OnPoint - An Introduction

Today, we're launching OnPoint, another edtech-focused series that will feature bi-weekly posts from Jason Ohler, an international keynote speaker, teacher, writer, researcher and Professor Emeritus of Educational Technology, who has been teaching online since 1982.

For the next few months, we'll be featuring excerpts from Jason's latest book, Digital Community, Digital Citizen (http://tinyurl.com/25b4h4j), an exploration in how the internet and technology affect the very nature of learning, relationships, and schooling in the digital age. Want to get in touch with Jason? Email feedback@moodlerooms.com.

Thanks for reading,

- Brad

On Point- An Introduction

I had over 1000 online students before the Internet was publicly available. During the 1980s and early 1990s I used proprietary systems and slow modems to reach students who would form the first generation of electronically distributed students. Because the technology was so challenged in so many ways, I was forced to get creative, and think about teaching online as a social event rather than a technical one. What I learned during the days of 300 baud dial-up still holds true today. Over the coming weeks I will discuss some of the guidelines I developed about teaching an effective online class and engaging people socially via electronic means.

Here is guideline #1: Treat every online learning community as a special situation.
There is no “one size fits all” approach to addressing the needs of each online learning situation. Each class is its own unique subculture with its own character and requirements. It is up to each online teacher to use an anthropological perspective in order to determine the unique needs, limitations, and expectations of each learning group. Sure, posting lessons on Moodle and asking students to engage in weekly conversation works as a fall back. But, your class will come alive when you know more about your students, including their level of Internet access, how your class fits into their overall learning objectives, what kind of previous experience they have had learning online, what interests them in the class topic area, what social media they use and online communities they are a part of, and so on. In retrospect, I am amazed at the many different approaches I have used over the years to teach similar material, all because the needs of each learning community were so different.

- Jason