Preparing and Supporting Assisting Students in Online Learning Environments By Kim Cummins

Preparedness and Support Issues As our district considers the use of online learning in our schools, various student preparedness and support issues must be addressed for maximum instructional impact.

Preparedness and Support Issues to Consider…  Pre-assessments  Self and formal  Tutoring  Learning styles  Student Self-Direction  Social interaction  Technical Requirements  Technical support

Self and Formal Pre- Assessments  Used by multiple educational institutions at the start of any online learning experience  “These trends suggest several implications among which are a greater need for helping students determine their readiness for learning in an online environment” (Martinez et al, 2006).

Self and Formal Pre- Assessments (cont.)  Items assessed (include but are not limited to)  Technology experience/computer skills  Study habits  Learning preferences  Written communication skills  Web-based library skills (Martinez et al, 2006)

Self and Formal Pre- Assessments (cont.)  Any assessments should include questions regarding technology skills, learner characteristics/qualities as well as interaction with communication technology (ICT) (Dray et al, 2011, p. 43)

Tutoring  Needs determined by pre-assessments…  Once deficiencies are determined, some schools tutor in those areas  San Antonio College offers modules in the following  Basic Computer Skills  Web-Based Library Skills  Online Course Readiness (Martinez et al, 2006)

Tutoring (cont.)  Course content tutoring  As in a face-to-face course, students will need access to tutoring support for the content.  Effective tutoring requires that the role of the tutor be “clear and distinct” (Coomey et al, 2001).

Student Self-Direction  The Wisconsin Virtual School identifies six attributes as critical to student success in online learning including  Self-motivation  Independent learning  Time management skills  Personal commitment (Martinez et al)

Social Interaction  Dialogue considered one of 4 common features of online course good practice (Coomey et al, 2001)  Includes s, bulletin boards, chats— both synchronous and asynchronous (p. 38)  Social interaction listed as the most important of 4 barriers to online learning (Muilenburg & Berg, 2005, p. 35)

Social Interaction (cont.)  Netiquette  It is essential to ensure students understand the importance of online communication etiquette in virtual courses.  Internet safety is also important  Crucial that online students are aware of predators who may want to use information gained from online communication to potentially harm them.

Technical Requirements  Students must be aware of basic technical requirements for online course enrollment  Internet access  Minimal computer hardware  May vary depending on the course  Microphone, camera, headphones, etc.  Minimal computer software  Will vary depending on the course

Technical Requirements (cont.)  District must determine how these will be provided  Student self-sufficiency at home  School site  Satellite office partnership  School provision of equipment to check out

Technical Support  “The need for support is the most frequently mentioned feature of online learning” (Coomey et al, p. 39).  Includes support services and software tools  Will need staff available to assist in schools and/or virtually for home access with hardware, access, software issues that arise

Final Recommendations  Our district must develop a plan for addressing the challenges surrounding student preparedness and support throughout the online course experience  These include  Pre-assessments  Tutoring  Student Self-Direction

Final Recommendations (cont.)  These include (cont.)  Social interaction  Technical Requirements  Technical support

References Coomey, M. & Stephenson, J. (2001). Online learning: It is all about dialogue, involement, support and control – according to the research. Teaching and Learning Online, pp Retrieved from: ontent/1/activity_2_extract.pdf ontent/1/activity_2_extract.pdf Dray, B.; Lowenthal, P.; Miszkiewicz, M.; Ruiz-Primo, M. & Marczynski, K. (May, 2011). Developing an instrument to assess student readiness for online learning: A validation study. Distance Education, 32(1), pp Retrieved from: pdf pdf Martinez, S.; Torres, H. & Giesel, V. (2006). Determining student readiness for online instruction. Online Student Support Services: A Best Practices Monograph. Retrieved from:

References Muilenburg, L. & Berge, Z. (May, 2005). Student barriers to online learning: A factor analytic study. Distance Education, 26(1), pp Retrieved from: