- In episode 5 of the CALLSpot, what factors do Hempel and Stickler identify as important for successful distance language teaching and learning online? What does this suggest regarding the pros and cons of online language learning for the learner population you have taught or would like to teach?
- One of the criticisms levied against distance ed courses is the difficulty teachers face in establishing a sense of community among remotely located participants. What strategies might an instructor employ to foster a sense of community?
- “Think of a class you have taught or are currently teaching. If you were to move 50% to 100% of the class time to an online format, what would the change require or involved? How would it require you, as a teacher, to change or adapt?” (Sánchez-Serrano’s, 2008, p. 173)
- According to Nancy, one of the Spanish language distance education teachers surveyed by Sánchez-Serrano’s (2008), “the online curriculum should be designed to match, as closely as possible, the needs of the environment and of the students, while not attempting to imitate its face-to-face counterparts as the perfect model” (p. 157).How should a curriculum for online language instruction differ from a curriculum for face-to-face language instruction?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Virtual Class Reflection
At the end of today's virtual class, post your reflections to one of the four prompts below:
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2. One of the criticisms levied against distance ed courses is the difficulty teachers face in establishing a sense of community among remotely located participants. What strategies might an instructor employ to foster a sense of community?
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me as the necessary means to foster community is the instructors need to put themselves out there, be more open than they would be in F2F. If the instructor is willing to get a little personal, the learner will not feel as alienated in the interaction. The instructor needs to make all possible ways of communication available to the learners. Availability via phone, Skype, email, or even the use of blogs, could foster a sense of community between the learners and the instructor.
Also, distance learning must be able to be personalized by the learner. If they have the opportunity to take part in the learning process, they can "own" what they are learning and perhaps become more involved. This will also allow students to rely on one another more, creating a group of learners willing to take on tasks as a community, or at least in smaller groups that would benefit interaction.
How to establish a sense of community:
ReplyDeleteThe first thing to consider is where the students are physically located. Are they in the same city/state? Do they live in different countries?
Assuming the students live in the same city, then that would allow for actual meet ups. Perhaps a monthly get-together or something.
Otherwise, building a sense of community can be accomplished in several ways.
1. Assign pair work, changing up the pairs each week. This will give the students a chance to "get to know" a few of their classmates.
2. Students could blog once a week about themselves in the target language. Perhaps they could write about some skill/hobby/interest. Then their classmates can respond to those posts.
3.A blog post about some holiday/custom/tradition/food, but this would really only work for mixed-culture classes.
4. Maybe they could have half hour Skype talks. This would be good conversation practice. The talking partners could also by changed up daily/weekly.
In response to prompt 3 --
ReplyDeleteIn taking a face to face class into a hybrid or completely online there are different factors that one needs to take into consideration. Our group highlighted a few of the following items.
1. First, one needs to consider the development of the students. Our group talked about perhaps differences in expectations for distance learning or hybrid courses. Early level learners might benefit from more face to face time rather than a completely 100% distance learning course due to explanations required and student comprehension. For example in later language courses involving literature and writing, more hybrid instructions in the TL can be allowed for. Clearly considering the level of the students becomes even more important in the explanation of things to students online.
2. We also talked about the consideration of online attrition. Teachers need to think about this. They need to specifically figure out how to make the curriculum and computer friendly for the students so as to not make the idea daunting. Specific ideas would be overwhelming to list, but seriously, as mentioned in the articles and the callspot, the teacher needs to be aware of training and software to use to make the distance and hybrid courses easy to navigate and truly able of assisting in language learning.
3. Research needs to be done on the students before the course. What are the students' specific needs? Through this, teachers can help in the transition from face to face to CALL.
4. Also, students and teachers need to be clear on backup strategies. Always have plan A,B,C,D. This is somewhat mentioned by Dr. Sauro especially with our virtual class and the different methods of communicating in the event that one method did not work.
5. Also, I loved how the callspot mentioned inservice trainings. Teachers need to do this!! They need to effectively learn how to utilize software and gain new insights. This would help in their transition and also help them gain new strategies.
So these different items are but a few to consider for changing in the course, and for me as a teacher if I transferred from face to face to online (and of course not just me as a teacher but all of us!)
In episode 5 of the CALLSpot, what factors do Hempel and Stickler identify as important for successful distance language teaching and learning online? What does this suggest regarding the pros and cons of online language learning for the learner population you have taught or would like to teach?
ReplyDeleteFirst, successful distance learning is achieved by building a community (essentially making students feel that they can use the resources)
Then, teachers need to make sure that the information they are presenting to their students are very well explained. They need to directly address: Why the student is doing the task, what the student is doing, and how the student should go about doing it.
The instructor should also be there to help students who find them selves confused.
A bonus to online communities is that if students feel comfortable they will use each other as resources to help complete their tasks.
I specifically liked the comment about cost of doing such a program well. They had mentioned that distance learning should not be done because of cost reasons because in order for it to be done well it still costs money.
What all this suggests is that, although these programs are good for people who are at a distance, the upkeep and costs need to be watched carefully so that institutions do not go into thinking it will be easy or cost effective. These things need to be addressed in advance.
I think, however, that as the PolyGlot example given in our slides points out, distance learning driven by willing people can create a very remarkable atmosphere for learning. If such a feeling is installed within the students then the willingness to deal with issues will overcome adversity that might be experiences by those students.
I think teacher preparedness
ReplyDeleteHempel and Stickler noted that a main consideration for the instructors is to provide extremely clear instruction and materials because students can't ask for assistance as they can in a face to face class. In addition, it's critical that the students are very well organized because it requires more self-management than a traditional class. Student support is needed in order to facilitate the technical end and to assist in motivation. Teachers/staff need to be prepared to create new materials and not just rely on the same textbooks as would be used in a traditional environment..multi-media components such as video, audio and etc will be needed. Staff need training and support from the university especially when they do not come from a strong tech background. In addition, they noted that it's not every teacher who is a good distant language teacher, they noted that special qualities are needed...including the ability to use technology or willingness to engage in that way. There is also a need to create a sense of community and to relate to your students and not just be a "talking head."
ReplyDeleteThe main benefit of distance learning seems to be that students can, to a degree, work at their own pace and at times that are best for them. Also, distance and location of language schooling is less of an issue because you can work from home or perhaps work partly from home or your preferred location. There could be, with a really good program, opportunities for lots of one-on-one practice with a tutor in a way you might not get in a traditional class through audio/video chat or text chat.
Potential downfalls or negative are unfortunately numerous! It can be expensive and very time consuming to implement contrary to popular thought because of the time involved in creating new materials, not to mention the cost of the technology. Student motivation and organization is a concern because they do not have face to face encounter to assist them. Without a highly trained facilitator/teacher/tutor students can easily slip through the cracks. It can be difficult to form a sense of community as students may never meet face to face. I think too, students get in the habit of expecting the teacher to be available 24/7...as another article suggested. Teachers may end up spending a great deal more time working with students...good for the students but difficult to manage for teachers. Finally, I think a con is that level of tech support that is needed is very high. A good technical setup is expensive to set up and maintain but is critical for a distance program. I think that there are just so many factors to consider-it's very daunting.
#1
ReplyDeleteIn my previous teaching experience, I actually taught "Web School" once a week. I would sit behind a camera and conduct English lessons, while sending lessons and notes via a whiteboard. 90% of classes were one-on-one, but I did teach group classes of up to 4 students.
One of the major criticisms (as Hempel & Stickler mention in CALLSpot ep 5) is the ability to "personalize" the CALL environment. In fact, I had friends that refused to teach Web School because they hated not having that personal connection with students in a classroom.
One of the ways to compensate for this was to be extra genki/energetic, in order to turn the video chat room into a lively classroom AND to be extra concious about body language (big gestures/eye contact w/ the camera)! This can all make for a very odd (and tiring) teaching experience. We would also try to think about how to add a bit of humor to classes, say, posting a picture of Brad Pitt or a J-pop group from Google images.
Also, it's interesting to note that the learner population tended to be stay-at-home moms (who would sneak away for an English lesson during nap time) and retirees. Both of these groups tended to be highly motivated, which I think helped for their overall attendance and participation. Not to mention, web classes were pricy and the students chose this option due to their own schedules(not because they were forced to due to university budget issues or some issue like that).
In response to #1—Hempel and Stickler spoke about personalizing the online environment and letting your students get to know you so that they are more comfortable with the online format. I find this to be one of the most important aspects of a successful online course. Having the instructor start with a digital story, Prezi, or another Web 2.0 tool that introduces themselves to the class in a unique way would definitely help students feel a sense of social presence with the instructor. I would also suggest having the instructor call students on the phone (if possible), or even Skype with students and discuss learning goals at the beginning of the course. I think instructors need to do whatever it takes to make sure their students don’t feel lost in online learning land. I think this sort of leads into #2 because having the students in the course introduce themselves to eachother in a unique and creative way could also help strengthen the social presence. If students feel more comfortable with one another, they are more likely to engage in conversations, discussions, blogs, etc.
ReplyDeleteHempel and Stickler explain that you have to be a special kind of person to be a successful distance language teacher. I would agree that without on-going support, teachers could find this stressful. Also, they need to have the skills to understand how to utilize the software and support students that might encounter technical or other problems.
ReplyDeleteThey need to see the course from the students’ perspective and help them not to feel isolated as well as keep them motivated. They need to build a sense of community and choose motivating tasks for the students. They also could help students by being clear and organized in their instructions. Feedback would also be very important for the students and teachers would have to work out the best way of doing this that would work well. If a learner felt discouraged by his progress, there should be some way to work through this with the on line instructor.
I think some learners could do better than others depending upon their organization skills, motivation to learn the language and how supported they feel. Opportunities for speaking would be important in learning a language onlne. They would need to incorporate practice perhaps by using one of the exchange sites we looked at.
3. “Think of a class you have taught or are currently teaching. If you were to move 50% to 100% of the class time to an online format, what would the change require or involved? How would it require you, as a teacher, to change or adapt?” (Sánchez-Serrano’s, 2008, p. 173)
ReplyDeleteMy teaching experience has predominantly been with adult ELLs (who have recently arrived in America) and within a classroom, face to face context. If I were to move the class to partial or full online format there a few things that must be changed/occur:
I would have to establish language proficiency minimum requirements. A lot of the students I have taught come in with very beginning English skills. Arguably, an online course would be extremely difficult for them because they would lack the language proficiency to truly contribute or benefit from online interaction with other students. Thus, the online course I create would need to establish some sort of language proficiency prerequisite (e.g. intermediate levels and above). In a mixed class, I could incorporate the online aspect for more advanced ELLs and introduce the online aspect to beginning ELLs as they advance in their proficiency.
Lastly, as a teacher, I know that I personally need the professional development in teaching online classes as I have never implemented CALL in any type of my teaching. As the teachers in Sanchez-Serrano (2008) explain, you can expect to have "technophobe" students who need your attention more with technical issues and also students who (sometimes misguidedly and unfairly) extend the role of technical support to you, the teacher. Part of this professional development would also have to address the ways I can develop and maintain good relationships with my students from a distance as well as organizing and managing the actual student work.
First of all, I enjoyed the readings and the podcast. There were so many different points that were brought up that I hadn't thought about. I thought the reaction of one of the ladies on the podcast was great when it was asked of them, what they thought about schools who were starting distance learning programs because their budget was being cut. The ladies on the podcast made it clear that distance learning programs are not cheap. There is a lot that goes into them. I also like the idea of having learning sessions so that the students and or teachers know how to use the distance learning technology. This way they can help the students and explain how to do different things. Something else that goes along with that is that there needs to be a lot of student support. One thing that I wouldn't have thought of is that you need to take into careful consideration when writing the instructions, they need to be very clear. Even just being involved in the skype conversation and distance learning tonight, I saw this. One person/teacher might think the instructions are very clear. However, when you have people who are speaking English as their L2, they directions might not be as clear to them. Teachers need to practice good pedagogy skills.
ReplyDeleteAlso, before a distance learning program is even started, there needs to be research. Look at what other schools are doing. Think about the language information and instruction that should be involved in the program. Ask the students what they are looking for in a distance learning program. Do they want practice with speaking? writing? listening? or something else? The school needs to make sure they have the least amount of student attrition as possible. That also means that you need to make the program engaging. Make sure that it is user friendly. Also, do a background of what kind of computer knowledge the students have. Make sure the interface and program is not too difficult for them to use.
There are many different things to think about when developing a distance learning program. Students are so used to face-to-face teaching.
#3 seemed very intriguing to me. I thought long and hard about what it would be like to teach an online course. My perception of distance learning was fairly negative. I used to think it was for people who were too lazy to go to a real class, but nowadays distance classes and online learning opportunities are everywhere and apparently an easy solution to budget cuts.
ReplyDeleteI've "hosted" online classes before. I did have access to and expected to use an online curriculum. It was nothing like the resources that I have seen in CALL and CMC.
Teaching an online course for the first time can be challenging. I think that teaching any course for the first time is challenging. If a teacher is teaching for the first time and teaching online for the first time, the challenge is double.
Our group discussed how the expectations in a face to face course and an online course are different. In a face to face course interaction is expected and you have a connection to a class. In an online class there's more self-pacing, self-learning and less teacher direction.
One major thing teachers would have to consider is making directions and assignments as clear as possible. The more questions the late night, day-before-it's-due, e-mails about assignments and what's due. Comments and feedback would seem much more precise. There would have to be a lot more planning in general, which some people (cough cough me) aren't so great at. I would have to devote more time to my training and training my student on how to effectively use resources.
Teaching a class online is still strange to me. I'm always doubtful that it's as effective.
I was very pleased with tonight's class. I think it went well and it was an interesting and different experience. I would certainly like to have a virtual class again, but I still am hesitant to take a distance learning course without a face to face component.
To some extent I think it is difficult for teachers to establish a sense of community among remotely located participants because somehow distance creates separation. At least this is how I feel. I attempted to take a course on line and it was very difficult for me to focus. I just didn’t seem to take it serious as the other courses. I often procrastinated my assignments which I never do with my other courses. It is just not the same as being physically in a classroom with classmates and the teacher to provide face to face feedback or even demonstrate if necessary. I’m not saying it is impossible to learn this way, but some things can be done to eliminate this sense of insecurity. Some strategies that an instructor can employ to foster a sense of community is to provide students with enough opportunities to practice on-line activities while in class. This way the students can get comfortable in this kind of environment. Sometimes all students need is practice to and then things go from there. One way to include them and provide the sense of community is to have them share any goals or interests and the other students can serve as resources to assist one another. In addition, not all assignments have to be “serious,” a little humor can serve as icebreakers, I use this with my students quit often and it works. Furthermore,teachers can allow students to face their opinions about what works for them and what doesn’t and allow them to use their own strategies. Guidelines can be provided so that students have limits as well. Another way to provide a sense of community is to allow students to work on tasks in groups. This way everyone collaborates through teamwork. By including everyone an having them feel part of the class, they will feel motivated to participate.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Prompt 2
ReplyDeleteIn order for students to have a sense of community, I would encourage students to use each other as resources for learning. For example reflect on what they’ve learned every 2 weeks, problems they have encountered, things/skills they have learned, etc. I would also consider giving out extra points (maybe 5% max of the overall grade and I would have to come up with a set standard in my syllabus) to encourage students to help each other overcome technical or language difficulties. I, as a teacher would also act as a support but I would love to see peer scaffolding. Also, giving students task-based activities at least once a month or even use sequenced task-based activities to teach throughout the entire class. The reason to use task-based activities is to increase/create opportunities for students to interact among each other.
Last but not least, I would set up a chance for my class to interact with another class at another school once. Then hopefully, my students will have the feeling of “I belong to this class, this school, I want to help my classmates”.
One of the criticisms levied against distance ed courses is the difficulty teachers face in establishing a sense of community among remotely located participants. What strategies might an instructor employ to foster a sense of community?
ReplyDeleteA master instructor would incorporate many student to teacher and student to student interactions. By using effective tools the instructor would create a social community promoting participation encouraging learning.
The master instructor would need to establish a strong relationship with the student and a strong network through their classmates. Allowing oneself to be available for asynchronous and synchronous forms of interactions. These activities must be well thought out and planned to fit the needs of the students. Synchronous activities could include; video chat(Skype) and virtual worlds (Second Life) which are engaging environments that allow personality to be shown. Asynchronous activities could include; email, blogging, or podcast.
Distance education can be a great learning environment if there is a balance between asynchronous and synchronous activities. The Instructor must communicate frequently individually, within a group and be readily available.
In episode 5 of the CALLSpot, what factors do Hempel and Stickler identify as important for successful distance language teaching and learning online? What does this suggest regarding the pros and cons of online language learning for the learner population you have taught or would like to teach?
ReplyDeleteThere were thre practical points that I think Hempel and Stickler made about online language learning that were key. Number one, was clarity. It was mentined over and over thoughout the conversation and consistently brought back to the conversation across topics. Both instuctors agreed that having clear, organized and structured assignments and expectations, were critical elements of good distance learning.
Another interesting point brought out in the discussion was the role of interactive student participation and support. Given the extent and usability of new technologies, greater student interactivty can be harnessed into valuable cooperative learning opportunities in online language learning. Support groups are another aspect of the distance learning online. Students can now rely on each other collaboratively to work out issues. In our Skype project this evening, we were able to coordinate in collaborative groups to complete assignments and make progress towards our learning goals. While one student researched one aspect of the assignments, others explored different aspects and we helped each other out remotely. Our final product, was the result of our collaborative effort and we each gained something from the interaction. Stickler and Hempel discuss their earlier experiences with distance learning and described it as mostly "autonomous". Today, however, there are new and more effective ways of using cooperative distance learning. Autonomy, however, is still an important aspect with respect language learning. Student autonomous motivation is even more essential in online learning contexts because there is no immediate or physical presence to keep students on task.
A third key point, related to autonomy and clarity, is the socio-affective factor. Hempel mentioned that students can feel "frightened" when they are unclear, confused, and uncertain how to proceed with an online task. A student's affective filter is one of the components that determines her motivation and autonomy, critical in the online learning environment.
One anecdote that, in most respects, is at the heart of any use of technology in any teaching context is how well a program/activity/CMC/CALL learning context is grounded in sound pedagogy. It was interesting how, when Prof. Sauro mentioned the context in which distance learning is being used in America differs from the German context. In the U.S. language learning is being implemented, in large part, as a means of stretching budgets. In the German context, distance learning programs use a lot of funding to ensure grounding in sound pedagogy. Although, I do think some of that issue might have been lost in translation as there are a lot of opportunities to budget while at the same time improving effectiveness, the core issue/concern brought up by Hempel and Stickler is that no matter how cost-effective a program may be, there is still a lot of work that goes into an effective inclusion of technology. Efficiency does not necessrily translate to simplicity and instructors who use distance learning, have to organize their activities, their communication, and their organization to reflect the needs of their learning and efficacy needs of their students.
the response to question one. It is really true that distance learning has advantage and disadvantage. It depends on each learner’s need. I think one of the advantage of distance learning is that does not require travelling from country to another which cost much money. E.g. traveling from Tripoli to San Antonio cost 4000 dollars, this is without any life expensive. Also, distance learning save much time for your job and your family as well.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to that, distance learning gives a good opportunity for people who do not like to attend regular classes. Also, it does not make difference if you are disable to attend traditional lectures, you still have a chace to gain your degree.
On the other hand, distance learning may be quite difficult for learner who may not be able to schedule their time by themselves and studying without being under supervision. Also, distance learning does not give learners immediate feedback. I n traditional class room study, students’ performance can be evaluated at the same time. DL does not give learners to practice their oral part, and also, learners is going to be socially isolated and will study alone most of their time.
To sum up, distance learning in general is very good if instructors are well prepared, and explain their plans to their students properly and accurately.lastly,it would be extremely nice of the techers to keep their students motivated, because in distance learning is hard for students to stay modivated for all the time.
In response to question #1:
ReplyDeleteThe first factor that both experts agreed is critical for success in any program is based on pedagogical needs of the learner. After that, the support for learners (as well as teachers) should support be supported by the technology. I believe we mentioned that the technology should be here to support us and not drive us. Keeping that in mind should make other things come into focus.
In regards to the pros and cons, it's clear to me that technology can help or hurt us if it's creating so much stress that we get confused about the actual language needs of our learners. If we aren't using the systems to provide immediate feedback or providing prompts to guide the social chat, etc., we lose sight of the goal.
If I'm going to compare this to the populations I have taught, I know that quick feedback will be a major factor for success. In addition, the learners I have worked with definitely need additional support to get started and help with any technical problems in general. I know that we need an online learning program to help many of our learners and I would love to use the information from this class to help us get our students involved.
In respond to prompt 2
ReplyDeleteI think teachers need to help students to list their goals and how they can achieve goals in class. When students have clear and specific goals and they can follow steps to complete it then. Teachers can use sense of humor to reduce students’ anxiety because they cannot have effective learning while the affective filter is high. Also, teachers can use task-based activities to put students in groups on online course which lead students communicate through media. They can negotiate meaning and have critical thinking through activities. Using pictures or interesting videos is a good way to start and lead students to express their ideas through the target language. The most important thing is that teachers need to provide metalinguistic feedback immediately to encourage their students speak more or explain their grammatical errors. Peers can also give positive feedback for other learners; in other words, it is good for learners to use each other as a resource in learning the second language.
Totally forgot to post this, but none the less, here it is.
ReplyDelete3. “Think of a class you have taught or are currently teaching. If you were to move 50% to 100% of the class time to an online format, what would the change require or involved? How would it require you, as a teacher, to change or adapt?” (Sánchez-Serrano’s, 2008, p. 173)
That was the question that really intrigued our whole group and we spend almost half the discussion time sharing opinions about what would really happen.
My perception of this was that I could not do an online class right now for my learners. They are beginner ELL students, and even though some use computers, it seems to me that they do have difficulties with even tasks such as searching for pictures and emailing the instructor. So, in my case having an online class would be detrimental to how much I could cover because of how much time would be spent on preparing the students; this is in the 50% case.
Also as mentioned by others and the articles is a need to educate yourself, and not only your students on how to use the best technology possible, and how to squeeze more potency out of technology at hand. I think its really important to be comfortable with the technology one uses to teach, so if any questions arise, the teacher can answer the technological questions on the fly.
It is also important to have back up plans if things shut down, or a link changes, something does not work etc.
Overall though this all comes down to the level of learners one has, and their ability to use computers, as well, as the time and effort both the teacher and the students are willing to spend on learning to tech, before the class may begin. Obviously funding is a problem.
My final thoughts on this were that I were to have a 100% online class, it would be impossible for me to organize it for beginners unless they were only speakers of the same language, because the interface of the learning tools would have to be in that language, so for me this is not an option right now, and thats what I told my group.