Impact of Technology and Multimedia

Today in our learning society, technology is rapidly taking over our classrooms and creating what appears to be endless possibilities in bringing education and information to learners around the world and on multiple electronic devices. "Research literature throughout the past decade has shown that technology can enhance literacy development, impact language acquisition, provide greater access to information, support learning, motivate students, and enhance their self-esteem" (O'Hara & Pritchard, 2009). Adding technology to our learning environment has certainly proven to have many benefits. However, there isn't a lot of talk about what it takes to either move a face-to-face classroom into the online environment or developing an online classroom from scratch. "Moving to the online environment means developing a new set of habits, tools, and practices, and that takes time, energy, and patience" (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 103). Converting to online and developing new online learning is something I personally have experienced in my professional and educational work.

When developing online courses there are a lot of factors to consider. For instance, the impact technology and multimedia have on online learning environments. Well, the overall impact can be a good one as stated above. For the learners, many do very well with technology and multimedia being incorporated into their learning. They are more engaged, able to do hands on activities to help in their understanding of the material, and with online learning have more control. There can be an overload of technology that we want to be cautious of as too much of a good thing can have a negative impact. However, when technology and multimedia are incorporated appropriately, the benefits are high for the learners and I have seen my company's New Hire class thrive once technology and multimedia was incorporated.

The online instructor does have considerations to make before including technology and multimedia into their course. They first need to think of their learners and if adding technology will benefit them. Then they need to consider what type of technology with they utilize - videos, audio files, interactive games, a course management system, etc. Their next step will be to ensure they know the technology they are going to use and that their learners will know it or be able to learn it before a graded assignment (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). They will also need to develop strategies for how they will utilize the technology. For example, will they send out their announcements via e-mail or post them on the announcement section in the course management system? Will they incorporate instant messaging or twitter? How will they enforce the use of the discussion boards? These are all great questions out textbook " The Online Teaching Survival Guide" addressed. It is important for the online instructor to have a thorough plan when implementing technology because even though it's a great tool, it can also pose a lot of issues and confusion for learners. Therefore, "developing good practices for the sometimes endless details of managing and administering leaves more time and energy for guiding the knowledge development of your learners and developing satisfying learning relationships" (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010, p. 110).

Another factor to consider is what the implications might there be for the usability and accessibility of the technology tools towards online teaching. Well, anything with technology could have technical issues with operating, starting, compatibility, etc. The online instructor needs to take these into consideration and communicate alternative options for the students if the technology fails (a back up plan). In terms of usability, having learners use the technology with non-graded assignments before a graded assignment is an excellent resource to use (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). Doing this gives the learners a substantial assignment to complete in the program and direction on the program's potential.

All of those factors and details were things I've learned in my professional and educational work in developing online courses that have helped me currently and will continue to help me with future online development. For the educational work, I was able to experiences a course management system before we implemented one at work. I found that to be highly effective and helped with a lot of the grunt work (tracking students scores, how many times they logged in, when their last log in was, how many discussion posts they've done, etc.). Some kind of management system is one I would highly recommend to any instructor venturing out into the online learning environment. Another technology tool I love is Adobe Captivate. Captivate is a program that is great for our training department because it allows us to create online courses, record voices, create quizzes, develop simulations, record video, etc. I think it would be beneficial to utilize in any educational type field vs. straight web development where Dreamweaver may be more appropriate. Those are the two technology tools I've found very beneficial and provide a lot of opportunities for my development in the online learning industry.



References

Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

O'Hara, S., & Pritchard, R. (2009). What is the Impact of Technology on Learning. Education.com, Inc. Retrieved March 31, 2011, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-impact-technology-learning/

Setting Up an Online Learning Experience

There are many steps to setting up a successful online learning environment and experience for all parties. Some include social presence, technology being used, building a sense of community, having patience, and communicating expectations. That list is not all inclusive, but the most important point from that list is social presence, which the book "The Online Teaching Survival Guide" describes as "getting to know each other as three-dimensional people" and "it's the foundation of building trust and presence for the teaching and learning experiences" (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010, p. 51). To develop a strong online learning community, it's essential the facilitator is there and present to set an example and show support for the learners. It helps build the foundation to an online learning community because if students see and feel support, they are more likely to remain engaged knowing they aren't alone in this online community - there is guidance for them to help enhance their learning experience.

Another important point in that list is technology and knowing what is going to be used, how it will be used, the level of knowledge from the students with technology, and any challenges. "One of the initial steps in course development is determining which tools will be used in the course...and the skill level of the students [with those tools]" (Conrad and Donaldson, 2004, p. 4). Online learning is done through technology; therefore, it is an important aspect of designing a course as it is the main thing used to run the course. The facilitator needs to know what technology is available to them and then determine what can be used. Once that is determined, it is critical for the facilitator to communicate what technology is going to be used throughout this course. A great way to do this is to let the students utilize the technology before its use in a graded assignment to avoid frustration and promote learning (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010). Technology in an online course can make or break its success. Poor technology that doesn't work properly in the course or is too complicated for the learners is going to result in disengagement from the students. On the flip side, technology that they learn and feel comfortable with and helps enhance their learning, results in a positive learning experience and high participation.

A third key element to the above list is the facilitator communicating clear expectations to the learners. Why is this essential? "Clear and unambiguous guidelines about what is expected of learners and what they should expect from an instructor make a significant contribution to ensuring understanding and satisfaction in an online course" (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010, p. 55). As a learner, it is quite frustrating to receive vague instructions that leave room for interpretations because it will most likely be interpreted differently than what the instructor meant, which will ultimately affect the learning and grade. In an online environment, the facilitator and learners do not have face-to-face interaction; therefore, having effective communication becomes more essential so that body language, tone, and other nonverbal cues are "seen" within the words. Clear expectations also help "students better plan and manage their learning tasks and schedule in advance", which helps with the "learners' time management to achieve success in [their] online learning" (Zhang, 2010). Some elements of clarity in expectations include:

• Time frames/due dates (a Syllabus)
• Instructor's office hours and contact information
• Content organization
• Discussion posts (what needs to be included, how long, how often should they respond, and to how many learners, etc.)
• Instructions for assignments (including providing examples) (Zhang, 2010) and (Boettcher and Conrad, 2010)

"Having clear expectations can help keep surprises, confusion, and anxiety to a minimum" (Zhang, 2010). It also promotes more time learning than explaining what's expected of the learners.

Those three are key elements to keep in mind when setting up an online learning experience. Here are some more good pointers from Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt in their video "Launching the Online Learning Experience" that will also help. They include:

• Take time to get to know your students (e.g., personal bios from the instructors and students)
• Use the learners' names as soon as possible to develop that personal connection (e.g., in a response to their discussion post)
• Use pictures and videos of yourself or an image that represents you
• Incorporate fun activities that engages the learners with the content and each other (e.g., Icebreakers)

Setting up an online course is time consuming and can be hectic because there is a lot involved in it. The resources we read this week for class taught me that and just reading over how much a facilitator needs to ensure happens before the first day of class is nerve-wrecking. Definitely opened my eyes that online facilitation is not easier as some believe. However, I also learned that taking that time to do it right, ensure all key points are included (like the ones I mention), and incorporate some best practices (e.g., create a supportive online course community, use synchronous and asynchronous activities, etc. [Boettcher and Conrad, 2010, p. 37]), will increase the success rate of the course, content, and learner satisfaction.



References

Boettcher, J.V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palloff, R., and Pratt, K. (n.d.) Launching the Online Learning Experience. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4894963&Survey=1&47=6260654&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Zhang, J. (2010). Clear Expectations Lead to Less Confusion in the Online Classroom. DE Oracle. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://deoracle.org/online-pedagogy/teaching-strategies/clearer-expectation-and-less-confusion-in-online-classroom.html

Online Learning Communities

According to Wikipedia, "a learning community is a group of people who share common emotions, values and beliefs, are actively engaged in learning together from each other" ("Learning Community", 2011). Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt also stated in their video "Online Learning Communities" that a learning community is "the ability to pull students together, support one another in a learning process, and explore together the content in the course" (n.d.). With these definitions in mind, it is apparent that an online learning communities goal is to create a sense of co-knowledge and meaning between the students and faculty. Therefore, it will definitely impact both the student's learning and satisfaction depending on how this goal is met.

I have had negative and positive experiences in an online learning community and it was apparent between the two that they had completely different standards in how they were set up. The negative experience lacked a sense of openness, support, and a present facilitator. The positive experience was successful because of the standards it had for the online learning community such as, support from students and faculty, learner-to-learner engagement, and a sense of community where the students are comfortable with each other and being open in their participation. These are elements that are thought about in the creation of an online community.

To successfully build an online community, there are quite a few things to consider. The following list comes from the course video titled Online Learning Communities by Dr. Palloff and Dr. Pratt.

• The facilitator needs to be familiar with the technology prior to creating the online community.


• Make the course easy to navigate.


• Be aware of how pages and items are being named (e.g., blogs, student lounge, and Q&A page).


• Build a community and classroom that feels warm and inviting rather than cold and formal.


• Welcome students to post a personal bio introducing themselves to their fellow learners and the facilitator should be the first one to post to set a model of participation.

In addition to those, the KBKMarketing and Consulting blog states that being consistent, providing compelling information, leading by example, and inviting readers to comment are important elements to include in the creation of an online community (Fassl, 2011).

Those are great steps to start building the online community, but how do we keep it sustained? Well, the facilitator needs to remain present throughout and "visit the classroom multiple times a day during the first 2 weeks to ensure things are running smoothly" (Palloff and Pratt, n.d.). It is also important for the facilitator to continue encouraging participation and comment on discussion posts to set an example. The facilitator's support is another area to keep the learning community sustained because the more support the students feel they have, the more likely they are to stay engaged knowing they aren't alone in the online environment. It is also the learner's responsibility to be a "professional participant" (Palloff and Pratt, n.d.). The learner has just as much responsibility in keeping the learning community sustained as the facilitator does because it's a partnership to continue the growth of knowledge within the community.

The learning community also has a relationship with how effective the online instruction will be. The success of the online instruction will be shown through the "excitement of the learner's expression in the new knowledge they've gained" (Palloff and Pratt, n.d.). If the learning community is not built well, the students won't be as engaged to learn therefore affecting the online instruction negatively. According to Palloff and Pratt, "the learning community is the vehicle in which the learning course should be delivered" (n.d.). They go hand-in-hand and the better the learning community, the more the student's feel satisfied, their perception of learning is better, they feel a part of something bigger, and they have a social pressure to succeed.

With the courses offered through Walden University, I have learned how a learning community should be and how important it is to take the time to build one. Having pages dedicated to students (e.g., a student lounge) and icebreakers really do help in an online environment because we don't get to physically see each other, so being able to provide a personal element through words helps bring the online environment to life. The Walden's environment promotes students to challenge each other, to draw things out of one another, provide feedback, have a facilitator that supports the learners, and make it more of a community where the students and faculty are exploring the content together (Palloff and Pratt, n.d.). As a facilitator and creator, those are things I will certainly keep in mind when creating online material and facilitating it. I will take the time to build the community for my learners so that it helps them feel more welcomed and want to be engaged.

 

References

Fassl, K. (2011, February 7). Four Key Elements in Building an Online Community. Message posted to KBKMarketing & Consulting, archived at http://www.kbkmarketingandconsulting.com/blog/onlinecommunity.html

Learning Community. (2011, February). Wikipedia. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_community

Palloff, R., and Pratt, K. Online Learning Communities. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4894963&Survey=1&47=6260654&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1