OLTD 503- Online Communications
Teacher Student Relationships
Learning outcomes met were:
This paper, Teacher Student Relationships, was written in January, 2015 for the OLTD Course 503. Building relationships between the teacher and the student is at the heart of learning. Knowing the student’s prior knowledge, learning styles and what motivates them will aid the teacher in creating the best learning environment possible. Building rapport with students online is challenging, but the teacher still needs to know the student to teach well. Students who have built good relationships with their teacher are more likely to be motivated to do well. Knowing the learners and families well allows for learning plans to become much more effective.
Without good teacher-student rapport, the teacher may believe that the student is well motivated and is being successful completing the assignment, when really the student is not working on the assignment and may not feel comfortable asking the teacher for help. It may take a few weeks for the teacher to discover that the student has fallen behind.
Building a relationship could be as easy as playing games and asking questions. Designing learning plans then become effective. The student is well motivated to work and complete assignments because it is of interest to them and using a style of learning that they feel most comfortable with. If the student needs help they are more likely to ask for help if they have built a relationship with their teacher.
As Kelley Clark clearly states, “Can you have a good lesson without having a positive relationship with your students? Yes. But can a strong relationship lead to an even higher level of academic success? Absolutely!”
Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/08/07/tln_clark.html?r=1438706865
Learning outcomes met were:
- Work with families and students to establish effective learning plans
- establish relationships with learners and families
- build teacher-student rapport
This paper, Teacher Student Relationships, was written in January, 2015 for the OLTD Course 503. Building relationships between the teacher and the student is at the heart of learning. Knowing the student’s prior knowledge, learning styles and what motivates them will aid the teacher in creating the best learning environment possible. Building rapport with students online is challenging, but the teacher still needs to know the student to teach well. Students who have built good relationships with their teacher are more likely to be motivated to do well. Knowing the learners and families well allows for learning plans to become much more effective.
Without good teacher-student rapport, the teacher may believe that the student is well motivated and is being successful completing the assignment, when really the student is not working on the assignment and may not feel comfortable asking the teacher for help. It may take a few weeks for the teacher to discover that the student has fallen behind.
Building a relationship could be as easy as playing games and asking questions. Designing learning plans then become effective. The student is well motivated to work and complete assignments because it is of interest to them and using a style of learning that they feel most comfortable with. If the student needs help they are more likely to ask for help if they have built a relationship with their teacher.
As Kelley Clark clearly states, “Can you have a good lesson without having a positive relationship with your students? Yes. But can a strong relationship lead to an even higher level of academic success? Absolutely!”
Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/08/07/tln_clark.html?r=1438706865
Group Reflections (Tools for Online Communication)
Learning outcomes met were:
This group work activity (completed in January 2015 for 503) was to show “Tools for Online Communication.” As a group, we presented ClassDojo, Showme, Socrative, Google Hangouts, and Skype. The mentoring and coaching of these programs was received well by our colleagues. They could clearly see how using these programs would be very he useful teaching online. Our learning went beyond the simple programs and challenged us to use Google Docs as an ongoing communication tool. We quickly discovered that organizing a group of six online required a lot of diligence on the part of all members. However, we now know first-hand the challenges that group work online has.
Sharing various tools, tips, and strategies is important for online teachers as they often work in isolation. Teachers are always looking for new and better ways to teach and communicate with students. Online students often work in isolation too. Having more effective ways to communicate could make the difference between failure and success. Building learning communities or communicating with other students for project work is a great way for students to feel part of the class. However, the teacher will have to make sure that the assignment is well organized so that students will not be frustrated with communication problems.
Personally, this assignment taught me how to use ClassDojo, Socrative, Google Hangouts, and Google Docs. ClassDojo aids in real time communication with students or parents. You can simply text a message, take a picture, or even a video and the information is available instantly on any smart device. Socrative lets you creative surveys to poll or even test your students and gain valuable information quickly and easily. Google Hangouts allows for direct communication with small groups. There is an interactive whiteboard that anyone in the group can write or draw on. Google Docs is a word processing document that members of the group can add to or edit at any time. Students can even work on the document at the same time. All of these programs are very inclusive to all subjects and levels. Finding ways to communicate better will always be extremely useful for classroom and online teachers.
Learning outcomes met were:
- Share engagement strategies and tips
- engage in building learning communities and communities of practice
- Design inclusive learning environments
- Engage in mentoring and coaching with educational partners
This group work activity (completed in January 2015 for 503) was to show “Tools for Online Communication.” As a group, we presented ClassDojo, Showme, Socrative, Google Hangouts, and Skype. The mentoring and coaching of these programs was received well by our colleagues. They could clearly see how using these programs would be very he useful teaching online. Our learning went beyond the simple programs and challenged us to use Google Docs as an ongoing communication tool. We quickly discovered that organizing a group of six online required a lot of diligence on the part of all members. However, we now know first-hand the challenges that group work online has.
Sharing various tools, tips, and strategies is important for online teachers as they often work in isolation. Teachers are always looking for new and better ways to teach and communicate with students. Online students often work in isolation too. Having more effective ways to communicate could make the difference between failure and success. Building learning communities or communicating with other students for project work is a great way for students to feel part of the class. However, the teacher will have to make sure that the assignment is well organized so that students will not be frustrated with communication problems.
Personally, this assignment taught me how to use ClassDojo, Socrative, Google Hangouts, and Google Docs. ClassDojo aids in real time communication with students or parents. You can simply text a message, take a picture, or even a video and the information is available instantly on any smart device. Socrative lets you creative surveys to poll or even test your students and gain valuable information quickly and easily. Google Hangouts allows for direct communication with small groups. There is an interactive whiteboard that anyone in the group can write or draw on. Google Docs is a word processing document that members of the group can add to or edit at any time. Students can even work on the document at the same time. All of these programs are very inclusive to all subjects and levels. Finding ways to communicate better will always be extremely useful for classroom and online teachers.