Success indicator or effectiveness of any learning environment design is judged by students’ satisfaction and success rate. Both satisfaction and success depend on sustaining interest and motivation for learning. Much research is needed to identify the different motivating factors for learning and the strategies for sustaining learners’ motivation in online courses. Most of the online courses are attended by the students who are busy professionals, or who do not have access to face-to-face education. These students are highly motivated to learn, although they have different motivations or objectives for learning. So our challenges are to sustain students’ motivation in the online environment, provide challenges, provide support, and facilitate learning. One of the primary aspects of sustaining interest in online courses is to provide opportunities for interactions. People are, above all else, members of social groups and products of the historical experiences of those groups (Wood, 2004).
Some of the basic principles of instructional (interaction) design are:
- Design and use learning activities that engage students in active learning.
- Provide meaningful and authentic learning experiences that help learners apply course concepts and achieve course objectives.
- Use strategies that consider the different learning styles of students.
The teacher as the leader and designer of the learning environment must possess and inculcate fundamentals of embracing diversity (Sonnenschein, 1999) which include:
- Respect—for others, for differences, for ourselves.
- Tolerance—for ambiguities in language, style, behaviour.
- Flexibility—in situations that are new, difficult and challenging.
- Self-awareness—be sure you understand your reactions and know what you bring to the diverse workplace (learning environment).
- Empathy—to feel what someone different from you might be feeling in new and strange surroundings.
- Patience—for change that can be slow, and diversity situations that might be difficult.
- Humour—because when we lose our sense of humour, we lose our sense of humanity, as well as perspectives (p. 9).
The instructor or designer has to be creative, and use several different activities and interactivity to engage students and enhance their learning experience in an online course. These could be done through introduction of case studies, reflective journals, research reports, eportfolios, wikis, blogs, podcasts, simulations and games, authentic group projects through problem-based or inquiry-based learning, tests, quizzes, synchronous chat and asynchronous discussion forums, audio-videoconferences via Internet, etc. The instructor will have to develop strategies and techniques for establishing and maintaining learning communities among distance learners through the use of learning technologies. This will help to overcome the isolation that students can experience when taking an online course and also provide opportunities for collaboration and sharing knowledge and expertise.
We have conducted online collaborative problem-based learning for distance students. It was initially very difficult for the students to adapt to the new learning environment. By the end of the course, students realized that much learning had taken place by working in collaborative groups and participating in synchronous and asynchronous interactions using Internet tools. Student reflections revealed that the learning environment allowed them to choose their own problem to work on. They could schedule their work in negotiation with other group members. Students felt a sense of ownership of their work. Some students indicated that they were so involved in finding solutions for a problem or resolving an issue that at times they forgot that they were doing the activities for a course assignment. Assessment was done for the acquisition of higher order cognitive skills, e.g., critical thinking, decision-making, reflection, problem solving, scientific, and research skills. Self reflection, peer assessment and feedback are also a part of the peer-based learning process. In the process students also acquired valuable social and interpersonal skills through collaborative activities (Bhattacharya, 2004).
We have introduced e-portfolios in various courses and programs over the years. E-portfolios allow students to integrate and identify the links between the various activities they do in and outside of their formal education. Students can bring in their personal experiences and demonstrate how they have applied the knowledge and skills acquired in actual practice through e-portfolios. Developing e-portfolios and reflecting on the activities allow students to learn about their strengths, weaknesses, interests, and provide them directions for future. It also provides opportunities for teachers to learn about their students: their motivations, their previous experiences, their background, their skills, their attitudes, etc. Students can personalize their learning, and develop communication, organization, presentation, and design skills through development of e-portfolios (Bhattacharya, 2006).
In recent times we have used a combination of freeware for conducting interactive sessions in our online courses. Students were consulted before combining and using the technologies. A quick survey revealed the pros and cons of different technologies. Students and faculty agreed upon a set of tools which would work for them. The process of selecting tools, particularly criteria for selection, preferences, and justifications for using particular tools provided useful data for identifying tools and technologies to mashup to suit different purposes. Examples include Skype, Googledoc, Googlechat, or Skypechat for collaborative group assignments for an online and distance education course. WebCT discussion forums were used for asynchronous interactions among group members. In this course all the synchronous interactions were recorded for future reference and feedback.
