Posted 7:30 AM by George Siemens
In a classroom, a teacher provides a large part of student motivation (in some cases, probably as high as 100%!). A teacher is often the catalyst that encourages students to spend time-on-task (a significant determinant of student success). Online, however, this changes. A student often needs to provide 100% of the motivation. Any time spent learning and interacting is usually student driven. How can an instructor make this less of a challenge for students?

The following are some suggestions that may help to encourage student motivation:

• Simplicity. Simple, clear, jargon-free communication can help to prevent student frustration.
  
• Granular. Learning objectives and activities should be short and concise - easily digestible in 15 minutes to 1/2 hour. When I reflect on how I interact with online course materials, I find that large, difficult content sections cause me to lose momentum with the course, and I start to fall behind.
  
• Schedules. A truly open, flexible learning course is beneficial to only a very small segment of learners. Almost all learners value some type of instructor-created boundaries...it keeps them focused. A course should have schedules, timelines, and due dates.
  
• Passive resources. This sounds like it goes against the grain of what many state as foundational to online learning (i.e. interactivity). Let me clarify. Some sections of an online course should be passive...i.e. watch a demonstration, hear an audio segment, observe a PowerPoint lecture, etc. These planned points of passivity can actually be motivating points (at least they are for me).
  

Elearn & Earn
Quote: "Online-learning enrollments are growing 33 percent a year and are expected to hit 2.2 million by 2004, according to International Data Corp...But can companies and institutions make a profit from E-learning? "

Comment: A real concern for many institutions is financial justification for using elearning. Colleges and universities look at elearning as a potential profit-maker...corporations look at elearning as a way of reducing costs/increasing revenue. Some very high profile failures in elearning (NYU Online, Open University) have shattered the myth that everyone in education will get rich. The author presents three considerations (though simplistic) for making elearning work financially: keep it useful, keep it real, keep it simple (I really agree with the last one).

PDAs
Quote: "Schools are inching closer to putting a computer in the hands of every student, and a number of educators believe that handheld computers are the best and quickest way to make it happen."

Comment: I've commented several times on PDAs and wireless web access. These two areas will redefine education. Let me repeat that: these two areas will redefine education. Why? Convenience, access, and excitement. People get excited when they get a PDA. No idea why, but they do. Computers cause fear, PDAs excitement - I don't get it. I've been skeptical in the past about whether students actually want to read off of a small screen, but this is not a concern for students and teachers. The benefits far outweigh the negatives.

Interaction
Quote: "Today's literature is filled with new paradigms for learning, specifically in relation to the increasing adoption of computer mediated techniques for interactive learning. In many cases, learning may now be enhanced through the experience of a shared online environment for critical discussion, knowledge building and the establishment of supportive social communities...One of the most striking findings in both these surveys was the emphasis placed by students on peer to peer interaction. In the first survey, 82% students valued peer to peer interaction highly for learning, while 55% highly valued interaction with staff."

Comment: This study is interesting. Apparently students value interaction with each other more than with instructors (doesn't that make you feel loved!)...as well, check out Table 1. It seems like students had their lowest level of competence in using synchronous chat. In an online course I took earlier this year, chat was used...I don't think one student really liked it (or if anyone did, they were much quieter about it than the ones who didn't like it!).

Slashdot
Comment: Slashdot is the place to hang out for lively, opinionated discussion relating to technology (and occasionally, anything weird or abnormal). One of the most valuable lessons I've learned from this site is the effectiveness of peer to peer communication. There is no "teacher" hear. It is a group of like-minded individuals who share and shape information...creating knowledge...creating learning. If you aren't into the "technical end" of things, try visiting it a few times, and rather than focusing on content, focus on the dynamics of learning and knowledge sharing.

Future Interface
Quote: "IMAGINE A FUTURE in which you could tell your computer to move a folder inside another, and just by pointing with your finger, it would happen. Or being able to command your computer to print your vacation pictures on the nearest color printer, and not have to supply any more configuration information."

Comment: A stated goal of this MIT project is "to make it easier to interact with computers in natural, human terms". This is a critical consideration for online course development and instruction. The more complicated we make the process, the more narrow our student base. Student's should be able to access course resources without having to go through difficult processes. I think I'm going to adopt a revised motto "elearning in natural, human terms".

Standards for Quality Online Resources
Comment: Several months ago, I posted a link to standards for Michigan Virtual University. The MVU decided to make its standards available to everyone (gotta love sharing!) to use. This link takes you to a course "evaluator tool" (which consists of an Excel document) that is useful for assessing courses. I was in a series of meetings over the last week that focused on the future of technology and learning at RRC. Much discussion centered around setting standards and ensuring standards were met (quality control). Resources like this are helpful.