This is a summary of #eltchat held on 14th September 2010 on the topic of What makes a good online English course?
#ELTchat is held every Wednesday at 12 BST and 21.00 BST - we meet for one hour to talk about ELT related topics. You can find out more on the blog
What makes a good online English course?
From #eltpics on flickr
The Short Answer
The same things that make for a good face to face course. Good group, T-Ss dynamic, good feedback, challenging materials.
But…a major difference with an online course is that the student needs to be more disciplined.
What might be issues for students?
A course being run in English might make it more difficult for students to interact (esp. asynchronously) as they may think they are being judged all the time (a problem cited as an issue in Indonesia)
They don’t necessarily need funky tools or apps might cause more issues than they solve. The important thing is that there is a user-friendly interface and tech support.
There is a cost issue dependent on the type of course asynchronous/ synchronous.
Should it be Asynchronous / Synchronous or both?
People agreed that for learners to choose the channel/platform they feel most comfortable with was a good thing but there was some discussion as to whether this was best achieved by being online at the same time or asynchronously?
Some felt that online courses should use Skype or a virtual classroom such a blackboard collaborate for real-time interaction.
People choose asynchronous as synchronous can be more expensive.
An advantage of asynchronous is one attraction of online learning is its flexibility – any time, anywhere, any way one can learn.
The medium of communication changes between (a)synchronous courses e.g. synchronous is likely to use the speaking and asynchronous, writing.
What about issues for teachers?
Working online the students can be in touch all the time. It’s not the same regime as the 9 to 5 classroom. It can be very heavy commitment for tutor if you’re not careful – Students can be very demanding. It is up to the teacher to set the limits and manage their a manage your availability.
A second issue is how is best to promote interaction between students online.
We need to give students learner training – preparing them for the differences between f2f and online is crucial. Teachers as well need to be aware of how their role changes online.
What they do need?
There was agreement that the important factor is to have everything really well designed. To be effective, online courses need to be as well designed as classroom courses and have as much teacher input.
They should also deal effectively with placement and testing / assessment. These always needs to be well structured and moderated.
So..drum roll….the good people of ELTchat think that a good online course needs:
1. A dynamic system – Dynamic help means the right input at the right time.
2. Successful online learning is lots of support via skype, im, sms, email etc.
3. Study asynchronous but help /feedback given synchronously.
4. They should have multimodel delivery – f2f, text, video, etc.
5. Opportunities to practice and get feedback and feedback not just from a machine.
6. Clear outlines of what the course is about, so as to avoid confusion, a student enrolled on unsuitable courses, at wrong level, etc.
7. Teachers must initiate contact in the beginning to let students know the options. Also reach out to those not participating.
8. Comprehensive use of English skills -listening, speaking, writing and reading activities included in lesson.
9. Building a sense of community and contact with peers so that students stay motivated.
Some Links:
An example of self-study courses - The Khan Academy
Teaching Checklist for designing an online course
Designing Interaction in an online Curriculum
RSCON3 Finding magic buttons for online learning
National Standards for Quality online learning
The cast list: @…AlexandraKouk, bethcagnol, BobK99, Cerirhiannon, Cherrymp, Collaborative, cybraryman1, escocesa_madrid, esolcourses, gallanteyun, gknightbkk, harrisonmike ,hartle, howellwright, kirkymon , Marisa_C, Mcneilmahon, Parrpakala, PatrickAndrews, pysproblem81, Rliberni, oxbridgetefl, Shaunwilden, Theteacherjames, yitzha_sarwono
