Session 3

My reflections on the content discussed during Wednesday’s meeting were amazing.  I was particularly interested in the discussion about MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), Western Governors, and the early detections alerts for advisors to help students who are at risk of failing.  Since my background is in educational counseling and guidance, I was extremely interested to see/hear what tools are available to help students when they are at risk of failing an online class, and how advisors/administrators/developers and can be proactive in detecting these students (and detecting them early enough) to help get them back on track.  I wish I was on the live call to ask more information and ask questions about those alerts, and the functionality and success rates of having an early alert system. Nevertheless, it was still amazing to know that the university is looking into tools like this one and finding alternative methods to increase student success in online courses/programs.

This topic was practically interesting to me because of my position at the community college and how the college has traditional used tools similar to the alert but nothing in the form of instant feedback.  At the moment at risk students are services by the Early Advantage (EA) program, which is similar to a brick-and-mortar style of operating and requires the collaboration of the course instructor and EA advisors to identify students who would benefit from the program.  Then spend countless hours to try and get a hold of these students to remedy their situation to successfully pass the course.  It’s nice to know that something has been created and is coming down the pipelines to proactively identify these students and give them instant feedback in the mode of communication that fits the students prefer form of communication.  From my experience, students in an online or distance learning course(s) either work or have other obligations  where synchronous types of communication is not a viable option for them, so it is extremely important for instructional designers/administrators/advisors be aware of those nuances of a student’s life and prepare for them. 

With the rapid growth of online learning it can be easy to get caught up in the funding and technical components of the development of online courses, but let’s not forget it is equally important to create and support a course that can achieve the student learning outcomes and completion rates of the course.  My thoughts on the method and technology used to support the guest speaker event mirrors my thoughts on students’ success.  Whether you are the instructor or instructional designer developing a course, it is important to utilize (or at the very least be familiar) with different types of technologies that will create a space where your students can learn with ease anywhere and anytime.  I was one of those students that could not make the live call, so I had to rely on the recording to complete my assignment for this week.  Now if I was in a traditional face-to-face or even a hybrid class, I know I would not have that flexibility to listen to a recording and would have missed the opportunity to complete this assignment.  It is nice to know that I can fulfill my obligations at home, work, and as student by simply utilizing a tool like Talkshoe without having to jeopardize my relationship with one or the other; more importantly, it was free and easy to use.