Category: Post 2

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Critical Inquiry exploration Integration OTL301 Post 2

Teaching Presence

  1. How has your view of the effective practice changed now that you have read more about teaching presence?

I can see that the design and organization can really make a difference when it comes to teaching presence. There can be a disconnect if the person designing the course is not the same person who is facilitating it. Ideas that seem good on paper (or that worked in a f2f course) sometimes do not translate well to online instruction. It is important for anyone facilitating to have the ability to make changes ‘on the fly’ to design where necessary.

  1. In what ways did the effective practice that you identified show the characteristics of teaching presence?

The effective practice that I identified is absolutely facilitating discourse. My prof asking me questions to come to a conclusion on my own was to stimulate individual learning (Anderson et al., 2001). This prof was also very present in our forums, adding comments to move discussion along.

  1. How could the idea of teaching presence have made the experience even more effective than it was?

I am not sure there is anything that could have made the experience more effective. Not just for my conversations about my paper, but in general. I have no idea if my prof designed the course, but it was well designed; the assessments were very much aligned with the content and the objectives. As mentioned, each of the other elements of teaching presence were demonstrated by the prof.

Reference

Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer (2001). Assessing teaching presence in a computer conferencing context. Journal of the Asynchronous Learning Network 5: 1-17.

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Critical Inquiry Integration OTL201 Post 2 Resolution

Social Presence

  • describe the ways in which your introductory post could have enhanced social presence in a course that you teach

I used interpersonal and open communication by introducing my pronouns, giving others permission to do so, and doing a territory acknowledgement.

  • identify at least one improvement that you might make in light of what you know about social presence since completing your first post

If I were trying to enhance social presence in a course with my intro, I might have said something like “I am looking forward to working my way through the course with you.”

  • describe how your thinking about social presence has changed since your first post.

Not much changed for me–I try to utilize the ideas introduced from Garrison without realizing that there were names for them 🙂

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Critical Inquiry OTL101 Post 2 Resolution showcase

Cognitive Presence

I found it interesting, but not surprising, that there was a lack of attention focused on resolution in the responses received. As an online student myself, I find it difficult to really integrate new ideas and attitudes. I find that the trigger and exploration phases are relatively easy to manage in online conversations. However, when it comes to integration, it can be difficult to really delve deep. Especially when I am in ‘conversation’ with others who are new to the concept as well. In an in-person class, the instructor is there to guide, push, prompt with an experienced voice. That is often missing in an online class; there are often a number of groups, each having different conversations, and it is difficult for the instructor to be present in all of them. This was noted in another’s blog, who said that the best example of cognitive presence for them was a course in which the professor made a connection with each student. What better way to ensure engagement than to engage on a personal level with each of your students?