Thursday, March 12, 2015

2.1.1 Identify Stakeholders Quest

Buzzword Bingo: Collaboration = To work by planeta, on Flickr
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The descriptions of the stakeholders' roles provided for this quest do correlate to my perception of the responsibilities that each stakeholder must assume in successful online learning. Regarding the role of the online instructor, I would add that establishing a great rapport with online students from the beginning of the course is very important. One way to do this is to send an opening email in a welcoming and encouraging tone. Another effective communication strategy is to post frequent announcements and updates with due dates to help students get used to the pace of the course. Timely and personal feedback is also critical to ensure students' success.

Concerning the online student's role, I like the idea of releasing responsibility and empowering students to take charge of their own learning. The virtual classroom provides great flexibility for both students and teachers to create a technology-rich learning environment that promotes student motivation and fosters student engagement. In my online classes, I structure communication so it is not just two way (me and each individual student). Since often times other students can relate to the questions better than I can, I encourage student responses to Help Forums and I just monitor to ensure accuracy in answers.

One of the stakeholders that was not explicitly mentioned in this quest is the school counselor. School counselors play a key role in the successful completion of online courses. From the initial recommendation for a student to take a course, to the follow-up process as well as the scheduling and facilitation of the final exam, school counselors are that additional support necessary to ensure that students are successful in the online environment.


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