Routine as a Safe Learning Environment
Most classrooms are
structured in fairly similar ways. Students know where to enter (the door), when
to enter and leave (the time of the class), how the room is defined (the walls),
students know where to sit (seats), where the teacher will be (front, front desk),
w
hich direction to face (chairs are facing
that direction), where the notes will be written that need to be copied (blackboard),
etc. What other examples can you think of?
Many classroom learning experiences are also structured similarly. The student knows that the class will include reading (a textbook), listening (often to a lecture or to classroom discussion), writing (homework assignments and notes), and talking (protocols for asking questions, peer discussion, etc.)
In an online classroom, all of this familiarity on how learning takes place is gone. The student must relearn how to learn and behave in the virtual classroom. Because of this fact, it is imperative that the teacher create routine and structure to be the walls, desks, and chairs of the classroom. Routine and structure are the safety net that students learn in the first few weeks of the class, and then expect the experiences to be similar throughout the rest of the course. Examine with me how to create these structures in your online course.
The Door Sometimes the most frustrating and
daunting part of an online class is just getting in! To assist students, you should
create a window of time when they should first be trying to get into the course
and check email, phone calls, mail as often as possible to assist the students.
If your institution has resources to provide a 24 hour help desk, give students
instructions on how to get help. Mail (not email) the students instructions on
how to get into the course. Call students who haven't gotten into the course by
the 1st or 2nd day. It is crucial that you are very helpful and patient with students
at this point in the course. Communicate the technical requirements for your course
early, as students are registering. List technical requirements with other prerequisites
so that students know whether or not they can take the course.
Time of Class When are your students expected
to login? Do they need to login a certain number of times a day? a week? How do
they give evidence that they are in class (posting in the discussion area, submitting
assignments, reading pages, completing quizzes?) Be very clear on these expectations
and communicate them in several places (in print, in the syllabus, in the places
where you give instructions, etc.). Do they know when assignments are due? Making
these due at a regular time helps students get into a routine. For example, if
your modules are set up for weeks, everything for the week is always due on a
Monday. (Monday is a great day to "end" a week because then non-traditional
students use the weekend to do the majority of the work.)
The Walls Who can get in to the class? Who can't? What are the boundaries of your class? What are the "icons" or areas or rooms of the course? What do you do there? A short page or two explaining the various parts of your course is very helpful. Another way to do this is to set aside the first week for small assignments that introduce students to each other, the content, and the course as we did in our course.
The Furniture Where
do students "sit" to learn? How do they "listen" to you? Where
do they get the majority of their instruction? Creating a space for this that
is regular and consistent helps students keep on track with the required work.
Look at two template examples for a regular space for required work. One.
Two. Do they need to do the majority of reading online?
Can they print the materials? (Do they know they need a good printer?) Do they
have the software necessary to "listen" if you are using multimedia/audio/video?
Who will help them install it?
Textbook Are you still going to use a textbook in your course? If so, how will the students get it? Are you taking into consideration the time (a couple of weeks at least) that it may take them to acquire the book online or at a local bookstore? How will you communicate the assigned readings?
Classroom Discussion Will
you require discussion? If so, you should require it every week with a specified
number of postings. Create a grading plan on how you will assess the discussion.
Communicate your expectations to your students.
Most students aren't used to being graded on their classroom discussion. Be sure
to communicate this expectation clearly. If students aren't posting (especially
in the first week or two), check up on them via email, phone, whatever method
it takes to make sure they understand they need to be posting their comments in
the discussion area.
H
omework Technically everything
in an online course is "homework". Create experiences that your students
can do offline and then report on. Pick one way to submit
writing assignments and stick to it. Have similar assignments each week always
due at the same time in the same way. Students shouldn't have to learn new ways/software
for each assignment. The technology in the online course is already extra learning.
Make it as simple and easy for your students as possible.
With careful thought and design, you can create a course with structure and routine and "walls" to your classroom. Your students will feel comfortable in the safe learning environment you have created.
© 2001 AVLN. Active Online Learning course prepared by Marilyn Eggers, Shirley Freed & Janine Lim. This article prepared by Janine Lim.