Who's Teaching Online?

What did I learn?

    After reading the articles, it really brought me back to spring 2020 and the 2020-2021 school year when we had to dive headfirst into virtual and online learning with little to no knowledge of how to teach online.  All these resources would've been so helpful to have before schools were shut down and we had to teach online.  Prior to distance learning, I had no idea what it was like to teach online and how to teach online.  After 2 weeks of diving headfirst I did learn a lot of information and was able to be a better online teacher than I was 2 weeks prior. 

https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive/item/31869

    Anyways, though I've gained knowledge about online and virtual teaching and learning post-COVID, the articles we read this week were also very knowledgeable.  A few key takeaways I had were: what online and virtual learning is; the benefits to online learning; drawbacks with virtual learning; and the roles and responsibilities of the online teacher.  The biggest takeaways this week are: what is online learning and what are the roles and responsibilities of the online teacher.  

    What is online learning?  Online learning is where "courses and activities are offered mostly or completely through digital communication technologies," (Davis and Niederhauser, 2007).  Virtual learning has been rapidly rising especially since post-COVID.  Students choose virtual and online learning for a variety of reasons such as it's flexibility and accessibility.  There are a variety of online learning formats such as fully online courses, blended and hybrid courses, and web-facilitated courses (Archambault and Crippen 2009).  Fully online courses are courses where most, if not all, content is delivered online.  Blended and hybrid courses have a combination of online and face-to-face instruction, with a majority of the learning offered online.  Finally, web-facilitated courses are courses that use "Web-based technology to facilitate a face-to-face course" (Archambault and Crippen 2009).  Though all of these may have been available pre-COVID, there have been an increase in all these courses post-COVID. 

 

          

                   What is Online Learning?                                         What is Blended Learning?

    Who is teaching online and what are their roles and responsibilities?  The biggest roles and responsibilities of the online teacher are: communication, collaboration, student engagement, technical proficiency, and course organization and management.  Online teachers have to know how to communicate with others online--whether it's their students, families of students, or colleagues. In addition, online teachers have to be able to collaborate with colleagues, other staff members, and administration to ensure an enhanced learning experience for students.  Student engagement is also important to have because online teachers must know how to engage students online through online interactive activities, discussions, and multimedia resources.  Online teachers also have to know how to use technology, digital tools, and learning management systems in order to have a successful course.  They also need to ensure that students have the resources to support their learning.  Finally, online teachers need to know how to organize their courses and manage their courses, especially if they have more than one course.  This allows for a smooth and well-run course which increases likelihood of student success. 

Why is it important?

    All the information learned this week is important because we need to know what online teaching is, it's benefits and drawbacks, who's teaching online and the roles and responsibilities they have as the online teacher.  Though teachers are now more knowledgeable and well-equipped with online teaching, it's important to be kept up-to-date with the latest trends and all-things-online-learning as things are constantly changing.  What online teaching looked like pre-COVID looks a lot different post-COVID.  This information is also important because it allows teachers to be aware of what their roles and responsibilities are as an online teacher if this is something they're interested in becoming or if this is something we might have to jump right into again in the future (though let's hope we never have to do it again).  In the event that we do have to abruptly switch to online learning (again, let's hope we don't), we'll be prepared and ready to tackle online teaching.  

How can I use this information? 

    This information can be used in a variety of ways.  It can be stored in my shelf of knowledge and good information for the future, or it can be applied to my technology lessons as an SBTS on the master schedule.  It can be a way to teach students to be both online and in person learners.  I can teach them the skills and knowledge with how to be online learners because this can be something they end up doing, whether it's unexpected like COVID (again, let's hope not), or something they completely choose on their own to further their education.  Whatever path they take, students will have the knowledge and skills needed to be an online learner because of this information I have in what online teaching is and the roles and responsibilities of the online teacher.  I can also use this information for myself as an online learner.  Though a lot of the information is about online teachers, it also applies to being an online learner, which I am, and all my classmates in this course are.  We have the same roles and responsibilities as the online teacher, though it may look a little different.  As learners, we also have to have good management and organizational skills in order to be successful in our online courses, especially if we're working full-time.  We need to be organized and be able to manage and balance both work, grad school, and personal lives.  In addition, we also have to be engaged in our learning.  I often tell the students that learning isn't just up to the teacher, it's also up to students and how well they engage themselves in content.  Finally, communication and collaboration is also important as the learner.  As learners, we need to know how to communicate and collaborate with others virtually in order to be successful in our courses.  The information learned in this week's readings and videos are useful whether I'm the online teacher or the online learner. 

Image by Mudassar Iqbal from Pixabay