My online learning begins
Have been practising with the tools for Learnonline from Victoria University. As part of the journal practise I had to share my thoughts about guidelines for online learning. These are my thoughts would love to here from anyone who could add to the list, just carry on the numbers:
There are several guidelines that are essential for online learning:
1.Regular, scheduled time for ‘online learning’
Whether that is morning, lunchtime, after dinner, after the kids have gone to bed or three in the morning when you come off shift. Whatever the time, it has to suit you and it has to be regular; twice or three times a week would be best.
2.Read ahead
Before coming off line, choose the next assignment, or reading or topic discussion; read it through, even print it out so you can go back and refer to it. Even if you have little other time for study, you will have it in your head, you will either consciously or subconsciously dwell upon it and when you come to your next ‘Online time’ you may well discover that you have a clearer picture about that topic or issue than you otherwise would have.
3. Use the email, use the forums
As the course progresses it is good to get your ideas ‘out there’ even if your thoughts or opinions on a given subject are not fully formed. Writing it down, sharing it with fellow students will solidify things in your own mind and they may well share some thoughts and opinions of their own, which could well help you.
4. Be nice
When sharing ideas and opinions in open forum or closed email it is much more productive for everyone if you stay on topic and treat others comments with respect as we are all on a learning journey together, sometimes your ahead and sometimes your behind, but in the end you are only racing yourself.
Hi Simon, just out of interest, if you don’t mind me asking, are you doing study through Victoria uni??
We are made for relationship..you will hear it from me again and again….why? Even in online learning we crave that relationship…we need interaction. We need to include that interaction somehow in all courses, whether online or offline. I cannot converse with a wall, I need the interactive conversation and our students do as well. When we design and teach online courses, it would behoove us to remember this. Those who teach online as they did offline with no interaction are doing the learner a disservice.
Good guidelines Simon. I wish I had them when I started my post grad study a few years ago. By the end of this year I will have taken 8 masters papers to complete the masters programme at Vic. 6 of those papers have been online, even though I live just 5 minutes up the road from the Kelburn campus, 10 minutes from Karori campus. I agree with Durff, it’s the interaction between learners and facilitators, whether ftf or online, that drives effective learning.
How kind of you to agree with me - thank you! I have been taking a rather uncollaborative, uncommunicative course. But I just don’t know when to stop…so I persist and am now getting involvement. We learn more when we interact - the research backs me up on this one. I would add then another guideline: be persistent!