NORTHCENTRAL UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET LEARNER: THOMAS E. LAMBRIGHT, JR. ELT DR. GATIN ASSIGNMENT # 4 HELLO DR. GATIN, THIS PARTICULAR ASSIGNMENT GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY SOME ONLINE COLLABORATIVE ISSUES THAT CAN ARISE BETWEEN INSTRUCTOR AND LEARNER. Faculty Use Only

Strategies for Motivating and Engaging Students Preface Online instructors face many challenges in providing effective motivating strategies and instructions for learners. The objective of this PowerPoint is to provide strategies that will help provide insight on the most common problems in online collaboration (Palloff, & Pratt,2007).

Establishing Learning Teams It is important for the instructor to immediately provide roles which the learners will be able to take on. Just as many sports teams have a leader such as a captain. It is important for the teams of learners to have leadership among their ranks. It is important that the instructional leader use a strategy of assigning roles for the smooth functioning of the team. This strategy consists of having the online learners form a small group of four or five depending on the size of the group. There should be a team leader, team recorder, and a team motivator.

Strategy # 1: Roles of the Learner  The team leader should be selected by an agreed upon voting process. The potential team leaders should have proper credentials of leadership and of course want to play this essential leadership role. The team leader will set up times of meetings and take the lead in conducting the meetings. An agenda should be developed by this leader to be followed and agreed upon by the team.  The next role is the recorder. The recorder will manage the record keeping. This person will be able to handle the assignment that needs to be turned in. The recorder will have a calendar of events such as due dates for assignments.

Roles of the Learner (part 2)  Last but not least is the motivator. The motivator is one position that is just as important as the leader. The motivator is the one who keeps all things together. When the group somehow becomes overwhelmed, the motivator has positive information to encourage the team to overcome their challenges and complete the task.

Strategy # 2: The Discussion Thread Another key strategy to keep the online learner focused is the use of a thought provoking questions and /or assignments. Rather than use a question with a simple yes or no answer, a thought provoking open ended question may suite the interest of the learner best. Discuss the benefits of online learning. Are there any disadvantages to online learning? Provide examples and personal experiences. Your response should be a word response.

Strategy # 3: Instructor Presence The instructors presence is also as equally important. The professor can show his presence by providing feedback in posted discussions and completed projects. Learners need feedback to motivate them to continue on with assignments (Bender,2003).

References Bender, T. (2003). Discussion-based online teaching to enhance student learning: Theory, practice and assessment. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing. Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.