8. SUPPORTIVE TOOLS
Rubrics are given to gauge student work.
Work Samples help students understand what is
expected.
Emails works as a communicative tool to ensure dialogue.
Feedback is tool that helps know how to improve.
9. STRATEGIES FOR MOTIVATING
STUDENTS
Create Social Presence (Steinweg, Trujillo, Jeffs, &
Hopfengardner Warren, 2009).
Cultivate Instructor Interaction
Develop Self-efficacy and Self-
assessment (Cho, 2012)
10. TECHNIQUES FOR MOTIVATING
STUDENTS
Have Students Share short autobiographies (Schrum & Hong, 2002).
Create an open forum for student questions(Schrum & Hong, 2002).
Consistent communication with individual students (Schrum & Hong, 2002).
Use voice recording tool for feedback (Steinweg, Trujillo, Jeffs, & Hopfengardner
Warren, 2009).
Have students write reflections after assignments (Steinweg, Trujillo, Jeffs,
& Hopfengardner Warren, 2009)
11. REFERENCES
Barrett, Poe, Spagnola-Doyle (2012). Power Up: A Practical Student's Guide to Online Learning. (2nd ed.).
Prentice Hall.
Cho, Moon-Heum (2012). Online student orientation in higher education: a developmental study. Educational
Technology Research & Development. Association for Educational Communications and Technology.
Retrieved from. http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-
library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=eb48d46e-6efc-4da5-a42e-
bba51b5efecd%40sessionmgr113&vid=2&hid=114
Steinweg, S. B., Trujillo, L., Jeffs, T., & Hopfengardner Warren, S. (2009). Maintaining the personal touch in a
growing program: Strategies for establishing social presence in online classes. Journal of the Research
Center for Educational Technology, 2(2), 15-23. Retrieved from,
http://rcetj.org/index.php/rcetj/article/view/81/137
Schrum, L., & Hong, S. (2002). Dimensions and strategies for online success: Voices from experienced educators.
Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 6(1), 57-67. Retrieved From.
http://actxelearning.pbworks.com/f/10.1.1.109.3649.pdf
U.S. News Education (2014). Online Students Share Time Management Tips. U.S. News Education. [Video:
YouTube]. Retrieved from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AkZXu99LgY
Editor's Notes
Student success in the online classroom is attributed to multiple factors. Many of those addressed are credited to the instructor. Students are responsible to bring a certain level of dedication and technological understanding. An instructors ultimate responsibility and goal is to create an environment and provide the right tools resulting in the success for the majority of students in the online learning environment.
The instructor of an online classroom brings the course to life. They are responsible for creating a healthy, constructive learning environment by providing clear guidance, course policies, objectives, course schedule, and syllabus (Kang, 2013). Personal exchange of personal information between student and instructor is part of social intimacy, instructors are responsible for creating a bond between herself and her students, by reaching out to students in the beginning of the course (Kang, 2013). It is very important that instructors give students clear avenues of communication including email address, office hours, personal phone number (when appropriate), and directions on how to communicate in case of an emergency (Kang, 2013). Instructional presence is made by interacting with students in discussion forms and giving feedback on assignments. Instructional support is when an instructor shows a deep understanding of the material and is able to provide additional resources for students to view (Kang, 2013).
Students are responsible for making time to complete assignments in a timely manner, review required resources before each class session, motivate themselves to stay continue on in the course, and be an active participant in all social assignments, like discussion boards, and group projects.
There are many technological skills that will be learned in the online learning environment, however students will need to be proficient in basic skills. These skills include being able to use and upload word documents, emails and send attachments, navigate the internet, including web 2.0 tools, like chatrooms and social networks. It would also be beneficial if students had advanced graphic skills and able to create and retrieve audio/ visual files
Setting goals will help students stay on track in the online learning environment. Goals help students focus on what is important and reduces the amount of allowed distractions. Once goals are set managing time becomes easier. Online students have to be especially careful to schedule their time wisely. They have outside responsibilities and very little mandatory class time. Students will have to create their own schedule to follow that fits their personal lifestyle (Barrett, Poe, Spagnola-Doyle, 2012) (. In this schedule stress management will need to be included. Stress management could mean a few things. Some students may schedule their work to be completed over the week so the workload is not overwhelming, while others may schedule breaks to unwind and breathe. Here is a video from Oxford University about organizational skill and online learning.
All of these resources are guides for students to use to ensure that all assignment requirements are met. They also serve as a guide for the instructor to determine that the class stays on track to complete the course objective. Another use of these supportive resources is a sort of manual between student and teacher on what will be learned in the course and how it will be learned.
Students thrive by interacting and connecting with others. When there is a body of people to connect to a natural support system comes in place and students are more motivated to remain in the online learning environment (Steinweg, Trujillo, Jeffs, & Hopfengardner Warren, 2009). Instructor interactions can make a large impact on students maintaining, and being motivated, in an online learning environment. Reaching to students and catching students before they fall through the cracks is great deterrent to course drops. Finally, a students’ ability to gauge their own abilities and assess their progress is more likely to succeed and remain motivated in the online classroom (Cho, 2012).
All of these techniques motivate students to remain connected to the online classroom. By sharing, and reading others, short autobiography students find common ground and are motivated by the other’s road to success through education. Allowing students to have a dedicated place to ask questions will encourage students to get help on things that they may understand or need further directions on. Consistent communication with students will further the chances of a student reaching out when they are in trouble failing. The online learning environment can be void of communication that is not written. By leaving voice recording feedback students are able to glean from the tone, pitch, and fluctuation of the voice when commenting on their work. Student reflection works well with any assignment, including group ones. Students given time to step back and reflect on the learning process, where they may need to improve and what worked.
