Online Learning Strategies

 

Learner support is a key component of any online course or program.  We try to support you by fostering the development of a learning community (so we can all help each other) and creating tech tutorials.  These things are important, to be sure.  But, another key thing is to help you to be better online learners.  There are strategies and tips we can all share with one another so that our online learning activites will be more effective and efficient.    Here are a few to get you started, but please do add tips and strategies that have worked for you that you'd like to share. 

 

 

• Read a little in the discussion forum every day.  A 10 or 15 minute session while you're drinking your coffee or taking a break is a much saner and more effective way to approach the discussions. Read and take a few notes and ponder what's been written.

   

• Each week, choose a handful of people with whom to carry on a deeper discussion of the issues.  Personally, I always try to pick a few people whose ideas make sense to me and a few people whose ideas are much different than mine so that I can gain a deeper perspective.  You will stretch as a teacher and  a learner if you try to understand that which seems strange to  you.  After all, you'll have plenty of students whose ideas are strange to you!  LOL.

 

• Don't post a response immediately to what you've read.  The biggest benefit to asynchronous discussions is the time difference - the time to pause and reflect.  Please please take advantage of that.

 

 

Your strategies?  Inquiring minds want to know! 

 

Student Tips (I have added your tips here, sign your name to it if you want to and of course if it's yours :)

 

My quick tip is from within WebCT and one that is useful for your
students. No matter where you are in the course, if you click on "HELP"
it will bring up the database of information for that particular page
you are on. So if you are trying to set up a survey, for instance, and
forgot the steps, just click on "HELP". 

One other quick tip, which is especially useful as a student, is the
mail forward function. I highly recommend using it!
-------------------------------------------

I attended a workshop by somebody from the Carlsbad campus who taught math (mainly 
pre-algebra and algebra if I remember correctly). Her biggest tip was to include many 
self-quiz questions. The problem was that within the quiz tool they were using answers 
could not be math symbols.

I have found that the biggest challenge. While there are free tools (Mathtype 30 day trial 
that leaves all the fonts in the equation editor of Word for example), students are not 
allowed to download programs on the campus computer and these type of programs are 
typically not installed. The learning curve for any LATEX programs is too steep for people 
who do not make a lot of use of it...

PBWiki allows equation objects...
-------------------------------------------

Welcome newbies. Hang on, it's a fast, exciting ride. This is what I learned from last 
semester:

1. Get organized. Keep each class separate and file all printouts immediately. I use a 
binder and try to punch holes in the papers as soon as they come out of the printer. My 
goal is to place them immediately into their respective notebooks. So far, I am creating 
huge piles. This would be an example of do what I say and not what I do.

2. Check course emails and discussions daily.

3. Find a friend and work together.

4. Get on SKYPE ASAP.

Breathe, relax, and ask questions. Not necessary to preface them with, "I have a silly 
question." We have learned well from our mentors Julz and Bethany that there really is 
no such thing as a silly question.

-------------------------------------------

A few tips that I have implemented to try to stay on target for this semester are:
     1)  Make a weekly calendar of the assignments I want to accomplish.  
     2)  Begin working on the assignments a week to 10 days before they are due.  This
          keeps me from going into panic mode when unforseen events come up at home
          or work.
     3)  When I am not sure on an assignment, ask somebody right a way.  It may take 
          time to get an answer online. 
     4)  Have fun with this class and the members.  Maybe we should have social-line 
          sometime.

-------------------------------------------

 

 

 Create your own educational wiki!Support CommunityPublic, Silver wiki Privacy Policy RSS