R.Russell,
I do agree with you. It takes half an hour at least, to focus on the topics and class. Otherwise it is difficult to deliver 100%.
Dilip Barad
Yes I completely agree with the points raised about time and online teaching. I think to do it properly you really have to settle and think about what lies behind different messages. That can mean thinking about the emotional state - the feelings - behind messages as well as the content. It can also mean thinking about the implications of any reply too.
In part this is the strength of online learning - that everyone is able to give it time and thought but it can be a struggle sometimes for everyone can't it? Group learning can help to share the responsibility for support and learning. That can help take the pressure off although the responsibility still rests with the tutors.
I think collaborative approaches are more motivating for everyone - tutors and participants - but time is a big issue that management may not fully appreciate sometimes. Plus the same applies to experiential professional/faculty development for this kind of learning!
Nick
I teach at the University of Phoenix which requires Learning Teams. I like the use of the teams, but students complain a lot when they feel they take on the burden of the work for others. I encourage the group work strategies, but we all know what it's like to be saddled with slackers.
In your post about perspective taking, you emphasize group work. Do some students compain about it?
Hi Roxanne,
I know what you mean. It can be a problem. Not so much in our courses because they're about collaborative learning so people come on them expecting to be involved in group work etc. Even so there's sometimes a reality check when they start doing this kind of thing. And life sometimes gets in the way causing some people to be around online less. The other thing is to make it an issue for the course participants to discuss and address. Do they think everyone has done their bit of the task? And to support their view whatever it is.
I think its important to avoid the labels like shurkers and slackers and to try and understand and negotiate the rules of play and the reasons as part of the collaborative process. There can be very good reasons why people stand back. I'm sure its the case here too.
In my face to face work I've made it into a shared enquiry into an issue. I've developed a structure that's quite robust and the technology helps us all focus on the screen where we interact together. There are no shurkers at all in this case. The structure and the required interaction picks up everyone and drives the collective activity. I guess, in the context of this discussion, it means the structure is the motivator.
How do you handle the ones that are less involved Roxanne? Have you found any strategies to motivate them?
Nick