If discussions in your face-to-face learning environment are not producing the level of communication desired, it is a good idea to think about how to best reach these learners and adjust the learning environment. A blended learning environment will allow for more thoughtful discussions and should yield the level of communication that is desired. Before jumping into this change there are some considerations. If you follow the steps below, you will be able to successfully implement your blended classroom.
Pre-planning
Before deciding whether a blended course is right for your training program, you should
1. Analyze your learner:
Why are the discussions so bad in the first place? Are the learners introverted?
Are the learners not applying themselves?
The answers to these questions can determine if an online environment will help. If your students are introverted, they will probably do much better within a discussion forum than in a face-to-face setting (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). On the other hand, if the learners lack motivation, an online environment may not help. Students who succeed best in distance education are those who are intrinsically motivated (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008). You may need to spend time analyzing the general abilities of these students (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).
2. Consider the Essential Content
What needs to be put in the online learning portion to get the results you need?
After you have considered the learners, consider what they are already good at accomplishing in the classroom. Then, consider what needs to be moved to an online environment. In order for the online component to be successful, you must consider what content is essential in this type of learning (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). Also, even if something is currently working in the classroom, consider if a Web 2.0 tool could make it better. In fact, Web 2.0 tools can increase the intrinsic cognitive load of the learner (Lambert, Kalyuga, & Capan, 2009). While too much cognitive load is not good, increasing the cognitive load for your students may be one way to increase classroom participation. Some Web 2.0 tools you can consider are blogs, wiki, and podcasting. See if these delivery platforms can help increase the communication.
3. Learning Environment
What Web 2.0 tool will allow me to increase class communication?
When planning for a blended environment, you need to consider what platform you will use for content delivery (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). You need to consider what level of technology to which your learners will have access. You can only consider technologies that, with a little orientation, your students will actually be able to use (Beldrrain, 2006). You may want to consider a blog, wiki, or discussion forum, which all allow for asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication means that they will be working individually and not necessarily at the same time (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). It sounds like you want your students to working asynchronously to reach the communication goals you have for this course.
4. Assessment
How will you make sure this is working?
Finally, consider how you will evaluate the effectiveness of this transition (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). With the change from a face-to-face classroom to a blended classroom, you will need to have assessments in place to make sure the change is achieving your goal. Will you use surveys, observations, interviews?
Enhancing the Current Course
With these considerations in mind, you can create a class that adds to your current course. The elements of discussion and collaboration will increase in a blended environment. Discussion posts ask the students to actually read all of the material and then synthesize it in terms of a prompt. This interaction with the material leads to deeper analysis of the information (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). Since the students currently do not seem to be prepared for in-class discussions, a discussion forum will increase the communication to reach your intended goal. Next, if your students are not collaborating well, then a blog or wiki could allow more collaboration. These mediums make the students interact by adding information to each other’s thoughts and information. Students can also work on group projects.
Role Change
Another consideration in your online environment is the change in your role. In the online environment, you are only a facilitator, not lecturer (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). You will need to communicate thoroughly all expectations, grading policies, and any other information in advance. Then, you will need to create learning opportunities and encourage students through open communication. Then, the students will need to take their learning in their control. Since you are so used to be the “teacher” in the face-to-face classroom, you will need to evaluate your new role as facilitator. In this role, you will be asked to lead the students to the right outcomes through helpful comments. It is not your job to be punitive as a facilitator; rather, you need to be an encourager. While it will be your job to evaluate their work, you will be in the discussion with them, guiding them to accurate and deeper conclusions. In fact, you should plan to post within their discussions, especially in the beginning of the course for learning guidance (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).
Being Encouraging
During these discussions, facilitators can encourage students in many ways. First, facilitators encourage students be being incredibly clear in expectations within the discussion forum and expectations for grading (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). Then, facilitators can encourage students by pointing out what the students are doing well within the discussion as the discussion is occurring. In other words, facilitators encourage by gently guiding students as they are learning, not just afterwards (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009). Finally, facilitators can be encouraging by using very specific rubrics and giving really specific feedback during grading (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009).
In order to make sure your new discussion forum is effective, you not only need to consider the suggestions given above for your role as an encourager, you also need to consider the implementation process. In order for this to be successful, you need to be an encourager during the transition time. First, you need to offer open communication during the change so that students know they can handle the change. You need to create a community of cooperation. During this change, the students are going to need to know if they are doing things “right,” so you need to give quick feedback (Beldarrain, 2006).
If you follow these steps, you will be able to successfully implement a blended class and will, hopefully, see the increased level of communication desired. Good luck!
References
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student
interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139–153.
Lambert, J., Kalyuga, S., & Capan, L. (2009). Student perceptions and cognitive load: What can
they tell us about e-learning Web 2.0 course design? E-learning and Digital Media, 6(2),
150–163. Retrieved from
http://www.wwwords.co.uk/rss/abstract.asp?j=elea&aid=3568&doi=1
Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for
instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends,
52(4), 66–70.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a
distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
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