Biggest challenges moving from F2F to online.

The challenges faced by students moving from f2f to an online environment vary by student. I find that the biggest factor is not the level of skills in technology, but the students’ sense of adventure and willingness to take risks. Even for those with a sense of adventure, once they move into the online environment, many find it difficult to find and/or adjust to their virtual selves. Success and comfort in the virtual environment requires the ability to develop and project one’s virtual persona. Hopefully, this persona is an authentic extension of the person one is in the physical world.
What are the biggest challenges your students face when transitioning from f2f environment to an online environment?
Last night I had my one f2f meeting with a new class of Advanced Technologies students. After the third announcement that class would be online after this one meeting, one student got a panicked look on her face. I talked with the students about the concept of “self” – of who we are. Are we our bodies? Can we be in the same physical space with someone and have no rapport with them, no connection? Yes – queues at the grocery store or the movies, etc.; waiting rooms at the doctors. It is not until we interact  and extend ourselves in thoughts, and reactions, revelations about our inner being that we share persona.  I learned this when I was in middle school and shared my Beatlemania with pen pals in Germany, England and Japan. There was no internet then – we connected virtually through snail mail, but the concept was the same. We shared our common interests, shared our ideas and ourselves, built bonds -- and never met, although when I read their letters I felt they were in the same room with me. They told me the same.
Developing the online persona is perhaps the most difficult transition from f2f to online, because it means understanding that “you” are not just physical, and that the “you” that generates ideas  and forms relationships and solves problems is an intellectual being who does not have to be bound by physical space. Once a person understands and accepts that reality, the rest is just an adventure.
Kathleen

An Experiment with Prezi Pease visit

An Experiment with Prezi
http://prezi.com/inpdjhiyp3pl/creating-presentations-using-prezi/?auth_key=87a22593fa0c240c946f6127c118f81408081f56&kw=view-inpdjhiyp3pl&rc=ref-29670399
Your comments and input are welcome.

ONLINE- HYBRID- BLENDED EDUCATION: Week One Reflection

ONLINE- HYBRID- BLENDED EDUCATION: Week One Reflection
The first week in the Certificate Program in  ONLINE- HYBRID- BLENDED EDUCATION was pretty remarkable! I met a lot of new friends and some old ones and felt really comfortable in a group of people with the same passion for finding new ways to incorporate distance education and technology into the delivery of instruction. What amazed me as we worked through our discussion was the variety of technologies we use and how many new ones are out there. It is almost impossible to keep up with the proliferation of communication tools and venues available in cyberspace.
Keeping up with what is out there is only one of the challenges of online education. An even greater challenge is integrating  technology effectively to achieve the desired outcomes of curriculum and instruction. Technology tools for their own sake could actually detract from instructional effectiveness. Matching the appropriate technology with your lesson plans for effective online instruction is the key to success. Thus, I am hoping over the next few weeks not only to expand my repertoire of available instructional technologies, but also my knowledge and skill in understanding how to assess the needs of my students within the context of distance education and combine curriculum with technology to meet student needs and achieve desired learning outcomes. The prospect is both daunting and exciting!