It has been awhile since I have written in the blog. My only excuse is that I have been pretty busy. My Effective Online Instruction (EOI) 8 week course for faculty started in May at the University of South Carolina and I have been fortunate enough to work with over 70 eager, inquisitive faculty members. The asynchronous course is designed to give faculty a basic framework on teaching online and be able to discuss the issues and concerns that are faced in online education. We are having such wonderful, insightful conversations ranging from "Who are Your Students?" to the future of higher education as we know it. In addition, these faculty "students" get to see what it is like to be an online learner.
Every year, I learn from them and then "tweak" the course for its next offering. One thing that I have learned this time is that the faculty member teaching an online course really needs to spend even more time that expected on the "nuts and bolts" of the course. I gave the students written handouts, JING videos, Adobe Connect sessions, but, alas, it still was not enough for some students who had "online course anxiety". I have definitely been using my counseling skills as I do in my other teaching assignments. Next time maybe I will incorporate a live meeting, but with 70+ students, it is going to be difficult scheduling a time when most people can attend. Faculty are no different than other online learners. They are all at different levels of experience with computers and technology.
One important note from this year is that more of them are coming to the course with trepidation, negative biases and anxieties about social media such as Facebook or even blog such as this one. For communication purposes (and so they can see what their students utilize on a daily basis), I have them join Facebook and then "like" my fan page. This literally stopped many in their tracks. Although this wasn't a "graded assignment" part of the course, some just refused to do it and consequently, haven't progressed too far into the course. So, I need to find a way to make this step less threatening and positively motivate the students to continue on with the course. Do you see similarities here with those students in our regular classes who "buckle" when they don't do well on their first assignment? Or face that first hurdle? Are we able to retain them in the class? Or do they drift away never to be seen again except on our class rolls? How do we help students on all levels succeed?
For those who have participated so far, their work has been amazing! Their deep level of thinking, their eagerness to explore new ideas, their creation and/or use of new tools (in the proverbial teaching toolbox) has been rewarding to see. I am so proud of the work that they have done to make themselves better teachers and help students learn their subjects effectively online as well as in face-to-face situations. The camraderie in the course has also been spectacular and there is already talk about a "reunion" in the making. I feel like a proud mother. It is a pleasure to facilitate this course which allows faculty a secure, non-threatening environment to seek, learn, and grow.
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