My second focus group was held May 5th at 2pm. Out of 12 students I emailed, only one showed up. Frustrating to say the least. Tara was there and she was a big help. I was less nervous this time as I had her and this was my second time.
So my focus group was more an interview than a focus group. I did notice a big difference between interviewing two that were at the beginning of their degrees and one was graduating this semester. There was more of a maturity.
She had taken the class as an elective and had various experiences with online courses. She was a psychology major and she hit on some key points. She thought you should not take your major classes online because one doesn't learn as much online. It seems more self taught. And she got me thinking about the instructor and her role. We do create the environment. and if we are not facilitating discussion and highlighting what is or is not important and connecting to prior knowledge, how do the students do it themselves? The teacher has to be present and interact. I think of transactional distance theory . . . and the instructor as the main component in bridging that difference. I also think about the learning cycle of knowing what you think, expressing it and then hearing others and processing it to learn. (COI)
She wanted more synchronous interactions. She has never felt known as a person in online classes except for a creative arts class. Interesting. Pictures didn't seem to help a whole lot.
The other thing I have been thinking about is power and the Courtney article. I teach online and I think of who has the power and when a student questions my power . . . when is this due? why isn't it graded? and I get upset that she dare email me and question my authority. Did it threaten me? Was I clear enough in directions? I'm still pondering.
