Developing an Online Communication Plan for Online/Blended Teaching

At the conclusion of this workshop, you will have the outline of an online communication plan for one online or blended course based on: Alignment between your course design, your teaching roles and the needs of students in that course A timeline based plan for activity within the study period Selection of strategies to manage online communication Selection of online communications tools to achieve fit-for-purpose Aims

Communication in teaching Communication 1.[mass noun] the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium –(also) the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings Oxford Dictionary

Teacher-student communication plays a critical role in student satisfaction and learning. Online communication takes many forms. Communicating online is a learned skill.

Why worry about online communication? Technology adds complexity Technology introduces social and psychological distance Non-verbals are diminished Richness is reduced Potential for miscommunication is increased Different communication skills are required

Planning Based on: 1.Course delivery and particulars 2.Current communication practices/strategies 3.Course design and activity

Framing up your plan Mode of delivery Offerings? Teaching team Overview/intentions Course basics Intended outcome  approach One to many One to few One to one Many to many Choosing communication practices Convey content Support and manage activity Learner support Other needs? Link course activity to communication planning Management of communication Emergent needs? Other considerations

Link communication to course activity Assessment Group Work Orientation End of term drama What sorts of communication do the course learning activities require? Learning tasks? Assessment tasks? Feedback? Learner support? What sorts of communication does teaching the course require? What (communicative) teaching tasks need to be performed regularly? What teaching tasks are performed as one-offs? Special cases?

Planning checklist Understand the course Teaching approach, teaching roles Mode of delivery Staffing Intended learning activity Identify current communication strategies One to one One to some One to many Many to many Link course activity to communication to aid planning Orientation Establish expectations re communication Identify regular (daily, weekly) communicative activity Identify special tasks (e.g. Group work, assessment) Identify preparatory work

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Have an online communication plan Understand how online communication supports your teaching What role does online communication play in your approach to teaching? What sorts of communication do the course activities require? What levels of communication do students require? What levels of communication do students expect? How can those expectations be managed? Be explicit about expectations, and be vigilant about them. Be clear and explicit about what students can expect from you Establish protocols for student  teacher interaction via , discussions and other channels. Establish expectations for student  student interaction, where required. Create an environment that supports your plan Make communication purposeful Structure the environment to support productive communication Create a safe, welcoming social atmosphere Practice what you preach : Model your expected communications and be Manage online communication: insist on behaviour consistent with your communication plan

Have an online communication plan Understand how online communication supports your teaching What role does online communication play in your approach to teaching? What sorts of communication do the course activities require? What levels of communication do students require? What levels of communication do students expect? How can those expectations be managed? Be explicit about expectations, and be vigilant about them. Be clear and explicit about what students can expect from you Establish protocols for student  teacher interaction via , discussions and other channels. Establish expectations for student  student interaction, where required. Create an environment that supports your plan Make communication purposeful Structure the environment to support productive communication Create a safe, welcoming social atmosphere Practice what you preach : Model your expected communications and be Manage online communication: insist on behaviour consistent with your communication plan

One to one communication For teaching, this is basically form of one-to-one tuition. Pros: Messages can be highly personalised and tailored to a particular individual’s context, problem or question. This makes one-to- one messages highly meaningful to recipients and can support the development of interpersonal relations and/or productive social activity (i.e., ‘collaboration) Cons: Highly labour intensive, particular amongst groups of 10 or more. Must be used strategically and managed to avoid workload blowout. Nuanced one-to-one online communication takes practice. e.g., individual , synchronous chat Photo by showbizuperstar. Used under creative commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY- NC-ND 2.0) Source

One-to-some communication This is communication within or amongst a small group (2-20). Can be used with groups within the group if you divide a large cohort into more manageable groups, like tutorial groups. Pros: Messages can be tailored to the context or situation common to the group, thereby adding Cons: Messages may take extra time to compose to achieve contextualisation. In larger groups, this can be time consuming. Recipient impressions of personalised communication may elicit large numbers of responses. Watch out for the expectation of one-to-one communication following this. e.g., Group , group forums, mailing list Photo by Elvis Kennedy. Used under creative commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY- NC-ND 2.0) Source

One-to-many communication One-to-many This is effectively ‘broadcast’ communication: your message goes out to a large number of people at one time. Pros: Highly efficient. Many people can be reached with a single message. Cons: Personalisation is limited. Particular individual needs may not be addressed. Can feel ‘impersonal’, cold, sterile. Confusion may result from lack of contextual cues. E.g., news forum, whole class , podcast Photo by theparadigmshifter. Used under creative commons (Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) Source es/z/in/photostream/ es/z/in/photostream/

Basic communication Many-to-many This is complex communication within a group or network or across multiple groups and has simultaneous multi-directional movement of messages. Can be found in teaching situations in which multiple overlapping groups work together. This can include peer teaching. Pros: Can be powerful and very productive with multiple sites of productive activity and participants taking on multiple roles Cons: Can be very difficult to set up, initiate and manage. Not as well understood as some of the other communication scenarios. E.g., twitter, friends networks

Sender/source Thinks of message Puts message into words Expresses words 1. Message (verbal and nonverbal) 2. Channel Receiver Hears/sees Gives Attention Understands/makes sense of Accepts message (or not) Feedback loop

How does communication support your teaching? What role does online communication play in your approach to teaching? What sorts of communication do the course activities require? What levels of communication do students require? What levels of communication do students expect? How can those expectations be managed?