This is my last article in the context of my Reflective Blog as part of my MSc in Blended and Online Education at Edinburgh Napier University.  That doesn’t mean that I will necessarily stop blogging, but rather just that the purpose of this particular posting is to try and tie together all that I’ve learned and reflected upon in this module thus far as well as what this means in terms of implications for how I will approach supporting students in my own blended and online teaching practice in the future.

Via the work and/or reading I’ve done as well as my own student experience on this module entitled Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience, I feel that I have learned some valuable lessons that will be extremely useful me to as an educator in the 21^st century.

The first lesson learned that comes to mind is the importance of good student orientation/induction.  I am thoroughly convinced through my own experience on this program and from reading the chapter on how to design a good student orientation in Palloff and Pratt (2003) that getting off on the right track is crucial to a successful blended and online student experience.  I realize that when I will attempt to integrate e-learning into my own teaching, I really need to first explain to the students why it is useful and pedagogically sound and also, how it works and what it takes to make it successful, e.g.. good time management, active participation, adequate feedback providing help, etc.  From a personal point of view, I feel that if I hadn’t had the induction activities that I had at the beginning of this course and which were organized in such a friendly, fun and practical manner I may have been tempted to give up right away or at least would have been much less encouraged and much less confident about carrying on with the course.  With this in mind, when I myself make my first attempt at introducing e-learning in my teaching practices, I know that I will have to work very hard at getting my first impressions right in order to make my students want to carry on with my e-learning project.

The second lesson I learned is the importance of creating a sense of community and also convincing students that online social presence and online communities really can exist and really can be beneficial to one’s online learning experience.  In fact, once again, for me creating a sense of community is another crucial element for a successful online learning experience.  I just cannot imagine how I would have been motivated to participate in this course had it not been for the sense of community and/or shared experience that I feel.  As the students in Rovai’s study showed that a strong sense of community was linked to a greater levels of learning (Rovai, 2000), I, too, am convinced that I wouldn’t learn as much if I weren’t so motivated and it is the sense of community and the feeling that I am truly supported in this endeavour be it by my tutors or my fellow students that drives that motivation.  Even though my institution is paying for my studies and therefore I have a real obligation on their behalf to succeed, personally I truly am more motivated by my online community to succeed than I am by my professional obligations.  My own online experience and my readings thus far have given me some valuable insight into how to go about creating a sense of community for my own future students.  However I still feel that I need to do further research in this area in order to get a better grasp on how to best go about doing so most effectively.

Another very important lesson I’ve learned concerning supporting the online student experience has to do with feedback.  Once again I found the advice given by Palloff and Pratt (2003) to be very helpful, for example the need to create structure in the way feedback is given by creating rules such as some institutions have which require feedback to be given within 48 hours or about providing help and making sure that students know that help is available and how to get it if necessary.  Creating an adequate feedback structure is another thing that I know I have to address in my own future online student support provisions.  But I’ve also learned a lot about the nature of feedback from my own student experience on this online course.  For example when I started the course I had no idea whatsoever about the notion of providing online student feedback nor what to expect.  When I started participating in the asynchronous discussion boards I found that sometimes I got direct feedback from my tutors and sometimes I didn’t.  Sometimes I got some direct feedback from other students and sometimes I didn’t.  Personally I found the amount of feedback I got to be sufficient and I never felt any real lack of feedback to speak of.  Even though I had no prior experience and hence no real expectations as to feedback, I never felt disengaged and/or demotivated.  Personally I didn’t expect someone to respond to each and every one of my postings, be it my tutors or fellow students.  However the student-led seminar I had to participate in on this module made me realize that this is not the case for all students. 

The student led seminar was a group project in which three students had to create a seminar on a specific theme for the other students on the program to participate in.  The three students were also responsible for moderating and giving feedback on the seminar.  Our group decided to follow the feedback structure we had experienced on the first MSc BOE module which was the following:  basically the tutors would wait for a day or two before giving any feedback and then they would respond to some postings individually, but not all, and in other postings they would provide a more general feedback and/or summative feedback related to several different postings.  As this type of feedback seemed perfectly normal and satisfying to me as a student, I naively assumed that it would be the same for others.  Part of the work of these student-led seminars is for those who participated in the seminar to evaluate the work of the creators/moderators.  This peer assessment is anonymous but the creators/moderators get to read the evaluations of their peers.  This experience was the perfect example of what Pallof &Pratt refer to as  “Dealing with the needs of the neediest students.” (Pallof & Pratt 2003)  That is to say, the neediest students often aren’t necessarily the so-called “underachievers,” but moreover they can often be the “overachiever” types who need constant approval otherwise they feel frustrated.  It was very interesting to read this sort of student’s reaction to feeling “totally disengaged” because no one ever responded directly to his/her postings and that as a result the seminar was for him/her “a total waste of time.”  I also found this person’s assessment to be very revealing in regards to one of the other important issues related to feedback and online learning in general which is the idea of netiquette and being respectful of the way we speak to each other online.  One of the guidelines laid out by this program’s moderators is to never write anything that you can’t imagine yourself saying to another person if you were f2f with that person.  Personally I can’t imagine myself saying to someone’s face “you never responded directly to any of my postings and thus your seminar was a total waste of time.”    I’m not saying that this person doesn’t have the right to legitimately have such an opinion and it’s not a question of who is right or wrong, but rather it’s a question of how the reaction was said.  This person’s reaction also made me think once again about a creating a sense of community and how netiquette is an important part of making that happen.  When I read this person’s response I thought to myself:  ”Wow, if these peer assessments weren’t anonymous our sense of community would have gone up in flames!”    Nevertheless such an experience was a very valuable one for me as it made me realize how much you have to take dealing with feedback into consideration in online learning and what a challenge it can be.

In conclusion, be it from my readings, my own online student experience, or not to mention my first attempt at blogging, thanks to everything I’ve taken part in on the Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience module I now feel better equipped to deal with what is in store for me on the road ahead when I turn in a new direction towards introducing blended and online learning in the language courses I teach at IDRAC.  And while I realize that it may turn out to be a long and winding road, I’m definitely looking forward to the ride.

 Like so many other things in life, I never really realized the importance of Student Orientation until I was required to sit down and actually reflect upon it.  Of course Student Orientation is nothing new.  We all remember those first days of high school when we were lead around the building (which seemed SO HUGE compared to the junior high school) to learn where the different facilities were located and how the junior and senior students that helped us through the process seemed so ultra cool and worldly.  What we didn’t realize was that Student Orientation was something necessary and that without it we would have spent our first days of high school feeling dazed and confused, not to mention lost and insecure about ourselves and our future studies.  For virtual students Student Orientation is not only necessary but, I would say, something “vital” to ensuring the success of the online learning experience.

As is the case with anything new, most people need some guidance in how best to proceed and for the online student the quality of that guidance can make or break the outcome of their online learning experience.  In Chapter 6 of their book The Virtual Student, Palloff and Pratt (2003) explain how to design a good Student Orientation for the virtual student.  I found this chapter particularly interesting and helpful in directing my thoughts about how to go about introducing online learning in my own institution.  After reading and reflecting upon what Paloff and Pratt have to say, the following are what I feel, at this point in time, to be the three most essential elements for a good Student Orientation.

First of all, for me it is crucial to convince the students of why online learning is necessary and beneficial for their future.  That is to say, today we live in an Information Society and companies are using ICT more and more and therefore students need to learn how to use and be adept at using ICT tools such as the Internet, wikis, blogs, just to name a few (not just Facebook and text messaging), and that if they don’t know how to use such tools correctly and efficiently, then they will be disadvantaged on the future job market.  In the same vein, they also need to be convinced of the fact that today they need to be more responsible for their education and that those who will succeed are those who know how to go and get the right information and not those who wait for information to trickle down to them, sooner or later.

Secondly, once students have been convinced of the necessity of online learning, the next crucial element, in my opinion, is to make the instructions, goals, assignments, assessments, etc. simple and clear to understand.  For me, less is definitely more in this case.  When I showed my French colleagues how my MSc BOE fully online course was set up they were surprised at how simple and unsophisticated it was, i.e. no fancy computer graphics or ultra sophisticated web design but, as one colleague commented “it works and it works well.”  With that in mind, it’s better to be simple, clear and concise than ultra-sophisticated but difficult to approach and comprehend.  Furthermore, even though our students belong to the Net Generation, as Paloff and Pratt point out; they are not all necessarily digitally literate nor are they all ICT competent.  As a result, when introducing online learning into a course, I am convinced that it is better to start with something simple, such as a Webquest and then gradually work your way towards more technically advanced tools which may require a higher level of ICT skills.  The goal is for everyone to feel comfortable; to include and not to exclude.

This leads to my third essential element to a good Student Orientation:  creating and conveying the need for a sense of community.  Palloff and Pratt (2003) point out that in a case study by Brown “participants themselves noted that learning in advance what an online community is, how it is achieved; and its importance in online learning increases the likelihood that they will engage in a community building process.” (2001).  I think one really needs to convince students that communities can and do exist online and that they can be fun, supportive, stimulating and enriching.  With this in mind; one needs to demonstrate how this is possible and also the necessity of respecting a netiquette in order for an online community to thrive.  Even if in my case my online learning would be in a blended format, an online community via a wiki or a blog, for example, can offer students the potential for communicating with students with whom they don’t necessarily communicate with in a f2f situation and therefore offering them the potential for meeting new people and discovering new points of view.

To conclude, we all have our opinion about the importance of first impressions.  I am of the school of thought that if you want to make a lasting impression, it’s better to start off on the right track.

The idea of «community » has been weighing heavily on my mind for the past couple of weeks; hence it should logically find its way here.  However how to approach it is no simple matter as Web 2.0 has given a whole new meaning to the idea of community.

In relation to education, a study carried out by Alfred P. Rovai at Regent University in Virginia showed that “(a) online graduate students can feel .connected to their virtual classroom community, (b) students with stronger sense of community tend to possess greater perceived levels of cognitive learning, (c) female online students tend to have a greater sense of connectedness and perceived cognitive learning than their male counterparts, suggesting that gender-related differences, such as communication patterns may be involved and (d) ethnicity and course content do not appear to affect sense of community and perceived cognitive learning in an online environment, as expected;” (Rovai, 2000). 

If I think about what Rovai’s study shows in relation to my own online student experience I would say that (a) I definitely feel connected to my virtual classroom community and that (b) I also firmly believe that if I didn’t feel such a strong sense of community I wouldn’t be learning as much or as effectively.  Why?  Well, first of all; I feel that a strong sense of community is a motivating factor.  Motivating in the sense that I’m not alone; that if I have a question and/or problem someone in the community will offer and/or provide help.  If I didn’t get such support I think I would be quickly frustrated and especially as BOE is an entirely new field for me.  Motivating also in the sense that if others can manage to work and study online at the same time then I  can too.  And; I also believe that the feeling of “shared experience” that comes with a strong sense of community  is really Important for an online learner.  I find it really exciting and stimulating that we are this small group of people spread out over several different countries all having the same experience while at the same time sharing all our own different individual experiences.

However, some of the other results of Rovai’s study I’m not so sure about.  For example his student cohort for the study was restricted to graduate students.  My student cohort on the MSc BOE are all working adult learners.  Both graduate students and adult learners would presumably have a certain degree of maturity and therefore I wonder if that doesn’t help contribute to creating a strong sense of community.  It would be interesting to do a study on undergraduate students to compare results.  Furthermore, our student cohort happens to be slightly more female than male however I cannot at all say that I feel that the female students “have a greater sense of connectedness and perceived cognitive learning” but it is definitely something interesting to think about.

As far as Rovai’s last finding goes, concerning the fact that ethnicity and course content didn’t affect a sense of community, led me to think about a conversation with a colleague the other day who is convinced that online language learning cannot be dealt with in the same way as other online courses and therefore, if that is true, would a strong sense of community and all that it implies also be applicable to online language learning?

In any case, for the time being Rovai’s study and my online student experience both show that online students benefit from a strong sense of community in more ways than one and as a result, how to create a strong sense of community is yet one more thing that needs to be taken into consideration in the development of successful online educational programs.  Back to the drawing board . . . . . .

 The second module of my MSc in Blended and Online Education is entitled:  “Supporting the Blended and Online Student Experience.”  In this module we are encouraged to think about what type of support is necessary in order to ensure a successful blended or online student experience.  We are exploring areas such as creating online communities, induction processes, correct feedback, social presence, just to name a few.    At the same time IDRAC is in the process of beginning to think about how to integrate e-learning into its programs and/or educational strategy.  Therefore, I would like to take the time to today to reflect upon my support experience as an online student as well as my feelings about the ability of my institution to be willing to acknowledge the necessity of sufficient online student support in order for online learning to be successful and moreover, its ability to sufficiently support blended or online students.

My participation in Edinburgh Napier University’s MSc BOE is my first experience as an online student so I don’t have any other personal points of comparison to offer.  Nevertheless, I feel that this one and only experience is valid and worth commenting on.  First of all, it’s important to know that the course is not blended but fully online.  Secondly, I feel it’s important to point out that the student cohort is composed of adults who are all part-time if not full-time workers.  We are a group of 12-15 participants.  The course has been designed and is run by Keith and Christina who are experts in the field of BOE.

Personally I am fully satisfied by the level of support I get on this course.  Keith and Christina are readily accessible and all my attempts to communicate with them are fulfilled promptly.  I am able to contact them via personal asynchronous discussion boards,  via group project discussion boards, via email, and via Elluminate live sessions which are available once or twice a week on a personal basis and upon appointment for group sessions.  But the support doesn’t stop there.  If I’m having difficulty with a tool or accessing a resource, for example, I can post a question on the Problems Forum and either Christina or Keith or as is often the case, another participant will respond about how to deal with my problem.  I also experience a lot of support from my fellow colleagues, mostly from sharing of experience and words of encouragement which are expressed by using the various online tools already mentioned above.  Furthermore, I appreciate the fact that both Christina and Keith are quick to acknowledge when they themselves are having a problem either with the technology involved or with time management (as they, too, are full-time workers with many demands).  I find it comforting to know that everyone, despite their level of expertise, experiences problems and makes mistakes.  I really feel that they are concerned about my well-being as an online learner and are willing to do as much as they possibly can to make this a rich and rewarding experience for me.  So, I ask myself, how is such support possible?

First of all, as already mentioned, Keith and Christina have the experience and expertise necessary to design such a course.  Secondly, they have a VLE, Web CT, which provides them with the correct tools to deliver a fully online course.  Furthermore, they are full-time professors and therefore are available to able to provide such support even though I am aware of the fact that they, as is the case with most of us full-time workers, have lots of other demands to deal with.  What I’m trying to say is that I feel that their expertise and their institution has done what is necessary to make it possible for them to provide good online student support.  Will this be the case with IDRAC?

To begin, as far as I know, IDRAC has yet to define a strategy as far as e-learning goes.  In the near future I will have the opportunity to participate in a meeting in which how to integrate e-learning at IDRAC will be discussed.  I am enthusiastic and apprehensive about it at the same time.  That is to say, for the time being there are no BOE experts at IDRAC who have experience in designing and delivering online courses.  Therefore I’m somewhat afraid that something is going to be put into place without sufficient thought going into it beforehand.  Furthermore, the very nature of education in France is totally opposite to what e-learning is, or is supposed to be, in nature.  That is to say, the French education system is extremely “top down” in nature whereas e-learning is more “learner-centered” and therefore both students and teachers, I fear, are going to take a lot of time and effort adapting to it.  And last, but certainly not least, more than 50% of the staff at IDRAC is part-time and therefore how is the school going to go about training them and enabling them to be able to provide the necessary support that BOE requires? 

That is to say, first of all I foresee a certain amount of backlash due to the fact that a change to the status quo is being introduced and the French, by nature, are culturally resistant to change.  It will take a lot of explaining and reassurance to convince them of the benefits of e-learning.  However, helping the staff, and not just the part-time staff, bridge the gap from traditional education to BOE is also going to involve an enormous amount of effort and moreover expense from the institution itself and I wonder whether or not they are prepared to invest the time and money necessary for a successful e-learning strategy to be put into place?  From a practical point of view, all staff will have to be trained not only on how to use the VLE, but also, on the pedagogical principals and tools involved in e-learning and how do you motivate part-time staff to do that?  It’s a big time investment for them too so should the institution pay them to participate in the necessary training?  My experience on the MSc BOE has shown me that online learning can be very successful but I am seeing the finished product.  What I now need to research is how the product was created from beginning to end and what was the process involved, how much time did it take, how much money did it cost, what did it take in terms of overall institutional strategy and/or implication, staff willingness to rethink their teaching methods and to work online and provide student support, staff training, and, undoubtedly, a million other things?  These are the questions which come to mind as I live out my personal online student support experience while at the same time attempt to anticipate how my institution and I myself will endeavour to successfully support online students.  To be continued . . . . . . . . .