Success in Online Learning = Communication
Posted: February 28, 2011 Filed under: Online Learning | Tags: communication, online 2 Comments »Online learning is not new. Despite some administrators’ passion for triumphing online courses as the next frontier in education, it really is a format that has been around for a decade or more (I took my first online course in 1999), even if it hasn’t necessarily been common in every school for as long.
Online learning is exciting in its flexibility and ability to connect students globally, but it comes with its own unique challenges and frustrations. I’ve been involved with online learning as a student, teacher, course designer, and coordinator, and so I feel that I have a fairly sound understanding of what these challenges are. Fundamentally, I believe that online learners most often run into trouble with their online courses because:
- They fall behind or fail to plan their time effectively
- They lose interest in their course
- They don’t fully understand the content and ideas being communicated through their course
Don't lose the forest for the trees
Essentially, they fail to communicate on some level, and because online learners are often isolated from others, they can easily become lost and forgotten about if they don’t themselves speak up.
Effective communication then is the primary key to success for online learners. Students need to proactively communicate with their teachers to ensure that they are able to meet deadlines. They need to engage in the conversations and discussions in their class. And they need to seek clarification and answers when they run into problems. This is of course a two-way street; students need teachers and peers that are receptive to an effective online conversation, but they must be equally willing to foster this sort of dialogue.
I dont think these points are any different from a real school, other than the communication point. Its quite possible for students to not plan their time in contact courses as wel, and equally to lose interest or not understand the ideas. I concede the point that communication is more of an effort though.
Thanks for the comment Sanjay. You’re right, the challenges are much the same as in f2f environments, but I feel it can be difficult for online students to communicate well since they don’t ‘see’ their teacher on a regular basis.