Di’s E-learning Experience

Reflection on Short Online Course

Course:  BBC Languages - Spanish,  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/lj/

When I originally signed up to complete my online short course in Spanish (Spanish Steps) my expectations were very limited with a focus on the actual objectives of the Course.  I thought I would be learning some new Spanish phrases, vocab a little more about Spanish culture and enjoying the interactive online environment.  However now that I have completed the course and the evaluation sheet, I realize that the development of a successful online program is much more complex.
If an online course is going to be successful there are many issues that need to be addressed.  Some of these are:

• To provide interactive programs that take into account the different styles of learning (as outlined in Paloff and Pratt (2001) .
• To provide the learner with opportunity to seek feedback from peers and facilitator, and possibly access online collaborative learning.
• The course should be easy to navigate with links to previous sections for backup, links to additional support information (e.g., explanations of grammar or new vocab), and links to additional online resources for learners who want to expand their learning experience further.
• Provide the learner with technical support, especially important for learners who have minimal technical experience as this could become a barrier which would stop them from completing the course.
• Provide guidance to the learner to develop their “study skills and learning strategies”. (Watkins, 2005)

I realize that there are many more issues that need to be addressed to provide a successful online program.  However, these are the five issues that I feel are quite relevant to my online experience with the BBC program Spanish Steps.

In general I found the course very engaging, logically sequenced, and well organized.  I think the program addressed issue of providing a variety of activities to suit different learning styles well.  Prior to the beginning the course I completed the VARK questionnaire and found that I was categorized as a multi-modal learner.  I actually hadn’t though a lot about my learning style before but as I worked my way through the exercises I noticed that when I was learning conversational pieces I preferred the short video’s and interactive exercises of clicking and pasting the conversation into the correct order.  However when it came to reinforcing the rules of grammar and revising new vocabulary, I preferred to write them down.  This seemed to reinforce my learning and I could recall the material more clearly.

When looking as the aspect of feedback provided by Spanish Steps I think it was adequately catered for. As you worked your way through each exercise you were corrected and given the opportunity to redo the exercise.  There was also an online forum that you could contact your facilitator or other students who were doing the course.  I have to admit that given the short time span that I did the course for I didn’t use this facility. Though I think if I complete the proposed 12 week course I would avail myself of this opportunity as I think having contact and feedback from the teacher and your peers is important. The program also sent you a weekly email which provided you with some guidance on your learning strategies (e.g., printing off vocab sheets to revise your work when travelling to work, or linking up with a study buddy).  Even though this email was computer generated, I think it is a nice touch and gives the learner a sense of personal contact and interest by the program.

The program provided a comprehensive syllabus with easy to locate links between each section. I was impressed with the variety of different resources available.  These included:

• progress sheets that you could print off
• Additional vocab lists, plus a link to the entire vocab used in the program for easy reference.
• Links to grammar tips
• Links to information on Spanish Culture
• Links to additional online resources, eg files you can download onto your MP3
• Learners were also provided with a contact if they had any issues with the technical aspects of the Program.

Finally, learners were provided with resources and some tips to help them develop their learning strategies, e.g.

• Printing off of information sheets to use for extra practice,
• Linking up with a study buddy for support and feedback
• Use of the online forum.

In summary I have enjoyed the experience of completing the online Spanish program.  It was engaging, entertaining and I did expand my knowledge of Spanish.  However, the real value that I gained from completing this short course was in the evaluation process.  It helped me to recognize the complex issues that are behind the designing of a successful online learning program and enabled me identify some of the features of a well designed program.

References: 

Palloff, Rena M. & Pratt, Keith, 2001, “Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching”‘ Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.  http://drr.lib.uts.edu.au/file/17282/013966_palloffworking.pdf

Shaw, K. 2001, ‘Designing Online Learning Opportunities, Orchestrating experiences and managing Learning’, in J. Stephenson (ed.), Teaching and Learning Online: Pedagogies for New Technologies, Kogan Page LTD, King’s Lynn Great Britain. 

Siragusa, L. 2007, ‘Quality E-Learning: Designing Pedagogically Effective Web Based Environments for Enhancing Student Online Learning in Higher Education’, viewed 20/10/2007. http://www.waier.org.au/forums/2006/siragusa/

VARK, VARK Questionnaire, viewed 19/9/2007 http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=kinestheticprint 

Watkins, R., 2005, “Preparing e-learners for online success”, Learning Circuits, viewed 19/10/2007, http://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/sep2005/watkins.htm

Trackback URI | Comments RSS