Assessment #4

This student had great ideas about the learning proces in an online classroom, but did not fully establish the importance of the learning community.  This student has the opportunity to see other students ideas on my blog.  This is an important part of the learning community being able to use other students for feedback and discussion.

The author gave several statements that I found to be vitally important to me as a novice online learner.  As someone who loves the face to face interactions between colleagues, as well as understanding people through body language and unspoken communication, I felt there would be a lack of community and a disconnect with an online class. 

Distance learning cannot be passive.  The instructor begins the process of building community through posting their own personal introductions and by giving students opportunities to share about themselves. Students that are new to online classrooms need to discuss the fears and insecurities.  On an ongoing basis occasions should also be provided to share the successes and surprises associated with the distance learning as well. 

Both the instructor and learner must be active participants or community can neither be created nor enhanced.   In order for a learner to be successfully he or she must become a “noisy” learner.  The author stated that Nipper described a noisy learner as one who is active and creative in the learning process.  (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). The active learner participates in discussions by posting to discussion boards, communicating through emails, chatrooms, etc. Through this a network of interactions between the instructor and the other participants is formed. The instructor should post on a regular basis and respond to posts within a reasonable amount of time.  They should provide opportunities for students to Learning in the distance education environment cannot be passive.  Instructors require posts, responses, etc to know that the learner is actually “there”.

A definite positive for the online classroom is that it has the potential successfully draw out a student who would not necessarily be considered a noisy learner in a traditional classroom.  It allows for one to spend more time considering and preparing a research to a question.  This is generally not possible in the face to face scenario. 

The successful online learning community is also able to empower and inspire learners to be reflective of their learning.  Learners are transformed into people who seek to create knowledge and share what they have learned to others in the community; yet another opportunity for interaction.

Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (20007).  Building Online Learning Communities.  San Francisco:  John Wiley &                             Sons Inc.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Score
Discussion Topics	The student did not complete the discussion questions.	The student answered each question, but there were not many details and grammatical errors.	The student answered each question and brought good ideas with each discussion post.	3
Responding to Students Discussion	The student did not respond to any other discussion posts.	The student responded to some discussion posts.	The student responded to all required discussion topics.	3
Assessment Information	The assessment did not cite the book or the presentation.	The assessment cited either the book or the presentation, but not both.	The assessment brought ideas from both the presentation and the book.	3
Assessment Structure	The assessment was not clear and hard to understand.	The assessment was unclear in some parts.	The assessment was easy to follow and understand.	3
Learning Community	The student does not acknowledge the learning community.	The student mentions the learning community, however does do not develop the concept.	The student describes and understands the importance of building a learning community in an online classroom.	2
Learning Process	The student does not acknowledge the learning process.	The student mentions the learning process, however does not develop the concept.	The student describes and understands the learning process in an online classroom.	3
Total Score				17/18 = 94%
Comments Good Work.  Related the material to your own experiences and preferences.  How the community of learners developed and what is is its importance in an online classroom?  Please see my blog for other student’s responses and ideas.