Managing an Online Course Personal Philosophy of Josh Eastwood

Purpose The intent of this presentation is to outline for parents my personal philosophy of online teaching and learning. The presentation will outline the role of the student, teacher, and parent in the online classroom as well as my definitions of effective online teaching and learning. The overall purpose of this presentation is for parents to understand how I, as their student’s teacher/facilitator, view how the online learning environment should work.

Effective Online Teaching Effective teaching begins with the facilitator understanding the material they are asked to teach. A deep understanding of the material allows the teacher to use a variety of strategies to reach different students, and ensures the teacher has the ability to adapt the material to the particular classroom environment. Effective online teaching requires that the instructor prepare materials in advance (video lessons and/or readings) that are easy to understand and accessible. Once the resources are prepared, the teaching becomes more facilitating. The teacher is there to guide students and answer questions about the material that has already been presented.

Effective Online Teaching Effective online teaching also ensures that there are resources available for further study and that there are a variety of methods presented in the video lessons/reading material so that each student can be reached. As a summary statement: Effective online teaching occurs when a knowledgeable instructor presents the material being taught in a variety of forms and using a variety of methods. The instructor then acts as a guide for the students through the material, answering questions and individualizing instruction if needed.

Effective Online Learning Learning can only be effective if there is engagement from the student. Students must have a desire to learn and be motivated to do the work required for that learning, or it will not take place. Effective learning is interacting with material, internalizing the material, and then being able to put the material to use. Effective learning can be measured by how engaged the students are with the material and how much the students retain after the course is over.

Effective Online Learning In the online environment, effective learning takes place when students watch/listen to/read the material presented by the instructor, ask questions of the instructor about what they do not understand, and then prove they have learned through various forms of assessment. As a summary statement: Effective online learning is students engaging with the material as presented, internalizing the material, getting confirmation that they have understood the material, and then remembering and applying the material in the future.

Summary Video This video provides a short summary of some of the effectives of effective online teaching and learning, and is in line with my personal view of the subject.

Facilitator’s Roles In order to ensure that effective teaching and learning occur, the facilitator must take on the following roles: Expert: The facilitator must be an expert in what they are teaching. This ensures that the material created for teaching is right, and that they can answer the questions of the students. Researcher/Presenter: The facilitator is responsible for presenting the material that is being taught. They may not be presenting themselves all of the time but they are responsible to find resources that help explain the material or create those resources.

Facilitator’s Roles Coach/Counsellor: The facilitator is also a coach for the student in their learning. They are there to encourage the student to engage with the material, help them through struggles they may have, and help them achieve success. Assessor/Evaluator: The facilitator is ultimately the evaluator of the student’s learning. They are responsible to measure the learning that has taken place, and the achievement level of each of their students. Communicator: The facilitator is responsible to communicate with parents and students about due dates, progress, grades, challenges, administrative issues, etc… The facilitator must be an effective communicator for teaching and learning to take place.

Facilitator’s Functions To work out these roles the facilitator must: Keep attendance records Create and present lessons Answer questions from students and parents in a timely manner Create and mark assessments (both formative and summative) Keep a gradebook Communicate with parents and students via , discussion forum, phone, etc…

Learner’s Roles Active Participation: The learner must be willing to participate in class discussions, watch the instructional videos, read the material they are asked to, and complete the assignments given. Time Management: The learner must be able to manage their time so that due dates are met and work is done. Setting aside time for the course each day is important and learners must be willing to do so in order to be successful.

Learner’s Roles Self Advocacy: Learners must be willing to advocate for themselves if their needs are not being met or they are not understanding. If a teacher does not know there is a problem, they are not going to be able to address it, so learners must be willing to speak up rather then suffer in silence. Communicator: As with the teacher/facilitator, learners must be effective communicators in order to ensure that learning takes place in a meaningful way. If learners are not effective communicators in the online environment, they will not be successful.

Effective Collaboration Opportunities 21 st Century Skills (working with technologies like GoogleDocs, Skype, Wikkispaces, etc…) Cross Cultural/Global interactions Netiquette and Digital Citizenship training Challenges Time zones (asynchronous interaction) Collaboration issues (poor group dynamics, personality conflicts, etc…) Grading by individual contribution (difficult to measure) Collaboration in the online environment has some unique opportunities and challenges.