Did you say they are having a class meeting? If so, you are among those people who understand that a learning environment can look very different from what we traditionally have come to expect – a classroom with chairs, students sitting quietly and expectantly, with a teacher at the front lecturing.
During this first phase of our online learning, we have come to realize that we can create an online community of learners without meeting face-to-face (f2f). But how can this be as satisfying as a f2f meeting? Can we really have relationships with one another through the written word? And if the answer to this question is “yes,” then how does this occur?
As we’ve experienced in the course so far, relationships are established in much the same way as in a f2f classroom. The program began with introductions and a request for photographs so we could put faces to names. Consider your experience in a traditional classroom. How many of your fellow students could you actually name?
Another way of connecting online is through experiential learning like group work, discussion boards, case studies and personal stories. Students take inventories, they learn about themselves and then share their results with others. The constructivist perspective on learning invites online students to shift their paradigms and create a new model of what creates a good learning environment.
Students are required to become more actively engaged in the learning process. The online environment itself is set up for people who think "outside the box." Without f2f feedback, participants online must learn to be more expressive with their language, and create pictures with words. They can no longer “hide” like they might in a traditional classroom. The constructivist approach allows for creativity in expression and generation of new ideas.
Facilitators of online learning create a good learning environment by addressing the different learning styles of participants. As we learned in our group projects, we can find online resources for visual/nonverbal, visual/verbal, auditory and kinesthetic learners. For those of us who appreciate flexibility in when and how we engage in learning, the online environment offers us many ways to create our favorite “classroom.”
Online classrooms also accommodate individuals with disabilities or special needs. Since they can be adapted for sound or video computer-generated learning can be a godsend for students who cannot access a traditional classroom. Students can repeat lessons as necessary, and there is less chance that students will miss a key lecture piece when it is presented online.
For kinesthetic learners, online training can be made interactive. As I mentioned in one of my discussion postings, I was recently involved in a project that involved using the Library of Congress (LOC) to find primary sources. There is an area on the LOC for children (http://www.loc.gov/families/) that is highly interactive.
Learning to effectively engage in online learning is fun, but time-consuming. It is not for everyone. Skill in keyboarding, computer usage, and access to high-speed internet will make the experience more enjoyable for the learner. As with most learning, attitude is everything. Approach the challenge with the mindset of an explorer, make it fun, accept the challenge, and go for the gold – or in this case, the “A!”Graphic source:http://captology.stanford.edu/2003/
Learning group photograph by Patricia Robey
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