Creating presence, currency and connection in digital learning with video blogs

There is a substantial body of work arguing that sense of belonging, connection and interaction is a critical element for students to persist and succeed in learning online. However online students frequently report feeling isolated and disconnected from teachers, peers, and the institution. This paper explores the use of regular, informal video messages to facilitate these connections in a fully online course We argue that such videos can build teacher presence, provide opportunities for sharing feedback, guidance, emerging developments and professional insights, and contribute to a dynamic and engaging learning environment. We share preliminary feedback and reflections on the use of such videos and discuss the next steps in measuring the impact of these videos on student learning and satisfaction.

TEACHER PRESENCE AS MEDIATOR IN ONLINE LEARNING: THE CASE FOR FRENCH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Fortunately, technology and long entered the education sectors when the world is faced with the pandemic. Whether teachers and learners are ready or not, online classes are here to stay. Online learning is a unique way of learning that allow flexibility at many levels. Language educators once felt that the learning of language can only be done face-to-face because of the needs of some language skills. This study is done to explore the portrayal of presence during online learning of the French as a foreign language. This quantitative study is done to investigate how learners cope learning French online. 170 respondents were purposely chosen from learners who took French as a foreign language. They attended the course in a few public and private universities. The instrument used is a questionnaire. Findings revealed interesting influence of the teacher as mediator in online learning. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0893/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

That Synching Feeling: An Exploration of Student Engagement in an Online Environment

In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, universities were forced to shift to an online, remote delivery system. This paper presents the design and evaluation of two skills-based first-year units that were adapted to a predominantly asynchronous mode of delivery. The evaluation results indicate that student engagement was high, and that students felt well-supported by the strong teacher presence throughout their units. Furthermore, the impact of this engagement and support was evident in their final grades and the overall unit completion figures. These findings indicate that individualized support, teacher presence and flexibility are key factors in student success in an online environment. This suggests that asynchronous learning can be valuable to students from various academic backgrounds providing that the content and teacher are readily accessible in various formats and that the teachers are mindful of the complexities of students’ lives outside of an academic setting.