Communication in education is vital. It's how we teach and how we learn. Because communication plays such a big role in education, it matters how we use it. We are no longer confined to classroom communication within the four walls of a school. Today, many online tools allow students and teachers to accomplish communication efficiently and effectively. Some tools that come to mind are blogs, chat rooms, Skype, Twitter, Google (Sites and Docs), and countless others. All of these tools allow learning to take place beyond the physical classroom.
I can't help but think of my own experience with online learning. Because I'm living in Alpharetta, I've tried to take as many online courses for my master's degree as possible. I've taken a total of seven online classes, including the three I'me currently in this semester. All were taken through eLC and some used live Wimba meetings and some did not. I have to say, the classes I took with Wimba meetings were much more beneficial than those that didn't use the technology. When taking online classes, you can feel very distant from what is actually happening in the course. That's why meeting in Wimba helped with my motivation to learn and stay on top of the content. This has everything to do with communication which, and I'll say again, is vital for learning.
Communication in education is extremely vital. Parents, students, teachers, and administrators are all important in the communication process in education. The tools used to communicate are extremely important as well.
ReplyDeleteThis year, our school implemented a new learning management system that allows the students to communicate with the teachers outside of the classroom. Students are able to send me a message to ask questions about their assignments.
I agree with you that the motivation to learn was increased through the use of Wimba. I enjoy communicating with my cohorts through Wimba and the class blogs.
Do you think you liked the classes that employed Wimba because the courses that didn't only fostered communication through a discussion board? I would love to hear more about why you liked Wimba and why your learning was impacted by the use of that tool... This is what I do! :)
ReplyDeleteIt just helps me to feel like I'm actually contributing to the class and I feel like I'm really engaged in the learning process. Many times, I do assignments or post discussions in a zombie-like trance...I just don't feel the motivation to try my hardest. But when I know I'll be talking live to other classmates and teachers,I make sure to study up and get ready to give my input!
ReplyDeleteI guess it's kind of the difference between active and passive learning for me.
It's so funny that you mentioned preferring Wimba classes to traditional asynchronous classes. I talked about that very topic in my EdS portfolio (which is due on Saturday...yikes!) I think that some of the most effective online classes I've ever taken used Wimba. Unfortunately, some of the LEAST effective classes used Wimba too! When facilitators use the tools that are available to them, the class is so much more interesting. When all I'm doing is staring at a slide while the teacher talks the whole time it is very hard to pay attention.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the ESOL classes I took for my MEd were online and asynchronous. There were some very strong guidelines about how to post and respond each week, and I can honestly say I learned as much in those as I did in my Wimba online classes. I guess it's up to the instructor to set up a successful class, no matter the format.
Lara, I agree with you regarding the synchronous online class! I have also taken several online classes when I was at college, and I found myself find difficulty keeping track of everything. But the synchronous classes such as Wimba, is much more helpful as it allows much better communication between the instructor and students as well as among students.
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