Module 2_2: Online Teachers and Learners

Module 2_2: Online Teachers and Learners

On February 3, 2015, my classmate and I had an interesting chat with our mentor using Adobe Connect (R. W., personal communication, February 3, 2015).  The first lesson learned was that online teaching has varying weeks.  Some weeks are more strenuous and time-consuming than others because of due dates and grading of assignments.  This is why our mentor was not available to meet last week.  Students submitted assignments, and he was tasked to provide feedback for all 200 students.

1.     What technologies do you utilize in this course or other courses you have taught?

GaVs uses Adobe Connect for professor’s open hours and optional weekly meetings for students.  In addition to Adobe Connect, the GaVs website is the primary technology resource for the course.  It is hosted by Brightspace.  Other websites are used to enhance lessons and increase engagement while tools like Edmodo are used for communication amongst online professionals.

The good thing about GaVs, according to Mr. W., is that useful professional development opportunities are offered regularly.  There is a mandatory Brightspace training for professionals when they first start.  After that, professionals are allowed to choose from a host of professional development opportunities based on their needs.

2.     What are some of the benefits of teaching an online course?

According to Mr. W., there are personal and professional benefits to teaching online.  In his personal life he is able to maximize time because he does not have any idle time.  Work is work when working online; there is no driving to work, transitioning from class to class or lesson to lesson, and no down time unless you mandate it.  Therefore, he is able to spend time with his young children and travel/live in different places.

Professionally, working online makes it easier for Mr. W. to collaborate.  There is no “reinventing the wheel.”  He is able to obtain and share resources virtually with colleagues, experiences meaningful professional development sessions and is able to save documents in a variety of ways for future use.  In addition to the collaboration aspect, Mr. W. attests that being an online teacher allows one to get to know the students in a different aspect than face-to-face.  With this, oftentimes biases are not as prevalent as they are with face-to-face interactions.

3.     What are some of the challenges?

The biggest challenge that Mr. W. faces is lonliness.  Online professionals often do not live in the same area, and only “meet” virtually.  At GaVs, these meetings occur via Edmodo.

Another challenge for Mr. W. is that there is always something to grade.  He spends 50-60% of his time grading and providing feedback.  Additionally, he receives 50-300 emails per day and makes 3-15 phone calls per day.

A challenge for students is that they often take online learning for granted, especially when first starting.  Students tend to click through content rather than actually reading it.  This results in poor grades.  At GaVs, grades are communicated to parents regularly.  In addition to the professor, GaVs sends updates to parents every Wednesday.

4.     How flexible are you with adult learners?

This question has been disregarded because Mr. W. has only worked online with highschool students.  I was under the impression that he had previously worked with adult learners.

5.     What are some ways in which you build an online community?

Mr. W. creates a classroom community by allowing students to answer prompts and respond to their peers.  In addition, a professional community is created through sharing resources and virtual meetings.

6.     Generally, how long does it take to develop an online course?

The courses are created over a year.  The developer develops the course, and Mr. W. who serves as the curriculum reviewer, goes through and edits the course.  The developer then makes necessary changes.  According to Mr. W., there should be a team tasked with developing courses rather than two people.

7.     Do you design the courses or are there certain aspects designed by the school?

The curriculum and courses are designed by GaVs.  They are redeveloped/changed every 3-5 years, and are based on state standards.  However, GaVs is not a school. Students attend GaVs for enrivhment (working grade levels ahead), repetition of courses, to make up courses needed to graduate on time, etc). 

8.     Do you find distance education as effective as traditional education?

Mr. W. actually states that online education through GaVs is more rigorous and is beneficial to students in different situations.  Grades are reported back to the local school, state standards are followed, and IEPs and 504s designed by the local school are followed.  Thus, classes taken through GaVs coincide with the local school.

9.     What advise to you have for time management and organization while teaching online courses?

Mr. W. states that setting up the course is difficult in the beginning, but being organized makes it easier once the first course is set up.  He saves emails to answers to frequently asked questions, copies html codes so that he and others can embed information on websites, and saves everything as he goes.  In this way, he is not “reinventing the wheel.”

In addition to having a system for saving, online teachers should also have a system for providing feedback.  Mr. W. gives extensive feedback to students since he is the human element for GaVs while the students basically guide themselves through the course.  Every test question receives feedback.

Communicating with Mr. W. was very interesting.  I was surprised to find out about the number of students he takes on per semester.  This confirms what I have already read about being organized and making sure to manage time wisely while working as an online professional.  I never thought about the amount of written feedback that must be given to students since the teacher does not see them face-to-face.  Additionally, I also never thought about parent communication at this level.  I look forward to working with Mr. W. this semester and attempting to understand his process of organization and time management. 

Overstreet, G. (n.d.). Becoming an Online Teacher: 5 Perils to Ponder. Retrieved January 24, 2015.