Activity1

Discuss the implications of knowing (or not knowing) how to use technology in an online course. Should there be prerequisite technological skills? What kind of technology support should be offered to learners in an online course? Be specific and give examples, if possible.

Today’s generation are being referred to as the “digital natives,” as access to computers is a given. We live in a world of extensive use of the media and many technological developments have brought us to this point – such as widely deployed high speed internet access, extremely powerful and affordable mobile computing, the effect of Web 2.0 technologies, access to cloud computing resources and a new expectation of what computers and their role in learning mean.

In order to know or understand how to use the technology in an online setting, setting clear expectations related to course content, being there for the students virtually, and providing timely feedback by the faculty – all of these attributes towards the success of the learner. To learners to be successful in an online setting, course assignment activities have to be set up clearly in which learners can interact with others and with the content (Palloff & Pratt, 2001). The ability to offer greater access to educational opportunities is the primary catalyst of all online institutions. Voorhees (2005) stated supplying learners with specific information or benchmarks can experience success, make progress, and gain confidence that can contribute to their motivation, increase retention, and prepare learners for higher-level engagement.

Learners often need help with acquiring information literacy skills (how to retrieve, evaluate, apply, and source information effectively) and with using the technology effectively (Brindley, Blaschke & Walti 2009). Students enrolled in Associates or Bachelors degree online program come with different levels of technology expertise. Most of the students are tech savvy and some are not. In my 11 years of teaching online, I have seen some of my students those who are enrolled in a 200 or 300 level college courses come with no prior technological skills.

It becomes quite challenging for the students who have no prerequisite skills other than knowing to send email or browsing internet, and gets panicky when it comes to installing evaluation version (shareware) of required database software for fulfilling their coursework assignments. Mostly students become frustrated not knowing how to download or install to make use of the technology for meeting the course objectives. Thanks to the advent of remote access software today that can be used by the instructor or any authorized person (with the permission of the student) to remotely access a students’ computers using their remote access login/password, and help to diagnose computer problems or newer software installation issues that are needed for their coursework. One such software that I use is Teamviewer (http://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/index.aspx), an excellent screen-sharing and file-sharing app that helps to get remote support from instructor to student or from another student to student with PC troubleshooting.

Also, I offer my online students by incorporating the following technology tools in the virtual classrooms to communicate systematically via: Discussion board, Chat rooms, Virtual Office, Adobe Connect. Also, when they have trouble connecting to the course home page, they can approach the university tech support through phone or online seven days a week. Students have access to use the University online resources as well and seek instructor’s help online to overcome the loneliness of distance education.

I strongly standby, learning is promoted through collaboration -- collaboration among students, and between students and faculty. As Moreira (2010) explains, “ in order for students to construct and disseminate knowledge, students must be trained with digital competencies to a minimal extent” (p. 2), by knowing how to communicate on the Net and search for information for coursework research purposes. In today's online classroom, computer-based technology can provide many tools that support sharing, negotiating, and constructing knowledge. “Student-faculty interaction, peer-to-peer collaboration and active learning...” (Chen, Gonyea, & Kuh, 2008, para. 2), has been positively related to the quality of the learning experience.

As a constructivist faculty, I often guide my students as they approach problems, may encourage them to work in pairs or groups of three, to think and analyze logically, and support them with encouragement and advice as they tackle problems, and challenges that are rooted in real world situations that would be both interesting to the students and satisfying in terms of the result of their group work. According to Vygotsky (1987), students are capable of performing at higher intellectual levels when asked to work in collaborative situations than when asked to work individually. Using technology in an online course provides essential tools with which to accomplish the goals of a social constructivist classroom. Palloff & Pratt (2005) strongly recognizes that collaborative learning in the online learning environment assist students to develop higher order thinking skills and to achieve richer knowledge generation through shared goals, shared exploration, and a shared process of meaning making . I personally feel that learning in pairs or groups facilitate cognitive growth and learning of the students’ community as they brainstorm the given problem in reasoning out better among themselves.

Often I reward risk-takers with one or two extra-credit points for those who open the weekly class to new ideas and lively discussions on weekly database topics. And, all of this put together clearly in an online course is what makes a course successful with raving reviews at the end for building a good online course, and instructors virtually being there for the students to succeed at every step in achieving their career goals through online learning. :)

References Brindley, J., Blaschke, L., Walti, C. (2009). Creating Effective Collaborative Learning Groups in an Online Environment. //The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning //. Retrieved from  @http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/675/1271.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Chen, P., Gonyea, R., & Kuh, G. (2008). Learning at a distance: Engaged or not? //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Innovate, // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">4 //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">(3). Retrieved from @http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=438&action=article

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Moreira, M. (2010). Information and digital competencies in higher education. //Revista de// //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Universidad del Concimiento, 7( //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">2). Retrieved from http://crocodoc.com/94ckiIm

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2001). //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lessons from the cyberspace classroom: The realities of // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">online teaching. //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Collaborating online: Learning together in community. //San Francisco, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: baseline;">CA: Jossey-Bass.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Voorhees, B. A. (2005). //Increasing Engagement for Online and Face-to-Face Learners through// //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Online Discussion Practices. //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The Cross Papers Number 8. Phoenix: League for <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Innovation in the Community College.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Vygotsky, L. (1987). //The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky// (translated by Rieber & Carton). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">New York: Plenum.