Technology for learning is here to stay

Source: Microsoft

I was talking with my older sister the other day and she asked me how my classes were coming along.  As the discussion continued, she commented that her favorite college activity was looking up dusty reference books at her favorite uptown library.  Right there and then I realized how different our experiences were.  Through the use of technology, I have never set foot outside my little rural town to find a current literary resource.

Presentation goes well beyond PowerPoint

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with PowerPoint since I first heard the term.  I was leading a training session and an outside consultant was taken with my methods, however she wondered why I didn’t include PowerPoint’s.  My response, “What’s a PowerPoint?” 

Later on I signed up for a small PowerPoint training workshop.  By the mid-afternoon break, the instructor asked me to train one of the older students because, “you’ve got this thing down anyways.”  If it was such a simple program that I could be proficient with ½ a class introduction, then I wondered if how it could be really as good as people were saying.

Successfully launching an online learning community takes presence



Image Source: Fotolia

Whether it is your first of fortieth time facilitating an online course the launch period can make or break the flow for the rest of the term.  What an instructor does just prior and during these first few days sets the participation level for learners to follow.

Social presence is the process of getting to know one another on equal footing through safe disclosure.  The online instructor sets the tone to guide learners into a community in which trust, respect and learning objectives come together (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).  Within the first days of class, it is important that the instructor directs the learners to all the online support tools needed throughout the course.  Additionally, students appreciate clear communication lines that offer structure and outline expectations.