How many of us are old enough to remember Max Headroom? This is a character from a 1980’s TV series about a newsman who escapes a threat to his life by becoming digital and operating within a computer. The character is only seen as a human image via the old-time clunky computer monitors of the era.
I often like to make unusual allusions especially to pop culture to see if there are any students who tend to think and operate beyond their own world. To help students understand that there is a real person on the other end of their computer I often make reference to Max Headroom. In doing so, I’m trying to break through the electronic barrier and distance associated with computers before the advent of social media and mobility.
In a very real way the primary goal of a teacher’s preparation of the online environment for students is to make it seem personable.Palloff and Pratt in this week’s video (n.d.) provide a number of great suggestions for humanizing instruction which will occur through distance learning.Much of the success in creating the desirable online experience calls for the instructor to personalize the environment and to think and respond proactively.They for example mention a simple strategy used in face-to-face instruction which is to get on a first name basis with the student. They also suggest drawing out the reluctant student by engaging in private communication to discover the reason for their resistance to a fuller participation.
Boettcher and Conrad (2010) approach the issue of preparation by considering the tools and technology that the student will be using.Just as one checks a flashlight by turning it on and off before journeying into the darkness, the online teacher should make sure that students will have access to the right tools for the planned activities and also make sure that the tools and links are operational. It’s similar to the pilot walking around and checking the perimeter of his plane while on the ground as well as going through any pre-flight check with the engine revving up.
When I first started working with a computer, I generally would allow for more wait time for a download or for a video to start.With a bit more experience, though, I’ve noted that I’ve become as bad as my high school students in that if it doesn’t work right away, I’m off to a new site.My experience expects the technology to be operational and if it isn’t, it establishes a critical attitude toward the site and learning, a breach of the trust that the technology will and should work first time and every time.
E-learnspace.org provides a rather thorough analysis of the preliminaries that are important to assure the success of an online experience.Its web article “Preparing Students for Elearning” (n.d.) considers the prerequisites of the “ecosystem” as well as the prerequisite skills of the instructor and the student.It mentions the need for support documents that provide the explanation that the traditional teacher gives orally from the front of the room.Such documents explain how to use the tools but also convey the expectations for performance: staying on schedule, communicating, procedure for executing an activity, methods of evaluation, listing of assignments, etc.
An instructor is not only the “subject matter specialist” for any course, but the instructor also is a model for students.The more inexperienced a student is, the more he relies - whether he is aware of it or not - upon the instructor to show him how it is done, or where the bar is set for successful completion of the assignments.Consequently, the instructor must be able to use the tools “fluidly” and be able to explain the use of those tools.There probably will be times when the student’s knowledge of the technology exceeds that of the instructor, but the instructor needs to have practiced with each of the tools that technology has to offer.
Palloff and Pratt also spend a good deal of time discussing the first activities one creates that will establish the right mindset for the online experience.Because the online experience relies heavily on social learning and collaboration, it becomes necessary to establish a learning community that supports these important elements of learning.Beginning a course in “Week Zero” with activities not related to course content initiates the development of the learning community.Establishing a personable biography and later participating in an icebreaker activity helps bridge the isolation gap evident in online instruction and begins to establish a community that will operate on the basis of good communication as well as cooperation and collaboration among the students and with the instructor.
If for no other reason, such opening activities go a long way toward helping students realize that “Max Headroom” is a real person who resides at the other end of their computer.If he’s real and he approaches you in a humanizing and personable way, how could you not respond in kind and make the decision that you are going to try to do your best and get something out of the course.How could it not help to establish a positive experience?
References:
Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Elearningspace.com (n.d.). Preparing students for elearning. Retrieved from http://www.elearningspace.org/Articles/Preparingstudents.htm
Max Headroom [image]. bing.com/images/search?q=max headroom
Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (n.d.). Online Learning Communities [video]. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6493411&Survey=1&47=7443671&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Hi Bruce,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your Blog this week and especially liked the relation you draw with your analogies. I am particularly fond of the pilot performing pre- flight checks. I like to think of education as causing learners minds to take flight, soring to new heights and “over standing”(that is a new word I sort of made up). You made a great suggestion for us to provide learners with support documents. I think this is especially important when our learner’s will not all arrive with the same level of understanding when it comes to technological “know how”. By adding a few links that will explain how to use the required technology for creating a wiki or blogging basics would help them prepare to adequately participate.
In addition to being “fluid” in the use of course tools and accepting the possibility of being relatively unfamiliar with a specific technology at some point as an instructor Boettcher and Conrad explain how “students can also be a source of help and advice”(p.57). I remember teaching Microsoft Office last year and forgetting how to use the print screen feature. I know it was just one of those things we can forget if we do not apply it over time. I had an Office wizard and she was very happy to show me. The text goes on to explain how positively this can impact the students learning experience. I do remember MAD MAX something about the eighties brings such nostalgia. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, I feel obligated to return the favor (smile). Do you remember this famous eighties actress (Patt Kramer), better yet the movie? (click on this terribly long link)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwM_0ulqduw
Reference:
Boettcher, J., Conrad, T., (2010) The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. San Francisco; Jossey-Bass
Hi Ama,
DeleteI don''t recall "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" but it was reminiscent of an earlier film - black and white with Alan Ladd - called "The Incredible Shrinking Man." And wasn't there a Twilight Zone" episode like that?
I think you're right that sometimes we have to turn our ignorance on something modern into a teachable moment.
Bruce,
ReplyDeleteYour post makes a lot of sense and correlates well with our sources. I even empathize with your realized impatience with slower than the speed of light technology. I suffer from a similar issue. I recently purchased a new laptop fully expecting it to dazzle my socks off. Imagine my surprise when it seemed to not perform miracles! A little tinkering and a few updates and it is performing well. Apparently, it prefers Google Chrome as its browser of choice over Internet Explorer. Obviously, I have become a computer tech nerd, personalifying my equipment with personality and preferences. I am lost to it all.
As far as your comment regarding the instructor being able to handle online tools fluidly, I agree to a point. Unfortunately, many excellent instructors are digital immigrants at best. Further exacerbating the learning curve is (1) the rate at which technology is constantly advancing; and, (2) lack of opportunity to immerse themselves in the environment. How would you suggest these teachers get ahead of the game? Or, should some type of in-district training be provided on a voluntary basis or otherwise?
The last comment I wanted to add was regarding your discussion to "week zero." I found many of the ideas and discussions from the sources this week to be completely valid, and yet, not typically implemented. Perhaps, "do as I say, not as I do." In fact, Dr. Clauburg was the first instructor to utilize any type of icebreaker other than standard introductions. Have you had other online instructors utilize icebreakers. By the way, your icebreaker idea was the best of the best!
I just wonder if part of the issue has to do with the length of the courses. For instance, my sister's courses are 5 weeks in length. Those classes make ours look like semesters in comparison. Other online courses trail the traditional semester or trimester. Perhaps, in longer course formats there is more time for building the learning community. I do have to admit, the instructors at Walden have done an amazing job (at least in my classes) at building the learning communities in record time.
What are your thoughts?
Blessings,
Lynn
Hi Lynn,
ReplyDeleteI wonder how our courses compare with the traditional 13-week face-to-face version. I've not had any courses on these topics in face-to-face.