Communication: One of the Best Practices for DE

Online instruction has similarities to and differences from traditional brick and mortar instruction.  There has been relatively little research in best practices in distance education for K – 12 instructors, when compared to research at the college level.  DiPietro’s (2010) research, involving virtual instructor at the high school level, indicates five basic beliefs of online teacher hold concerning best practices for virtual instruction:

• utilizing clear, timely communication,
• building a sense of caring community with students,
• maintaining high expectations with rigorous content,
• supporting student success through scaffolding,
• coordinating knowledge of content, pedagogy, and technology (Carter, 2011, p. 10). 

While all of these beliefs are important, clear, timely communication seems to be of utmost importance because it is the vehicle for transmitting information on such aspects as building community, setting expectations, and supporting students. 

Communication is consistently mentioned in current research of best practices for online instructors (Ferdig & Black, 2009).  In the online environment, it is vital for teachers to communicate intent clearly and to examine tone and emotion in communication (DiPietro, E Ferdig, W Black, & Preston, 2008).    In a face to face situation, students can determine much about the teacher’s intent, tone, and emotions using facial and posture cues.  However, in the virtual world, these cues are often absent.  Self-censoring communication helps avoid misunderstandings, as facial cues and posture are absent in online communication. 

Additionally, timely, proactive communication is important (DiPietro, 2010; DiPietro et al., 2008; Ferdig & Black, 2009).  In my experience, providing information in anticipation of family needs avoids misunderstandings, while responding quickly to communication from families builds trust.  Both of these types of communication afford a sense of good customer service, which adds to the sense of community, high expectations, and student support. 

I find communicating with families is vital to building community, setting high expectations, and supporting student success.  In my school, this communication often begins before the beginning of the school year.  We begin with an initial call to families, establishing a relationship with the family, sharing expectations, verifying contact information, and listening to the family story – why they choose online learning.  Oftentimes, the family simply wants someone to listen to their needs. This initial contact sets the tone for the rest of the school year.  As the school year progresses, maintaining contact with families and continuing to keep expectations high remains important, employing a variety of communication - synchronous online sessions, phone calls, or electronic communication, to name a few (DiPietro et al., 2008).  Communication can facilitate student engagement and provide motivation (DiPietro, 2010).  I look for innovative ways to communicate with my students such as sending e-cards and messages using a Voki (www.voki.com).  The more I reach out to my families in a positive manner, the more successful and satisfied they are in the online environment.  Nevertheless, there need to be established boundaries and realistic expectations for teacher responses.  Families need to have clear, realistic boundaries for expecting return calls and responses to electronic communication.  For example, I have communicated to my families the hours I am available during the school day.  In addition, when I am out of the office for staff meetings or other events, I message this to my families ahead of time.  I find this avoids many misunderstandings.

As an online instructor, I often remark that, even though I may not recognize them on the street, I know my students better now than I ever did in the brick and mortar setting.  How?  Why?  The key is communication; clear, consistent communication maintains the relationship.  I thought I would miss seeing students on a daily basis when I moved to online instruction, but I now have a level of interaction with my families that few find in the traditional classroom setting.

References

Carter, K. (2011). Toward developing best practices: A study on the perspectives of K – 8 online instructors. Unpublished presentation.

DiPietro, M. (2010). Virtual School Pedagogy: The Instructional Practices of K-12 Virtual School Teachers. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 42(3), 327-354. doi:10.2190/EC.42.3.e

DiPietro, M., E Ferdig, R., W Black, E., & Preston, M. (2008). Best practices in teaching K-12 online: Lessons learned from Michigan Virtual School teachers. Spring, 7(1), 10-35. SAGE Publications. Retrieved from http://www.mendeley.com/research/university-of-florida-gainesville-1/

Ferdig, R. E., & Black, E. (2009). Virtual Schooling Standards and Best practices for Teacher Education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 17(4), 479-503.