Meeting Students Where They Are

As an increasing number of students choose to purse education online and at a distance, and as more courses and program curricula are redesigned for the virtual classroom, instructional technologists, designers, student service specialists and teachers must face numerous questions about how to optimize the online educational experience for student learning. Advances in information and computer technologies (ICT) have led to the development of countless web and multimedia tools and services that instructors can use to facilitate learning in an online course. Yet, online faculty may feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of options, ever pressured to integrate the newest and latest tech, and uncertain when it comes to determining which tools will be most manageable and effective to use (Robertson, Shew, Gao, & Gallup, 2006).

Multimedia can help increase student engagement 
and learning, but using it effectively can be daunting.

Image by Stuart Miles (freedigitalphotos.net)

In a previous entry, I alluded to a seminar taught by the expert and talented members of the DELTA Instructional Technology Support and Development Team at NC State on the use of multimedia to increase student engagement and learning. Classmate Katie McIntyre has written an insightful blog post reflecting on the content covered in the recording (note: you must sign in with an NCSU Unity ID to view). Using Dr. Robertson's advice to “meet students where they’re at” as a jumping off point (i.e., employing a variety of multimedia tools with which students are likely to have some experience using), Katie highlights two key considerations regarding the selection and integration of multimedia applications and assets in an online course: To what extent do we really know what our online students' prior knowledge, comfort level and device compatibility with multimedia technology is? And how do we find the right balance between using tools we have used with success in the past and "experimenting with the next best thing?" (para. 1).

Katie affirms the value of using multimedia, "particularly because it allows us to deliver content in a variety of ways, addressing different modes of learning" (para. 1). While the research community is still divided on how much attention we ought to pay to students' learning styles when designing instruction (see Moore, 2009; Santos, 2006), I agree with her point. We do have considerable evidence that delivering information using multiple sensory modalities can, when combined effectively, enhance comprehension and retention (Mayer, 2005; Moreno & Mayer, 2002).

Online learners are not a homogenous population. 
Image by ddpavumba (freedigitalphotos.net)

Her discussion extends beyond modes/styles of learning to learner characteristics more broadly, considering students' prior experience with technology as well as student demographics and affective needs, all of which Tait (2000) argues are essential considerations in effectively supporting students in open and distance learning. I find Katie's student-centric approach to multimedia in distance education refreshing and share her concerns about how the assumptions we might make about the technologies with which our students are and are not familiar leads us to "run the risk of losing learners to frustration with technology before the content is even delivered" (para. 2).

We must be intentional in our efforts to meet 
students where they are, without assuming
that we know precisely where that is! 
Image by ddpavumba (freedigitalphotos.net)

Whether in a face-to-face, online or blended course environment, the most central ingredient of a successful course or program design is, unsurprisingly, the students themselves. It also follows that we must know and understand the students we teach in order to best meet their needs and facilitate an authentic and engaging experience. As Katie points out, students in a distance education class  may come from substantially different backgrounds, and, given the ongoing growth of online education, we ought to anticipate continued (if not increased) diversity in the characteristics of online learners. How then are we to meet students where they are if we're not sure where that is? In other words, how are we to design instruction for learners in a variety of different places, both physically and in terms of their existing, knowledge, skills, and experience?

Katie offers us some excellent approaches, including (a) providing links within the course site to resource tutorials for technologies, and (b) maintaining "an open dialogue" for students to communicate about how they feel about the tools. (This could potentially take the form of an online forum where students can discuss the issues they are having with a tool and both seek and provide help to one another). She also asserts the need for instructors to (c) "allow ample time for students to experiment with or learn a new tool" (para 3).

Another useful and rather obvious but underutilized strategy is to simply ask students about themselves! This can be accomplished quite effectively using something as simple as a short (perhaps anonymous) online survey that you email to the students signed up to take your course in advance of the start of classes. Ask about their experience using various types of technology, particular tools, and overall comfort level. You might even wish to present them with some options, then ask about what they like, what they don't and why. Invite them to share whether they have any physical or cognitive limitations that would make interacting with or understanding certain types of multimedia difficult for them (and provide them with the contact information for your institution's Disability Services Office). Also relevant are questions about their ICT hardware--what device they will be using most often to connect to the course (e.g., an Android phone? Windows laptop PC? Macintosh desktop PC?), what version of the operating system they are running, how much memory/RAM their computer has...be sure to give them instructions for finding this information)--and software (e.g., what browser(s) they have installed on their computer and which one they normally use to navigate the internet). Their answers need not necessarily alter your course plan, but it will at the very least give you a better indication of where your students are starting from.

Something else to consider is (I highly recommend it) is to email registered students a few weeks before the first day of class with a letter containing information about what they can expect from the course, what will be expected of them, and what technology they will be using and what the technical requirements are for running them (e.g., do they need to use, or avoid using, a certain browser). Be sure to provide links to tutorials for getting started with these applications and links to your school's information technology support services for help using tools supported by your institution. This way, more students will be able to hit the ground running when the course officially opens. 

Thanks Katie, for raising these issues important issues and for prompting us to reflect on what it really means to "meet students where they're at"! I wholeheartedly agree with you that "both of these questions or concerns will lead me to be more intentional as an instructor in the online environment."   

References

Moore, C. (2009, September 21). Learning styles: Worth our time? [Blog post]. Available online at http://blog.cathy-moore.com/2010/09/learning-styles-worth-our-time/

Moreno, R. & Mayer, R. E. (2002). Verbal redundancy in multimedia learning: When reading helps listening. (1), 156-163. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.94.1.156

Robertson, A., Shew, D., Gao, H., & Gallup, C. (2006). Diary of a Distance Education Course: Addressing Learning Needs with Multimedia. In World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (pp. 2609-2614).

Santo, S. (2006). Relationships between learning styles and online learning: Myth or reality? Performance Improvement Quarterly, 19(3), 73-88.

Lone(ly) Wolf Running Around NC State Wolflands

NC State Wolflands SLURL
http://j.mp/1dQ0bUG

As part of our unit on 'Community in the online environment', I have been exploring the potential affordances and barriers to using Second Life in distance education courses. After reading several research studies published between 2009 and 2013 in Computers & Educationand the British Journal of Educational Technology (two of the top journals in the field of instructional technology), as well as watching the December, 2010 recording of a DELTA workshop, Creating Community with Second Life (see 'Archived Seminars'; must use Unity ID and password to view) and even 'traveling' to NC State's Wolflands islands to try Second Life out for myself, I am intrigued by the opportunities offered by Second Life but skeptical about its acceptance and use among faculty and students.

According to Steven Warburton (2009), virtual environments have three critical components: (a) technical, (b) immersive, and (c) social. While I admittedly have had little exposure to multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), I found Second Life to offer a truly immersive experience. And Second Life is certainly capable of providing rich social interaction relative to simple online chat services, social media outlets, and discussion forums.

When considering interaction in a 3D Virtual World such as Second Life, one finds there are a number of benefits and drawbacks to using it in online education, discussed at length by Warburton (2009) and Petrakou (2010). The added spatial dimension and "augmented sense of presence" (Warburton, p 421) allows for enhanced interactivity and leads to more "informal, non-task specific interaction between students," which in turn contributes to socialization. (Petrakou, 2010, p. 1026). Petrakaou (2010) cites the synchronous interaction features of Second Life (including both public and private chat functions and voice-enabled communication) as a major benefit, given previous research findings that synchronous communication is important for building ties between students as well as improving teacher-student feedback. Wonderful in theory, but in a description of the findings from her ethnographic case study of the use of Second Life in an 'Oral Production' course, she reports that spoken communication was actually quite problematic for the teacher and the 14 students present in the environment. Between the trouble students without experience navigating worlds had in maneuvering their avatars, the number of students trying to communicate (without a clear, previously established voice protocol), and the challenging voice and/or headset configurations, the result was disruptive: "It was difficult to distinguish who was speaking and it was also difficult to find a reasonably quiet place for discussions" (p. 1026). (In Second Life, voices carry differently than in the real world. Even avatars who are at a considerable distance might sound as though they are very close by.) She also mentions that "if technical problems occur, it is not immediately obvious to the teacher and other students due to delay in the Second Life application" (p. 1023).

What is apparent to me from the research literature is that the Second Life has a lot to offer in regards to both the immersive and the social aspects. When it comes to the technical, however, there are many challenges, and while I did not utilize the voice functionality, my trip to the NC State Wolflands in Second Life was further confirmation of this. While these technical difficulties, whether attributable to the technology or lack of technical skills in operating the application, are not insurmountable, they are likely to deter many faculty from using this otherwise great tool.

My Trip to Second Life

After watching the DELTA seminar recording mentioned above, I decided to spend some time playing with Second Life in the world created by NC State staff for use by University instructors and students. The following is a summary of my experience and its impact on my impressions on the viability of using Second Life in online courses. 

(image from DELTA workshop slides)

I was both frustrated and fascinated by what I could do and see in Second Life. On the one hand, the interface and controls (particularly the controls for movement) are very clunky and hardly user friendly. It took what felt like forever to get the hang of it...even just a little. I could never seem to get the camera to point the right way or move to where I wanted to go. The directory of landmarks is right behind me but I had a heck of a time making my way over to it!

At the Brickyard (I think!) 

At the same time, I was utterly amazed by the resources one could find by exploring. For instance, in the Library Learning Commons, there are shelves of books that actually link to ebooks through the NCSU library! Beside them are several tables for breakout group conversations.

Browsing the Virtual Library bookshelves (Oy, I don't like the way those pants and jacket look from behind!)

There are some vending machines on the islands (as well as a nice-looking cafe and a game room/lounge), so I got myself a Diet Coke and Doritos on my way to check out a great art show and a student exhibition. (I'm not sure why I bothered to get the diet soda though, since my avatar doesn't exactly need to worry about her sugar consumption. I guess it's a simple example of how some of our real-world behaviors and habits carry over to the virtual environment!)

Lovely room Associate Professor Patrick Fitzgerald's art work

At the Digital Imaging (ADN 219) Student Exhibition

I also went to an area where DELTA gives presentations and found resources on fostering student engagement in a synchronous web conferencing environment. Very cool!

Checking out 'teaching and learning with technology' resources from DELTA

Best of all, I went to the 'Sandbox' (it is literally a big mound of graphic sand on Wolflands2) where I figured out how to build objects in Second Life and set about constructing a set of tables and lamps, bean bag chairs. I set out a plate of fruit, then sat down to watch the sunset. (I'm rather proud of my lamps, which illuminate the areas right around them when night falls on the island.)

Sitting by my lonesome, watching the sun set over NC State Wolflands (Check out this seating area I made!)

All in all, the exploring was fun but very lonely. It would be more fun running around with a pack. I saw absolutely no one except for Melissa near the School of Management, whose avatar looked awesome in her steampunk outfit. We chatted for a few minutes, which was really nice. :)

In conclusion, Second Life has the potential to be an enjoyable, engaging, and community building experience....if sufficient time in a course can be dedicated to letting students learn to use the application and their avatars, work through technical requirements and issues, establish communication ground rules and expected social norms. Who knows, maybe educators will give Second Life a second chance. I think it deserves it, and I intend to explore Wolflands more in the future. Hopefully, I can do it with a pack of colleagues and classmates!

References

Petrakou, A. (2010). Interacting through avatars: Virtual worlds as a context for online education. Computers & Education, 54(4), 1020-1027.

Warburton, S. (2009). Second Life in higher education: Assessing the potential for and the barriers to deploying virtual worlds in learning and teaching. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(3), 414-426.

Tutorials for Teaching in the Online Environment

I am taking an distance education class this semester in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Adult and Higher Education at NC State entitled "Teaching in an Online Environment." In addition to examining the research literature on online teaching and learning, we have the opportunity to explore a variety of tutorials on strategies and technologies for supporting effective online instruction. 

These tutorials have been great thus far. Primarily video resources, they range anywhere from 5 minute how-to's and summaries on YouTube to 50-minute Mediasite recordings of professional development workshops taught by staff from Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) here at NCSU. Their content has also been an interesting mix, covering technologies and pedagogical strategies on a range of topics, including academic uses of Twitter and Facebook, skillful integration of multimedia to improve student engagement and learning, community building, understanding and leveraging wiki technologies, using avatars in education, and creating a learning community in Second Life. Apart from these surface-level differences, however, the tutorials all serve to reinforce the same fundamental ideas: that engagement is important to student success in online learning and that there are commonly available technology tools that instructors can use to facilitate meaningful student interaction. 

I found Indiana University professor Curt Bonks's lecture on Building Community to be particularly useful. He provides practical advice and guidelines for developing a sense of community in an online course that echo the recommendations in the literature from other experts in the field of e-teaching & learning:

1. Using student personal information to enhance the course through interests.
2. Ice breakers: commitments, 8 nouns, expectations, personal interests, favorite websites, goals for course, etc.
3. Post testimonials.
4. Create course logo, motto, or t-shirt.
5. Sometimes hard to replicate.
6. Post online galleries of student work, course glossary, syllabus, etc.
7. Bring in guest speakers for weekly chats using your course management system or a Web conference tool like Dimdim a Web conference tool like Dimdim, Elluminate, or Adobe Connect Pro.
8. Coordinate global collaborations with students in similar courses at other colleges and universities.
9. Allow for student voting, suggestions, and choice in assignments.
10. Allow work teams to form around shared interests.
11. Force online reflection on student internships and practicum experiences.
12. Use online mentoring and tutoring from experts where possible.
13. Foster peer interaction and feedback.
14. Archive prior semester work and post best examples best examples.
15. Students should be challenged to engage the material from different perspectives.
16. Have students respond to online polls and surveys using tools like SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang.



http://www.indiana.edu/~icy/media/de_series/community.html

17. Post pictures or videos from events.

They are fantastic ways to deepen student relationships as well as learning. Many were familiar to me, but some, such as creating a course logo, motto or t-shirt, posting student testimonials, and the '8 nouns' icebreaker were completely novel to me. Such great ideas!

While helpful, some of the tutorials did raise some further questions for me. I wonder...

How can instructors weigh the relative benefits and barriers of using certain technologies for online teaching? For an instructor who finds he or she has only so much time available for updating a course to incorporate some of these tools and ideas, which have the best ROI in terms of student performance and satisfaction? And to what extent does this change depending on the size and subject of the course and the learner characteristics? Much of the research we have looked at either are or else primarily reference case studies, making it difficult to determine with confidence the generalizability of the findings.

Or, are there times when incorporating synchronous interaction in an asynchronous course can actually be divisive? For instance, if students in a class are working adults with many responsibilities outside of school, or, let's say, some are taking the class while living on the other side of the world, and the result is that only a subset of students are ever able to make it to the synchronous meetings because of the time difference, will this foster resentment among the others and the formation of cliques? What is the best way to handle this?

How can we best assess technology overload? There are so many great tools, from collaborative bookmarking tools to social media outlets to conferencing applications to virtual worlds to polling services, that I worry about overloading students. How much is too much? Fortunately, most LMS's are improving their integration capabilities so that some apps can be embedded to help create a more seamless experience, but there is often a tradeoff between ease-of-use and usefulness. One of the basic tenets of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is that technology should be as transparent as possible and not get in the way.