For this online course I had the students create a video introduction of themselves. The purpose of this activity is to serve as an “icebreaker” which will allow students to get to know one another better, as students will share about their personal backgrounds and history. According to Johnson (2012), classroom icebreakers take advantage of the human tendency to relate memory and emotion by creating positive emotions through enjoyable activities, which better help foster a learning community. Furthermore, Anderson (2008), reiterates that it is of great importance that teachers allow for time at the beginning of the course to “provide incentive and opportunities for students to share their understanding, their culture, and the unique aspects of themselves”, which help foster transparency and trust between participants in the course.
Additionally, I created my own “about me” page in which I briefly introduce myself. My personal bio highlights my personal interests as well as my academic credentials which speak to my qualifications as an instructor for this course. Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000), developed a model of online learning that is referred to as a “community of inquiry” model, which consists of three online presences – cognitive, social and teaching. By creating introductory activities such as student and teacher introductions, the goal is to cultivate a social presence online.
Some of the challenges I faced during this activity was organizing the structure and workflow of the course. As a classroom teacher, located in a traditional brick-and-mortar classroom, I felt a heightened sensitivity to giving detailed instructions. In traditional classroom settings, if instructions are not understood, there are ample opportunities to correct the mistakes, as well as both verbal and nonverbal cues that let teachers know if students are confused; in online learning, those cues require different forms of interpretation, one that I am not yet accustomed to.
Additionally I found creating assignments that foster online community a task that was not without its challenges. Creating trust and a sense of community is difficult enough in a traditional class setting, but that difficulty increases when synchronous communication may not be an option. Furthermore, consideration to the methods of assessment was necessary, as projects and other assessments (both formative and summative) that I would normally have given my students were not the most effective means of assessing in an online context.
Citations
Anderson, T. (2008). The theory and practice of online learning (2nd; 2; 2. ed.). Edmonton, AB: AU Press.
Garrison, R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000), Critical inquiry in text based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.
Johnson, L., & Ebrary Academic Complete (Canada) Subscription Collection. (2012). Kick-start your class: Academic icebreakers to engage students (1st; 1 ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.