Over the last couple of months, I have been taking a number of online courses. i have embarked on this journey as part of my personal curiosity about the benefits/differences of online learning vs. traditional classroom learning.
Here are some of my learning challenges in an on-line environment:
I have never bee a teacher and have never taught any classes on-line or otherwise. As such, I am not in a position to provide my view on challenges of on-line teaching. But here is what Fred Wilson from USV had to say about his on-line teaching experience: "I've enjoyed teaching the Skillshare class on Sustainability. I've learned a few things about the hybrid class model and I have shared them with the Skillshare folks. It's tantalizing to think about the power of teaching a class to 2,731 people at one time. But when I compare that to the power of teaching 75 people in person, the hybrid model shows it's weaknesses. I need the real-time feedback from the students in the class. I need to see if folks are getting what I am saying or if eyes are glazing over. I need to know if I need to take another tack on the material before moving on. And I don't get that with a massively open online approach." See more of Fred's blog on this topic here.
In the process of learning, it appears that teachers need real-time feedback just as much as students... Hence, if you are building an online learning environment, make sure to incorporate two-way feedback look.
Here are some of my learning challenges in an on-line environment:
- I tend to do prefer online learning methodology for creative-type of courses. For example, having a team project, building a product, etc. In the spring, I took a business planning course where we (group of people from all around the world) had to build a fictional company with a product and create a business plan for it. That was fun. See more here. Now, I am involved in a project where we are creating on-line education platform. Again, we are a group of people from all around the world and we are having a great time doing this. Creative juices are flowing everywhere and we are making it. Teamwork seems to come natural in these types of course.
- I tend to bore easily and drop out of the online courses that teach theory. I tried taking a logic class and after couple of weeks, could not handle it any more. Taped sessions, lack of interactivity and interpersonal dynamic, and a highly theoretical topic led me to give up. For some reason, I would prefer to read a book in this case and learn that way.
I have never bee a teacher and have never taught any classes on-line or otherwise. As such, I am not in a position to provide my view on challenges of on-line teaching. But here is what Fred Wilson from USV had to say about his on-line teaching experience: "I've enjoyed teaching the Skillshare class on Sustainability. I've learned a few things about the hybrid class model and I have shared them with the Skillshare folks. It's tantalizing to think about the power of teaching a class to 2,731 people at one time. But when I compare that to the power of teaching 75 people in person, the hybrid model shows it's weaknesses. I need the real-time feedback from the students in the class. I need to see if folks are getting what I am saying or if eyes are glazing over. I need to know if I need to take another tack on the material before moving on. And I don't get that with a massively open online approach." See more of Fred's blog on this topic here.
In the process of learning, it appears that teachers need real-time feedback just as much as students... Hence, if you are building an online learning environment, make sure to incorporate two-way feedback look.
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