End of Semester and Online Learning.

End of the Semester - Winter 2022 

Online Education

In the next two weeks, the semester will end and I will be completed the next two classes in my Bachelor of Applied GIS degree.  This semester has been full of ups and downs class-wise, and I have definitely been exposed to how I would not teach a class.  In some ways, the experiences this semester are what I was initially expecting from this program, largely un-guided, occasional contact with the instructor.  However, with the first couple of classes including some face-to-face time, it became clear that online instruction could be more.  

Readings & Lectures

This is pretty much identical to how reading would be done for an in-person class.  The instructor assigns you chapters to read.  You read them and take notes.  The biggest difference in this section is lectures as there are essentially none.  Powerpoint presentations are provided, which you can go over and really get an idea of what is important in your readings.  However, there is no interaction, no real ability to get quick clarifications.  Yes, you can send emails or post questions to the discussion boards (see below), but whether this is helpful or timely remains to be seen.

One of the key negative aspects of the weekly content is a lack of updates.   This has been a problem since day one in the program when I clicked on a link to take me to an example and it linked out to an old, now defunct, Flash file.  I feel like instructors or a reviewer should take some time before releasing each weekly content to make sure it is up to date, examples exist and book versions are up to date.  Even a yearly review of course content would make these stronger courses.

Assignments

These are pretty straightforward aspects of any course.  hands-on activities designed to reinforce what you have read.   Once completed they are marked and the instructor gives you feedback.

One of the key aspects of learning is making mistakes AND getting feedback on those mistakes.  Making errors without knowing what you did does nothing for you.  In order for assignments to be a path to learning and not just a way to accumulate marks these need to be graded and returned with feedback in a timely manner.  It doesn't do the student any good to hand in assignments in the middle of the semester and not get marked on them till the end of the semester.

Discussions

All of the classes I have done have had an online discussion portion, which is designed to simulate class discussion.  These are generally approached in one of two ways:

1. A question is posed and you answer it, but can't see any responses to the question until you post.
2. A question is posted and you are free to answer it and read other responses beforehand.

Sometimes these questions require you to comment on another student's post as well.  For me the second choice feels the most like a discussion and participation marks (which is *WHAT* I think these should be), while the first feels more like a mini-assignment than it does a discussion.

The other portion of discussions revolve around getting help, they provide a place you can post questions and have your instructor or fellow students assist you.  Whether these are answered in a timely fashion is hit or miss though.  Sometimes it even feels like the instructor isn't familiar with what the assignment is asking for.

Tests

When I started this program the classes had mid-terms and final exams like many other courses I have taken in the past.  These were administered through an online test proctoring service to prevent cheating.  At present some courses continue to have quizzes but beyond that testing has been abandoned to make way for practical final projects.  

I understand tests make many people anxious and feel like memorization for tests is next to useless in a real-world setting, and while I understand the concepts people talk about here I actually disagree.  I think having tests should be an integral part of the learning process.  Just as assignments reinforce how things are done, tests reinforce the concepts being learned.  I would suggest doing the assignment and not having any clue about the reading has the exact same problem as only doing the reading and testing well, but not doing well in the hands-on portion.

What I would ideally like to see is more open book, less multiple-choice testing.  This removes the idea of tests being strict memorization, but still requires the students to have a good knowledge of the book and the concepts being taught within those pages. 

Face to Face

When I started these programs my vision of them was a list of reading and tests to complete with next to no instructor.  When I started I was surprised to see the idea to lean more toward a real classroom with an assigned instructor to answer questions and deadlines to meet for assignments.  

My first classes had 3 or 4 zoom calls to interact with the instructors and other students, actually get to see and interact with the other people taking the same course as you.  These were optional and certainly, not everyone participated, but I believe they were an excellent idea.  Getting to actually chat with your instructor and fellow students was the beginning of building a community.  

Having almost none of these this semester really reinforced this idea for me.  More of these would be better than fewer of them. 

The End

Overall I am still enjoying the program and the last two courses had a lot to offer in terms of knowledge, some review and some not. Overall I feel like it wouldn't take that much work from the institution to take these online offerings from merely ok to outstanding.  More instructor engagement, course content review on an ongoing schedule, and a desire to create a cohesive community around the GIS space.