Setting the Foundation for a Successful Online Learning Environment

When building anything, you must have a solid foundation. The creation of a successful online learning environment is no exception. There are essential components that need to be considered when planning an online course. Strong defined objectives, technology that is available, and communication that outlines expectations clearly are a few that need to be well-thought-out when planning.

Defined Objectives

Providing the learners in the course the course objectives from the beginning enables them to digest the focus of the course. In the initial weeks of the course, it is important that the facilitator engage the learner in analyzing their own learning goals. This helps to connect the learner to the course objectives. Additionally, it will provide insight into the learners’ zone of proximal development (Boettcher, 2010).

Tying the defined objectives to technology use can be one of the areas that educators struggle with when incorporating technology in a meaningful way. Most educators are familiar with Blooms Taxonomy and how to utilize the key terms and verbiage to plan varied instruction. Technology should not be utilized for technology sake. It should have direct purpose in achieving an objective. Here is a great visual of what types of technology correspond with each level of Blooms Taxonomy.

 (Marshall, n.d.)

Technology Plan

As a course is being planned, it is essential to be familiar with any technology that will be utilized during the course. As the facilitator, you may need to provide clear directions, pair up tech savvy students with non tech savvy students, or just provide a non-graded assignment to provide learners a chance to use the technology choice prior to needing to use it for graded work. This can significantly reduce the anxiety a learner can feel with an unfamiliar technology choice (Conrad, 2011).

Additionally, basic tools to set up on the back end of the course include:

Course Template for uniformity	Ability to upload documents and pictures
Ability to revise and comment on submissions	Understand and set up gradebook
Set up teams and groups	Create relevant discussion forums

(Boettcher, 2010)

Clear Communication

Learners in an online learning community need to have clear communication on what is expected for assignments and submissions. Utilizing purposeful technology such as: blogs, discussion boards, wikis, and the like provide a place for communication and assignment submission to take place. Additionally, learners can utilize other familiar tools to them, such as a webinar tool, to communicate with one another to learn with and from one another.

The facilitator of the course needs to also provide guidance on expectations for the course. A course syllabus should always be included to communicate goals, learning outcomes and requirements. Included with that syllabus should be guidelines for discussions and the rubric utilized for grading throughout the course.

Clarity of requirements and ways to collaborate are vital to a successful online learning community. Adult learners come to the online forum with unique life experiences and social networks that impact their learning focus and personal goals. George Siemens defined his learning theory of Connectivism as an integration of technology and social networks where new information is abundant. Technology and networks of the digital age allow individuals to collaborate, and learn with others all over the world with their own unique networks and ideas. With a common purpose of growth and learning, online courses create an environment like no other for learning to take place, support to be shared and encouragement given around the world at a touch of a button. In one discussion board alone encouragement, questioning techniques and writing styles can all be shared and discovered under one post. The opportunity to learn from people of different cultures, experiences, and make connections to prior experiences provides for optimal learning opportunities (Siemens, 2012). By providing a solid framework to express and learn in, the learner can freely discover new knowledge and share with others ways they see application of this new content in everyday life.

 Resources:

Boettcher, J. a.-M. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Marshall, G. (n.d.). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/henrico.k12.va.us/short-pump-itrt/bloom-s-digital-taxonomy

Conrad, R.-M. a. (2011). Engaging the Online Learner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Siemens, G. (2012, October). Connectivism. Walden University Video Media.

Online Learning Communities

                Remember back to sitting in a brick and mortar classroom with your friends in your class and the teacher at the front of the room spewing tons of knowledge into the air for your brain to connect to any piece of it in order to remember it for a test later. Now, ask yourself what was the best part of the course? Most would say, my friends were in the class. The greatness of the course always increased if the teacher provided opportunities to work with a partner or with a group. Why was this type of activity make class better? Socializing with peers and sharing ideas made the content more understandable and the project that much better.

                Now take the above scenario and think about those who are designing instruction today, with the focus on 21^st century skills and the increase in online learning experience. Can the “great teacher who allowed collaborative groups” easily adapt the course they taught the last 10 years to an online format? The answer is NO. “Traditional education strategies are not directly transferable to an online environment” (Palloff, 2016). Time, structure, and the application of principles and sound theory need to be used to build the foundation of online instruction through a solid learning community.

                The need and goal for peer learning is the same in traditional and online communities. But, similarities stop there. How to achieve that learning community in the online environment is different and takes the teacher shifting from the role of director to facilitator (Conrad, 2011). The online learning community includes people, a purpose and a process.

Impact on Student Learning

                Successfully implemented online learning communities create an environment where the facilitator and the learner are equal participants in achieving the learning objectives. They work together side by side. As a community, the participants challenge each other to dig deep in their thinking and provides immediate feedback to one another and provokes deeper reflection on content. The learning community contributes to learners being more self-directed in their learning and to leave the learning community transformed by the new knowledge acquired (Palloff, 2016).

Essential Elements of online community building

                The facilitator plays a critical role in the learning community model. First, the course design needs to be built on solid theory. The theory will serve as a map to design strategies that assist the learner in achieving the goals and objectives for the course (Saba, 2016). Next, the facilitator responsibility and general setup needs to be considered. Key elements are:

Facilitator Responsibility

·         Be sure to be familiar with all technology utilized in the course in order to assist students ·         Be involved throughout the entire course. The facilitator should model the appropriate interaction and response style. ·         Set the tone for the community interaction

Online Set-up (Palloff, 2016)

·         Easy to navigate the LMS ·         Create a warm and inviting environment that is safe for personal expression by sharing initially with the class ·         Take part in the community discussions, especially checking in the first 2 weeks of the course to be sure the learners are supported with any possible issues. ·         Share a personal bio and encourage others to do the same in order to get to know one another prior to sharing about content.

Sustaining an online learning community

                To sustain a positive online learning environment, learners need to feel empowered to share ideas and feel challenged to think deeply. Once the atmosphere of the community is established, the rules of engagement must be clearly outlined. How and where to share ideas, how often and in what form are a few to outline. Also, planning ahead to meet the needs of those who have never participated in a learning community. Starting with simple interaction, like reading and responding in written format in a discussion board would be a great start. Additionally, providing an introduction to the LMS and the philosophy of online learning can ease the tensions of those new to the online community and are more likely to have them continue with the online learning community option (Palloff, 2016).

Relationship between community building and effective online instruction

                Implemented correctly, the relationship between community building and effective online instruction is a positive one. It provides learners a feeling of being part of something larger and brings personal satisfaction in successful completion. The “normal” peer pressure the community brings to succeed push learners to give a little more and learn more.

Resources

Conrad, R.-M. a. (2011). Engaging the Online Learner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R. a. (2016, January). Online Learning Communities. Laureate Education. Walden University Video Media.

Saba, F. (2016, January). Evaluating Distance Learning Theory. Laureate Education. Walden University Video Media.

  

Sharing in a learning Community

Blogging is a great way to share resources and build a learning community through social media. 

For the next 8 weeks, this blog will focus on developing distance education systems and how to provide equivalent learning experiences. 

I am hoping to connect to other IDT professionals in this online professional community.