How learners and teachers connect online Benjamin Kehrwald Vice Chancellor’s Symposium 2010

Underpinnings Teachers are human beings Learners are human beings The relations between them affects the process of learning Openness may be officially encouraged and rhetorically praised, the reality is that universities compete for students, and that collaboration in this context seems to produce losers as well as winner (see also Cardini, 2006). This situation is unlikely to change any time soon, given the continuing marketization of higher education provision as part of a broader neoliberal agenda by governments, certainly in Western countries (Danaher, Gale, & Erben, 2000). Furthermore, and as a consequence of that agenda, the social construction of knowledge and the status of learners as autonomous agents sit uneasily beside the entrenched privileging of individualized assessment of students’ learning and practices such as the increased use of plagiarism detection software.

The problem The technologies which mediate online learning introduce social and psychological barriers to human-human interaction Despite this, experienced online learners and teachers cite the ability of those technologies to create opportunities for rich, engaging, productive interaction. As a teacher, how can you connect to your online students?

Connecting to learners Cultivate an online social presence Be seen to ‘be’ available for connection Promote social activity Engage learners (and yourself) in activity which creates opportunity for connection Create connections and work to maintain them Be available, be willing and do your bit as part of the connection.

1. Cultivate an online social presence Online social presence is the ability of an individual to Demonstrate his/her state of being in a virtual environment (I’m here…) Project her/himself into a social situation as a salient social actor, i.e., as a ‘real person’ (… and I’m somebody you can interact with) …and thereby signal his/her willingness and availability for interpersonal interaction

1. Cultivate an online social presence Demonstrate your presence: Make visible demonstrations of ‘being’ in the environment: post messages, respond to others, be seen online

1. Cultivate an online social presence Demonstrate your ‘realness’: Develop a ‘voice’ in your online communication- consider the style and tone of your messages Use humour and express emotion Disclose relevant information, e.g. personal history Express preferences, attitudes, beliefs and values

2. Promote social activity Communicate (and learn to manage communication) One-to-one, One-to-some, One-to-many Be explicit about expectations Participate and model activity ‘Moderate’ when necessary Create spaces for (and require) demonstrations of presence Promote an inclusive, welcoming social climate with the course

2. Promote social activity Structure interaction Develop tasks in which interaction is not only ‘nice’, but also ‘necessary’ Identify explicit purposes Included intended processes Explicit roles can be useful Help students identify communicative partners (e.g. groups) Consider time (sychronnous vs. asynchronous activity) Praise & reward desirable social activity Get amongst it!

3. Build connections Build individual (personal) connections Address every message to an intended audience Use personal communication strategically Communicate personally with *every* student early in the course Situate communications against an emerging course ‘history’; create context for personal communication Promote connection between others Structure communication (as above) Promote interdependence via task design Foster a sense of belonging

3. Build connections (and maintain them) Maintain the relations between you and learners Be visible online regularly Establish patterns of activity Contact individuals and personalise feedback at key milestones Deal with all general issues publicly Deal with sensitive issues privately Invite feedback, foster give and take

Thank you Questions?