Running head: ADVICE TO NEW E-LEARNING INSTRUCTORS
Advice to New e-Learning Instructors
Stephen W. Watts
Northcentral University
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Advice to New e-Learning Instructors
I have taught and mentored students and instructors on the system that I have described
in my slides. The reason that I selected the advice that I presented is because this is truly the
advice that I have and will continue to give. I understand that many e-learning environments are
not this robust. I work for a US-based Fortune 100 Technological Company, and the business
model of this company is to provide the best quality software, hardware, and training that the
customer is willing to buy.
In this particular seminar, the audience is currently active and well trained technology
instructors in various languages, applications, and tools. This means that they need to know
three things. They need to know what is expected of them, and the tools that they will be using
to meet those expectations. I would have added a couple of slides between slide four and five to
show what the WebEx tool looks like, the various communication features that are incorporated
in it, and instruction on each of their use. I did not do so because every picture I have of the tool
has several logos of the company on them, and would not be appropriate for this assignment.
These instructors need to connect what is new with what is already known. We do use
Gagne’s model in our training, and my middle section is step three of the model. Finally, I
introduced the new content in the form of how the instructors will have to adapt their pedagogy
to this new medium for training. The thoughts that I presented through the slides are designed to
give each instructor some space to be able to think, and to piece together their feelings and
thoughts on what is being presented to them. It is also designed to engage and encourage them
to remember to strive to be better. All of us need to recharge our teaching batteries sometime
and be reminded the reason we got in the field in the first place.
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Supportive Evidence
While it would be the truth to say that the supportive evidence for the advice that I’ve
given in this presentation is that I get paid very well to mentor others in how to do this very
thing, and to present online classes using this very advice and pedagogy for which I receive
extremely high marks for customer and student satisfaction, I don’t suppose that is what is being
asked for in the assignment. Broadbent (2002) identified Gagne’s model as a “solid framework
for developing and delivering e-learning” (p. 115). She also identifies that the techniques that I
identified for instructors to continue doing, e.g., interactive techniques, nurturing the relationship
between instructor and learner, and modeling of participative behavior are effective in e-learning.
I did not provide many specific techniques that will need to be modified for the very
reason that when I mentor instructors I focus on the techniques that instructor has found helpful
in the classroom, and work with them to tailor those for their use online. The pacing of elearning has been noted by many authors, including Broadbent (2002). The remainders of the
advice are specific factors that we have to work with and have come from a couple of sources
(Maeroff, 2003; Palloff & Pratt, 2001), but mostly through personal experience.
Effectiveness of Format
A better format for this particular assignment would have probably been a podcast
demonstrating the new environment, the technical tools that are available, and the techniques
discussed to these new instructors. I did not choose that format for a couple of reasons. First, I
did not have access to the tool or an environment, and secondly, I did not have a good quality
video camera to do a decent job.
As the second best alternative for this presentation I chose PowerPoint because it allows
me to convey a good amount of information, add interest grabbing visuals and transitions, in a
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simple and easily understood format. This format also allows for questions and discussion as the
seminar proceeds, and the facilitator can share personal experiences that clarify or enhance what
is conveyed in the slides, and in the notes. I also chose this format in order to be exact in
following the specifications of the assignment which indicated that I should “save the file as PPT
with the correct course code information”.
Conclusion
Since this assignment was entitled a reflective essay I have been more relaxed in my
prose and in my examples. This does not belittle how important it is for instructors who are
going online to know that there are, at least in the world of e-learning where I live, many
similarities in process, and framework between a traditional classroom and a virtual one. They
must also come to know that while they are similar, they are not exactly the same. There are a
thousand small adjustments between the two pedagogies, and my number one piece of advice is
to be present and attentive to the needs of the students, regardless of where those students are,
and regardless of what medium you are using to communicate information to them.
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References
Broadbent, B. (2002). ABCs of e-learning: Reaping the benefits and avoiding the pitfalls. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
Maeroff, G. I. (2003). A classroom of one: How online learning is changing our schools and
colleges. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Palloff,R. M., & Pratt, K. (2001). Lessons from the cyberspace classroom: The realities of online
teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.