Personal Experiences of Blended and Online Learning

Personally, I am a huge fan of online/blended learning both as an instructor and student. In the past though, my interaction has primarily occurred through the use of Moodle or some type of LMS as the instructor of the course and student taking the course. One important goal of online learning that I consider paramount to student success as a result of my past experiences is the importance of the instructor facilitating the course to create engaging lessons and opportunities for discussion and interaction among students and the instructor. The courses I created and participated in didn’t encourage or foster engagement with other students as much as engagement with the content and I felt something was lacking. Through my experiences teaching and participating as a student in recent online learning opportunities, my goals as an instructor in online learning have changed and are centered around discussions and lessons where students have to internalize, conceptualize and actively participate in the activities and discussion forums for successful achievement of course goals. Engagement is my key goal for my students and a new experience and focus for me via online learning courses as a result of not having experienced this to a large degree in previous online learning courses.

Engagement with other students is a critical component for students to learn and experience as much as they can in this type of learning environment. Creating and structuring opportunities to interact with one another is most important and I hope to gain more information on how to create motivating and engaging lessons for my students. Interaction will be a critical component as well as activities that focus on critical thinking and communication. Although interaction will be asynchronous, I hope to structure and facilitate discussions so that students get the feeling of participating in a synchronous course. This is another factor that I feel is critical for students to experience and is something I hope my students participate.

I have been challenged in several ways in some of the online courses in which I have been a student or teacher. As an instructor, giving neutral feedback and knowing how much to respond to a course discussion forum have been very challenging for me. I know with time the challenge will lessen as I refine and develop my skills in these areas. Practice, practice, practice is the key solution for me. That and the guidance of my instructor. Without that guidance, I won’t know if I am straying off task and not effectively instructing and engaging my students.

For those of you that teach online/blended courses, what are your thoughts and goals for instruction in your courses? What do you want your students to accomplish? Feel free to leave a comment below sharing your thoughts and opinions.