Transforming the way we connect and engage learners in blended/online learningBy Caroline Brock

Principal Consultant/Managing Director

What’s in it for you?• Understand what student want from their

online experience• Understand the role of trainers in driving

success in online learning• Be aware of what a quality online student

journey look like• Making sure your LMS, online learning

resources, assessments and delivery model works together • Choosing the right strategy for your students

• Drop out rates are high. 7% completion rates for VET Fee online courses in VET sector

• Experience a sense of isolation• Lack of personal interaction between the

instructor and student & student-to-student. • LMS user experience is poor - frustration• Disconnected learning experiences between

modules, topics and assessment

THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

Content

Online SystemSupport

Learning Journey

Strategy

WHAT IS THE CAUSE?

• Disjointed strategy• No strategy• Poor content• Learning journey

put last• Ineffective targeted

support

What students want from their online learning experience

1. Peer Interaction: students want peer interaction and to engage in discussions• BUT only successful if trainer

drives and promotes interaction • More success if you attach a rubric

for participation in online discussions

2. Students and Instructor Feedback: Student enjoy well thought out constructive feedback from instructors – not just a grade

3. Sense of belonging: Students wanted to feel part of a community

“I loved the personal classroom feel of the videos and the message board

posting assignments.”

Survey conducted in 2013 by Debbie Morrison, author of Online Learning Insights & University of South Australia

What students want from their online learning experience

WHAT THEY WERE DOING RIGHT

Level of assessment feedbackWebinars/live sessions

Access to e-learning advisorsContent interesting & enjoyable

Live video and chat sessions

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT

Instructions for assessmentHow to achieve the best results for the

assessmentsGuidelines for forum participation

Layout of learning materials & flow of the course

Survey results from Victorian online learning provider 2014

SO WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM STUDENTS?

• The personal touch is important• Focus on assessment instructions,

submission process & feedback • Technology should enable, be the silent

driver – should not inhibit!• Content is king – a cohesive learning

journey

YOUR 3 PRONGED STRATEGY

* communication*presence & *engagement*timeliness & responsiveness*mentors*help deskOnline Classroom management*intervention plans

Human 2 Human

* social *mobile*easy to use*learning community*learning eco-system

Learning Platform

* Course Design*bite size*multi media*Problem solving focused*real life

Learning Journey & Content

3 year Online learning Strategy & Sustainability Plan

Ideas • Online icebreakers - to encourage students

to meet and interact in the virtual environment

• Make communication and collaboration between students part of assessment, such as group assignments and peer assessments;

• Provide an online “student lounge” or encourage students to use Skype, Facebook or other networking sites to interact beyond the formal course;

• Schedule and facilitate real-time learning sessions using virtual classroom technology.

How we take advantage of technology & course design to students feel more included?

HUMAN-2-HUMAN APPROACH

“Courses need to offer a balance of learning and socialisation activities where students can

interact with each other.”

IDEAS• Use introductory videos to course & teachers• Communicate regularly with students through

announcements• Engage in discussion forums with students• Offer electronic office hours where real-time

conversations can be initiated.• Be accessible and respond to student inquiries in a

timely manner.• Establish and well-publicized timeframe for

responding to student inquiries• Check up on your students. Know which students are

falling behind and reach out with a short e-mail• Reminders for deadline or assessment requirements

Provide substantive feedback and positive critique

How can trainers make students feel more included?

HUMAN-2-HUMAN APPROACH

“Teacher presence also contributes to a sense of belonging in the online context.”

Keeping students engaged in the course is a vital function of an effective instructor

IDEAS FROM PROVIDERS WITH NEAR 100% RETENTION• Map out the student support communication plan

for the course• Starts at enrolment – what does it mean to take the

course• Orientation - Offering students the opportunity to

explore their online classroom. This increases their comfort with the navigation, basic processes of online learning and course characteristics

• 24/7 technical support -Quickly communicate and solve technology issues

• Allow students to communicate with the facilitator at times that are convenient to them

• Use technology to quickly identify students at risk for dropping out.

• Extend services beyond course or program completion.

How can student support make students feel more included?

HUMAN-2-HUMAN APPROACH

“With decreasing budgets and resources are strapped and new investments can be difficult. How can we

improve? .”

“The support given to a student throughout the online experience has almost more to do with how successful the student will be than

the course itself.”

Bruce Friend, Director of SAS Curriculum Pathways, NC (Personal Communication, June 16, 2010)

APPROACH TO YOUR LEARNING PLATFORM

CHARACTERISTICS OF A MODERN LMS

What are the requirements a modern LMS need to have to drive engagement & retention

“A student’s perception of a quality learning experience does not change from face-2-face vs online”

“With decreasing budgets and resources are strapped and new investments can be difficult. How can we improve? .”

Student Features

• Group chat functions • Social pages• Video noting• E-books functions • Progress reports• Calendars• Live sessions• Easy to use• Mobile• Fast

Intuition Features

• Student progress reporting

• Engagement & time on site reporting

• Easy to build courses• Multimedia• User experience• Ability to provide

assessment feedback at question level

• Rubics/marking guides

APPROACH TO LEARNING JOURNEY & CONTENT

“Research has shown that students who have access to better designed, and more personalised, courses tend to have higher engagement and better outcomes”

AREAS TO FOCUS:

LEARNING JOURNEY/UX: Map out your learning journey, have a UX design strategy. When must what occur e.g. assessment reminders, live session alertsCOURE DESIGN & FLOW: Think about how all the different components of the course fit together. How will you make it easy for your students. INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN: Critical to map out learning outcomes and flow of information & activities in a particular moduleLEARNING RESOURCES: Do the resources match the delivery & assessment approach? Do we need to build our own? Does it match the cohort of learnersASSESSMENT PROCESS: How can we make this easy for the learner? What instructions do they need to successfully submit this? What support will they need?

Learning design model

The model can be used as a checklist to ensure that all four aspects have been considered and brought into alignment with each other and with the underpinning approach to learning

Choosing our Learning approaches, tactics & methods for online & classroom

User Experience: Avoiding frustrations• Interface design considerations• Sequencing of learning • Display of information • Use of animations & interaction• Design social presence and emotions

• Principles of UX: • Quiet Design• Don’t Make me think

Tips for Instructional Design to make students feel more included

• How to design their courses is key to re-engaging individual students and holding back the tide of dropouts.

• And they are right to worry when the learning experience is distilled to simply posting course materials online and asking students to “discuss” on a web forum.• State your objective: Each lesson should have one concise, action-

oriented learning objective to ensure your lesson design process is focused.

• Think as a private tutor: Learners today are inundated with media tailored to them and they expect learning to be tailored as well. So think about how to create meaningful learning moments for all your students.

• Storyboard before you build: Being able to see a complete lesson, especially one that integrates various mediums, is essential to creating a successful learning experience.

• Build towards high-order thinking: Technology in education can go beyond multiple-choice questions and document repositories. Don’t be afraid to integrate tools that let learners create and share.

Writing Tips to drive Learner Motivation and Engagement through the Learning Material

• Make the student recognise their previous experience• Focus on the “why”

• Ask questions• Use real life situations

• Make the content relevant• Using a problem – solution approach

Assessment Approach• Authentic – involve real world knowledge and skills

• Personalised – tailored to S & K and Interest of student

• Engaging – involves personal interest

• Recognise existing skills – accredit the students existing work

• Problem orientated – tasks requiring genuine problem solving

• Collaborative – partnerships

• Self and peer assessment – self reflection and peer review

• Align to the VET assessment principles

“Engaging content is content that makes your audience quietly go “wow” this is for me”

• common research infrastructure, including:• a robust survey architecture• course dashboards for course evaluators and instructor

teams• well-documented participant-level and logged-event-

level datasets. • Regular review cycles

Importance of Monitoring and Improving

Summary

The students

Learning Experience

the technology

course design

Content & Assessment

Student Support