One way to retain online students is: remember that what works well in traditional instruction may not work so well online. Online classes must be designed to maximize the Web’s advantages while minimizing its deficiencies.
Ko & Rossen (2004) point out two factors that affect online instruction.
- Nonverbal language is lost in most online communication (p. 12).
Vocal inflections, gestures, and facial expressions that contribute to great lectures don’t translate into writing. - A big attraction of the Internet is instant communication (p. 13).
Students who expect online communication to be two-way will not be content to merely read transcribed lectures.
Both these factors argue for increased interaction. Newspapers have learned this lesson. The one where I worked initially looked a lot like its wood-pulp cousin, a story and picture occupying most of the “front” page except for a few hyperlinks down one side. By the time I left nearly eight years later, the online newspaper had veered dramatically away from the print edition—with interactive polls, blogs, and discussion boards. And multiple story links with thumbnail pictures enriched the front page.
Educators must also learn this lesson. By making online classes more interactive, we can capitalize on the Web’s strong ability to involve everyone in communication, while compensating for its inability to bring people face to face.
Here’s some inexpensive and open source interactive software:
- activeBoard—free forum hosting
- Skype—free voice communication (I have used this)
- Fire–multi-service Mac Internet Messenger (I’ve also used this)
- Adium–another multi-protocol Mac IM
1 comment:
Thank you for including the links to free communication tools! As I mentioned in another student's blog post, I believe video conferencing technology is changing many of the issues associated with nonverbal language in online learning. As we begin to integrate more Breeze sessions in our own course, I'll be curious about your perspectives of the course overall. Do you feel more "connected?" Will you be more "engaged" with the course, your peers, or me? Will you understand the material in new and different ways than you can understand by reading text, using a blog, viewing multimedia? All of these are questions that I am now asking as a result of integrating video conferencing. It's a fascinating technology with many implications for online learning.
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