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Technical
Role of the Instructor
One important consideration when deciding to use CMC is the availability of computers for all class members. In the college setting, several labs are open after class hours, but in the high school and elementary settings, computer accessibility could become a problem. If the student cannot gain access to a computer at home, they must arrange for time at school or the instructor needs to arrange time for the student to have access during classtime. This can be handled through free periods or some classroom time allotted for response. If the instructor is going to assign web-based discussion, computer equity becomes an issue. The optimum benefits of online discussion will not be reached if the technical aspects of keyboarding, using the computer, and the online discussion features prove to be a problem. Some of these concerns can be met by knowing your students. In the high school setting, knowing what computer based instruction students have been exposed to can help in deciding how much time needs to be allotted to those technical aspects. Assessment of the student’s computer accessibility can be done with a simple survey or classroom discussion. Most schools require at least a semester of computer keyboarding by the 10th grade; many begin computer instruction in the lower middle school grades. In the middle school and elementary, it is important to know the curriculum of the school in order to assess whether what is being asked of the students is requiring them to use skills they do not possess. Once it is determined that the students have accessibility and the technical skills to participate in online discussion, then the use of online discussion features can be addressed. Taking the group as a whole through the procedures of online discussion such as logging on, starting a thread, and answering a thread can be done in 15 or 20 minutes and the instructor can assess the capabilities of the students at this time. If individual students need more instruction, then support must be given, or those students will never receive the full benefit of the online discussion. It is a good idea to investigate the aspects of the venue that you will be using whether it is blackboard, breeze or some other system and any software associated with it. This is especially important to do from a student point of view. A FAQ sheet and a place on the discussion board dedicated to handling problems with passwords, navigating the system, threads not appearing in the correct place and other technical difficulties is a useful tool. A handout in class and a copy of the handout posted on the website is also a helpful. It might be helpful to set up a separate thread to address technical questions students might have. Sometimes they can help each other. Adding to the FAQ sheet as problems come up is a good idea. At some point, it might be necessary to answer more technical questions than the instructor can handle. If the instructor is unable to do so, students will need to know who to contact. FAQ’S Some of these problems should be addressed in whatever venue the instructor is using. As an example, these questions are based upon using Blackboard Suite. My thread does not appear. My thread is not connected to the correct discussion. I cannot login. I cannot find the discussion questions. How often do I need to post? How long does each post have to be? |