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Transforming the way we connect and engage learners in blended/online learningBy Caroline Brock
Principal Consultant/Managing Director
What’s in it for you?• Understand what student want from their
online experience• Understand the role of trainers in driving
success in online learning• Be aware of what a quality online student
journey look like• Making sure your LMS, online learning
resources, assessments and delivery model works together • Choosing the right strategy for your students
• Drop out rates are high. 7% completion rates for VET Fee online courses in VET sector
• Experience a sense of isolation• Lack of personal interaction between the
instructor and student & student-to-student. • LMS user experience is poor - frustration• Disconnected learning experiences between
modules, topics and assessment
THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT
Content
Online SystemSupport
Learning Journey
Strategy
WHAT IS THE CAUSE?
• Disjointed strategy• No strategy• Poor content• Learning journey
put last• Ineffective targeted
support
What students want from their online learning experience
1. Peer Interaction: students want peer interaction and to engage in discussions• BUT only successful if trainer
drives and promotes interaction • More success if you attach a rubric
for participation in online discussions
2. Students and Instructor Feedback: Student enjoy well thought out constructive feedback from instructors – not just a grade
3. Sense of belonging: Students wanted to feel part of a community
“I loved the personal classroom feel of the videos and the message board
posting assignments.”
Survey conducted in 2013 by Debbie Morrison, author of Online Learning Insights & University of South Australia
What students want from their online learning experience
WHAT THEY WERE DOING RIGHT
Level of assessment feedbackWebinars/live sessions
Access to e-learning advisorsContent interesting & enjoyable
Live video and chat sessions
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Instructions for assessmentHow to achieve the best results for the
assessmentsGuidelines for forum participation
Layout of learning materials & flow of the course
Survey results from Victorian online learning provider 2014
SO WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM STUDENTS?
• The personal touch is important• Focus on assessment instructions,
submission process & feedback • Technology should enable, be the silent
driver – should not inhibit!• Content is king – a cohesive learning
journey
YOUR 3 PRONGED STRATEGY
* communication*presence & *engagement*timeliness & responsiveness*mentors*help deskOnline Classroom management*intervention plans
Human 2 Human
* social *mobile*easy to use*learning community*learning eco-system
Learning Platform
* Course Design*bite size*multi media*Problem solving focused*real life
Learning Journey & Content
3 year Online learning Strategy & Sustainability Plan
Ideas • Online icebreakers - to encourage students
to meet and interact in the virtual environment
• Make communication and collaboration between students part of assessment, such as group assignments and peer assessments;
• Provide an online “student lounge” or encourage students to use Skype, Facebook or other networking sites to interact beyond the formal course;
• Schedule and facilitate real-time learning sessions using virtual classroom technology.
How we take advantage of technology & course design to students feel more included?
HUMAN-2-HUMAN APPROACH
“Courses need to offer a balance of learning and socialisation activities where students can
interact with each other.”
IDEAS• Use introductory videos to course & teachers• Communicate regularly with students through
announcements• Engage in discussion forums with students• Offer electronic office hours where real-time
conversations can be initiated.• Be accessible and respond to student inquiries in a
timely manner.• Establish and well-publicized timeframe for
responding to student inquiries• Check up on your students. Know which students are
falling behind and reach out with a short e-mail• Reminders for deadline or assessment requirements
Provide substantive feedback and positive critique
How can trainers make students feel more included?
HUMAN-2-HUMAN APPROACH
“Teacher presence also contributes to a sense of belonging in the online context.”
Keeping students engaged in the course is a vital function of an effective instructor
IDEAS FROM PROVIDERS WITH NEAR 100% RETENTION• Map out the student support communication plan
for the course• Starts at enrolment – what does it mean to take the
course• Orientation - Offering students the opportunity to
explore their online classroom. This increases their comfort with the navigation, basic processes of online learning and course characteristics
• 24/7 technical support -Quickly communicate and solve technology issues
• Allow students to communicate with the facilitator at times that are convenient to them
• Use technology to quickly identify students at risk for dropping out.
• Extend services beyond course or program completion.
How can student support make students feel more included?
HUMAN-2-HUMAN APPROACH
“With decreasing budgets and resources are strapped and new investments can be difficult. How can we
improve? .”
“The support given to a student throughout the online experience has almost more to do with how successful the student will be than
the course itself.”
Bruce Friend, Director of SAS Curriculum Pathways, NC (Personal Communication, June 16, 2010)
APPROACH TO YOUR LEARNING PLATFORM
CHARACTERISTICS OF A MODERN LMS
What are the requirements a modern LMS need to have to drive engagement & retention
“A student’s perception of a quality learning experience does not change from face-2-face vs online”
“With decreasing budgets and resources are strapped and new investments can be difficult. How can we improve? .”
Student Features
• Group chat functions • Social pages• Video noting• E-books functions • Progress reports• Calendars• Live sessions• Easy to use• Mobile• Fast
Intuition Features
• Student progress reporting
• Engagement & time on site reporting
• Easy to build courses• Multimedia• User experience• Ability to provide
assessment feedback at question level
• Rubics/marking guides
APPROACH TO LEARNING JOURNEY & CONTENT
“Research has shown that students who have access to better designed, and more personalised, courses tend to have higher engagement and better outcomes”
AREAS TO FOCUS:
LEARNING JOURNEY/UX: Map out your learning journey, have a UX design strategy. When must what occur e.g. assessment reminders, live session alertsCOURE DESIGN & FLOW: Think about how all the different components of the course fit together. How will you make it easy for your students. INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN: Critical to map out learning outcomes and flow of information & activities in a particular moduleLEARNING RESOURCES: Do the resources match the delivery & assessment approach? Do we need to build our own? Does it match the cohort of learnersASSESSMENT PROCESS: How can we make this easy for the learner? What instructions do they need to successfully submit this? What support will they need?
Learning design model
The model can be used as a checklist to ensure that all four aspects have been considered and brought into alignment with each other and with the underpinning approach to learning
Choosing our Learning approaches, tactics & methods for online & classroom
User Experience: Avoiding frustrations• Interface design considerations• Sequencing of learning • Display of information • Use of animations & interaction• Design social presence and emotions
• Principles of UX: • Quiet Design• Don’t Make me think
Tips for Instructional Design to make students feel more included
• How to design their courses is key to re-engaging individual students and holding back the tide of dropouts.
• And they are right to worry when the learning experience is distilled to simply posting course materials online and asking students to “discuss” on a web forum.• State your objective: Each lesson should have one concise, action-
oriented learning objective to ensure your lesson design process is focused.
• Think as a private tutor: Learners today are inundated with media tailored to them and they expect learning to be tailored as well. So think about how to create meaningful learning moments for all your students.
• Storyboard before you build: Being able to see a complete lesson, especially one that integrates various mediums, is essential to creating a successful learning experience.
• Build towards high-order thinking: Technology in education can go beyond multiple-choice questions and document repositories. Don’t be afraid to integrate tools that let learners create and share.
Writing Tips to drive Learner Motivation and Engagement through the Learning Material
• Make the student recognise their previous experience• Focus on the “why”
• Ask questions• Use real life situations
• Make the content relevant• Using a problem – solution approach
Assessment Approach• Authentic – involve real world knowledge and skills
• Personalised – tailored to S & K and Interest of student
• Engaging – involves personal interest
• Recognise existing skills – accredit the students existing work
• Problem orientated – tasks requiring genuine problem solving
• Collaborative – partnerships
• Self and peer assessment – self reflection and peer review
• Align to the VET assessment principles
“Engaging content is content that makes your audience quietly go “wow” this is for me”
• common research infrastructure, including:• a robust survey architecture• course dashboards for course evaluators and instructor
teams• well-documented participant-level and logged-event-
level datasets. • Regular review cycles
Importance of Monitoring and Improving
Summary
The students
Learning Experience
the technology
course design
Content & Assessment
Student Support