CHAPTER SEVEN

WORKING WITH THE VIRTUAL STUDENT

Successful learners in the online environment need to be active, creative, and engaged in the learning process. Nipper (1989) described successful online learners as “noisy learners,” or learners who are visibly engaged with one another and with the generation of knowledge. This description of the successful online learner persists today. Dabbagh (2007) noted that the profile of online learners has changed from those who are older, employed, place bound, goal oriented, and intrinsically motivated to a more diverse population that is younger and technologically oriented. Aslanian and Clinefelter (2012), in their survey of fifteen hundred adults who were either enrolled in online programs or planned to enroll, found that the average student who is seeking postsecondary education online is white, thirty-three years old, female, and working full time in a high-paying career. This does not account for traditional undergraduates who are taking online classes as part of their on-campus program, however. Aslanian and Clinefelter estimate, based on their findings, that approximately 40 percent of online students are younger than thirty years old and that 20 percent are under the age of twenty-five.

Our experience, along with the demographics of online learning, tell us that all of the profiles presented now hold true: online learners range from younger students who have grown up with technology to older adults who are returning to school and seek the convenience of online learning. The Illinois Online Network (2010) provides the following list of characteristics of the successful online student:

• Open-minded about sharing life, work, and educational experiences as part of the learning process
• Able to communicate in writing
• Self-motivated and self-disciplined
• Willing to speak up if problems arise
• Willing and able to commit four to fifteen hours per week per course
• Able to meet minimum requirements for the program
• Accept critical thinking and decision making as part of the learning process
• Have unlimited access to a computer and the Internet
• Able to think ideas through before responding
• Feel that high-quality learning can take place without going to a traditional classroom

But are online students simply “born” with these characteristics, or are these characteristics that can and should be developed and encouraged through participation in an online course? Some students who are not noisy learners in the face-to-face classroom flourish online because they have the luxury of time for reflection and response and do not have to compete with more extroverted students in order to be heard (Pratt, 1996). However, it cannot be assumed that students will engage with one another in the learning process or possess all of the characteristics in the Illinois Online Network list; these abilities must be taught. Preparing students to enter online distance learning courses is the focus of this chapter.

If We Build It, They Will Come

As academic institutions rush headlong into online distance learning, at least two key assumptions are being made: that teachers will know how to teach in the online environment and that students will instinctively know how to manage the learning process. Our experience in teaching online courses and in consulting with faculty, faculty developers, and administrators across the United States and around the rest of the world is that the opposite is true: faculty need training and assistance in making the transition to the online environment, and students too need to be taught how to learn online. Learning through the use of technology takes more than mastering an application or feeling comfortable with the hardware being used. Students in online learning courses need to come to an awareness that learning through the use of technology significantly affects the learning process itself. Furthermore, they need to realize that for the most part, the online learning process occurs through the formation of a learning community and is reflective in nature.

Students may begin an online course expecting to be educated by a content expert, just as in a traditional classroom. When they discover that the most profound learning in an online course comes through interacting with other students, they may become confused and sometimes feel “cheated” by the process. Our culture has led students to believe that education happens through exposure to the sage on the stage, as many describe the traditional academic. In the online environment, in contrast, the instructor acts as a facilitator, or a guide on the side, enabling students to learn collaboratively from one another. For many students, this is a significant shift and one for which they need to be adequately prepared. Furthermore, although younger students have essentially been weaned on technology, they do not necessarily have the experience of using technology for academic learning. Making the transition from playing games or interacting on social networks to the online classroom is a process that needs attention. They need to learn what it means to be an online student and how learning online differs from their previous experiences using technology.

As we consider the collaborative learning process that occurs online, some questions emerge. How can the characteristics of successful online learners be developed? What is the role of the learners? How do instructors facilitate online courses in order to maximize the potential of online learners? And how can instructors teach their students to use the online environment effectively for learning? We explore each of these questions in an effort to provide instructors with ideas and suggestions to assist them in working more effectively with virtual students.

The Successful Learner in the Online Classroom

Some students take to the online classroom easily and successfully. Others struggle. Some students believe that the online classroom more closely supports their learning style than the face-to-face classroom does, particularly if they need time to think and reflect before responding to questions and ideas. Some may find that they express themselves more effectively in writing than verbally; some are adept with the use of multimedia tools or Web 2.0 applications and find that those support their learning process and help them demonstrate what they have learned. The following comment by a student addresses this issue:

I . . . am an introvert [and] am much more “outspoken” through the written word than through speaking. In part, I think this has to do with my more reflective nature. Written communication provides me with the opportunity to reflect, collect my thoughts and respond before the topic has changed like it often does in face-to-face communications.—Jane

Much of the research done on successful students in distance education programs suggests that older students who are attracted to this form of education share certain characteristics: they are voluntarily seeking further education, are motivated, have high expectations, and are self-disciplined. These students tend to be older than the average student and have a more serious attitude toward their courses, education, and learning. Aslanian and Clinefelter (2012) note that their primary motivation for enrolling in online courses and programs is career advancement. They are what most would consider to be nontraditional students. We have found, however, that this description does not and should not exclude traditional undergraduate students, particularly because few of today's undergraduates can truly be considered traditional. Estimates are that only one-fourth of the undergraduate population is made up of eighteen to twenty-two year olds who are attending school full time and living on campus. Most students today are older, are working, and need flexible schedules. They are not necessarily looking for campus-based educational and social opportunities. Consequently, they bring with them a different set of assets and expectations to the learning process. In addition, many traditional undergraduates are seeking the flexibility of online learning so that they can engage in other activities, such as a job, sports, or social activities, at any time and also address their studies.

Successful online students tend to enjoy learning for learning's sake. They become energized by the ability to be set free to explore a topic with peers. These students demonstrate good thinking skills, an ability to work and do some amount of research independently, and an ability to work with a minimal amount of structure.

In the past, online learning was seen as most successful in adult and continuing education. However, more universities are using this delivery method with all groups of students regardless of age or level of educational experience, and we're seeing growing acceptance and development in the K–12 sector as well. Dabbagh (2007) notes, “The concept of the independent, place-bound, adult, self-motivated, disciplined self-starter, and goal-oriented learner, which largely characterized the classic distance education learner, is now being challenged with socially mediated online learning activities that de-emphasize independent learning and emphasize social interaction and collaboration” (p. 219). Our own experience with younger undergraduate students has shown us that the students in that age group who do well online are looking for flexibility in their busy schedules, are more independent than the average undergraduate, and may feel lost in large face-to-face classes. The online classroom allows them to express themselves in ways that the traditional classroom does not.

In our experience, online learning can successfully draw out students who would not be considered noisy learners in the traditional classroom. It can provide an educational experience that helps to motivate students who appear unmotivated in another setting because they are quieter than their peers and less likely to enter into a discussion in the classroom. We are also discovering, however, that the interactive skills learned in the online environment can be carried over to the face-to-face setting. In other words, once students are acknowledged for their contributions to the class, their thinking skills, and their ability to interact, they gain confidence in their ability and tend to use these newly discovered skills in other settings. Liz, a student who recently enrolled in one of our online classes, makes this point:

I have found through the learning environment that I have somewhat changed personally and continue to develop another side of myself. Most explicitly, confidence continues to develop within. Also, because I am more of an introvert, I tend to be more direct with my staff and peers. Yet, as I communicate online, I don't have to worry and do find myself toning down at work. I am not as impulsive and I tend to think more before I speak.

The online classroom can provide an alternative that may be quite useful for some students. However, students must not be forced into the online classroom because it is not effective for everyone. Understanding different learning styles can help illustrate why that is the case.

Addressing Different Learning Styles

Litzinger and Osif (1993) define learning styles as the ways in which children and adults think and learn. They break down thinking and learning processes into cognition, or the ways in which people acquire knowledge; and conceptualization, or the ways in which people process information, and motivation, which includes decision-making styles, values, and emotional preferences.

A number of authors have attempted to categorize the ranges of learning styles people possess based on the basic processes. Probably the best known is Kolb (1984), who identified four predominant learning styles:

• Convergers, who like to reach closure quickly by finding concrete solutions to problems and making decisions
• Divergers, who have an awareness of meaning and values and enjoy brainstorming and imagining alternative solutions
• Assimilators, who like to take in lots of information and build theoretical models based on that information
• Accommodators, who are more action oriented, taking risks and teaching themselves through trial and error

Although from our description thus far, it may appear that accommodators are most suited to the online classroom environment, the reality is that all learning styles can work well there. Kolb described a cycle of learning that begins with one's own experience, followed by observation and reflection on that experience, leading to the formation of abstract concepts and generalizations, which leads to the development of hypotheses to be tested in future action, leading to new experiences. Everyone develops a learning style that has some strong and weak points. For example, a person might jump into new experiences without taking the time to reflect on the lessons to be learned from those experiences. Because all students move through this cycle in the learning process and embrace parts of it to a greater or lesser extent, all learning styles can be adequately accommodated online. Creating learning experiences that allow students to experience all portions of the learning cycle enables them to develop more fully in areas where they might be weak, and thus develop a new learning style. Knowledge generation through interaction with peers, plus the development of a more reflective approach to learning as influenced by the use of technology, facilitates this process. The result of the process is a more reflective style, indicating that the transformative nature of online learning has taken hold. We thus refer to this new learning style as reflective transformative.

To complicate the understanding of learning styles further, it has been theorized that people tend to learn predominantly through one of their senses: they are auditory, visual, or tactile (Barsch, 1980). Auditory learners tend to retain more of what they hear, visual learners tend to retain more of what they see or read, and tactile learners tend to retain more when they are using their sense of touch—when taking notes, for example. Many published articles seem to indicate that in order to accommodate various learning styles in the online classroom, various forms of technology must be used, or the same concept needs to be taught in various ways. But an online course that uses different types of assignments and approaches to learning can accomplish the same objective without using more complex technologies or multiple versions of the same activity. For example, in addition to asking students to read and engage in discussion online, instructors who use simulations, case studies, Internet research, and collaborative group experiences help broaden the learning experience and accommodate various learning styles. Because it is difficult for instructors to know the learning styles of their students before the course begins, creating a course that is varied in its approaches can help to motivate all students and keep them involved.

Recognizing and Working with Those Who Do Not Succeed

Should we expect all students to succeed in online classes? Although a student who might not be successful in the face-to-face classroom may do well online, it is unrealistic to expect that all will do well, just as all instructors will not be able to adapt their teaching styles for effective online teaching. How does an instructor determine when a student is not doing well in the online classroom? This is a more difficult question to answer when the instructor cannot see the nonverbal cues that usually indicate when a student is confused. Nevertheless, online students provide evidence to indicate that they may be in trouble. Here are some signs to look for:

• Changes in level of participation. A student who had been participating well but suddenly disappears from the online discussion for a week or two may be having difficulty with the course or course material. It is important for the instructor to contact a student who drops away for more than a week to determine the cause and seek solutions.
• Difficulty getting started. Some students simply have difficulty getting started online. The instructor may get e-mail or phone calls from the student about technical or other difficulties with the course. The student may continue to express confusion with course procedures and guidelines despite the instructor's explanation.
• Flaming. When students are frustrated or confused, they may inappropriately express these emotions by lashing out on the course site. The instructor needs to respond quickly to an outburst online, just as he or she would in the face-to-face classroom. We return to the topic of dealing with disruptive behavior in the next chapter.
• Dominating the discussion in inappropriate ways. Some students attempt to dominate the discussion, moving it to personal or other concerns that have little to do with course material. Again, as in the face-to-face classroom, the instructor should attempt to work with the student on an individual basis to redirect this behavior.

When students do not do well online, as evidenced by any of these behaviors, they should be given the option to return to the face-to-face classroom or offered proactive measures, such as tutoring or technical support, to help them better understand what they need to do as online learners or assist them with the course. Their performance should not be considered a failure, but simply a poor fit or perhaps an indication of a different learning style or preference. Not all students do well online and may need more structure and face-to-face contact with an instructor and other students in order to succeed. Once again, this approach to problems with participation differs significantly from the traditional way in which these issues might be resolved. In the traditional academic setting, a student might be asked to drop a course or transfer to another section. Flexibility in moving that student to a completely different learning environment did not exist until the advent of online instruction. Consequently, the online environment provides instructors with a new means by which to assess and work with student capabilities, learning preferences, and performance.

The Role of the Learner in the Online Learning Process

One of the hallmarks of the online classroom, and one that differentiates it from face-to-face learning, is the need for students to take responsibility for their learning process. In so doing, students play various roles and take on various functions. All the roles—knowledge generation, collaboration, and process management—are very much intertwined and interdependent.

Knowledge Generation

The instructor in the online classroom serves as a gentle guide in the educational process. Consequently, the “recipient” of that guidance, the learner, has a responsibility to use that guidance in a meaningful way. Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) note that students in an online learning community can and do take on part of the teaching function. These learners are responsible for going beyond a summary of reading or information contained in the subject area under study to analyze the material critically and present it to their peers and the instructor in ways that demonstrate critical thinking, analytical, and research skills. Thus, the learners in the online classroom are together developing original thought and realizing the preferred learning outcome: the construction of their own knowledge and meaning. Students may express their thoughts tentatively at the beginning of a course, as the following student post illustrates, and should become more assertive as a course progresses:

This assignment has me baffled and I hope that you can help me. I have not enjoyed the readings by Negroponte and haven't been able to tie in his readings with this assignment. I then began the readings by author Jackie Kostner and found her readings notably enjoyable and easier to tie in to this assignment. I am somewhat baffled because I don't quite know what the realm of virtual media is. I picture virtual media as a form of electronic communication through computers. Do I have a limited perception?

Liz was tentatively expressing an opinion that was different from that of her peers. The response she received from them was warm and supportive, which encouraged her to become more confident in her opinions as the term progressed.

The following post, which appeared toward the end of a different course, shows the level of assertiveness that students can attain. Although it may be difficult for some to read, it illustrates the level of comfort in a learning community that this student was experiencing. He knew, because of the interaction with his peers, that his post would be received in the spirit with which it had been created. Steve did not post this material in an attempt to upset his colleagues. Instead, he demonstrated a willingness to question long-held beliefs and go beyond assigned course material to analyze information and present an opposing viewpoint. This post is not atypical of those that an instructor might see in an online course, because the relative anonymity of the medium allows students the freedom to express what they might not in a face-to-face setting:

NOW's (The National Organization for Women) slogan for breast cancer is “If breast cancer targeted men, emphasis on research leading to a potential cure would have taken on an added sense of urgency.” The CDC [Centers for Disease Control] reports that there were 210,203 new cases of breast cancer in 2007/2008; there were 233,307 new cases of prostrate cancer. In 2007/2008 40,589 women and 390 men died from breast cancer. In that same period 29,093 men and 0 women died from prostrate cancer. The American Cancer Society estimated they will spend $872 million on breast cancer research and $399 million on prostrate cancer. [I feel] the NOW slogan slanders men, accusing them of not caring about women where as in reality women receive the vast majority of benefits in our society especially in the important areas of emotional and psychological care. Take a look around you at [our university], who are the minorities? What group is the most under represented in psychotherapy, if you guessed men you guessed right! Think about it!!!

Some learners gravitate easily to the knowledge generator role, sharing many resources with their student colleagues as the term progresses, along with critical reflection on their work. One of us had a student in the knowledge generator role who commented on every draft of a final project posted by her peers and suggested additional reading or resources for each one. Her peers were extremely grateful for her input and actively sought it as the term progressed.

Collaboration

Students in the online learning environment should not feel alone and isolated but instead that they are part of a learning community that is working together to achieve learning outcomes and generate knowledge. The failure of many online learning programs stems from the instructor's inability or unwillingness to facilitate a collaborative learning process. If course material is simply placed on a website or in a course management system for students to access with little to no means by which to interact with the instructor or other students, contact with professors and peers is not likely to spontaneously occur and the course is not likely to lead to better learning outcomes. Rovai and Barnum (2003), as well as other researchers, have noted that the interaction of the instructor with learners, together with the development of highly interactive course activities, helps learners not only to achieve learning objectives but also increases their perception of having learned.

In the online environment, students should be expected to work together to generate deeper levels of understanding and critical evaluation of the material under study. They should also be expected to share the resources they are finding with the other members of the group. For example, an instructor might consider creating a space on the course site to house the material that the students are discovering. Providing assignments that encourage students to seek additional resources is a good way to increase their research ability and knowledge of how to use the Internet as the vast source of information that it is. Some discussion of or information about search and research skills and techniques can be included on the course site to assist students in this process.

One joy we have found in working with instructors as they explore online teaching is their discovery that the online classroom is the perfect environment in which to encourage collaborative learning. Including collaborative assignments in an online course helps build a learning community and enable achievement of the goal of generating new knowledge and deeper levels of meaning. The mistake that some instructors make is that as a result of their excitement about collaboration, they may include too many collaborative assignments in a course. Students find collaborative work time-consuming as they strive to “meet” together in creative ways and negotiate the roles and tasks necessary to complete this kind of assignment. Consequently, an instructor should allow some breathing room between collaborative assignments. If a term is fifteen weeks, then a maximum of three collaborative assignments is about right. In an eleven-week quarter, one to two may be all there is time for. And in a shorter intensive course of six or eight weeks, there may be time for only one collaborative activity.

Students should be encouraged to use creative means to communicate with one another while completing a collaborative assignment. They might use synchronous discussion through Skype or chat to work together on an assignment or have a question-and-answer session with the instructor. They might be encouraged to make extensive use of e-mail, have a whiteboard session, or have a designated group area in the course site for their asynchronous discussions. The instructor should relinquish control over the learning process during the time when a collaborative assignment is in progress and not feel the need to participate in every discussion. Students should be empowered to get the job done and report results to the instructor and the rest of their class.

In addition, students should be guided and encouraged to give one another meaningful feedback on their work. When a collaborative assignment has been completed, they should be encouraged to evaluate their own and their teammates' performance. Evaluations should be shared privately with the instructor so that students feel more comfortable completing them. We generally have students send us an e-mail that discusses their own performance on the assignment, the grade they feel they deserve, and an appraisal of the work of each member of the team and the grade they would give were they the instructor. We take this feedback seriously, although we retain veto power should we suspect that a group member is being treated unfairly.

Another means by which to achieve collaboration is to have students post all written assignments to the course site and ask them to provide feedback to one another on that work. The feedback, however, needs to go beyond a pat on the back for good work done; it should comment substantively on the ideas presented and question any gaps, omissions, or inconsistencies. Providing feedback to one another helps students develop the critical thinking skills necessary to engage effectively in their knowledge generation role.

One of the advantages to working over the Internet is that groups of students working together in a class do not need to be isolated. They can engage in dialogue between learning communities. By this, we mean that instructors who are teaching similar courses in either the same or different universities can encourage and even facilitate discussion between the participants in those classes. Instructors may even consider team teaching through this approach. As students gain confidence and ease in their ability to study online, their interest can be stimulated in doing additional collaborative work. Students may connect, using the Internet, with experts in their field of study, other universities and learning communities, or discussion groups that have formed around interest in the area under study. As they do this, their ability to use these skills while working in other course areas also increases.

Process Management

Instructors frequently ask us what the process manager's role looks like. It is the student role that most significantly sets this form of learning apart from the face-to-face classroom, and it is also the most difficult for many instructors to accept. Students as active learners are expected to participate with minimal guidelines and structure. We also expect them to interact with one another and take responsibility for the direction of their learning, as well as the formation of the online learning community. With increasing use of collaborative Web 2.0 technologies, this task is becoming easier to facilitate. However, in order for this to happen, the instructor must empower learners and then step out of the way to allow them to do their jobs—much as a business manager would empower employees. All students have the ability to become process managers in an online course. The reality is that one or two of them will step up to this role. Once that happens, the other students in the group are likely to look to the student leaders to assist them in managing the learning process. Evidence that the process management function has emerged exists when one or two students begin to answer questions that might otherwise be directed to and answered by the instructor.

The instructor's response to the development of the process management role needs to be a willingness to leave behind the traditional power boundaries that exist between instructor and student. The online classroom has been described as the great equalizer—essentially eliminating the boundaries that exist among cultures, genders, and ages—and also eliminating power differences between instructors and students. Dabbagh and Bannan-Ritland (2005) noted that today's online students represent a wide variety of cultural and educational backgrounds and that the globalization of education has allowed students from all over the world to engage in learning activities together. In order to achieve this state, however, instructors must be able to relinquish their power over the educational process and let the learners take on their process management role. Clearly instructors hold the extra edge in the process because they assign a grade for the course. However, in the area of process management, instructors can and should play an equal role. The following student's post illustrates her understanding of the process management role:

Virtual leaders have less managerial authority than face-to-face leaders. Earlier I wrote about the lack of control faced by virtual leaders and how it is best to embrace loss of control rather than fight it. I think that roles in virtual teams are also more flexibly defined. Authority can more easily be distributed in a virtual team. I think this flexibility results from the looser dynamic. When a leader is in a face-to-face meeting, subordinates expect the leader to assume an authoritative role throughout. In a virtual meeting, those expectations are less strong, because the leader's loss of physical control is a given. The virtual leader's power, so to speak, comes from her ability to keep the team connected, because that is essential to the team's success. The focus on connections is much more facilitative than managerial, I think. At least in the conventional sense.

I think that's why teachers act much more as facilitators online than they do in a face-to-face learning environment. In a face-to-face environment, students primarily address themselves to the teacher/professor and not to their peers. And it's hard to break that, because of the physical location of the teacher at the head of the class, etc. [Seminar] classes do that to some extent, but the teacher is still obviously the authority.—Liane

By relinquishing our traditional power role as teachers, we frequently find that we learn as much from our students in an online course as our students learn from us. In a workshop we were presenting recently, an instructor stated, “I'm an expert in my field. What could I possibly learn from an undergraduate student?” Our response to him was that we hoped he was not serious. When instructors participate in learning communities, they must be open to the promise that learning emerges from multiple sources and is a lifelong process.

Flexibility, openness, and willingness to relinquish control are characteristics that, when shared by both instructors and their students, make for a successful online learning experience. If we all can maintain an attitude of “being in this together,” with instructors holding an equal role in the learning community that has been created, the ability to create deeper levels of meaning and knowledge exists. Instructors, then, must be willing and able to empower students to take on the roles necessary to facilitate educational success in the online classroom. The roles are likely to emerge naturally in an online course. However, some instructors, as a means by which to facilitate their emergence, may choose to assign them: each week there may be a new process manager in the group or someone who is assigned to oversee the collaborative work in which the group is engaged. When a small group collaborative assignment is part of the course, we often ask students to take on the roles to help the small group achieve its task.

Maximizing the Potential of the Virtual Student

Even when students are empowered to take on the necessary roles, they may not assume their responsibilities unless they are prompted and encouraged. In addition, some students in the group may take on more responsibility than others. This often leads to frustration on the part of learners with collaborative activity and resistance on the part of instructors to include them as a result. Instructors must take steps to draw out students who are not fully engaging with the course and the other students. Just as an instructor might spend additional time with a student who is not responding well in the face-to-face classroom, he or she needs to spend additional time motivating learners to join the online learning process. We offer some suggestions that instructors may take to maximize the potential of all learners enrolled in an online class. Although these suggestions may sound time-consuming for instructors, the time they spend on these may be well spent if it results in active participation and the achievement of learning objectives for all students enrolled in the online course.

Use Best Practices from the Face-to-Face Classroom to Promote Participation Online

Instructors need to assess the tricks of the trade that have served them well in motivating students and working with problem students in order to find those that might work online as well. Asking, “What would I do in this situation in the face-to-face classroom?” is the best way to do this. If, for example, an instructor has traditionally set up a private tutoring session for a struggling student, she should do the same with an online student. The session might occur through synchronous discussion online, a telephone conference with the student, an intensive e-mail exchange, or a face-to-face session if distance allows. Nothing should be left to chance or assumption simply because the instructor cannot readily see her students. Consequently, in teaching an online course, instructors need to stay actively involved, diagnose problems as they occur, and seek solutions to keep the course moving and students motivated.

If a Student Is Absent for a Week, Contact Him or Her to Determine the Reason

Just as in the face-to-face classroom, attendance and presence should contribute to the grade in an online class. In a large face-to-face class, a student's absence may go unnoticed. But in the online classroom, a student's absence is quite noticeable and also has a detrimental effect on the other members of the group. Instead of assuming that a student's absence is the result of a lack of motivation, instructors need to investigate the reason for the absence and attempt to bring the student back into the online classroom as quickly as possible. Sometimes a brief e-mail message or phone call can make all the difference for students who may be struggling with the technology in use, the material under study, or other life issues and concerns, allowing them to reenter the learning process without losing significant ground.

If Students Have Technical Difficulties, Offer Support or Connect Them with Tech Support

Instructors need to be knowledgeable enough about the technology in use for an online course to be able to answer basic questions for students in their classes. In general, students may struggle a bit during the first few weeks of a class as they acclimate to the technology and to learning through the use of technology.

An instructor with whom we were consulting sent us an e-mail requesting our assistance because he was unable to generate a sufficient degree of discussion in his online class. He asked us to “lurk” in his classroom to see if we could help him diagnose the problem. When we visited his class, it became immediately apparent that part of the problem was the technology.

The instructor was using a good course management system, but he had constructed his course and was asking questions in such a way that students were required to move forward and back continually in order to read and respond to what was being posted. Some were finding that simply reading what was there was taking them more than an hour before they could think about or post their own responses. The instructor in this situation responded in two ways. First, he modified how he was asking questions in order to minimize the need for students to look in several places before they determined what they needed to respond to; second, he became more familiar with the system so that he could instruct his students on the best ways to use it and minimize their time online.

If Conflict Hurts Participation, Intercede with the Students Involved

Disagreements and differences of opinion should not interfere with good participation. However, nothing stifles good participation in an online course like unresolved conflict. Just as in the face-to-face classroom, if a student is acting out, other students may fear becoming the object of that student's negative attention and will withdraw from active participation. In the online classroom, the fear of being attacked is likely to result in reduced participation and reduced interest in the class itself. The experience we described in chapter 2 is a good example. Flaming occurred early in the learning process and the instructor was unable to resolve it satisfactorily. Consequently, students were reluctant to engage with one another for fear of reprisal, and they felt unmotivated to participate. The result was dissatisfaction with the entire learning experience for all involved.

Again, this is a situation where best practices should prevail. Instructors should determine how they feel most comfortable in dealing with conflict in the classroom and with students who are acting out. Just as in the face-to-face classroom, if conflict resolution assistance is available through the institution, the instructor should make use of it. If all else fails, the student or students involved should be asked to withdraw from the class so that the learning process can continue for the others. When this happens, however, it is advisable to have a discussion with the remaining students so that they understand the efforts that were made to ameliorate the situation and why the final decision was made. Often a conference call or a virtual classroom session will help the remaining students understand what happened and allow them to express their concerns and feelings about it.

If Security Breaches Cause Nonparticipation, Report Them Quickly to Reestablish a Sense of Privacy

We have found that as students form their learning community online, they create for themselves a false sense of privacy. They believe that because the class is password protected, others will not be able to access their discussions. Although this is generally true, there are times when other students might hack their way into a course or it may be discovered that others are lurking, that is, observing what is happening, in the online discussions without making their presence known; someone might have shared a password with another who is not enrolled in the course, allowing that person unauthorized access to the discussions. This can be upsetting to students participating in an online discussion, particularly if they have been sharing material that is sensitive or of a personal nature. Consequently, every attempt to maintain security should be made. If an unauthorized person gains access to the course site, students should be notified and new passwords issued. The instructor should also alert the institution immediately.

Students should be informed if there will be observers in the classroom and what the nature of their presence might be. In a course we recently taught, the discussion turned to the institution in which the students were enrolled. One student posted a message asking who had access to the discussion forum because this would significantly affect the nature of her participation. When she was reassured that no one from the school had access to the discussion, she expressed her relief and felt that she could freely express her opinions without fear of repercussion. Had she not received this reassurance or if someone from the school was observing the class, she would have felt betrayed. Trust is an essential element in building a strong learning community. There should be no surprises where privacy is concerned.

Log On to the Online Classroom Three or More Times a Week (Daily If Possible!) to Keep the Discussion Moving

Logging on often allows the instructor to keep up with the discussion as well as to deal with any problems and move the discussion in another direction should that become necessary. The importance of an appropriate level of instructor participation should be obvious. By providing a good role model, the instructor demonstrates what “acceptable participation” means. In addition, we have found that students voice anxiety if the instructor is not obviously present.

Regardless of the student centeredness of this mode of education, students still seek guidance and approval from the instructor as they move through the course. If that guidance is not forthcoming, they begin to worry that they may be headed in the wrong direction. We let our students know at the beginning of a class that we intend to log on daily. We may not post a comment daily, but we want our students to know that we are there. One of us was contacted by a department chair five weeks into a ten-week course and asked to rescue a class where the instructor had logged in during the first week and never returned. No assignments had been graded and no feedback had been given to students. An intensive three or four days ensued of assuring students that there was a new instructor present who would grade all assignments and catch up on feedback to them as well as facilitate the remainder of the course. The students, who had been complaining bitterly to the university, were not only relieved but also felt supported by the school and department. Good participation by the instructor is not only good teaching practice but also generates goodwill for the institution.

Many times the instructor may log on and find that there is no need to actually participate in the ensuing discussion. Nevertheless, making some comments at least a couple of times a week reassures students that all is well and that they are on track. Comments should be made regularly and consistently.

Learn How to Ask Broad Questions That Stimulate Thinking to Promote Participation

Knowing how to ask good, expansive questions is an art, and it is one that can be developed with practice. There is a difference between a question like, “Name and describe three social systems theories that apply to community development,” and, “What theory of community development did you find yourself relating to most? Why? How would you apply that theory to our learning community?” The response to the first type of question simply yields a list and requires little critical thinking ability on the part of the students. The second series of questions requires that students evaluate the theories they are reading about and apply them to the context in which they find themselves. It also has the potential to stimulate discussion among the students as they find themselves agreeing or disagreeing with the choices their colleagues make. As we demonstrated in chapter 5, instructors who find a discussion falling flat should reassess the question that has been asked to begin the discussion and either refine that question or ask another one that might serve to stimulate more discussion.

Include Humor in Your Posts to Help Students Feel Welcome and Safe

Although many believe that communicating in text in the online classroom creates a flat medium in which little emotion is apparent, an increasing body of literature points to the ability to communicate emotion online (Menges, 1996; Pratt, 1996; Palloff & Pratt, 1999, 2007). In addition, adults tend to learn best in situations where they can relate what they are learning to the life they are living (Brookfield, 1995; Knowles, 1992).

Therefore, instructors do not necessarily need to feel that teaching online is a completely serious business. It is important to create a warm, inviting course site where students can feel comfortable expressing themselves and relating course material to their everyday lives. Just as in the face-to-face classroom, humor can add personal warmth to the online experience. When students feel comfortable expressing who they are without fear that this might not be relevant to the course, the likelihood of developing a strong learning community is greater.

Instructors need not fear sharing themselves in the service of developing a learning community. When students are able to see the instructor as a real human being, their willingness to explore and bring in new ideas increases.

Post a Welcoming Response to Student Introductions to Help All Join More Successfully

We strongly believe that an effective way to begin any course is to have students post an introduction along with their learning objectives for the course and any experience with the subject matter that they might have. It is also important, however, to acknowledge the posting of introductions. In fact, this is the only time during an online course that we will respond to every student post to a discussion.

The instructor can and should be the first to welcome students as they enter the class, once again providing a model for other students to follow. This may well open up ways in which students can connect with one another around common interests and can be a first step in the creation of a learning community. In addition to welcoming students individually, most course management systems allow the instructor to create and post introductory messages. These might be in the form of a brief welcome video or audio message posted to the course or a link to the instructor's website where introductory material might be housed. Once again, this invites students to participate in the course by presenting a small amount of information about it and making them feel welcome. The instructor should also post her introduction and bio as a way of presenting herself as a real person, thus taking the first step to creating a warm, inviting course atmosphere.

Teaching Students to Learn in the Online Environment

For the most part, students are unaware of the demands that will be placed on them as learners when they opt to learn online. They may enter a nontraditional learning setting with traditional expectations—that is, that the instructor will “teach” and they will “learn” from the material provided. They do not understand why the instructor is less visible in the learning process, that the instructor may not lecture in the traditional sense, and that the instructor's role is one of facilitator rather than traditional teacher. They do not understand that the online learning process is less structured than a face-to-face classroom and requires significantly more from them to make it successful. All of these concepts must be conveyed to students before they embark on an online course. Many times difficulties emerge when teachers and students have differing expectations, and no attempt is made to clarify at the outset.

The transition to online learning brings to the fore some new issues for administrators as they field concerns and even complaints from the students enrolled. Students enter an online course with the expectation that the course will be more attuned to their needs as learners. This may mean that the course is more convenient for them because of distance or because of work and family demands. Or it may mean that they do not like large classes and prefer the increased instructor-student interaction that the online classroom has the potential to provide.

Many institutions are now creating online courses to teach students about online learning and mandating that students complete the online introduction before embarking on their first online classes. Others are incorporating mandatory face-to-face orientations in online programs and courses, although this adds a degree of inconvenience that participation in online learning seeks to eliminate. Regardless of the approach used, the idea is the same: we cannot assume that learners will automatically understand the new approach to teaching and learning that the online classroom exemplifies. In order to realize the educational potential that the online classroom holds and ensure that the learners are given the best chance of becoming empowered learners, we must pay attention to teaching our teachers how to teach and our learners how to learn when teaching and learning are virtual.

As with online faculty training, online student training allows students to experience this kind of learning before they take a course. But regardless of the means by which the training is conducted, the following topics should be included in a student orientation to online learning:

• The basics of logging into the course, accessing and navigating the course site, posting to the discussions, and submitting assignments
• What is required to become a successful online learner, including time requirements and time management
• The differences between face-to-face and online courses, including the role of the instructor and the roles of students, as well as expectations about how students will be evaluated
• How interaction between the instructor and student and between students occurs
• How to give feedback
• What is considered appropriate interaction and communication, including the rules of netiquette and appropriate means to deal with conflict or complaints
• How to get help when needed

Providing an online orientation course may not resolve all of the issues for students as they make the transition to the online classroom. But it certainly can help to give them a leg up and a clearer understanding of the differences in the type of educational experience they are about to undertake.

Respecting Student Intellectual Property

In the previous chapter, we discussed intellectual property issues as they relate to instructors. Not only is it important to educate students about intellectual property, fair use, copyright, and plagiarism, as we discussed in chapter 4; it is also important to practice what we preach by respecting the intellectual property rights of students.

Increasingly instructors are researching and writing about the online classroom or using their experiences in teaching online as part of their own research. Our own work is a case in point since we incorporate and include snippets of student posts to illustrate the points we are addressing. We expressly ask students for their permission to have their work included in our writing; we remove any identifying information that might link our work to them and assign fictitious names. We have found our students to be very generous in allowing us to use their work as part of ours. Other instructors have not been so lucky in getting student consent to participate in their research in some fashion. In order to deal more effectively with this issue, some institutions are asking students for informed consent at their admission to an online course or program to archive courses with their contributions embedded within them but also so that the archived courses can be used in research after the course has ended. The type of potential research to be conducted is described and students have the ability to opt out. Although we consider this to be good practice, it may not fully protect the institution or its students. We recently consulted to an institution that has educated many students who later entered politics. Because of concerns that posts to an archived online course might be accessed later and essentially come back to haunt these former students who are now in the public eye, the institution has opted to make little use of discussion boards and does not archive its classes. Clearly, students' privacy and confidentiality need to be protected; asking for express consent to archive their material or participate in instructor or institutional research serves to protect their rights.

• • •

In this chapter, we have reviewed what we consider to be good practice in conducting learner-focused teaching online. Given the collaborative nature of this work, we now turn to the dynamics of online groups and suggest ways to work with them effectively.