Week 7 Discussions

Week 7 Discussions

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Week 7 Discussions

Discussion 1: Key Stakeholders and Interaction in E-Learning

E-Learning Stakeholder Analysis

Students, instructors, administrators, and technical staff are the four main stakeholders of e-Learning. Students are the consumers of e-Learning. They enroll in the e-Learning courses to gain the knowledge to facilitate their professional development or to quench their thirst for knowledge on a topic of interest. E-Learning is significantly different from the traditional learning environment. It requires students to be highly motivated to and committed to learning as the level of supervision in e-Learning is less than that in conventional classroom environment. In addition, there is less social interaction in an e-Learning environment (Wagner, Hassanein, & Head, 2008).

The role of instructors is to guide the educational experiences of students. The instructors may not have face-to-face interaction with the students depending on the mode of delivery of the e-Learning course. Some of the challenges that the instructors face is that the technologies used in e-Learning requires them to acquire new sets of skills. For instance, they may have to learn how to use new software applications used in e-Learning. Another challenge faced by instructors is that they require so much time to prepare the information used in e-Learning courses. On the leadership perspective, instructors are not the primary sources of knowledge to students. Instead, they act as managers of the knowledge resources of the students (Wagner, Hassanein, & Head, 2008).

Administrators facilitate the delivery of the e-Learning course by creating learning opportunities for the students and developing a good teaching environment to the instructors. Budgetary concerns is one of the main challenges faced by administrators. Resistance from faculty members is also one of the challenges faced administrators since faculty members may perceive e-Learning to be inferior to face-to-face teaching. In a leadership perspective, administrators create and manage the access of e-Learning resources to both students and instructors.

Technical support staff provide a wide range of services to facilitate the delivery of e-Learning. Constant evolution in the hardware and software used in e-Learning is one of the major challenges that technical support staff face. In addition, technical support staff may face the challenge of developing products that are based on proved educational principles. From a management perspective, the technical support staff oversee the implementation of e-Learning courses.

Factors Affecting Interaction Among and Between Students and the Instructor in an E-Learning Class

Disappointment and frustration with the workload in e-Learning is one of the factors that affect interaction among and between students and the instructor in an e-Learning class. If students have a huge workload to complete in the e-Learning class, there may be little interaction. Class size also affects the level of interaction. There is usually more interaction in big classes than in small classes. Feedback from the instructor also affects the level of interaction. If there is no immediate feedback, there may be little interaction in the e-Learning class.

Discussion 2: Online Collaborative Learning

ISTE Standards

The learning catalyst standard within the ISTE is one of my main strengths. This standard requires educators to dedicate time to collaborate with students and colleagues to improve to solve problems, discover and share ideas, and improve practice. I strive to ensure that I allocate ample time to collaborate with my colleagues and students. I can improve this strength by allocating additional time for collaboration with students and colleagues. The educator standard within the ISTE is also one of my main strengths. I aspire the create experiences for learners that would build relationships to improve socially responsible contributions and good behavior online (ISTE, 2017). I can improve this strength by striving to build relationships with students by being responsive to their needs and concerns.

Ground Rules for Online Class Discussion Thread

Students should participate in the discussions. They should not simply be stalkers or people who scan over other students responses. The instructor would provide points to the participants. These points would influence the final grade of the students in the online class. Participating in the discussion helps in identifying the areas where the students lack sufficient knowledge.

While engaging in an online classroom discussion, the students should proper writing style. The online discussions are akin to professional discussions. Therefore, it would be wrong to use improper writing style. Writing using proper style makes the students become conversant with how to make a professional conversation.

The students should respect the diversity of the online classroom. They should not belittle the views of certain students simply because of their background. Use of derogatory or sarcasm and jokes may prevent certain students from contributing to the conversation.

References

ISTE. (2017). ISTE STANDARDS FOR EDUCATORS A Guide for Teachers and Other Professionals. Retrieved from: file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/ISTE%20Standards%20for%20Educators%20(ebook).pdf

Wagner, N., Hassanein, K., & Head, M. (2008). Who is responsible for E-Learning Success in Higher Education? A Stakeholders’ Analysis. Educational Technology & Society, 11 (3), 26-36.