Teaching and Learning Experiences in a Collaborative Distance-Education Environment

Abstract

The Great Plains Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) emphasizes the importance of a collaborative environment for instructors and students in distance education. The authors highlight a number of important principles for distance-education programs and point out similarities and differences when compared to traditional face-face-to classes such as communication, classroom management, connectivity, and technical challenges. They summarize general topics concerning the faculty, the syllabus, office hours, the calendar, and announcements. Three essential lesson components are noted: an overview, the lesson itself, and supplemanetary material. The authors also take the student perspective, emphasizing the diversity of students, the importance of computer proficiency, and student interactions. Finally, they summarize a first round of course evaluations in the Great Plains IDEA gerontology master's program.

Competencias sobre geriatría, modalidad de enseñanza y ageísmo en estudiantes de medicina en el contexto de la pandemia por COVID-19

“…Medimos la percepción sobre el adulto mayor utilizando la escala UCLAS-GAS (8) , la cual ha sido traducida y adaptada en el pre-Competencias en geriatría entre estudiantes de medicina Fernando M. Runzer-Colmenares y col.…”

“…La educación virtual tiene como principios que debe asumir las expectativas y componentes equivalentes a una enseñanza presencial (8) . Desde hace dos décadas, el uso del internet ha pasado de ser únicamente un apoyo administrativo a ser un recurso de aprendizaje (9) .…”

Online Education in Family and Consumer Sciences University Programs and Four Models for Teaching Online

“…Because constructivism‐based activities give students a high degree of freedom, instructors might feel a loss of control (Rounds & Rappaport, ) and that they are overwhelmed with the volume of work awaiting comments (Young, ). Organized and clear directions, provision of supplementary materials, and regular overviews of main ideas can help students stay focused for online journal or blog assignments (Martin & Scheetz, ). Teachers who structure the placement of feedback carefully throughout the course and use peer feedback can avoid being inundated while still providing needed guidance to students.…”

“…In addition to one‐time introductions that are common in online courses, instructors who keep the online space open allow students to continue to converse throughout the duration of a course. Martin and Scheetz (), participants in the GPIDEA gerontology program, recommend that instructors set up a “cyber café” to provide a comfortable setting for students to ask each other questions, share information, and converse in informal ways.…”