Communication skills and techniques have changed drastically as technology has evolved. Comparing communication between teachers and students in a virtual classroom with a face-to-face classroom will show the vital need for individuals to be aware of what is said, how it is said, how it was meant to be said, and how it will be interpreted. I have become more aware in my classrooms how students receive information, and often times need to receive it in a variety of ways. For example, I use our district online platform (ItsLearning) to communicate content and information. In addition to the platform, I also use a whiteboard in the front of the room to update students on daily activities and due dates. I also have students sign up for Remind101 notifications and use it weekly to send reminders. Finally, I verbally give instructions and information. I have found that most students and parents appreciate the multiple mediums of communication for my courses.
As technology advances, so must I. In my previous school, I kept a class Twitter and posted pictures of activities we did in class and used it for announcements. It became too much for me to keep up with, and I ended up getting rid of all Twitter accounts (I was using 1 for the classroom, 1 for my personal account, and 1 for a major club I sponsored at school). I just registered today for a technology conference (GaETC) for the fall and hope to discuss more ways to integrate social media and technology modes in my classroom. I have observed how dependent students are on their phones and it keeps them intricately connected to their peers throughout campus. My hope is to find a happy medium and expand upon ways to integrate technology into sound communication practices.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. It is important for online educators to keep these restrictions in mind when communicating to students/parents and outside sources. Informative resources are widely available with the do's and don'ts for teachers and communication under FERPA guidelines. In each of the IEP and 504 Plan meetings I've attended this year, a copy of the parental/student rights have been distributed to the family and are visible through the students profile. As a teacher develops in the education field, they become more aware and knowledgeable about the laws of communication.
Copyright is a mechanism to protect original work and ideas. As teachers build courses, they must keep in mind materials that are public on the Internet and those which are copyrighted. Students must also be observant to copyrighted materials and be sure to give credit to sources where credit is do (citations over plagiarism). Schools and universities have statements that students agree to abide by when it comes to producing original work. Understanding copyright laws might be a good introduction to the semester so everyone is on the same page, as the excuse "I didn't know..." does not work when copyright has been infringed.
US Copyright FAQ's
Copyright Basics
2.1.1 Identify Stakeholders Quest
The stakeholders for an e-learning environment include the instructors, students, parents, and administrative staff for the online platform. The stakeholders collaboratively work together to ensure a successful environment exists for the student. The tool of communication is most effective for keeping all stakeholders on the same page and focused on a successful end result.
The quest describes the following stakeholders and their roles:
The Instructor: As an instructor of an online course, one must consider whether communication is constant, timely, specific, and adheres to the policies delineated by the school. Additionally, the instructor should strive to communicate freely with all stakeholders with both positive commentary on performance, as well as communications centering on areas of weakness and/or concern. All instructors must employ a professional tone, ensure availability to students, and monitor student progress constantly.
The Student: As student in an online course, one must ensure that communication remains continuous with the instructor, questions are asked freely, emails are specific and employ the appropriate tone, and all school policies are adhered to in the correspondence. All students should be proactive and create a dialogue with their respective instructors immediately upon entering the course. Synchronous sessions, email, and phone calls provide students with three specific mediums for presenting questions to instructors, concerning the curriculum, areas of weakness, feedback, and performance in the course.
The Parents: As parents of students enrolled in an online course, the concept of effective communication takes a more specific form, in that parents play an active role in the success of their students and instructors rely heavily on the support of parents for continued student achievement. In truth, parents assume the role of a “coach,” and guide, encourage, and assist their students throughout the learning process. If parents are comfortable with the content, learning platform, and standards, students will seek assistance more freely, asking questions, sharing insights, and knowledge. Communication with parents, as presented previously, must be constant to maintain an interest in the class and the progress of their respective students. In most LMS platforms, parents have the ability to check students progress with auditor accounts, and this affords real-time analysis of grades and overall performance in the course. Communicate with parents often via email, newsletters, and phone calls to facilitate a collaborative classroom environment.
The Local School Administration: A number of online learning programs integrate a hybrid approach to virtual learning, and the schools have facilitators or administrative team leads that oversee the progress of students enrolled in both online learning course and the traditional school model. For online instructors, the local school offers an additional level of support for student achievement and establishing a strong relationship benefits all stakeholders. Ostensibly, the local school represents the champions of the online student, in that the staff is available to assist those students enrolled in a virtual class during the school day by monitoring productivity, responding to specific questions, and collaborating with the instruction with distinct observations and questions. Additionally, the local school administration staff provide another mode of contact with parents.
The descriptions above were aligned with my understanding of stakeholders involved in the educational process. Another group possibly not included are the Instructional Technology (IT) people who are responsible for ensuring logins/passwords are functioning and to handle system upgrades and communications about the platform technicalities.
Setting guidelines for digital communication at the beginning of the semester is just as important as establishing classroom management in the traditional setting. I believe a teacher can set the tone by placing priority on communication with the students and parents who they will be working alongside for the duration of a course. Remind101 is a communication tool I currently use to send out reminders about upcoming assignments and due dates. It is helpful because both students and parents can enroll to receive the notifications. Below is a plan that I would like to use once I become an official virtual teacher.
1. Welcome email
Included would be the course name, contact information for the teacher, necessary materials that the family might need to buy, instructions on where to locate the course syllabus, and information about a virtual welcome session once registration has been finalized for all participants (meet and greet)
2. Communication
Phone call the parents of each student enrolled in the course. Verify all contact information, including emails. Ensure open communication lines and inform parents that you want to partner with them to ensure the success of their student in the course. Be sure to document each communication made and the result.
3. Discussion Board Welcome
As students are beginning to log into the course, they start familiarizing themselves with the platform and posted resources. I would post a welcome message to the discussion board and include the tools available for communication and the class expectations for the discussion board. I would also provide examples of what material should be posted to the discussion board for class viewing versus material that should be directly addressed with the instructor.
2.1.3 Ongoing Communication Quest
Effective communication is essential to keeping all involved parties (stakeholders) informed. It is even more important to establish sound communication policies for the virtual environment. In a face-to-face environment, students can stop by at any point during the day and discuss academic concerns or questions; for virtual learning, a clear process must be in place of the steps for appropriate communication between the course teacher and students/parents. Below is an image of the old-school communication style of the tin can and string. Don't settle for a practice that might experience difficulties!
I also like the image below: The more you say, the less people remember. In education, that can translate to keeping communication short and to the point. Students tend to stop reading when instructions and directions come in the form of paragraphs. When I send out reminders or notes to students, I keep the tasks focused on the point and sometimes in the form of a checklist so that students can ensure they do not skip over important information.
The acronym below provides a variety of options used in communication, and many can be used for the virtual environment. In previous tasks, we have discussed using blogs, email, phone calls, and virtual meetings to foster positive communication between the course teacher and students/parents.
Sample login screens are included below. This is the first thing that a student would view in my course. Instructor contact information, new bulletins for announcements, daily planner, and content unit folders are important for easy navigation and success in these two courses.
3.1.2 News Quest
There are many routes that educators can take for incorporating news items and announcements for their courses. Methods for passing along information says a lot about the instructor's personality...a simple text box or a visual recording or an embedded weekly video. The possibilities are endless! I have always enjoyed using visuals to grab students attention but did not have experience with the resource Pics4Learning. This is a website free for educators and there is no need to worry about using pictures with watermarking or copyright information. I plan on using this website more in my current classes when I need to find an image...our school has been encouraging teachers to use an images feature within Google to add directly to Google Slides and Google Docs.
Pics4Learning
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3.2.1 The Newsletter Quest
I have always wanted to develop creative and unique ways for communicating home with parents. Often times, students do not relay important information in a timely manner and parents are left trying to play catch up when due dates approach quickly. I explored several of the resources and created a free trial on Smore to familiarize myself with a educational tool for course newsletters. The link below was created for my World History class for this upcoming week. I plan on sharing it on our classroom platform so both students and parents are aware of what will be covered this week in class. Smore allowed me to include announcements, videos, images, and many more options.
What's Going On This Week? (Newsletter)
Three highly effective methods of communication between stakeholders include emails, instant messaging, and newsletters. Emails provide the opportunity to discuss academic matters 1-1, while keeping FERPA guidelines in mind. Content included in emails might consist of student questions regarding an assignment or specific questions regarding assessment materials. Instant messaging allows instantaneous/live feedback for student questions. A chat or messaging system would also allow the instructor to monitor a discussion board and provide insights along the way. In a class last year, I created an interactive study guide through Google Docs. All students had access to the document and completed terms based on an assigned number; at the conclusion, each student had completed 5-10 terms and the entire 200 terms of the unit study guide had been collaboratively completed. I was able to open Google chat in the sidebar and watch students work on the study guide together and provide input where needed. The final communication tool that I just recently became aware of was Smore, a program for creating course newsletters. Previously, I had just used an app like Remind101 but I like the newsletter concept because more information can be conveyed and I can link valuable resources to it for student use. Whatever communication tools are used, they should be chosen appropriately and keep in mind the needs of all stakeholders involved.
Just like with instructional strategies, differentiation is also used for ways in which teachers communicate to the students and parents in their courses.
*Piktochart- One of my new favorite resources, as it allows the least creative person to feel a sense of creativity. This website allows the user to create posters with the help of templates and flow diagrams. An image is included below. I have also used Piktochart to create a handout for a presentation I did at the National Economics Conference to detail the steps of a financial budgeting project. I received positive feedback from other educators and many were shocked when I told them the handout was self-created via this program.
*Quizlet-A great review and study tool that allows students to create flashcards given the content and access on a computer or mobile device. Students can test themselves leading up to assessments and teachers can embed codes for each content unit. For auditory learners, there is an audio component where terms and definitions can be read to students.
*Wordle-A fun and easy tool for creating word clouds. I use these often, and students have the ability to create their own word clouds for free!
*Prezi-This presentation tool has become a more creative version of doing a PowerPoint presentation. Students can design transition effects and add images/text. Teachers can also use Prezi to send out announcements and reminders to their courses or use for content presentations.
Audio recordings are also helpful for posting to the course dashboard for provide important information. In my few experiences with those, I have found that students will listen once and are more likely in going back to re-read written announcements rather than replaying audio files. These tools listed above are ones that I enjoy using and I hope to explore more options for differentiating the methods of communication that I practice with my course participants.
As in a traditional classroom environment, feedback in the virtual classroom is just as important if not even more so. Facilitators must take advantage of every opportunity to communicate with students about their progress every week. A student does not want to get to the end of the semester and realize their discussion posts were not meeting the course expectations. The same is true with other assessments...a teacher must be a virtual presence to help students monitor their class progress. Practicing effective feedback will help foster a positive relationship between teacher and student.
Authentic feedback is important for online learners to understand where they have met teacher expectations and areas for improvement. Feedback does not have to be perceived as being negative, as teachers can provide positive feedback and reinforcements when success has been achieved. I can think back to specific examples where teachers provided authentic feedback that helped me in moving forward in the course. On the discussion board, the teacher made general comments on specific topics and then also sent individual email messages addressing discussion grades, areas of strength, and suggestions for stronger posts. I also received feedback on dropbox assignments (papers, reflections, etc) and a "good effort" and "nice job" on quizzes and tests taken online. Regardless of the size of the assignment, feedback lets the individual know that someone has taken the time to review their work and provide insight. If a student goes through an entire course with little to zero feedback from the instructor, they might wonder if the teacher is really invested in their students. I want students to feel valued and that I genuinely care about their achievement, hence providing feedback on assignments is an important role of facilitators in virtual learning.
The quest defines the role of rubrics as a way to provide instructors an objective, authentic, and consistent mode of offering feedback. When discussing rubrics, I emphasize to students that your grade is not based on personal feelings but rather how your paper/project aligns to the expectations set forth in the rubrics. Students who follow instructions and pay attention to details usually are not caught off-guard with a poor grade on these type of assignments. In my current classroom, I notice that students who procrastinate generally overlook at least 1 requirement and see a grade reduction. Rubistar is a fantastic website that I started using years ago when I had to create rubrics for various types of presentations. The website allows you to choose between templates for papers, presentations, projects, audio, and activities. It is a great website for someone starting to familiarize themselves with creating a rubrics. I have included a current rubric that I use with my Current Issues students...it is a semester-long project with mini-deadlines and the rubric sheet is how they will earn points. At the conclusion of the rubric is a section that allows for me to provide even more feedback on specific elements rather than just indicating their performance based on a number. I think it is very important for the teacher to go over the functions of the rubric with the students so that everyone is on the same page with how the assessment will occur. Clear and communicated expectations will decrease the amount of confusion as the due date approaches.
Current Issues Final Paper
Opposing Viewpoints
Task: Write
a senior-level piece based on research from this semester by presenting both
sides of a topic
We will be
working to develop as critical thinkers and writers, as well as formulating
personal opinions. The first month of the semester you chose a topic and will
be working on expanding your knowledge in the chosen area. There will be
due-dates along the way that will serve as summative “check-offs” to assist in
completion of your final paper. Class time will also be given to work on this
assessment.
Be sure to:
*Gather facts on both sides of
the topic
*Keep an open mind to your
research
*Include your opinion after you
have presented both sides
*Cite your sources and
statistics
Mini-Deadlines
for the Semester:
Friday, Jan. 29—Topic sheet
Monday, Feb. 29—Thesis &
Outline
Wednesday, Mar. 30—Annotated
Bibliography (5)
Friday, Apr. 29—Final Paper DUE
(you can turn in early if you’d like)
Technical
Requirements for the paper:
*Minimum 3 pages; double-spaced;
normal formatting
*Typed; stapled and name in header feature (example above)
*Title centered
*Rubric sheet stapled to top of
paper
*MLA format for citations at
conclusion of paper
*Minimum of 5 credible sources
to support your topic
Title Centered
|
______/5
|
Typed, stapled, & name is header feature
|
______/10
|
Minimum 3 pages double-spaced
|
______/5
|
Strong thesis statement in Introductory Paragraph
|
______/10
|
Focus/Purpose: Clearly stating the opposing viewpoints of the
selected topic
|
______/25
|
Supporting Evidence: Validity with the use of credible sources (5
minimum)
|
_____/15
|
Structure & Organization of Writing
|
______/10
|
MLA Formatting
|
______/10
|
Turned in On-Time w/Grade Sheet as Cover Sheet
|
______10
|
FINAL GRADE
|
______________/100
|
Teacher
comments:
Assessing Student Learning: A great resource that I hope to explore further. Gives insight into formative and summative assessments while giving many websites to help with creating rubrics.
Some other rubrics examples:
Students in my Current Issues course (senior elective) chose a controversial topic at the beginning of the semester and will be their area of research on our research days. Topics chosen include gun control, medical use of marijuana, social media, school uniforms, right to privacy, and immigration. Standards within the course revolve around world events and developing as critical thinkers. Students have a component due at the end of each month for a summative grade. I provide feedback for each student based on the amount of research they gathered and suggestions for incorporating into their position paper. By the end of the semester, students will turn in their formal position paper analyzing both sides of their topic in a non-partial manner and then concluding the paper with their reflection on the semester's worth of research. One of the information sheets is also included below for students to gather data. This sheet allowed me to discuss each student's focus or redirect focus if needed.
Current
Events--- Spring 2016
Opposing Viewpoints
Selected
Topic:
Briefly explain why you selected this
topic to become an expert on this semester.
Explain the PRO (or for it) viewpoint of your topic.
Explain the CON (or against it) viewpoint of your topic.
Locate 3 academic journals that will
be helpful to you throughout the semester.
Under the STATISTICS tab, locate 2 pieces of information that indicate
a viewpoint about your chosen topic and explain.
Under the MAPS tab, locate 1 visual that reflects a viewpoint about
your chosen topic and explain.
What do you think will be the biggest
challenge/obstacle you will encounter during your research? Will your opinion
or pre-existing knowledge influence your research?
Current Issues Final Paper
Opposing Viewpoints
Task: Write a senior-level piece based on research from this semester by presenting both sides of a topic
We will be working to develop as critical thinkers and writers, as well as formulating personal opinions. The first month of the semester you chose a topic and will be working on expanding your knowledge in the chosen area. There will be due-dates along the way that will serve as summative “check-offs” to assist in completion of your final paper. Class time will also be given to work on this assessment.
Be sure to:
*Gather facts on both sides of the topic
*Keep an open mind to your research
*Include your opinion after you have presented both sides
*Cite your sources and statistics
Mini-Deadlines for the Semester:
Friday, Jan. 29—Topic sheet
Monday, Feb. 29—Thesis & Outline
Wednesday, Mar. 30—Annotated Bibliography (5)
Friday, Apr. 29—Final Paper DUE (you can turn in early if you’d like)
Technical Requirements for the paper:
*Minimum 3 pages; double-spaced; normal formatting
*Typed; stapled and name in header feature (example above)
*Title centered
*Rubric sheet stapled to top of paper
*MLA format for citations at conclusion of paper
*Minimum of 5 credible sources to support your topic
Title Centered
|
______/5
|
Typed, stapled, & name is header feature
|
______/10
|
Minimum 3 pages double-spaced
|
______/5
|
Strong thesis statement in Introductory Paragraph
|
______/10
|
Focus/Purpose: Clearly stating the opposing viewpoints of the selected topic
|
______/25
|
Supporting Evidence: Validity with the use of credible sources (5 minimum)
|
_____/15
|
Structure & Organization of Writing
|
______/10
|
MLA Formatting
|
______/10
|
Turned in On-Time w/Grade Sheet as Cover Sheet
|
______10
|
FINAL GRADE
|
______________/100
|
Teacher comments:
Constructive feedback is included for each student for each part of the process (topic sheet, thesis and outline, annotated bibliography, and final paper). The feedback allows students to adjust their writing or add resources along the way rather than receiving their final paper grade and realizing they needed more supporting evidence. The rubric and paper instructions provide sound guidance and expectations for the final product. The rubric serves as a communication tool and is an important component for both a traditional classroom and virtual learning environment.
4.2.2 Digital Feedback QuestConstructive feedback is included for each student for each part of the process (topic sheet, thesis and outline, annotated bibliography, and final paper). The feedback allows students to adjust their writing or add resources along the way rather than receiving their final paper grade and realizing they needed more supporting evidence. The rubric and paper instructions provide sound guidance and expectations for the final product. The rubric serves as a communication tool and is an important component for both a traditional classroom and virtual learning environment.
There are various ways that facilitators can provide digital feedback to their students. As mentioned in previous blog posts, feedback between the teacher and student is an important communication tool so all stakeholders involved are aware of expectations and end results. The resources gave insight into ways we as educators can communicate to our students and provide the feedback they need.
For concepts that might be difficult to grasp, the teacher can provide links to outside resources that may take the topic and explain in more depth. This has always been very helpful in my own schooling when a teacher provided a video or article that re-explained the same concept I was struggling with in a different mode. Usually the videos worked the best for my learning style. In my teaching of Demand, students sometimes need reteaching resources to better understand the concept. I have included a visual and the Khan Academy, which has articles and videos to better explain the topic.
Understanding Demand
Khan Academy: Demand Resources
When papers are submitted to a Dropbox, teacher feedback can be included in a comments section once the paper is returned. I also have become familiarized with the audio recording component that can be added to papers. In graduate school, professors would use the comments feature in the document so when I reviewed the graded product, I could see exactly where the comments in the side bar pertained to in the paper. At the conclusion of the paper, there would be a brief overview recording with a few strengths of the paper, some areas for improvement, and a positive statement about the correctly submitting the paper on time. It provided a more personal look into knowing my teacher genuinely cared about my performance.
The images included on this quest were very encouraging and exactly what I could imagine sending out to the entire class after a busy week or in preparation for a big week ahead. I might include one of them with my current class as students are starting to look towards Spring Break and it is every teacher's struggle to keep them focused on the final days before a break. These positive images are the most informal but can go along way in motivating students and providing positive feedback!
Discussion forums have been an integral component of both my Master's and Specialist online degree programs. Each teacher had their own expectations as to what purpose the discussion board would serve. Discussion boards can serve as a place for students to ask questions about the course and communicate with peers, while also as a place to show content mastery. Discussion forums can foster communication between class members and allow the teacher to monitor student activity. Two different setups I've been a part of included a teacher-created discussion post each week and participants responded directly to the original thread. The other option required a weekly reading from a textbook and each student had to compose an original posting with a minimum word count and including sources. In addition to the original post, we each had to comment on 2 other student postings with educational questions and commentary on their viewpoints. At the conclusion of the week, the instructor would send out an overview of some key educational practices or ideas that related to the discussion topic, and provide encouragement for improving discussion posts for the following week.
I have seen some situations where discussion boards became ineffective or did not serve the intended purpose. There have to be clear expectations about appropriate discussion techniques and what will/will not be tolerated. I attempted to do a discussion board with some 11th graders and there were some students who did not practice appropriate netiquette. It was a great learning opportunity but I also found that many students struggled formulating their own ideas. The first few students to post to the discussion board were original and thoughtful. Students who procrastinated did not meet the necessary word count and had many of the same ideas of previously posts by other students. I do feel like there is a purpose for discussion forums and they are a valuable educational resource.
When researching about synchronous vs. asynchronous environments, I got to explore programs like GotoMeeting and Adobe Connect. The program that I have the most experience is Wimba/Blackboard Collabroate. Looking through all the suggestions for creating an efficient live session, I can't help but remember many of the tips were given to us by my online professor. The purpose of using a synchronous situation can help foster a true classroom in the online environment. These sessions can provide an alternate mode of interacting with the facilitator and classmates. The biggest drawback with these sessions could be if/when technology fails. As an instructor, I would post a bulletin with information for the live session and backup information for if there is a technology mishap. A live session to start the semester would set an expectation for both teacher and student for the duration of the online course.
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