Participating Online or at a Distance

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Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1225] participating online or at a distanceNIFL-AALPD:1225]
From: jataylor (jataylor_at_utk.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 09:42:45 EST

Hello Everyone! This question is for any/all of us on the list. Our experiences in participating in professional development online are as important as our experiences in developing/delivering online PD. Some may feel it is more important. With that in mind, I cannot think of a better place to start!

What have been your experiences in *participating* in professional development online or at a distance? (Examples include online courses, webcasting, videoconferening, audioconferencing, discussion lists, email, chat sessions, etc.) Why did/do you participate online or at a distance, versus other options?

Please describe the professional development experience(s). What stood out to you? What aspects/features of the online or distance professional development did/do you like or not like? What can be done to improve the learning experience? How do these experiences compare to your experiences with other types of professional development?

Thanks!
Jackie

Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1227] Re: participating online or at a distance
From: Art LaChance (arthur_at_ellijay.com)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 10:50:45 EST

I entered adult literacy back in the late 80's. At that point most of us couldn't even spell adult literacy. All we were trying to do was help folks learn to do math better or maybe build up reading and writing skills. The majority of people involved were retired school teachers from local churches or community clubs who had organized volunteer programs. I got involved in response to a friends suggestion that the program needed help. There was no "training". I remember clearly my first day. I walked into the evening classroom and was greeted by an elderly gentleman, husband of the retired school teacher organizer of the church program. He smiled and asked if he could help me and I told him I'd like to volunteer as a tutor. He asked if I had a GED or HS diploma, I told him I had a BS in Occupational Ed. He stepped asided and said "OK, go ahead ", and motioned me into the large room with about 10 students sitting at tables.

At the time the various lists became available via NIFL the only information gathering options were to participate in the limited state provided staff development or somehow get engaged with the higher institutions in some sort of practitioner inquiry project. Staff development consisted primarily of K12 philosophically based curriculum delivery options, while virtually all of the computer based delivery systems were designed for middle school students.

I became interested in the lists mainly as a means of acquiring validation for issues that we were experiencing in the classroom. Issues that violated standard K12 "education" philosophy. What I discovered from discussions on the lists was that a very large proportion of our adult literacy field is locked into that which they know best, or the K12 processes. We are changing, albeit slowly and painfully, to discussion and philosophy that is far more relevant to adult level learning. Additionally, State provided training is gradually adapting over to what is needed vs what is popular.

I guess one could cruise the internet and research applicable self training options but how would one identify that which is relevant? I think most of us rely on administrators to provide training to help improve the efficiency of our efforts.

Art

Art LaChance
Gilmer Learning Center
Ellijay,Ga

Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1229] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: Jane Mencer (jmencer_at_famlit.org)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 10:56:12 EST

I have taken, created, and facilitated several online PD courses but would like to talk about one in particular. I recently completed (taking, as a student) an excellent, two-month, online course for instructional designers called Leveraging E-Learning. It was sponsored by Friesen, Kaye and Associates, http://www.fka.com, and taught by Dr. Will Thalheimer of Work-Learning Research, http://www.work-learning.com/. Dr. Thalheimer distilled approximately 1,000 studies on work-learning research into eight key learning factors. The format of the course included required (online) reading and completion of two very relevant projects as well as participation on a discussion board and in several synchronous sessions.

Honestly, why did I take it? I was the lucky door prize winner at an online learning conference this past September. Lucky, I certainly was!

The one negative comment that I have is that the discussion board was, for the most part, a dead zone. My classmates only posted what was required. No real discussion took place though we were encouraged to use it actively to query and learn from each other.

One major point of the course was that e-learning's unique capability is contact with learners over time. This fact, though not always used to its fullest in other e-learning courses with which I have been involved, offers the greatest hope for the effectiveness of this delivery mode. I am a staunch supporter of e-learning but recognize that it is not a magic pill. E-learning, like classroom training, has the potential to be wonderful and effective...or not.

Jane Martel Mencer
Instructional Designer
National Center for Family Literacy
325 West Main Street, Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40202-4237

phone: 502/584-1133 ext 169
fax: 502/584-0172
e-mail: jmencer_at_famlit.org

Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1230] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: Beth Wheeler (bwheeler_at_sbctc.ctc.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 11:03:26 EST

hello,
i have participated in one online course that is mandatory for instructors wishing to teach through washington state's two-year distance education system. i approached this course with trepidation - i really like to see folks face-to-face. i was pleasantly surprised to find the camaraderie develop in the discussion boards between "students". as with other f2f courses i've taken, i was sorry to end the relationships developed at a distance. while i would still rather be f2f in a classroom situation, I would not hesitate to enroll in another professional development opportunity online.

beth wheeler

Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:1238] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: Eileen Eckert (eileeneckert_at_hotmail.com)
Date: Mon Mar 29 2004 - 17:15:01 EST

I'm going to try to just answer Jackie's question: What have been your experiences in *participating* in professional development online or at a distance? (Examples include online courses, webcasting, videoconferening, audioconferencing, discussion lists, email, chat sessions, etc.) Why did/do you participate online or at a distance, versus other options?

Upon re-reading the question, I realized I was thinking of professional development as something that had been designed and packaged as professional development. I wasn't really thinking of the informal activities through which I develop professionally. But, having re-adjusted my assumptions (temporarily at least), here goes.

Informal activities produce much greater learning for me than the few formal online experiences where I've been a student. Some of the informal PD includes:

1. Observing, reflecting on, categorizing, and experimenting with what's going on in the online courses I've taught (and writing about those observations etc.)
2. Participating in discussion lists, and then observing, reflecting, categorizing, experimenting... My learning from these goes well beyond the content of the discussions. I think about the changes, or not, in myself and other discussants, and what that means in terms of what I know of adult learning theory, research, and practice. This has helped me learn more about mental models and their roles in how we see the world and how we learn and teach, and about Freire's writings and teachings.
3. E-mail discussions off-list with people I only know through the list. Art LaChance and Debbie Yoho especially helped me learn more about how to participate in the lists, and if I haven't learned everything they've taught me it's my own responsibility.
4. Face-to-face discussions about online learning with others who use the lists or who have participated in online courses.
5. An email exchange I had with a colleague that occurred several years ago and from which I am still learning.

For me, the feature that is probably most important is that I have the autonomy to decide what and how I will learn. The experiences may be beyond my control, but what I put into them, and what I take from them are totally up to me. For example, one of the things I grapple with as I participate in the lists is the question of differences in expectations around how men and women participate. Another is the question of class and professionalization of the field, and yet another is the issue of insider vs. outsider status, who grants it and what it means. None of these is an explicit topic, but they're all ongoing themes in my professional development from participating in online discussions. And I want what and how I learn to be up to me; I think I'm the best judge of it!

Eileen

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1268] Re: participating online or at a distance
From: David Rosen (djrosen_at_comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 11:43:57 EST

NIFL-AALPD Colleagues,

Jackie has asked:

"What have been your experiences in *participating* in professional development online or at a distance? (Examples include online courses, webcasting, videoconferening, audioconferencing, discussion lists, email, chat sessions, etc.) Why did/do you participate online or at a distance, versus other options?"
Please describe the professional development experience(s). What stood out to you? What aspects/features of the online or distance professional development did/do you like or not like? What can be done to improve the learning experience? How do these experiences compare to your experiences with other types of professional development?"

I would like to hear from adult education teachers who have participated in professional development online, or at a distance. In the online or distance learning environment what has worked for you, what hasn't?

As an online learner myself one thing that has worked is having a very well organized course. I like the directions to be very clear -- where to go, what to do, how to submit work -- and appreciate redundancy in directions if it makes it easier for me as a learner to find and do things.

I have learned that it is important to pay a lot of attention as a learner to whom the online instruction is designed for (i.e. teachers or administrators or both? Kind(s) and level(s) of class(es) you are teaching. What the objectives of the online staff development are, etc.) Of course, it is important that the online staff developer makes the intended audience(s) and objectives clear.

But what about you? As an online learner, what aspects or features of online learning have you liked/not liked?

David J. Rosen
djrosen_at_comcast.net

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1269] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: David Rosen (djrosen_at_comcast.net)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 11:52:35 EST

NIFL-AALPD Colleagues,

Jane Mencer wrote:

"...the discussion board was, for the most part, a dead zone. My classmates only posted what was required. No real discussion took place though we were encouraged to use it actively to query and learn from each other."

For asynchronous online PD to be interactive a lively discussion board is key. Guests and others: how can an online facilitator make a structured PD course or online module discussion board effective?

Also, what other asynchronous features can make online PD interactive?

David J. Rosen
djrosen_at_comcast.net

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1272] : participating online or at a distance
From: Janet Isserlis (Janet_Isserlis_at_Brown.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 12:23:43 EST

One thing I wonder about, too, is face to face interaction. I was peripherally part of a distance course last spring out of Lancaster, UK, and believe that participants (all within the UK) had an opportunity to meet together at the beginning and end of the course. (If anyone from that course is online, please jump in and correct anything I've mis-understood).

Obviously, face to face meetings aren't possible in many instances, but when we're talking about regional learning, it seems to make sense to bring people together to start building the connections they'll need and want to maintain electronically.

other thoughts?

Janet Isserlis

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1276] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: Mingle, Mary E. H. (MMingle_at_lhup.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 13:17:25 EST

Q: How can an online facilitator make a structured PD course or online module discussion board effective?

Eileen provided some excellent suggestions for structuring discussion in an online course in one of her messages yesterday. In an online learning environment, learning activities need to be described in a very structured and detailed way, including information on expectations for the final result (for example, Eileen recommended instructing participants to: "please post at least 6 messages per week: two original messages, two replies to someone else, and two responses to others' replies"). I know it may seem restrictive to provide so many guidelines and expectations, but knowing these expectations up front will lead to greater benefits to learners. In a classroom setting, the facilitator can interrupt a learning activity to clarify instructions or prompt students to respond more completely. Although an online facilitator can provide these prompts in an asynchronous communication environment, I find we get better results if we are clear from the beginning. If points/grades are awarded for completion of various online learning activities, participants can be awarded points not only for posting a comment, but for responding to others.

Q: What other asynchronous features can make online PD interactive?

Embedded activities are useful. These can be simple multiple choice question and response activities that check the learners understanding of the material by providing instant feedback. No points or grades are assigned; only the learner knows whether he/she has delivered a correct response. Many course management systems include features for grouping participants and allow small groups to communicate with one another by e-mail, a group discussion board, or a live chat (synchronous communication). File sharing features allow participants to upload documents that are viewable by all in the group (for example, participants in a course can share copies of their lessons or forms they use in the day-to-day operation of their programs. Or, participants can engage in individual Web research and share links with one another.

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1278] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: Dlhargrove_at_aol.com
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 13:41:45 EST

David and all,
In response to your question, "For asynchronous online PD to be interactive a lively discussion board is key. Guests and others: how can an online facilitator make a structured PD course or online module discussion board effective?"

One idea that we're tossing around as we begin to edit/create new onPD is the notion of including an activity whereby the online user not only posts their own comments to a particular action/activity/assignment, but also that they choose 2 or 3 other users comments and actively compares and contrasts their comments with those of their own.

We haven't implemented it yet, just something we're thinking about.

Debra

Debra L. Hargrove
Florida TechNet

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1279] Re: participating online or at a distance
From: Dlhargrove_at_aol.com
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 13:46:03 EST

Janet,
I agree with your comment, "Obviously, face to face meetings aren't possible in many instances, but when we're talking about regional learning, it seems to make sense to bring people together to start building the connections they'll need and want to maintain electronically."

With budget cuts at an all time high in our state, many participants are looking to the Internet for their PD...electronic communications has broken the geographic barriers that once separated one adult educator to another. But there's so much more to sharing information than just typing it in a small box. Although not required, I think including a blended learning approach to an on PD can only make it stronger.

Debra Hargrove
Florida TechNet

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1281] RE: participating online or at a distance
From: Aaron Kohring (akohring_at_utk.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 13:58:20 EST

Debra and all,

This technique was used in an ESL instruction course that I participated in at the University of Tennessee. Only part of the class was online- we still had some time in the classroom face-to-face. But the online discussions were very lively as we were asked to respond thoughtfully to at least 3 other postings when making our responses. There were some very good examples of not only comparing and contrasting ideas, but building new knowledge out of that.
Aaron

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1282] Re: : participating online or at a distance
From: Jennifer Elmore (jennifer_atjelmore.com)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 14:28:08 EST

Hi Janet - and all.
I think face-to-face meetings can have a significant impact on the quality of online interaction.

I've facilitated pure distance courses as well as hybrid training experiences (that is, PD involving in-person and distance components). I definitely prefer and recommend the hybrid approach, if at all possible; I'm a big fan of "bookending" online training with face-to-face meetings for the following reason(s).

I feel that in-person time (particularly, a training "kick-off") can help create a foundation for online community. My general sense is that participants enjoy meeting in real time/space. Having the chance to connect with colleagues in a tangible setting seems to facilitate the move into the (perhaps less familiar) virtual arena. I think folks generally feel more secure about participating actively online, if they both know and are committed to their audience.

In a pure distance situation, however, participants do not always "know who's out there." Even if the online course provides space for bios, introductions, etc., a lot of people (in pure distance groups) tend hang back initially because they want to get a sense of the crowd before entering the online fray. The upshot of this is - conversation is slower to get started. This start-up lull can cause some participants lose interest/momentum - which, in turn, can set the stage for sporadic participation overall.

In a nutshell, I think that pure distance training experiences tend to require more from the facilitator, especially at first. S/he bears more of the community-building burden, I think, and must be prepared to actively engage participants - both individually and as a group.

Jennifer


Jennifer Elmore, M.S.Ed
Education Consultant
http://jelmore.com


"One thing I wonder about, too, is face to face interaction. I was peripherally part of a distance course last spring out of Lancaster, UK, and believe that participants (all within the UK) had an opportunity to meet together at the beginning and end of the course. (If anyone from that course is online, please jump in and correct anything I've mis-understood).
Obviously, face to face meetings aren't possible in many instances, but when we're talking about regional learning, it seems to make sense to bring people together to start building the connections they'll need and want to maintain electronically.
other thoughts?
Janet Isserlis

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1289] Re: : participating online or at a distance
From: Marian Thacher (mthacher_at_otan.us)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 15:45:37 EST

Janet Isserlis wrote:

"Obviously, face to face meetings aren't possible in many instances, but when we're talking about regional learning, it seems to make sense to bring people together to start building the connections they'll need and want to maintain electronically."

I feel that in my work I could be doing a much better job of using online connections this way. In California we are just at the beginning of implementing some online professional development, so I can't comment on that yet, but I am involved in a lot of workshops at conferences and elsewhere, and online communication offers the perfect way to follow-up, report and reflect on implementing strategies in practice, and maintain connections. This happens on an individual basis. I might make a connection with one person who really wants to follow up on something, or I really want to follow up with them, but it certainly doesn't happen for everyone. And maybe that's OK. As someone pointed out (was it Debra?), maybe those who were just coming to get certain information got it (or not). But I would like to be better at offering and encouraging the opportunity for people to stay in touch and follow up with each other. This would have to be very targeted, though, maybe pick one area to focus on for the year. Otherwise it would get too overwhelming or too diffuse.

Marian Thacher
OTAN

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1293] Re: : participating online or at a distance
From: Beth Wheeler (bwheeler_at_sbctc.ctc.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 16:33:40 EST

good afternoon,

washington state abe professional development staff is just dipping toes into the online pd ocean. they have developed and are offering an online new teacher orientation that has been very successful - and has a waiting list of interested participants each quarter. another area they have explored is the blended approach. an initial workshop would take place face-to-face with follow-up activities taking place online. the reception from the field has been less than enthusiastic, but the very issues you mention, Debra, are reasons we are moving toward offering more staff development opportunities online.

beth wheeler
washington state office of adult literacy

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1296] Re: participating online or at a distance
From: Bonnie Odiorne (bonniesophia_at_adelphia.net)
Date: Wed Mar 31 2004 - 18:11:33 EST

I'd like to respond to this post, and to the one which asked, in essence, "why do they leave?" In my case it wasn't as much a lack of expertise, or even of interaction, or even a fear of work. It was committing myself to something when I already had a full place, and the "illusion" of online learning is that it's easy and convenient. It isn't always either. The classes that worked for me were more modules; I haven't tried to do anything for credit yet, though I've always been tempted by Penn State's M. Adult Ed. program. The main reason I love distance learning, and would love to teach it, is that I share many of the restrictions of our students: not able to drive, lack of adequate transportation, scheduling a course around part-time jobs. I've found also that the lack of discussion is disturbing, especially in one course where my group members had disappeared. But that's not what I'm looking for, necessarily. i just want information, mostly.

Warmest Regards,
Bonnie Odiorne Ph.D
Program Faciliator
Working Smart
Computers 4 Kids
Silas Bronson Library Information Technology Center
Waterbury, CT
Integrating Technology, ABE and ESL Instruction

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1304] RE: : participating online or at a distance
From: Marie Cora (mariecora@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Apr 01 2004 - 11:10:30 EST

Hi everyone,

Actually, I have to agree with Janet that if at all possible, it might be good for there to be at least one opportunity for participants to get together - and I fully acknowledge that this is not always possible - and it might not even be the point of that interaction (i.e.: developing a distance course exactly BECAUSE folks cannot be face to face.

But my father-in-law, a long-time University Prof in sociology, is now doing a couple types of distance learning - one form in which the participants come together 3 times in 3 different locations of the country - and he does say that this type of DL has been the most successful.

What also jumps to mind for me with the course above is that, as David noted in his reply, this course is tuition-based, credit bearing, etc. But all that said, not all courses can be this way, not all people could participate in this way - so what might be the fate of courses that don't have these 'support structures'?

marie cora

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1316] RE: : participating online or at a distance
From: Jennifer Elmore (jennifer_at_jelmore.com)
Date: Thu Apr 01 2004 - 18:54:49 EST

Hi all.
Reponding to Marie's question about the fate of non-tuition-based and non-credit online classes...

The classes that I've developed have generally been free to participants, and they have not involved university credit. (Most participants, however, have been able to secure professional development credit within their organization or region for their work.) Thus, the standard incentives for participation, associated with a tuition-based or credit-bearing course, do not apply to my students.

I try to provide a different kind of "incentive scaffolding" to support participation in free, non-credit courses. Most often, this support structure involves (ironically enough) flexibility as well as attention to participants' immediate and pressing professional dilemmas/questions.

When starting a new course, I try to focus on folks' (other) incentives for participation. Raising the incentives issue actively and early - and revisiting it regularly with the whole group and with individuals - seems to improve retention and ongoing involvement. Here are a few tips that I've found useful:

  • In general, try to make connections between course content and specific issues participants are encountering in their professional lives.
  • When the course commences, invite participants to identify 2-3 key questions (or areas of interest) that they would like to pursue in the course/that they hope this course will resolve.
  • Help participants tailor course activities to more directly address and pursue their questions.
  • Follow up with participants regularly re: their progress in these areas.
  • Suggest additional resources to support participants' investigations.
  • Connect individual participants (whose questions are similar) - in order to build community around "like" issues.

Jennifer

Jennifer Elmore, M.S.Ed.
Education Consultant
http://jelmore.com

Subject: [NIFL-AALPD:1332] Re: participating online or at a distance
From: Duren Thompson (solveig_at_utk.edu)
Date: Mon Apr 05 2004 - 08:26:50 EDT


At 02:27 PM 3/31/2004 -0500, Jennifer Elmore wrote:
[snip]

“In a nutshell, I think that pure distance training experiences tend to require more from the facilitator, especially at first. S/he bears more of the community-building burden, I think, and must be prepared to actively engage participants - both individually and as a group.

Jennifer”


We think this is true as well. I, as a facilitator, work very hard to be a caring, supportive, "nurturer" in an online venue. Sandra and I started with this belief from the very beginning - based on a presentation we heard from an online course facilitator at the University of Florida. He was supporting campus-based courses, and emphasized the real need to be "available" to online learners - for tech support, encouragement, and cheerleading - especially in the critical 1st 1-2 weeks. This is where we drew our "1st week slowly" model from.

I was startled recently on an online evaluation to have someone complain that "The facilitator only talked to me twice during the course - I felt ignored.." (Broke my heart actually. I was upset for days.) Early on Sandra and I found that if *we* responded to everyone's posts - they didn't seem to talk to each other much. *We* were meeting their need for interaction - so we worked to "randomly" respond and encourage conversation amongst participants on the Discussion Boards. This meant that a quiet, uninsightful/average poster could get "lost" in the "randomization." Now I actually keep a list of participant's names by me when I "randomly post" and check mark who I post to. If they haven't heard from me directly in over 2 weeks (nothing they've posted has "moved" me to comment), I deliberately make sure I respond to them to keep them from feeling ignored. Feels silly - like I'm working to be "fair" with small children - but it seems to be important.

Not that I feel we have the whole "encouraging insightful, collaborative interactive on the Discussion Board" thing down by any means - no we regularly fret over it (and I'm taking a number of these cool ideas back with me to try). But these things *do* seem to make a difference in *retention* of AE practitioners in Online courses.

Duren Thompson
Center for Literacy Studies

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