This week in EL6052 our lecture was on e-moderating online and blended courses which may be a key task for many of us in the future. Facilitation and scaffolding are keywords used by Gilly Salmon in her five stage model of teaching and learning online for interaction with students. Her model details the different stages students will go through and what levels of support they will need. Some critics feel that her model is just designed for fully online learners and doesn’t focus on other types of learning. I feel that her five stages could theoretically be applied to blended and classroom training also.
In my previous role working in Learning and Development in the corporate world, most of our training was classroom based with approximately 10% online. In the classroom training we used Moodle on a daily basis so students could follow the training material, learn how to use knowledge bases and take assessments. Students had to learn how to use various other systems and software applications. All of this required technical support for access issues and motivating students to use the systems in the correct way. Some students needed a lot of help due to poor computer literacy. Socialisation was really important in the classroom. I have always felt that students learn better within a group where there is a respectful environment and we spent a lot of time ensuring that students got to know each other and were relaxed in the classroom. This ensured that they would ask questions or request help when needed.
The trainer approached the students as a facilitator ensuring that everyone participated, shared experiences and helped each other through the modules. Through the active learning phase the trainer would ensure that everyone was on-track and would facilitate problem solving sessions. This would move to students being responsible for their own learning at the end of the program when they were starting to perform on the job tasks.
Even though I have attended most lectures for my blended MA program, I use the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to review lecture material, submit assignments, complete e-tivities and engage in forums. I love the mix of both. Having all the material available on the VLE is really useful and being able to easily contact lecturers for questions is fantastic. Lecturers were very supportive at the start and ensured we could access all systems at orientation. Online socialisation was achieved through introductions and an information exchange was facilitated through research proposal feedback and discussion. We are currently in the latter stages of the model but if we have to complete a new task we would likely be back at level 1 again. The model is fluid.
I feel I get a lot out of the lecture by being in the classroom and enjoy the interesting discussions on the subject matter. The personal contact with the other students is priceless. Last Tuesday we were really stressed so a trip to the market for a lunchtime therapy session and discussion of the assignments we were working on made everyone feel better. For me the blended model is a great mix, I’m not sure how I would cope with this course fully online.
References
Salmon, G. (2004) E-moderating the key to teaching and learning online, 2nd ed. London: Routledge Falmer.
Contemplating Writing 