“Connecting” distance students

Antonella Strambi

2

The Context

• LANG 2002 & LANG 8002: Second Language Teaching Methodology

• Approx. 20 students• Mix of distance & on-campus students;

UG + PG• Offered since 2002 in different versions

3

3

First steps

• Students assigned textbook chapters to read - no lecture

• Written on-line discussion (Bulletin Board style)

• Drawbacks: Lack of engagement with other students’ responses; superficial engagement with materials; time-consuming to read

4

4

Now

• Each chapter accompanied by on-line lecture – powerpoint slides with voiceover (approx.

50 min.) – also powerpoint slides in handout format

• face-to-face + online tutorial (Skype)– advantages: student-student engagement,

group cohesion, deeper understanding, less time-consuming to assess

5

5

What’s missing? • Responding to distance students’ needs (e.g.

“Exploring the Student Voice in Online Education” project: http://www.uq.edu.au/student-voice-project/):– feeling “connected” with other students, instructors,

institution, materials --> social media (FB)– organisation tools: reminders, timed tasks, lectures

broken into manageable chunks– engaging materials --> videos (TV-style)

6

6

Challenges

• Time/money: who has the time (and skills) to develop engaging videos? Keep up with FB posts? Where do we draw the line?

• How far do we want to go? Is video (TV-style) the new means of knowledge transfer? --> implications for research publications?

7