* A reader tells students and instructors how to get the most out of online training
Last time, I mentioned that reader David Henson had very kindly jotted down 10 quick tips that students and instructors should think about when evaluating online education.
Henson has experienced both online and traditional classroom based training. At Colorado Technical University, he obtained two IT-related Master’s degrees – his Master of Science in Computer Science degree was completely classroom-based, while his Master of Science in Management, Information Systems Security degree was a mix of classroom and online training.
He began his management degree online and had a disappointing experience. After taking the rest of the program in a classroom setting, he decided to complete the final four courses online and thoroughly enjoyed it, he says. He says that the courses were valuable because of the way they were prepared and delivered by his instructor.
Here in his words, are Henson’s tips for getting the most out of online training:
Tips for the student:
1. Be prepared as a student to take responsibility for your education. One must have researched the education provider to ensure that they are reputable. In addition to this, the student must commit to the course requirements by scheduling time to get the assignments completed. Procrastination has NO place in online courses. As the athletes say “Play Hard or Go Home.”
2. Understand the difference between a Web-based seminar and an online class. A “real” online class is not like surfing the Web or watching a movie. It takes no less commitment than a traditional class. There must be study time outside of class interaction time just like the traditional model. If you think about it, reading two chapters in the textbook is the same regardless of whether the class is online or traditional. The same applies to quizzes, exams, term projects and term papers. If your only objective is to get a degree (not an education) I suggest just buying your degree and save time and money.
3. The student must be willing to participate. The online forum allows even the shyest person to participate and share their ideas, which is a vital part of personal growth and the learning process. Traditional classes typically have only a few outspoken individuals leading the discussion. To succeed in the online environment every student needs to participate; it is or should be part of your grade. I think this can be a big advantage over traditional classrooms. Everyone can participate and everyone has the time to develop well thought out answers. There is no being put on the spot. If one doesn’t have an answer, they have time to find one.
Tips for the instructor:
4. First the course must be well defined in advance. A good school/provider/instructor should do this.
* Know the materials needed and provide the student time before class starts to get the materials.
* Know the reasonable workload for the class based on duration and level.
* The course should provide a reasonable but rigorous treatment of the subject. If one has been in online courses that were not valuable, it’s the fault of the instructor, the student or both.
* Define well-understood deliverable dates that are visible to the student every time they access the course.
* The student should know from the start of the course all of the expectations and deadlines.
* Define deliverables in small increments that keep the student involved.
5. Online teachers must provide feedback often. Depending on the length of the class this could be daily. Just remember that students are hanging on the teacher’s words and if there are no words the students are just hanging.
6. In order to provide feedback the online teacher must realize the work involved. The teacher must read ALL the communication and comment as appropriate to lead the students in the right direction, provoke thought and keep things on track
7. Be flexible. But stick to a realistic schedule.
8. Grade student’s work in a timely fashion. Nothing is worse than turning in an assignment and not knowing whether it was of the correct format and detail level before the next assignment is due. Students have better things to do than worry about what the instructor thinks of their work. If the student knows the requirements and knows where they stand with regards to the requirements, the student is empowered to work towards their desired goal.
9. Allow students to correct their mistakes where they have missed the mark even if they don’t get full credit. The thought here is that most people readily admit that they learn more from their mistakes and failures than they do from their successes. Why then are mistakes so bad if they are one of our best learning tools? Let’s teach people to do what we tell them to do, learn from your mistakes and move on.
10. All instructors are not created equal. At Colorado Tech the students, at the end of each course, rate their instructor. These ratings are compiled and are permanently posted outside the library for everyone to see. I don’t think these are available online yet but I’m sure that it will be the next step. The students also rate the courses. These combine to make the formal version of the system used by students for decades: “word of mouth.” Of course, in the old “word of mouth” system, one had to know someone who had the instructor and/or course and could give a fair evaluation. Statistically, Colorado Tech’s system is probably much more accurate. Without a formal system you’re back to the “word of mouth” system, which is much more difficult with online courses.
Thanks to David Henson for providing these tips. If you have more tips to add, or want to add to the recent discussions we’ve had about MBAs for techs and online vs. classroom based training, or if you want me to explore other training topics, please drop me a line.
