Thursday, January 10, 2013

Week 1: Online Learning Communities


When I reflect on my experience as an online learner I have to agree with Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt with online learning the Instructor can’t be the focus of attention is not a face-to-face show where all eyes are on the instructor, but rather students and their ability to communicate with one another and build conversations that foster feedback and learning from each other.  Students cannot be passive knowledge-absorbers who rely on the instructor to feed information to them.  In an online course, it is imperative that they be active knowledge-generators who assume responsibility for constructing and managing their own learning experience (Conrad and Donaldson, 2011, p. 5).  There has to be a sense of accountability for students taking ownership of their learning by actively engaging with their peers and instructor every step of the course.  The involvement of the learner in the course, whether one calls it interaction, engagement, or building community, is critical if an online course is to be more than a lecture-oriented course in which interaction is primarily between the learner and the content or the learner and the instructor (Conrad and Donaldson, 2011, p. 4-5).  Online learning gives every student the opportunity to have a voice and grow academically with their fellow classmates at the same time.  Online offers students the forum to communicate openly especially those learners who are reserved to speak out in face-to-face classes.   Often times in face-to-face classes only a few students participate in discussions, but online every student participates in some way whether it’s with personal experience or building off of the experiences of others.  Online learning communities can be sustained by instructors making learning student centered, engaging in discussions, providing feedback, ensuring that the course is learner friendly without millions of navigations and posting places, making sure the technical help is available 24/7 and access can be from anywhere.  The relationship between community building and online learning is that the curriculum should be designed to promote individual and group activities that enhance continuous learning.  They should be real world applicable as possible.

Conrad, R.M. & Donaldson, J.A. (2011). Engaging the Online Learner:  Activities and
      Resources for Creative Instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
 
 

5 comments:

  1. Aubrey- I enjoyed your blog discussion about the role of the learner in the online community and how students must become active knowledge generators. We cannot sit back and wait to be spoon fed or led by the instructor- they provide us with guidance, feedback, and share their insight and expertise- they are our guide, but we must really assume a great deal of responsibility in learning and contributing to the community and creating knowledge. Thanks for sharing your perspective this week. Teri

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    1. Teri,

      I agree we must assume all of the responsiblity in learning online by responding to discussion board postings while being willing to be open and honest about ourselves. With face-to-face classes you get a human feel for people, but with online even with pictures you have to be careful of how you present yourself.
      Aubrey

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  2. Hey Aubrey I really enjoyed looking at your blog it looks great and it kind of reflects your name with the little birds. Anyway I enjoyed reading your blog you really showed your knowledge of online community. We as learners must not make our experience online a big lecture but a time to become a learner and use the infomation. As a online learner it has become convient and a good way to continue my educational development.

    Good post, Hiraman Byrd

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    1. Hi Aubreyinformative post. The online community includes social interaction. Online community provides social networking, collaboration, and feedback.

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    2. Hey Hiraman,

      Yes, I tried to be a little creative:-) with the Birds. I'm knowledgeable of online learning because I got my Master's online and this is my 2nd certificate online. I honestly wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I hope to become an online professor!
      Aubrey

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