EFFECTIVE ONLINE COMMUNICATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONSandra Rogers, University of South Alabama
Which online communication formats, tools & strategies are most effective for higher education?
Elements of Effective Online Communication
Outline: Build 4 Interaction Treatments Provide Teacher Presence with
Immediacy Behaviors Accommodate Learner
Preferences & Disabilities Borrow Principles of Good F2F
Education
Build 4 Interaction Treatments (ITs)
Student satisfaction correlates to the strength of ITs (Bernard et al., 2009). Teacher-student Student-student Student-content Student-learning management
system (Davidson-Shivers, 2009)
The Importance of T-S Interactions
Moore & Kearsley (1996) theorized that the geographical distance matters less than the course structure. Moore likens distance education to a transaction that could create a psychological space for potential misunderstandings.Arbaugh (2001) found that instructor verbal immediacy behaviors are strongly correlated with online graduate student learning & course satisfaction.
What does teacher presence look like online?
Add image to profile & syllabus. Feedback should vary to enhance the
lack of richness in text-based media (Arbaugh & Hornik, 2006) .
Podcasts improve test performance (Beylefeld, Hugo, & Geyer, 2008)
Host synchronous sessions (Baker, 2010)
The Importance of S-S Interactions
Student dissatisfaction in online learning was based on a failure to provide multiple forms of communication with & between students (Granitz & Greene, 2003).
Student moderation generated more frequent and in-depth discussion for learners (Thormann, Gable, Fidalgo, & Blakeslee, 2013).
Arbaugh & Hornik found that student interaction behavior is a necessary component of the communication loop (2006).
The Importance of S-LMS Interactions
Online courses that provide e-tools for communication close the distance & provide psychological closeness between the teacher & the class similar to closeness created in traditional courses (Lemak, Shin, Reed, & Montgomery, 2007).
S-LMS Accommodations
4 main media specifications to meet federal requirements for instructional technology:
Caption all media Use Sans-Serif fonts for online text Provide accessible PDFs that can be
read by adaptive technologies Provide alternative text for all images
Borrow Principles of Good Education
3 of the 7 Principles of Good Practice in Education (Chickering & Gamson,1987)
Encourage Contact between Students & Faculty
Give Prompt Feedback Respect Diverse Talents & Ways of
Learning
Why are some instructors MIA? What does it say about an online instructor who
doesn’t provide a discussion format? Do they think they’re following Keller’s Plan (1968) of personalized system instruction? If so, they’re incorrect because they lack one key element---use of proctors as tutors (moderators).
Online classes designed as independent study are unsuccessful (U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation & Policy Development, 2009).
References
Arbaugh, J. B. (2001). How instructor immediacy behaviors affect student satisfaction and learning in web-based courses. Business Communication Quarterly, 30, 42-54.
Arbaugh, J. B., & Hornik, S. (2006). Do Chickering and Gamson’s seven principles also apply to online MBAs? The Journal of Educators Online, 3(2), 1-18.
Baker, C. (2010). The impact of instructor immediacy and presence for online student
affective learning, cognition, and motivation. The Journal of Educators Online, 7(1), 1-30.
Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R., Surkes, M. A., & Bethel, E. C. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79, 1243-1288.
References cont.
Beylefeld, A. A., Hugo, A. P., & Geyer, H. J. (2008). More learning and less teaching? Students’ perceptions of a histology podcast. South African Journal of Higher Education, 22(5), 948-956.
Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. Wingspread Journal, 9(2), 75-81.
Davidson-Shivers, G. (2009). Frequency and types of instructor-interactions in online instruction. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, Volume 8(1), 23-40.
Granitz, N. & Greene, C. S. (2003). Applying E-marketing strategies to online distance learning. Journal of Marketing Education, 25(1), 16-30.
Lemak, D., Shin, S., Reed, R., & Montgomery, J. (2005). Technology, transactional
distance, and instructor effectiveness: An empirical investigation. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 150-158.
References cont.
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Retrieved from www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html
Thormann, J., Gable, S., Fidalgo, P., & Blakeslee, G. (2013). Interaction, critical thinking, and social network analysis (SNA) in online courses. The International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 14(3), 294-318. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1306/2537
