Communicate 4.1.1 Evaluation Methods and Communication Practices Forum

• How do communication practices in the online environment correlate to effective feedback?

In order to be able to reach students, one must be able to give effective feedback because online often the written word is the only form of communication that the student will seek out.  There might be other avenues for reaching the student, but especially with the ELA curriculum, language is the means by which the feedback is conveyed.  

Without authentic feedback, online learners will have no sense of how to improve their work, and what they have done well.  Although this might also be true of the traditional classroom, it is even more pressing in an online environment because there is often no other interaction between the instructor and the student.  Also without the proximity of interaction with one's peers, it is difficult to learn in a collaborate environment.  The traditional classroom does this naturally; however, the online classroom requires the instructor to make this level of feedback happen. 

• In what ways might an instructor enrich a student’s online experience through feedback?

1. It should be focused upon the task that is to be learned.  With this focus, the instructor should consider one to three key objectives that the students should master.  
2. It should be concise.  Generally, one or two very specific comments will help convey feedback better than longer ones. 
3. Finally, it should focus upon specific aspects of the student work.  Actually highlighting the assignment or using the student's language will help to ensure that the feedback is directed towards their work.