Hi everyone,
been a little under the weather with migraines this past week but that won't stop me from posting my assignment for the 5th session. For the 5th session we had to look into the difference and similarities between Face to Face (F2F) teachers and online instructors and the same between the traditional F2F learners and online learners. The reading materials we got were very informative and I often caught myself getting side tracked by the richness of information and links to other sources of information. So tums up for the instructor (Jason) for this session! I'm not giving the instructor a tums up because I want to get on his good side but because as a F2F teacher I know the importance of getting feedback from your students. It's nice to get a "good job" or "excellent work" for your efforts now and again from your colleagues and your students.
For the activity we had to make two side by side charts of the differences and similarities between F2F and online learners and teachers. I found this a very useful assignment especially for people who are (were) still on the fence concerning the benefits of online learning. Being a F2F teacher educator myself I tend to get fixated on what I know and feel comfortable with. I like the close contact with my students because I can easily react to their nonverbal reactions to my teaching. And because I am a teacher educator I have to teach my pre-service teachers how to identify not only the verbally expressed needs of their students but also needs that are not verbally expressed. I find it difficult to gauge for example the motivation or comprehension of my students if I can't interact with them face to face. I consider this one of my strengths as a teacher educator; being able to model my teaching style to my students.
So what makes online students and teachers so different from F2F students and learners?
In fact any of my students could do well as an online student! Maybe some of them would do even better as online students. The major differences I found between F2F and online learners were knowledge of online technology and responsibility for managing their own learning. I think that any student who is used to their learning being managed by others (parents, teachers, etc.) would first have to get acquainted with what it takes to become an online learner in order to be successful at it. Yes in the beginning it would take some getting used to but with the right instruction and guidance they would sooner or later get the hang of it and maybe even enjoy the freedom of learning at their own pace and in their own time. Albeit that 'handing in' your assignments on time is still a factor in online learning!
But what about becoming an online teacher? I think it would be harder for a F2F teacher to switch from teaching F2F to being a full time online teacher than it would for a first time teacher to start teaching online. As a F2F teacher you get so caught up in the pedagogy and didactic of teaching that you tend to forget what it means to think 'out of the box'! Online teaching forces you to acknowledge other methods for teaching that work just as well as F2F teaching. As teacher in a quickly developing field where using more and more technology is the next logical step we have to adapt or become relics in our field of expertise. I think that is what it would come down to. But the change doesn't have to be from one instance to the next. We can encourage change by introducing technology into our F2F classes one step at a time. This will afford us time to get used to the change and embrace it rather than reject it.
I think I'm beginning to convince myself! Hopefully I've succeeded in convincing you too!
The thing that struck me in the evaluation video of our instructor for this session is that "we shouldn't generalize about which students are suited for online learning and which students are not"! I have a son who is very bright but because of the limitations of the traditional F2F classes he has convinced himself that he is not a very bright student and he doesn't want to go to any F2F classes anymore. His education has been halted by a uniform system of education that forces you to learn in a certain way and at a certain pace. If you can't meet the requirements you get left behind! No second chances! He is however very interested in technology and has followed computer classes with success. He wants to make a career out of computer technology but doesn't meet the basic requirements for any F2F classes offered in Suriname. So does he have to give up his dream of becoming a computer programmer or some other field in computer technology? With the possibility of online courses this could be the solution for him!
Kind regards,
Debbie
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