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Learning Summary

What are the most important lessons you gathered from the course?

-It was useful to reflect on the various reasons students engage in online courses (and in post-secondary generally), and to think through ways in which to boost engagement for those entering on a superficial level.

-Thinking through various elements of, and approaches to, learning and teaching through the community of inquiry framework provided an important meta-context, and an emphasis on dynamism and exchange.

-The use of video and media serves as one way to enhance relevance, interaction and ‘humanistic’ engagement. The course’s facilitation of learning in relation to media production tools was beneficial.

-Various facilitation strategies presented in the course point to an instructor’s role in animating the social context. These were useful to contemplate as mechanisms of learning engagement.

How has your thinking changed as a result of completing the course?

-Recognizing the unique potentials and limitations embedded within online learning contexts is, it seems, important. Rather than attempt to replicate an in-person classroom experience in an online environment, I was challenged to engaged with the media tools presented in ‘this’ context, and to make them work to the benefit of students and their learning outcomes.

-I am now more conscious of framing the learning journey in relation to the ultimate learning objectives. In developing course content, and in providing feedback to students, it seems important to point to the end-goals.

In what ways did the platform (WordPress) influence your interaction with the content and other people and what you learned?

-It was useful to run through some of the technical tips on animating a blog, including designing the look and feel, categorization of entries, etc. It was also useful to look at ways in which other academic blogs have functioned, and to glean ideas.

In addition to reflecting on your work, please include 2-3 ideas that you would like to implement in your own practice and how you might go about doing so.

-One of the key practices I look forward to implementing is the frequent use of video as a way to ‘frame’ and give context, or relevance, to the course content.

-I also look forward to engaging in a continuous assessment of learning outcomes in relation to course content and learning strategy.

-Finally, I look forward to embracing a strong facilitation agenda – creating a dynamic learning environment in which students are systemically and individually encouraged to interact as a way to achieve deep engagement with the content and learning objectives.

 

 

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Did you engage in each of the phases of the critical inquiry process?

Yes! It was great to look back, and to see the full spectrum of learning dimensions experienced through this journey.

Were you able to resolve any problems or dilemmas?

The course gave some excellent tools by which to ‘humanize’ and ‘socialize’ online learning environments.

What might you do differently in a future course?

The most dynamic part of this learning journey was, for me, the introduction of video, sound and image technologies as key elements within the online environment. I am excited to play with these throughout my upcoming course.

How might you engage with your students to ensure that they are working through the entire inquiry process?

I believe it is important to provide contextual videos for students, check in regularly on their status, offer a range of help options, and present to students in an open learning framework.

Do you think that working through this course in an open platform like WordPress helps to encourage reflective learning?

I am grateful to have undertaken this course, as it provded valuable tools and insights surrounding the unique dynamics of online learning – ones that I hope will be of ultimate benefit to students.

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Summary of Interview/Conversations

Insight gleaned from conversations with colleagues are as follows:
-Continuous intake models can pose major challenges in terms of engendering a strong social learning context.
-It is important to remain connected to students on an individual level – to check in on them, and to follow-up when a period of time has lapsed between assignment submissions.
-Efforts should be made to personalize and ‘make relevant’ the journey when possible, through video introductions to the topic, etc.
-Teaching presence can be enhanced through regular posting and online activity.
-Course designs should consider the unique challenges of continuous learning models, and tailor the learning journey accordingly. Some lessons work better than others in this format.

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Designing Aligned Learning Experiences

Create 2-3 intended learning outcomes for an area of knowledge or skill within your area of expertise or training. Then create a learning activity (or two) aligned to one or more of those intended learning outcomes.

Learners in this course will:

  1. Develop an appreciation of the multi-faceted ways in which interpersonal communication is used in personal and professional contexts;
  2. Develop an understanding of key interpersonal communication approaches – recognizing the importance of context and connection.
  3. Become empowered to seek out areas of personal growth and change agency within interpersonal communication endeavours.

The first activity asks students to describe three different scenarios in their own lives (with names/ identifiers removed for confidentiality purposes) in which interpersonal communication was seen as highly effective – related to work, personal or family relationships, etc. They will reflect on these scenarios in writing, grappling with the following question: What components of the interaction made this communication effective? Students will be then asked to do the same exercise, but to describe instead scenarios in which interpersonal communication was seen as lacking. What elements were seen as lacking, and how could the communication have been improved?

The next part of the activity involves an introduction to the ‘four factors of interpersonal communication’ described as follows by Joe Ricker. With these tools in-hand, students will be asked to break down, in a written statement, one of their above-mentioned ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ interpersonal communication scenarios, reflecting upon these within the context of the four factors – cultural, situational, developmental, physical.

Students will then report out on their reflections, and will be invited to engage with each others’ scenarios through facilitated group dialogue. Through this process, students become aware of a multitude of factors that impact upon interpersonal communications. While not all factors can be controlled, students will be invited to look at those factors over which they as individual agents have control, and to consider ways in which they might extend influence over these.

Through this activity, learners gain an appreciation for how diverse and multi-faceted interpersonal communication is, and of the many factors that influence it. They also begin to grapple with their own interpersonal communication approaches, and to become empowered in their own communicative agency.

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How has your view of the effective practice changed now that you have read more about teaching presence? In what ways did the effective practice that you identified show the characteristics of teaching presence? How could the idea of teaching presence have made the experience even more effective than it was?

The Documentary Communications course was powerful in the overt relevance of its content. I believe more could have been done within the course to spur discourse around student findings stemming from their research. Such tremendous insights emerged from students’ examination of their respective corporations; these might have achieved greater impact had they been skilfully and critically discussed and analyzed within a moderated learning framework.

301 Post 1

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Think about an example of an effective practice you have experienced with regard to online learning, either as a learner or a facilitator. Describe the story of your experience.

In my role as facilitator of an online Documentary Communications course, I was responsible to take students through a research process centred on corporate power. Students were tasked with exploring the business practices of major multi-national media conglomerates such as Disney, Murdoch’s News Corporation, etc. This assignment was eye-opening, as students were asked to do real-world sleuthing, based on the publically-available info provided by the company (ie: financial statements, board lists, annual reports, etc.), and info uncovered through news media, online forums, etc. The experience brought home the extent of the interconnections between the conglomerates, the extent of the profit gleaned through their international activities, various of their ethically-suspect activities, etc. The real-world understandings developed through the course brought the critical media theory at the core of the CMNS program to life.

This experience highlights the importance of applicability. When students see direct connections through the assignments they undertake to real-world events and dilemmas, their engagement in a given course becomes meaningful on multiple fronts.

In thinking through this experience, I believe the course could have achieved an even greater depth of student engagement had each assignment been contextualized through a video intro. To receive a personal ‘heads-up’ on the significance of the insights to be gleaned through each assignment would, in my view, increase student engagement and allow the findings to be contextualized on an emotional as well as intellectual level.

201 Post 6

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Additional Learning Activities…

I’ve been doing some research around the academic ‘vlogging’ community. Some videos present helpful tips on how to set up a shot, format for camera, etc.

Others like this one by Mike Rugnetta incorporate flashy animation and editing.

This video by Jacob Clifford provides an example of a video coupled with slideshow text.

Here’s a longer one that starts off conversationally/jovially and then moves into lesson material.

Travel Vlogging sites provide additional ideas. Here entertainment value seems often to trump insight value, but cool to see what this culture has produced in the way of a forum or medum, and to understand something about the power of place in video storytelling.

201 Post 5

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What are the 2-3 most important concepts that have impacted your thoughts on student engagement and retention during this course?

This course has taught me about the importance of multi-modal communication in online learning environments. Combining text and video, for instance, can allow students to engage with a particular lesson or theme on multiple levels, thereby deepening their engagement and interest. I’ve also gained an appreciation for the pedagogical value to be found in an instructor’s projection of the ‘self’, or a version of it, into online environments. Such a projection holds the potential, it seems, to humanize an environment that might otherwise appear as lacking in human connection.

I believe a good strategy, or goal, would be for me to post ‘reflection’ videos in response to major themes or lessons delivered. These might provide a humanistic ‘anchor-point’, or ‘connect-point’ for students feeling un-invested in the content, or simply wanting to engage on a deeper level. I also believe it important to continuously invite student dialogue and participation, and to offer assistance and support as needed.

Questions and Strategy:

Moving forward – I would like to investigate the work of online instructors who have really nailed their videos. What tools do they use to make the videos engaging, connect their videos to the course content, etc. What balance do they strike in developing both a cinematically interesting and pedagogically rich platform? Over the next few months, I plan to seek out a series of stellar online instructional videos and analyze them for content, style, pedagogy, linkages and effect.