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Developing an Online Communication Plan for Online/Blended Teaching
At the conclusion of this workshop, you will have the outline of an online communication plan for one online or blended course based on:
• Alignment between your course design, your teaching roles and the needs of students in that course
• A timeline based plan for activity within the study period• Selection of strategies to manage online communication• Selection of online communications tools to achieve fit-for-purpose
Aims
Communication in teaching
Communication 1.[mass noun] the imparting or
exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium– (also) the successful conveying
or sharing of ideas and feelings
Oxford Dictionary
• Teacher-student communication plays a critical role in student satisfaction and learning.
• Online communication takes many forms. • Communicating online is a learned skill.
Why worry about online communication?
• Technology adds complexity• Technology introduces social
and psychological distance• Non-verbals are diminished• Richness is reduced
Potential for miscommunication is increased
Different communication skills are required
Planning
Based on:
1. Course delivery and particulars
2. Current communication practices/strategies
3. Course design and activity
Framing up your plan
•Mode of delivery
•Offerings?•Teaching team
•Overview/intentions
Course basics
•Intended outcome approach•One to many
•One to few•One to one•Many to many
Choosing communication
practices
•Convey content
•Support and manage activity
•Learner support
•Other needs?
Link course activity to communication
planning
•Management of communication
•Emergent needs?
Other considerations
Link communication to course activity
Assessment
Group Work
Orientation
End of term drama
What sorts of communication do the course learning activities require?• Learning tasks?• Assessment tasks?• Feedback?• Learner support?
What sorts of communication does teaching the course require?• What (communicative) teaching tasks need to be
performed regularly?• What teaching tasks are performed as one-offs?
Special cases?
Planning checklist
Understand the course •Teaching approach, teaching roles•Mode of delivery•Staffing •Intended learning activity
Identify current communication strategies•One to one•One to some•One to many•Many to many
Link course activity to communication to aid planning•Orientation•Establish expectations re communication•Identify regular (daily, weekly) communicative
activity•Identify special tasks (e.g. Group work, assessment)•Identify preparatory work
template
Have an online communication plan
Understand how online communication supports your teaching• What role does online communication play in your approach to teaching?• What sorts of communication do the course activities require?• What levels of communication do students require? • What levels of communication do students expect? How can those expectations be
managed?
Be explicit about expectations, and be vigilant about them. • Be clear and explicit about what students can expect from you • Establish protocols for student teacher interaction via email, discussions and other
channels.• Establish expectations for student student interaction, where required.
Create an environment that supports your plan• Make communication purposeful • Structure the environment to support productive communication• Create a safe, welcoming social atmosphere• Practice what you preach : Model your expected communications and be• Manage online communication: insist on behaviour consistent with your
communication plan
Have an online communication plan
Understand how online communication supports your teaching• What role does online communication play in your approach to teaching?• What sorts of communication do the course activities require?• What levels of communication do students require? • What levels of communication do students expect? How can those expectations be
managed?
Be explicit about expectations, and be vigilant about them. • Be clear and explicit about what students can expect from you • Establish protocols for student teacher interaction via email, discussions and other
channels.• Establish expectations for student student interaction, where required.
Create an environment that supports your plan• Make communication purposeful • Structure the environment to support productive communication• Create a safe, welcoming social atmosphere• Practice what you preach : Model your expected communications and be• Manage online communication: insist on behaviour consistent with your
communication plan
One to one communication
For teaching, this is basically form of one-to-one tuition.
Pros: Messages can be highly personalised and tailored to a particular individual’s context, problem or question. This makes one-to-one messages highly meaningful to recipients and can support the development of interpersonal relations and/or productive social activity (i.e., ‘collaboration)
Cons: Highly labour intensive, particular amongst groups of 10 or more. Must be used strategically and managed to avoid workload blowout. Nuanced one-to-one online communication takes practice.
e.g., individual email, synchronous chat
• Photo by showbizuperstar. Used under creative commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/showbizsuperstar/4098637191/
One-to-some communication
This is communication within or amongst a small group (2-20). Can be used with groups within the group if you divide a large cohort into more manageable groups, like tutorial groups.
Pros: Messages can be tailored to the context or situation common to the group, thereby adding
Cons: Messages may take extra time to compose to achieve contextualisation. In larger groups, this can be time consuming.
Recipient impressions of personalised communication may elicit large numbers of responses. Watch out for the expectation of one-to-one communication following this.
e.g., Group email, group forums, mailing list• Photo by Elvis Kennedy. Used under creative commons
(Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/elviskennedy/6212878673/
One-to-many communication
One-to-many
This is effectively ‘broadcast’ communication: your message goes out to a large number of people at one time.
Pros: Highly efficient. Many people can be reached with a single message.
Cons: Personalisation is limited. Particular individual needs may not be addressed. Can feel ‘impersonal’, cold, sterile. Confusion may result from lack of contextual cues.
E.g., news forum, whole class email, podcast
• Photo by theparadigmshifter. Used under creative commons (Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0) Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/theparadigmshifter/470341923/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Basic communication
Many-to-many
This is complex communication within a group or network or across multiple groups and has simultaneous multi-directional movement of messages. Can be found in teaching situations in which multiple overlapping groups work together. This can include peer teaching.
Pros: Can be powerful and very productive with multiple sites of productive activity and participants taking on multiple roles
Cons: Can be very difficult to set up, initiate and manage. Not as well understood as some of the other communication scenarios.
E.g., twitter, friends networks
Sender/source• Thinks of message• Puts message into
words• Expresses words
1. Message (verbal and nonverbal)
2. Channel
Receiver• Hears/sees• Gives Attention• Understands/makes
sense of• Accepts message (or
not)
Feedback loop
How does communication support your teaching?
• What role does online communication play in your approach to teaching?
• What sorts of communication do the course activities require?
• What levels of communication do students require? • What levels of communication do students expect? How
can those expectations be managed?