September 2005 — Features
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The Initial Experience
Students and instructors of the Rapid City Academy Online were asked to examine their online teaching and learning experiences during this first year. The staff completed a written questionnaire in which seven noted experiences as learners in online master’s or doctoral classes, while one instructor had no online experience as a student. Five of the instructors were experienced teachers of online courses, while this was the first opportunity in online teaching for three instructors. Of the 35 student respondents, 10 had participated in at least one online class offered by the academy in the last year, while 25 had no previous eLearning experience.
According to the Illinois Online Network (Key Elements of an Online Program, 2003, www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/overview/elements.asp), the flexibility of asynchronous learning is one of the most frequently mentioned advantages of online learning. In the survey of the eight Rapid City Academy Online instructors, flexibility and convenience ranked as the most important advantages to online teaching; students also rated flexibility and convenience highly. Students in particular responded that they appreciated the freedom of choosing when to work on classes rather than having to work on them at a specific time. It was also interesting to see that teachers as well as students were able to adjust their online schedules to balance life’s responsibilities.
The Illinois Online Network also found that asynchronous discussions in an online course allowed the learner time to think and reflect on presented content material. Rather than trying to formulate an answer on the spot, the learner gives more consideration to the response, which seems to result in more engaged learning. Thus, instead of only learning facts, students discuss topics and become active participants in the learning process. This research was supported in the Rapid City Academy’s experience with its virtual high school. So, it’s no surprise that 88 percent of academy instructors identified reflective learning, student engagement, and student-centered instruction as advantages of online instruction. In addition, students’ responses to individual teacher’s requests for feedback regarding the online education experience indicated the positive impact of a personal connectedness to the instructor through the use of e-mail, threaded discussions,and journaling.
The online learning platform’s interactivity also rated highly with 88 percent of the instructors, while students in general enjoyed using the computers and all of the related tools, such as threaded discussion boards, e-mail, and journals. Perhaps as importantly, many of the students were experienced in the use of interactive online tools, including electronic bulletin boards, as well as chat and instant messaging, prior to beginning their online coursework. These same students also highlighted the use of Web sites to learn more about subjects of interest.
