“How have your past experiences with online/blended learning impacted your goals for your future students?”
In high school, I decided to graduate online via a cyber-school program. At the time, this was out of the norm and the program was not robust. Then, when I was in my freshman year of my undergraduate studies, we shifted online due to COVID. This unprecedented circumstance proved difficult and caused many of my classes to be disorganized and confusing. Now, being in a graduate online program specifically designed to give a thorough, engaging education via an online platform, my ideas of online education have shifted. My previous experiences made me hesitant to want to engage with an online learning program, but now that I have had a positive experience, I see that online learning communities really can be just that – communities.
Ultimately, these experiences have evolved over time and continue to impact how I think about goals for my future students. At first, my primary goal would have been to have them meet deadlines. Now, I can confidently set goals for not only meeting deadlines, but also creating quality work that embraces collaboration and fosters community in our online classroom. Moving forward, I hope to create an online classroom that focuses on students achieving the goals of in-depth learning, collaboration, and engagement.
“How do you hope to engage your students effectively in online learning?”
As I mentioned, I previously was disappointed with online learning programs that did not effectively engage me as a student. After taking a handful of online graduate courses, I have learned new methods for engaging students online. I hope to engage students in whole-class discussions, meaningful group projects, and by keeping lines of communication open between students and me. I plan to integrate assignments that target collaborative learning goals. By integrating collaborative learning, I can increase meaningful engagement and measure students’ learning more effectively. I have also experienced the importance of open communication, so I plan to encourage regular instructor-student interactions in addition to student interactions.
“What has been (or do you anticipate being) the most challenging aspect of online/blended teaching for you? What solutions have you considered to this challenge?”
So far, I have had typically negative experiences regarding the online community aspect of online learning. When you never meet face-to-face with your classmates, it can be hard to get to know them or feel a connection. However, some of my graduate classes have shown me that fostering community can be done effectively! I still anticipate that the most challenging part of online teaching would be creating a meaningful sense of community, but I now know ways I can strive for it. For example, having mandatory responses encourages student interaction. Also having dedicated discussion spaces for chatting and getting to know one another can help students put themselves out there and get to know one another. These possible solutions help me feel more confident in my ability to address the potential challenge of fostering a supportive online class community.