Lost in translation? Can a taught Masters course be equally successful online? A personal experience

Introduction

I developed and taught a successful face-to-face (f2f) Masters course for three years, before being asked to transform it into an online course. Initially I struggled pedagogically with going online without losing key course elements of value to me and students (as indicated in course evaluations). I had to work very hard to convince my colleagues I cannot simply put online what I do f2f, rather I must put time and effort into ensuring the online course delivers appropriately and nothing is lost. A literature review indicates there is a divide between those who believe new and often different skills are needed to deliver an online course successfully versus those who argue f2f practices can be transferred (Twomey, 2004). There is also debate as to whether the delivery of an online course requires more effort than a f2f course.

The current course

The current course is:

• classroom based for ten, two-hour f2f sessions over ten weeks comprising of facilitated discussion, individual and group exercises, indicative reading and sharing of previous experiences through interactive teaching strategies to promote active learning;

• ‘blended’ in so far as online support materials (the timetable, suggested readings, key papers, copies of presentations) are available through WebCT;

• evaluated very positively, consistently scoring top marks for student satisfaction (Table 1). It has also been nominated regularly for an Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) Teaching Award.

Table 1 Examples of student feedback taken from their course evaluation forms

What do you consider to be the best features?
• the teacher and the class discussions, always helpful, reflective, informative and practical;
• the atmosphere of learning was great fun and warm. Thank you;
• great facilitation – I felt able to discuss issues and explore effectively;
• the course was very well organised;
• the openness of lectures – feedback and friendliness were appreciated.

Table 2 Potential challenges and benefits

The potential challenge
• limited experience of online course delivery;
• self-doubt in technical ability;
• limited awareness of the available tools/platforms;
• colleagues assume the transfer of course content from one medium to another is straightforward and requires no ‘lead in’ time;
• ensure technology does not overshadow course content; maintain professional integrity and stay true to one’s philosophy of teaching;
• ensure the desirable and valued characteristics of an f2f course are not lost.
The potential benefits
• expansion of teaching repertoire and delivery methods;
• ‘upskilling’ in relation to IT usage;
• a greater knowledge and understanding of how to select the best tools to facilitate student learning, engagement and interaction;
• becomes easier to update content from year to year;
• if well designed, enables lecturer to track and evaluate a student’s engagement and progress.

The proposed new course

The new course will offer the same module as a fully online asynchronous course.

My teaching style

Elements of my teaching style include:

• based on a constructivist model, which provides a useful theory for designing and developing online courses (McMahon 2007);

• learner centred, collaborative and process orientated;

• emphasises activities with clearly defined learning outcomes.

What are some of the potential challenges and benefits for the lecturer?

What support is required?

The key requirement is TIME:

• for course development;

• to develop and maintain good links with technical support staff, ideally with a named individual or team;

• to experiment and gain confidence with available technologies.

(See Garrison and Kanuka 2004, Ryan et al. 1999, Bourbonnais 2010.)

Preparation

The following are examples of things I have done to prepare myself:

• gained direct experience of what it feels like to be an online learner by enrolling and actively participating in a fully online e-moderating course, ‘Facilitating on-line learning – skills for health care educators’, which followed Salmon’s five-step model of teaching and learning online (Salmon 2002): http://www.medev.ac.uk/funding/workshops/209/view_workshop/;

• accepted a part-time secondment with the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) within the University of Edinburgh. This gave me ‘thinking space’ and much valued contact with supportive and knowledgeable colleagues;

• accessed demonstrations of technologies that were new to me;

• networked with and learned from fellow secondees and other members of IAD with experience in distance learning/online course delivery;

• reviewed my approach to teaching;

• participated in an online conference, ‘Innovating e-Learning’: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/elpconference11.

What have I learned?

My key findings from this process include:

• be purposeful and selective in choosing educational and communication technologies;

• ensure the chosen technology remains the vehicle for instruction rather than taking centre stage;

• be consistent in the layout of the course material and use of graphics to ensure the students become familiar with the visuals and know what to expect from week to week;

• gain competence with the chosen technology before the course starts;

• give students preparation time to orientate themselves with the course content and structure;

• set clear goals and expectations for the course as a whole, but also for each week or task;

• be realistic about the time required to prepare and deliver an online course. Online teaching takes more effort than classroom teaching (Johnson 2006);

• find allies and develop existing and new networks;

• do not try to do everything at once otherwise the enormity of the task can seem overwhelming;

• ensure instructions to students encourage communication, collaboration, mutual support and an exchange of experiences;

• recognise and use transferable skills gained from f2f teaching; the role of the tutor is vital in online learning (Burge and O’Rourke 1998).

Conclusion

Undertaking this challenge to change my teaching from that of f2f classroom-based delivery to a fully online asynchronous delivery mode was initially exactly that – a challenge! However, it is one from which I feel I am emerging with not just an increased awareness and understanding of my own “novel skills and attitudes”, which we all require to teach online (Thorpe 2002), but an increased confidence that, having taken the time to prepare well, I am now in a better position to successfully make this transition and to deliver a course that meets both the students’ educational needs and also my own expectations of best practice.