Unit One Building an Online Learning Community Lecture Reading Assignment A: Autobiography Assignment B: Characteristics of Students

Lecture Several years ago I facilitated an instructional skills workshop with Professor J. J. Wilson in our English department. She told us that one of the most important things she always does at the beginning of the semester is to establish a community of learners. She used a constructivist approach in her teaching by spreading the responsibility for learning among all the people in her course. (We'll talk more about the theory of constructivism in Unit Two.) J.J. worked hard in her f2f (face-to-face) classroom to create an environment in which participants learned from and with each other by collaborating together. An atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and caring were hallmarks in her classroom. Palloff and Pratt, in the reading for Unit One, talk extensively about the necessity for establishing a community of learners. They provide a number of practical strategies to use for establishing a community in the online classroom. As you read their book, think about three things: How can we establish a community of learners among ourselves in THIS course? What value does a community of learners have for you in the courses you teach? Thinking ahead to teaching online, what strategies will you use to build community among your online learners? We can't have a community if people don't know one another. So, let's begin this unit by working to establish a community among ourselves. Some of you already know each other from your contacts on the campus. Nevertheless, I'd like you to introduce yourselves to each other following the instructions below in Assignment #1. Earmarks of "community" include not only some knowledge of who each other is, but also a recognition that we learn from each other.

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Reading Read Palloff and Pratt, Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace Creating community online: negotiating students' needs and desires in cyberspace

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Assignments A. Focused autobiographical sketch. Post in WebCT's Forum 01A for Autobiographies.   Use this first week of class to get acquainted with your fellow classmates here in our online world. Take the Kingdomality Personal Profile: http://www.cmi-lmi.com/kingdomality.html Introduce yourself to the class by explaining your Kingdomality profile. Does your profile fit you? Why or why not? Those who know me aren't surprised that I am a "shepherd" in the kingdom. I've taken the profile a number of times and, always with the same result.   [Kingdomality profiles of the class.]   Include in your introduction a short autobiographical sketch focused on a single successful or meaningful learning experience from your life as a student while in college or grad school.   What criteria are you using to define "successful" or "meaningful" in this experience? What were the critical events that made this experience successful? How did variables such as yourself, the instructor, other students, the content, and the context of the learning environment, contribute to the success you describe? Conclude your sketch by completing (briefly) one of the following leads: The most ridiculous (or embarrassing) thing that ever happened to me as a teacher... The riskiest thing I ever did as a teacher... The most uncomfortable moment I've had as a teacher... Post your sketch in the forum for Unit 1A ("Autobiographical Sketch") by the end of the first week of this 2-week unit.   During the second week of this unit, read each others' sketches.   Find a way to connect with the authors of at least two other sketches that are similar in some way to yours. And find a way to connect with the authors of at least two sketches that are different from yours.   Be sure to go back and read the comments generated by your sketch. top   B. Characteristics of your own students. Post in the forum for Unit 1B ("Student Characteristics").   As you read Palloff and Pratt, think about your own students, the ones for whom you plan to use online instruction. Use Forum 01B to consider the following questions:   Who are your students? What are their needs? What are your course objectives or outcomes? Are they clear and achievable? How will you use technology to fulfill your instructional goals? Will the course format and delivery facilitate or hinder students from accessing the course? How will assignments and exams be structured? What kind of student participation is expected? How will student learning be evaluated? Do the evaluation methods match the course objectives or outcomes? Post your answers to these issues by the end of the first week of this 2-week unit. Use the 2nd week of the unit to read each others' entries and to discuss with each other by:   Raising questions Seeking clarification Offering alternatives Making suggestions

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