach across the curriculum and all work together fostering an even richer learning environment. Let’s take online education courses for example. Let’s say there is a class for ESL teachers and another class on Differentiating instruction in the classroom. Why not have the ESL instructor be a guest speaker in the Differentiating instruction class sometime or better yet have the ESL teachers taking the ESL course do presentations or work on a project with students in the Differentiating instruction class to enhance their learning? Both groups would benefit.
Another benefit in online learning is that when you are online you can bring the whole world to your screen simply by the click of a mouse. You can take a virtual field trip to Africa or dissect a frog. You can explore ancient ruins and or take a trip to Mars. The whole WWW can be a place to learn.
On the other hand, learning doesn’t just have to take place in a virtual classroom. In a Spanish class, for example, students can email or chat with their epals each week, take part in an online discussion group in Spanish on a topic of their choice, watch videos in Spanish, or listen to Spanish music online. Learning can also take place offline. For example, in a Spanish class I may have students interview a native Spanish-speaker in their community, cook a typical Latin American cuisine and take pictures and write about the experience, search for influences Spanish has had on their own culture (e.g. larger variety of Mexican food at local grocery store, exhibit at local museum, instructions written in Spanish, the use of Spanish in American TV shows, etc.), take pictures outside of the sky and clouds and describe the weather in their blog including the pictures, teach someone in their family some Spanish words or a simple song and record that family member as they tell the words or sing the song.
Make sure your virtual learning space is attractive and conducive to learning. Don’t have a dark background with bright yellow text or flashing images. Have darker text on a lighter background. Ensure the font is easy to read. Make sure the learning area is easy to navigate. Appeal to different learning styles by including text, visuals, and audio. For example, for a simple class greeting in the beginning, include a picture or a video of yourself and/or audio clip as well as welcoming text. Or include instructions in writing, in audio, and in a visual format. Carefully plan out the colors, images and areas of the page that are easy on the eyes, easy to navigate, and aid in student learning. In Spanish class, I even sprinkle Spanish quotes or phrases throughout the lessons and learning environment for extra vocabulary learning opportunities or for reinforcement.
No comments:
Post a Comment