Lone Ranger
mobology
online is the abject loneliness and solitary physical working
conditions that occur due to the complex and often abstract structure
of electronica - the online teaching and learning "classroom".
Last night after celebrating my tenty fifth birthday (again) I came
across an email that i'd saved on my external harddrive archive from
one of my students in my Art 202 drawing units, Open Learning
Australia, virtual campus units. I was teaching in the online learning
centre for the School of Art and I had 60 or so students spread
globally.
My student sent me an email explaining which she had submitted her
third art history assignment late, again. The first two assignments
were very average and I had been rather cutting in my feedback. The
student explained that she was writing on a borrowed laptop running
Windows 95 in a rehabilitation hospital recovering from an accident
that occured on her farm in an isolated region of Queensland. My
student was requesting that I please phone her and speak to her
regarding her predicament due to her inability to respond to yet
another email
I considered this as yet another issue and phoned her half expecting a
plea for extension - yet again. We were encouraged not to maintain
phone contact with the students for this reason and for "the budgets
sake" yet I felt the need on this occasion to do so when I read what it
was that she was requesting.
At the begining of the unit she had received the course outline mail
out and was driving back home, stopped to open the gate and the
handbrake had given way, the car crushing her between the farm gate and
the road.
Luckily a neighbour happened to be fencing and found her almost nine
hours after the accident unable to remove herself from under the car.
Broken bones - dehydration - the whole bit.
The crux of the story was that she was continuing with her web searches
to complete her unit and was typing her assignments with one hand in
grim determination to "keep her head up" as she put it. I was struck at
the time trying to imagine what it must have been like to have been up
for hours on end into the late of night typing up assignments, one
handed, propped up in a hospital bed in a little rehabilitation
hospital in a remote region of Australia
It brings me to consider the countless hours I spent online and still
do achieving tasks and milestones set as part of work duties or in an
endeavour to remain in touch with others. My reflection today is on the
importance of blending the array of online learning experiences with
that of at least one face-to-face session with students, preferrably at
the begining of the unit / module.I have learnt that the monotony, the
loneliness, the fear of isolation and the heartache of receiving a fail
for an online unit needs a human face at the begining not at the end.
I wonder how many students never 'see" their educator, hear their
voice, shake their hand, share a laugh or mix with their peers ? Many I
presume.
A few keywords in Googledom reveals;
"......Learning at a distance can be both isolating and highly
interactive, and electronic connectedness is a different kind of
interaction than what takes place in traditional classrooms....."
Eastmond, 1995
What is your experience of teaching and learning online ?
Sean FitzGerald
I think as human beings contact is very important. I believe that education works best when there is as much "real" contact as possible. The model I am interested in is more of a blended learning approach - combining online learning with face-to-face.
A lot of people, on hearing that I advocate online learning, seem to think I mean exclusively, whereas I'm more interested in a model that is about web-based learning, with course material being available online combined with flexible delivery and some f2f.
Of course there are some situations where f2f is not possible - as in distance learning and some asynchronous teaching and learning which is designed to fit into student's busy lifestyles or work routines (as in just-in-time learning).
My experience with creating online communities with projects like the Online Mentoring Network last year showed that group cohesiveness develops in leaps and bounds the more synchronous contact you have, and the closer to "real" interactions that contact is. So text chat is good, voice chat is even better, and soon video chat will be the standard.
One of my research interests at the moment is using avatars in virtual worlds/immersive environments to hold meetings, conferences, classes, gatherings etc. I suspect this type of technology will bring us a step closer to re-creating the experience of connecting in the real world. It will be interesting to just how close.
Sean
-- Sean FitzGerald Tel: +61 (0)2 9360 3291 Mob: +61 (0)404 130 342 Skype: seamusy Email: se...@tig.com.au Website: http://seanfitz.wikispaces.com/ Blog: http://elgg.net/seanfitz/weblog/ The average man doesn't want to be free. He wants to be safe. -- H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy
Leigh Blackall
So, for a full time f2f classroom student/teacher - they might spend around $10 per day travelling to and from their class on a bus, in a car, on a train. So online interactions allow you to save that daily expense. At $300 Sydney to Dunedin return (off peak), that's only 30 days worth of normal travel and you have enough to attend a TALO swap meet once a month!!
--
Would you like to buy my book? http://www.lulu.com/leighblackall
--
Leigh Blackall
+64(0)34780079
skype - leigh_blackall
http://leighblackall.wikispaces.org/
vivevans
Enjoyed your initial post Alex.. and felt for your student stuck under
that car!!
Living/Working/Learning out in a rural NSW location I find the human
connection of online work really important and energising.
Connecting with students/colleagues/friends is vital... perhaps more so
when online. And that can come in many forms and variations and in fact
the more variety in connection I think the better. ie live chat
(virtual classrooms), discussion threads, emails, instant messaging,
blogging, phone, heavens forbid a real letter ;-) and you guys all know
the list goes on. Variation to suit individual needs & capture the
synch & asynch needs of everyone.
Sean I agree whole heartedly with your Synch connection comments.
'group cohesiveness develops in leaps and bounds the
more synchronous contact you have, and the closer to "real"
interactions that contact is.' I have worked with online communities
for OUCH 6 years now and since we have had the opportunity to connect
regularly synchronously in a Virtual Classroom the team connections,
shared learning etc has been brilliant!
I also strongly believe that students learn a lot from each
other....rather than it being the teacher. eg. hearing or seeing others
questions, reflecting on their own experiences etc
And Leigh yep F2F is fun especially meeting an online friend but you
can learn and share heaps without ever seeing each other...
Cheers all
Vivian (Imsomniac finally posting with a rejig of email and password)
> > Mentoring Network <http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=272>last year showed that group cohesiveness develops in leaps and bounds the
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> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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>
> In the online teacher training and education world I'm personally
> engaged in (TALO and the edubloggersphere), I find the online
> interaction increases my motivation and reason to meet face to face.
> When we TALOs meet face to face, our motivation seems to be mostly to
> socialise informally, mix it up, have a drink, laugh a bit. I think
> this type of interaction is very important to the health of our
> community's learning, and should be done as often as possible. 3 weeks
> ago, I drove 2 hours just to have a f2f with a small group of TALO
> colleagues. <br>
> <br>
> So, for a full time f2f classroom student/teacher - they might spend
> around $10 per day travelling to and from their class on a bus, in a
> car, on a train. So online interactions allow you to save that daily
> expense. At $300 Sydney to Dunedin return (off peak), that's only 30
> days worth of normal travel and you have enough to attend a TALO swap
> meet once a month!! <br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 2/21/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Sean FitzGerald</b> <<a href="mailto:se...@tig.com.au">se...@tig.com.au</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
>
>
>
>
>
>
> <font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">Beautiful post Alex.<br>
> <br>
> I think as human beings contact is very important. I believe that
> education works best when there is as much </font><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">"real" contact </font><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">as possible. The model I am
> interested in is more of a blended learning approach - combining online
> learning with face-to-face. <br>
> <br>
> A lot of people, on hearing that I advocate online learning, seem to
> think I mean exclusively, whereas I'm more interested in a model that
> is about web-based learning, with course material being available
> online combined with flexible delivery and some f2f.<br>
> <br>
> Of course there are some situations where f2f is not possible - as in
> distance learning and some asynchronous teaching and learning which is
> designed to fit into student's busy lifestyles or work routines (as in
> just-in-time learning).<br>
> <br>
> My experience with creating online communities with projects like the <a href="http://www.groups.edna.edu.au/course/view.php?id=272" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">Online
> Mentoring Network</a> last year showed that group cohesiveness develops
> in leaps and bounds the more synchronous contact you have, and the
> closer to "real" interactions that contact is. So text chat is good,
> voice chat is even better, and soon video chat will be the standard.<br>
> <br>
> One of my research interests at the moment is using avatars in virtual
> worlds/immersive environments to hold meetings, conferences, classes,
> gatherings etc. I suspect this type of technology will bring us a step
> closer to re-creating the experience of connecting in the real world.
> It will be interesting to just how close.<br>
> <br>
> Sean<br>
> <br>
> </font>mobology wrote:
> <blockquote cite="http://mid1140475989...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com" type="cite">
> <pre>One of the most common traits ( in my opinion) of teaching and learning<br>online is the abject loneliness and solitary physical working<br>conditions that occur due to the complex and often abstract structure<br>
> of electronica - the online teaching and learning "classroom".<br><br>Last night after celebrating my tenty fifth birthday (again) I came<br>across an email that i'd saved on my external harddrive archive from<br>
> one of my students in my Art 202 drawing units, Open Learning<br>Australia, virtual campus units. I was teaching in the online learning<br>centre for the School of Art and I had 60 or so students spread<br>globally.<br><br>
> My student sent me an email explaining which she had submitted her<br>third art history assignment late, again. The first two assignments<br>were very average and I had been rather cutting in my feedback. The<br>student explained that she was writing on a borrowed laptop running
> <br>Windows 95 in a rehabilitation hospital recovering from an accident<br>that occured on her farm in an isolated region of Queensland. My<br>student was requesting that I please phone her and speak to her<br>regarding her predicament due to her inability to respond to yet
> <br>another email<br><br>I considered this as yet another issue and phoned her half expecting a<br>plea for extension - yet again. We were encouraged not to maintain<br>phone contact with the students for this reason and for "the budgets
> <br>sake" yet I felt the need on this occasion to do so when I read what it<br>was that she was requesting.<br><br>At the begining of the unit she had received the course outline mail<br>out and was driving back home, stopped to open the gate and the
> <br>handbrake had given way, the car crushing her between the farm gate and<br>the road.<br><br>Luckily a neighbour happened to be fencing and found her almost nine<br>hours after the accident unable to remove herself from under the car.
> <br>Broken bones - dehydration - the whole bit.<br><br>The crux of the story was that she was continuing with her web searches<br>to complete her unit and was typing her assignments with one hand in<br>grim determination to "keep her head up" as she put it. I was struck at
> <br>the time trying to imagine what it must have been like to have been up<br>for hours on end into the late of night typing up assignments, one<br>handed, propped up in a hospital bed in a little rehabilitation<br>hospital in a remote region of Australia
> <br><br>It brings me to consider the countless hours I spent online and still<br>do achieving tasks and milestones set as part of work duties or in an<br>endeavour to remain in touch with others. My reflection today is on the
> <br>importance of blending the array of online learning experiences with<br>that of at least one face-to-face session with students, preferrably at<br>the begining of the unit / module.I have learnt that the monotony, the
> <br>loneliness, the fear of isolation and the heartache of receiving a fail<br>for an online unit needs a human face at the begining not at the end.<br><br>I wonder how many students never 'see" their educator, hear their
> <br>voice, shake their hand, share a laugh or mix with their peers ? Many I<br>presume.<br><br>A few keywords in Googledom reveals;<br><br>"......Learning at a distance can be both isolating and highly<br>interactive, and electronic connectedness is a different kind of
> <br>interaction than what takes place in traditional classrooms....."<br>Eastmond, 1995<br><br>What is your experience of teaching and learning online ?<br><br><br><br> </pre>
> </blockquote>
> <br>
> <pre cols="72">-- <br><br>Sean FitzGerald<br>Tel: +61 (0)2 9360 3291<br>Mob: +61 (0)404 130 342<br>Skype: seamusy<br>Email: <a href="mailto:se...@tig.com.au" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
> se...@tig.com.au</a><br>Website: <a href="http://seanfitz.wikispaces.com/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://seanfitz.wikispaces.com/</a><br>Blog: <a href="http://elgg.net/seanfitz/weblog/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
> http://elgg.net/seanfitz/weblog/</a><br><br>The average man doesn't want to be free. <br>He wants to be safe.<br>-- H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy</pre>
> <br>
>
>
>
> <br>
> </blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>--<br>Would you like to buy my book? <a href="http://www.lulu.com/leighblackall">http://www.lulu.com/leighblackall</a><br>--<br>Leigh Blackall<br>+64(0)34780079<br>skype - leigh_blackall
> <br><a href="http://leighblackall.wikispaces.org/">http://leighblackall.wikispaces.org/</a>
>
> ------=_Part_4734_11177925.1140499919376--
Fuller, Joanne
Often the variety of the tools is limited to the experience, knowledge and passion of the facilitator. We often talk about learning styles and catering for those differing needs but just as important is the teaching styles of facilitators. Those who are up for a challenge or can cope with things that don't turn out can make the journey of learning what I think is exciting it places the emphasis here rather than on the destination.
My experiences have shown me that you can have a much closer relationship with learners in an online environment. You don't have to worry about discussion being dominated by a few (and not really being able to check out whether there si some learning happening) and the asynchronous tools provide the opportunity to reflect and give the learners the ability to formulate quite thoughtful ideas and responses. Important to consider what can be managed effectively and being there when needed. Most of my learners know I am always lurking around and always religiously respond to email so that is what they are confident with in getting a response. We play around with instant messenger and chat with more tests and forums being used mainly for assessment tasks.
One story I might tell was a learner who always struggled continually with having an inadequate computer so tended to lose things due to lines dropping out etc. She would send me up to 3-4 emails a night. One night and yes I do have a life I was out and came home (and of course checked the emails) and there was 1 email from her. In this email it was evident she had many problems happening in both her work and personal life. She proceeded to tell me everything but what was of concern was at the end she seemed to be giving up on herself and life.
Very scary stuff. I was beside myself trying to work out how to contact her or try to get some help to her but in the end decided just to email her. But before I could hit the send button up came an email from her. " Thanks for listening Jo I feel much better and here is my assignment" She still stays in contact and talks about how I guided her to a NEW LIFE...when really I did very little except she knew that I was around which makes me think of how relationships can be really developed by online contact.
Anyway time to go check the email. Have a nice day!
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