Week 7

This week we are asked to reflect on a possible scenario of a training manager converting a face to face training session to a blended or hybrid learning format with assignments and learning resources online. As an educator, I have experienced this transition in a way with some of the training that my school district has tried to disperse so it is interesting to me because I have had this experience. As Winston Churchill once stated, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” Instructional designers, instructors and students need to remember this while transitioning their content to distance learning. Distance learning had its benefits and of course challenges but if we can work through the limitations it can be rewarding for instructor and student. So challenging, in fact that states are even beginning to pass laws requiring some experience in online education before high school graduation (Watwood, Nugent, and Deihl, 2009)

The following is a guide of items that is necessary when implementing the change that instructional designers/instructors should take into consideration.

	PREPLANNING	COMMUNICATION	PARTICIPANT’S ROLE	HOW WILL IT BENEFIT?	RESOURCES FOR TRANSITION
STUDENT	Online learning obviously comes with some extra preplanning other than buying a textbook. Rather, it is up to the learner to ensure that they have the appropriate software, internet settings, computer setup, etc. “Just as the instructor must take the responsibility for learning about students, learners in the distance education classroom must assume ownership in their learning experience (Albright, et al, 2012).” The student should also orient themselves to the online learning classroom and methods that will be used during the course. Learners need to take responsibility for their own learning, even more so than with the traditional educational settings.	Earlier in this decade, nearly 80 percent of elearning was designed for solo work, which in effect made it little different from correspondence courses(Watwood, Nugent, and Deihl, 2009)” Students will be using Web 2.0 tools to communicate, discussion forums, email, skype, etc. Students should also be aware of “netiquette” and encourage a positive and collaborative learning environment (Albright, et al, 2012).	As mentioned in the previous column, the participant is to contact the instructor and have clear communication as part of their role as a learner in the online setting. However, it is also part of the student’s role to create a positive learning environment, collaborate with other students, and devote enough time to the course to contribute quality work (Albright, et al, 2012). The instructor should provide clear expectations, goals, assignments, etc. to students and it is the student’s responsibility to follow that syllabus (Albright, et al, 2012).	-Prevents “bottle necked” courses that are required but have not enough seats to accommodate the number of students. (Delivering Courses to More Students) - Allows the institution to offer more courses (Delivering Course to More Students) -Allows for flexibility for the student- student can go at their own pace, work a job while in school, complete learning activities when they prefer (some students do not learn/concentrate well in the morning, etc). (WorldWideLearn) -Accessibility- Students can access their digital classroom, lectures, homework, etc from virtually anywhere. (WorldWideLearn) - Money Saving- Some say that online courses save money for students and institutions by not making students physically attend class. (WorldWideLearn) -Students are not exposed to illnesses that other students may have such as H1N1 (Learning On Demand)	TIPS TO SUCCEED 21 THINGS FOR STUDENTS iSEEK
EDUCATOR	“Developing an online course starts at the same place where one develops a face-to face course. One sets the goals for the course, describes the specific learning objectives, defines the tasks necessary to meet those objectives, and then creates applicable assignments around these tasks (Watwood, Nugent, and Deihl, 2009)” Instructors must also think about the unique social aspect of online or distance learning and plan for the differences. Instructors, as well as students need to create a learning environment in which to collaborate (Albright, et al, 2012). Also, because the student is not directly in front of the instructor, the instructor must put an effort forth when the course begins to learn about his students, their experiences and their learning styles in order to make their learning experience a positive one.	Chickering and Gamson state that student and teacher communication are the most important factor in maintaining student motivation (Watwood, Nugent, and Deihl, 2009). Keeping in touch with students allows them to feel as though they are not alone in the educational process and feedback is crucial to the student understanding. Prompt feedback will allow students to learn the instructor’s expectations and gauge their progress in the course and on the topic.	Chickering and Gamson (1987) developed seven principles in which they believed would lead to a successful distance educator. The seven principles are  1. Good Practice Encourages Student-Faculty Contact 2. Good Practice Encourages Cooperation among Students 3. Good Practice Encourages Active Learning 4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback 5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task 6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations 7. Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning steps (Watwood, Nugent, and Deihl, 2009) Because the format of this style of learning requires extra effort to kick off, administrator help and support is a must. There must be some inservices, workshops, or professional development for faculty to attend in order to support the goal of transitioning to distance learning. There also must be support among peers to share experience as shown in the figure below for collaboration and training. Clear learning objectives and goals should be available to the students as well so that they can know where the course is headed and what is expected of them.	Transitioning a course to a distance learning course can be time consuming but educators will benefit from distance learning in a manner that will allow the instructor more flexibility as well as more time to focus on their students and their unique and diverse perspectives. “While the hours invested per week were about the same, Ko and Rossen found that faculty could do those hours at their convenience, day or night, weekday or weekend. (Watwood, Nugent, and Deihl, 2009)”	MERLOT ION FACULTY FOCUS

Are you ready to be a successful online learner? Successful online learners are;

¨  Collaborative

¨  Tech Savvy (If not, willing to learn or find resources to help)

¨  Communicative

¨  Self-Reliant

¨  Open Minded

¨  Appropriate and polite

¨  Efficient

¨  Independent

¨  Honest and ethical

OR

Are you ready to be a successful online instructor? Successful online instructors are;

¨  Dedicated

¨  Communicative

¨  Tech Savvy (If not, willing to learn or find resources to help)

¨  Willing to attend extra professional development

¨  Willing to work with peers to collaborate during and through transition

¨  Able to facilitate discussions and student groups

¨  Able to provide prompt feedback

¨  Articulate

2013. Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Training Online. Retrieved from: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

Bart, Mary. 2011. Guidelines for Online Teaching Success. Faculty Focus.

Center for Digital Education. (2012) Delivering Courses to More Students; Blended Technologies Take Distance Learning  to New Levels. E. Republic. 

Covington, D., Petherbridge, D., Warren, S. 2005. Best Practices: A Triangulated Support Approach in Transitioning Faculty to Online Teaching. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration.

Illinois Online Network. 2010. Instructional Strategies for Online Courses. University of Illinois.

Learning on Demand; Online Education in the United States 2009. (2010). Babson Survey Research Group.

Lytle, Ryan. 2013. 5 Tips to Succeed in an Online Course. US News.

Minnesota Department of Education. 2013. What Makes a Successful Online Learner? iSeek Education.

Thorp, A., Jacobson, T. 2013. Learning Online. 21 Things for Students.

Watwood, B., Deihl, W., Nugent, J. 2009. Building from Content to Community; Rethinking the Transition to Online Learning. Center for Teaching Excellence.

What are the Potential Benefits of Online Learning. (2013). Retrieved July 14, 2013, from WorldWideLearn website: http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-articles/ benefits-of-online-learning.htm