Conclusions
It is my hope that this web site has been educational. It is my belief that a good education can be had in a totally online environment. This analysis has shown how solid educational practices that are rooted in accepted educational theory can be implemented online. Many of these techniques are already being implemented on a daily basis in colleges and corporate environments throughout the world. Are the teachers and learners getting the best benefit from them? Maybe, maybe not. Awareness of a phenomenon is the first step towards understanding it and understanding must come before mastery. By shedding light on the educational theory that underlies many of the tools that the online educational community uses, the opportunity presents itself to gain the most benefit from that tool. The capstone project that accompanies this web site, and this web site itself, will have served its purpose if educators and learners can maximize the benefit that they receive from their online learning experiences.
Observations for educators
Having taught in both face-to-face and online environments, I can say that there are benefits to both. In the online environment, the LMS (Learning Management System) will help you to organize, store, and backup your courses. There is a huge convenience in information technology for education. While there is a plethora of illustrative benefits that can be had through the creative use of animation, interaction, and video, the crown of the experience is in the one-on-one, and one-on-many, interactions that you will have in the forum. Encourage your learners to post their reflections to the forum. In fact, make sure that forum interaction is a participatory part of their grade. It is mandatory, not optional. It is in the forum that you have the opportunity to get into the heads of your learners. Your forum response is part lecture, part discussion. The forum is where you have the ability to tailor your metaphor to the learner. After all, isn't that what makes a fine educator? Improvise. Maximize the forum's strength.
Provide good learning objectives that are stated clearly in a syllabus. Create a Read Me First file that orients the learner to the environment. Tell the learners what you expect and what they can expect from you. Let them know how they can reach you and have a way to contact them independent of the online experience. If possible, contact them independently of the course. Use email or the phone. Find ways to break the confines of the course environment. Visit their web site. Read some of their blog and comment appropriately. The personal touch will go a long way towards engaging them in the course because it closes the distance that online education inherently has.
Observations for learners
Don't procrastinate; especially in an online class. In some ways you are on your own. No one is standing over your shoulder telling you how to approach the course, or to study, or how to manage your time. The big freedom of online education is that you are in limited control of your schedule... to a point. Yes. You can decide to download your assignments at 2:00AM if you wish, after the work day is through, or after the kids are in bed. But you still have weekly deadlines. In the years that I have been an online student the following strategy has worked well for me. At the beginning of the week, print your lessons, all of your reading materials, and the assignments that are due. After you have all of your reading material, read the overview to gain an idea of what the week's lessons are about. Then look at the assignments. What is due? When is it due? Do you need additional materials? Do you need to involve other people? There is nothing more chilling than to get to the deadline date, read the assignment requirements only to find out you needed to interview someone mid-week and post their response in the forum by Wednesday.
After you know what to read, and you know what assignments are due and what is expected, then do the week's readings. Printing them out means that you can stick the paper in your brief case or backpack and read them on the go. If a tornado, hurricane, or thunder storm hits mid-week and knocks out your internet service, there is no worry. You have everything printed in your backpack. You have read the assignments and know which concepts to pay attention to as you scan your week's readings. Even if you don't do the assignment until Saturday, you have been thinking about it all week, formulating ideas, working it out in your head. You've read the articles on the train, or in a fast-food line, while waiting for your spouse at the mall, while in the bathroom. Maximize your schedule. My wife now expects me to carry a backpack around with me everywhere. In any given moment when I am stuck waiting for... whatever, I have articles to read, a Moleskin notebook to make notes or illustrations, a planner to keep me on track, and other goodies like an iPod, phone, etc. I get a lot of reading and organizing done while waiting. You can too.