Week 6 Instructional Design for Online Learning

1. What is the nature, of the dichotomy between use of the Internet as a content delivery mechanism or as a communications medium?

In an online class, I feel the Internet is used more as a means of delivering content of materials to the students in the class rather than a communications medium. The methods that online classes may present materials to the students include lectures, presentations, videos, websites, online readings, software programs, etc. This is typically what students expect when they enroll in an online class. Students expect to spend time sitting in front of the computer reading or watching material dealing with the class objectives in which they will later be asked to recall. Although, most students are familiar with using the Internet as a means of communication whether it be through VoIP, chat rooms, or instant messaging. Therefore, if students want to discuss material with other students or their instructor in an online class, I feel they are familiar enough with technology to find a means to communicate using the Internet without having to be told to do so.

2. List and discuss one instructional strategy from one of the three instructor provided articles that the instructor DID NOT MENTION.

The instructional strategy I prefer in both traditional as well as online classes that was discussed in the Illinois Online Network article Instructional Strategies for Online Courses is Collaborative Learning. This strategy involves two or more students working together to understand the material that the instructor has presented. Usually the students in the collaborative learning strategy are from varying abilities, however, the students would be able to each individually bring their strengths to a discussion to collaboratively work together. Students might be able to achieve this through a variety of media methods including email, discussion boards or even instant messaging. For example, the instructor might present an application problem in math (word problem). The students could each take turns discussing their step by step process they would use in order to solve the problem presented. One student could present one step of the process and the other student could present the second step until the entire problem is solve!

There are several strengths and weaknesses of implementing this collaborative learning strategy in an online class. One strength would be the ability to work together as a team to solve a problem. The students would be able to help each other out, especially if one student was stuck on a particular step of the process. Also, teamwork is a key skill in the workforce because most employers want a worker who can work with other people well and get along. Another plus for this strategy is that it is usually more enjoyable to work with someone in the learning process rather than learning alone. Granted, some students rather work by themselves, but a majority of the students would prefer to work together and support each other through the learning process. A weakness of this strategy would be working with someone who is lazy, unwilling to work or contribute and simply does not contribute to the discussion of the problem. Or if one of the teammates does not have good "people skills" as is able to communicate with the other people in the group. I have personally participated in collaborative group work where one of the group members did not like working with other people and it reflects how the group works with that particular individual.

In this class, collaborative learning could be implemented in a variety of ways. One way would be to assign group tasks where students would be forced to using the technology, similar to our discussion boards. This is one of the best ways I see for implementing this strategy because the discussion boards allow each student in the class to participate in the discussion and to respond to each other students comments. Another way collaborative learning could be implemented is to assign group projects where groups would be responsible for researching, using and evaluating different forms of telecommunications using the Internet. Both pros and cons could be compared and the best form of telecommunication as described by the students could be used for the entire class for a final project.

3. Discuss the role and nature of evaluation of student performance in online classes. Address this from the perspective of an instructional designer. What are the challenges to doing evaluation of student work in online classes? What are some guidelines that an instructional designer should follow to create effective assessments for online activities?

The evaluation of a student's performance in an online class is an interesting topic to discuss. First, there is the issue of academic honestly and integrity. How do we as instructors actually know that it is our students who are doing the work and not someone else? We never actually see the students and that could possible raise some issues with the evaluation process. I honestly think that by giving more quizzes and smaller assignments worth less points or percentages is one way to reduce the temptation to cheat. Students might be pressured to cheat if they have a midterm or final exam in an online class that is worth a larger percentage of their grade. In my online class that I teach, I have 3 midterms and a final exam, but I also give multiple quizzes throughout the semester so I can gauge how the students are performing in the class. Also, I can usually pick out if a student is doing poorly on the quizzes and then scores an "A" on a midterm or final exam. I might question the students' integrity in that case.

As an online instructional designer, one might like the idea of using discussion boards as a means to evaluate students' understanding of a topic. If the students can discuss an issue through the use of a discussion board in a satisfactory manner, usually the students have an understanding of the material. Or a bulletin board would work in the same manner. However the instructional designer would like to structure the discussion so that they can evaluate the students' understanding of the material through their discussion with classmates and/or the instructor would be appropriate.

Finally, a third option might be to assign small group project in which the students need to work together to get a project done. This would have to be an asynchronous activity since most of the students in graduate classes work during the day, but the students would be able to participate and do their part of a small group project. Perhaps every week could be a new group project in which each team member would be assigned to complete a portion of the entire project. A project manager position could be rotated around week to week, so the same person in not always in charge of collecting the pieces of the project and submitting the entire project to the instructor. This type of activity would also develop workforce skills that students would be able to implement in the future or in their current workplace environment.

James