The questions posed to us in this week's prompt have to do with
what we learned this week about becoming a more effective online
instructor. The focus of this blog posting
is a synthesis of a video about "Effective
Online Communities" (Palloff, & Pratt, n.d.). Ok, I am trying not to be
overly critical here, but I have to admit.
I am feeling pretty grumpy about this assignment, and here is why. To begin, based on what I have studied in the
resources this week, and from the Walden distance learning course, as well as
many books I have read for classroom instruction, I am being told again, and
again that distance/online instruction must be engaging (Conrad &
Donaldson, 2011), meaningful (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek,
2012), and community driven (Palloff, & Pratt). Well, as I watched the video of two people
talking at me for 44 minutes, it occurred to me that even though the content
was meaningful (in order for me to pass this course, and further my knowledge
base), it was neither engaging, or community driven. In fact, I feel that way about pretty much
every video I have ever watched in the Walden video library.
Now, I
understand the videos have a purpose in terms of establishing a base of
knowledge in order to further the discussion that will follow in the online
community. My question to the group is
why as an adult learner must I be subjected to such presentations? Just because I am an adult does not mean that
I love watching content like this. The
presenters in the video spoke of the concern of attrition with online learners
(Palloff, & Pratt, n.d.), Dr. Pratt even went so far as to say that some
types of learners will never be able to succeed in the online environment
(Palloff, & Pratt, n.d.). Well, when
I sit down and watch some of the content presented, it is not hard for me to
understand why some people walk away. Now,
some folks might say that the content is not in itself the heart of the
learning community; it is the members of the community that drive the
content. Well, I am going to have to
disagree with you. In order to be a
solid contributing member of the community, one must know the content, which
means reading the text, as well as watching and synthesizing the video content. This is very difficult when the content
presented is often dry, and extraneous.
So now
what? I think this week's video
presentations have brought about a completely new set of questions for me as a
future online designer and instructor.
For instance, how do I sustain an online community when the content is
delivered in a way that is not satisfactory to the learners? The short answer is design new content (I
have included the video I made for my orientation to eighth grade distance
learners that will be working with a group of classroom students. I think it really sums up what an online
community looks like through my eyes.).
However many online instructors are facilitating courses they did not
design. Maybe the answer comes down to
the shared responsibility to the entire group.
Maybe that is the whole point to the dry content. Maybe Walden feels like if we see this type
of content enough we will come together as a community and find ways to help
each other get through the content and create a greater learning experience
(Palloff, & Pratt, n.d.). Or maybe
these videos are cheap to produce and if we really want to get through the program,
we will sit, watch quietly and alone and then get on with our lives.
References
Conrad, R. & Donaldson, J.A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for
creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Palloff, R. (Writer), & Pratt, K. (Writer) (n.d.). Online learning communities [Web]. Retrieved from
https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=webaps/
blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_1375244_&url=
Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson
Hi Genise!
ReplyDeleteI definitely got a kick out of your posting. I see this quite often in my workplace. The team of instructional designers (well, there are only 2 of them) will present some attempt to compel fellow staff to care about ID, using.... PowerPoint bullets of text! It's like the saying about how the cobbler's son has the worst pair of shoes of anyone. Or how the psychologist's kid is the most troubled.
I kept laughing to myself while watching the expressions on the assembled audience of Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt. I wondered if they were also noting the lack of interactivity in the presentation.
Your comments also remind me of my discussion posting this week, assessing a Lynda.com course. Have you taken any of these? They are of the "talking head" ilk. I think the hope is that the presenters are revered highly enough that we will raptly listen :)
I appreciate your honesty!
nicole wigston
Hi Nicole,
DeleteThanks for the response. I guess I did come off a little too grumpy in my post, I just was really taken a back by what I was seeing. Anyway, I really feel like even though distance and online learning theory is making progress, programs are still trying to play catch-up when it comes to producing engaging content for online learners. As a result online learners are going to have to deal with these sorts of videos until programs start to figure it out.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm following your blog!
Hello Minister Dixon,
DeleteThank you for following my blog.
Genise
Hi Genise,
ReplyDeletegreat reading your post - very different than the others I've read so far, in honesty and message. As a multimedia designer of interactive learning materials, I am always very interested in hearing what students have to say about the materials.
Concerning the video in question, my first thought was that the designers have broken the cardinal rule of length. 44 minutes is too long! But as I watched it, I realized that I was having the privilege of getting information from two consummate professionals in the field, just judging by what they talked about, and the level of intelligence of the discourse (especially from the woman). This is my tenth course at Walden, so I have seen a few videos by now. I would have to say that based on the quality and relevance of the information, this is one of the best. I'm all for interactive, engaging media - but for me, this really hit the spot for what it was. I would consider this video essential viewing for any professional engaged in the creation of online learning materials. Some of the info might seem simple or obvious, but many people out there in the field need to hear it (such as the danger of trying to take traditional lessons online directly, the radical differences between online and face to face learning in general, and the immortal line "sage on the stage vs. guide on the side")
Its amazing how different our reactions are, isn't it? I'm not sure what to make of that. Is it simply different strokes? Learning styles?
Looking forward to reading more of your posts this semester.
Devin
Hi Devin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the response, and I really appreciate your counter point. What I find interesting is that you point out the importance of the content in the video, specifically the importance of differentiation of online and face-to-face instruction, yet I feel like that is exactly what they did. They took face-to-face content and simply put it online. Is that what I am supposed to do in order to engage my students? I just feel like at this level there needs to be more demonstration of the qualities they are looking for in foundational online instruction.
Thanks again Devin.