{"id":1223,"date":"2017-05-16T16:47:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T16:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hets.org\/ejournal\/?p=1223"},"modified":"2017-05-17T16:09:34","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T16:09:34","slug":"online-learning-no-worries-at-community-colleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hets.org\/ejournal\/online-learning-no-worries-at-community-colleges\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Learning: No Worries at Community Colleges."},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Dr. Sherese A. Mitchell<\/p>\n

Assistant Professor<\/p>\n

Institution: Hostos Community College<\/p>\n

500 Grand Concourse<\/p>\n

Bronx, NY 10541<\/p>\n

Online Learning: No Worries at Community Colleges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n

There has been an increase in online course enrollment through the years. More students are enrolled in these courses as a result of budget benefits and student interest. Typically, students take some time to become oriented to these courses and ask questions, especially about the navigation. This paper describes the design, content, and implementation of the training folder “Before Your Course Begins\u201d that teachers can use to engage students before the start of an online course.<\/p>\n

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In the last decade, there has been an increase in online course enrollment in community colleges (Saltarelli & Roster, 2014).\u00a0More students are enrolled in these institutions because of student interest in the classes offered, as well as lower tuition.\u00a0 Typically, students take some time to become oriented to the courses and ask numerous questions, and this is especially true of those new to online courses. This paper describes the design, contents, and implementation of the online folder \u201cBefore Your Course Begins\u201d that was created to engage students before the start of the course. This study is based on my work at Hostos Community. The strategies outlined here can be used to keep students engaged.<\/p>\n

Online course enrollment in community colleges has increased at an average rate of 18.5% during the ten years before 2011\u00a0 (Allen & Seaman, 2011), which clearly exceeds the 2.1% rate of the total U.S. higher education enrollment during the same time frame of the past decade (Allen & Seaman, 2011).\u00a0 Moreover, over 6 million students had enrolled in at least one online course as of 2010\u00a0(Saltarelli & Roster, 2014).\u00a0 These increases demonstrate the importance of analyzing the way online technologies relate to instruction and course content (Mishra & Koehler, 2006).<\/p>\n

Jones and Hansen (2013) in \u201cData Provided by the American Association of Community Colleges,\u201d, (p. 89), describe the role of Community colleges as the most active entry into higher education, registering nearly 50% of all undergraduate students. In addition, community colleges are the gateway to education for the nontraditional and underprepared student population (Allen & Seaman, 2011).\u00a0As Ashburn (2006) outlined, students\u2019 inadequate academic preparation and their lack of success in their previous educational institutions are the most difficult obstacles facing community colleges nationwide. The means of\u00a0resolving this problem may be a combination of conventional and new technology methodologies.<\/p>\n

Although the discussion among academics in community\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>four-year collegesabout the use of lectures versus lectures replaced by, or accompanied by, more active forms of learning has become contentious, (Nitecki, 2011), lectures continue to be an important element of the traditional classroom.\u00a0In both community and four-year colleges, video-recorded lectures are often used to accompany in-person classroom lectures (Gorrisen, Van Brugge, & Jochems, 2012) and are a part of many online learning platforms (Breslow, Pritchard, DeBoer, Stump, Ho, & Seaton, 2013). The hybrid (blended) model of instruction consists of face-to-face instruction, plus time for students to work independently while using instructional technology. An overall goal of blended learning is to combine the best practices of the face-to-face classroom practice with the online resources of a virtual classroom (Rausch & Crawford, 2012).<\/p>\n

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According to research done by\u00a0\u00a0Means, there is important evidence that online learning is just as effective as classroom learning, and a hybrid is more effective than either one independently (Means, Toyama, Murphy, Bakia, & Jones, 2010).\u00a0However, some students are entering hybrid courses unaware of how to navigate the course. Many students believe the class only meets one day a week and aren\u2019t aware that there is work to complete online. For others, the opposite is true, and they are absent in the face-to-face session. Overall, students are anxious initially about the format, course, and the expectations of the instructor. Because of this anxiety, students need to see the syllabus ahead of time (LaMonica, 2001), so they will know what to expect in the course and can get a jump start on assignments. Furthermore, to allay their fears, many students ask schoolmates who have taken the courses before about professors or search\u00a0http:\/\/www.ratemyprofessor.com<\/a>\u00a0to get an idea of the expectations of the teacher.\u00a0The instructor may also advise the students to write down important dates, i.e. tests, due dates for papers, presentations, etc., or ask them to put reminders in their phones. All of these preparations reduce their anxiety and help them to get excited about what they are about to engage in for the coming semester.<\/p>\n

Attention to diversity is also essential when assisting students with online learning courses (Seybert & Rossol, 2010). An increasing number of students have immigrated to the United States. The City University profiles of\u00a0community colleges demonstrate that nearly half of students come from different countries and speak a host of native languages\u00a0(\u201cstudent profiles\u201d, 2014). For example in 2014, 10,000 out of the 20,000 students enrolled in LaGuardia Community College were migrants. In total, they were natives of 157 different countries and spoke 111 different languages. Many of the students who emigrated lack adequate fluency and literacy in English, as evidenced by the large number of students enrolled in remedial courses (\u201cstudent profiles,\u201d 2014).\u00a0In another community college, Hostos, the majority of first-year students are enrolled in such courses (\u201cstudent profiles,\u201d 2016).\u00a0 Culture and language barriers can interfere with the learning process, making teaching more challenging, and impacting the success of the student (Park & Choi, 2009).<\/p>\n

In institutions serving non-traditional students, faculty need to develop an additional repertoire of teaching strategies that consider remedial education needs, cultural and diverse backgrounds and meaningful class content integration (Wichadee, 2013). In December 2009, The City University of New York (CUNY) Office of Academic Affairs requested proposals for the expansion of hybrid instruction, in response to a call from the Chancellor. The request called for an increase in hybrid courses by the fall of 2010, with institutes facilitating the sharing, use and development of the best practices<\/p>\n

Hostos has developed an effective non-conventional strategy. Located in one of the poorest districts in the United States, the South Bronx, Hostos Community Collegeis part of The City University of New York and serves nearly 7,000 students (\u201cStudent Profiles,\u201d 2014)\u00a0with a population that is 60% Hispanic, 22% African American, 3% Asian, as well as\u00a0 66% female (\u201cStudent Profiles,\u201d 2014). On average, 60% of the college\u2019s student population are first-generation college students. Overall, 86% of these students require remediation in mathematics, writing, or reading.\u00a0Despite these challenges, the students have shown a desire to grow socially and academically through higher education. Many of these students are parents who are at or below poverty level.\u00a0 The hybrid format offers an opportunity for them to attend class while reducing the costs of transportation or child care. The online courses of Hostos Community College offer a great deal of flexibility. Following is a brief first day overview that I have implemented in a traditional classroom when welcoming students to the course.<\/p>\n

Day One in Person:<\/p>\n