PRINCIPLE 3

The 3 Cs of

Online Learning
When we design our courses, we ought to consider the three
kinds of online interactions that our learners can engage in:

Lectures, readings, videos, and other materials that have been curated
or created for the learners to interact with and learn from: Remember the
CONTENT adage, "Less is more." It's crucial to be selective here to encourage greater
learner engagement.

The instructor's online presence and interactions with the learner, which
may be both synchronous but preferably asynchronous: The goal is to
COACH design and schedule these interactions strategically: How many
synchronous lectures would be effective? How long? How often should the
Coach give feedback to the learners in the discussion boards?

The class—or the group of fellow learners taking the same class--with
whom the learner can discuss and work either synchronously (recitation or
presentations via video conferences in plenary or smaller-groups
COMMUNITY conferences) but primarily asynchronously (group tasks, discussion boards
where learners post responses to questions from instructors as well as to
comments from classmates).

Using these 3 Cs, we can also better distinguish among three approaches in this new landscape:
Remote Teaching, Remote Self-Study, and what we are calling Online Learning.

Approaches to Online Learning

COACH + CONTENT +

COACH + CONTENT = COMMUNITY = CONTENT ONLY =

REMOTE ONLINE REMOTE

TEACHING LEARNING SELF-STUDY

Primarily or exclusively
Design of online learning Posting of online
synchronous delivery of experiences that enable assignments (reading
online lectures interaction among the materials & assessments)

three elements for learners to accomplish

asynchronously

Adaptive Design for Learning 1

Remote Teaching consists primarily—or only—of delivering real-time online lectures with the additional
possibility of: (a) posting content online and (b) conducting Q&As or live discussions among students.
Lectures that are pre-recorded and shared with students are also a form of "remote teaching."

However, especially if sessions are synchronous, there will be questions of access and learner
engagement. Remote teaching is not always ideal response to the situation.

The other extreme, Remote Self-Study, consists of simply posting Online Assignments, where all the
teacher does is post (or email) readings and tasks, expecting the learner to do all the work with little, if
any, guidance from the teacher.

Proper Online Learning—the kind we are aiming for in ADL—should offer the learners a wide variety of
engaging and effective learning experiences that allow them to interact with the Content, the
Community, and the Coach.

Don't get us wrong: Remote Teaching and Remote Self-Study remain acceptable—and respectable—ways
of educating online, but they should be done based on an assessment of the nature of the course and
the needs of the learners rather than based on the teacher’s limitations. In short, don't teach remotely or
simply send assignments to your students because you don't know what else to do!

How can we combine the Cs creatively and strategically in the way we

design our courses so that we can more effectively promote learning?
Think about the usual traditional face-to-face classes: They usually do not offer a balanced
mix of the 3 Cs, with a tendency to privilege CONTENT and COACH. The challenge is to
move towards a greater balance among the 3 Cs as illustrated here:

Think of your course as you have been teaching it. How would you
compare the 3 Cs in terms of the time and effort that allotted to them?

Adaptive Design for Learning 2

 REMOTE TEACHING
Delivery of primarily
Definition synchronous online lectures
(“live, real time) with
possible Q&A or discussion
(depending on class size)
Focus on CONTENT
Focus on CONTENT Focus on CONTENT,
Ingredients and COACH
LARGE-SCALE or SMALL SCALE
LARGE-SCALE ONLINE CLASSES
Class Size Can be large if limited
discussion , but ideally smaller
so online
individual faculty to follow
discussion is possible.
ranslation of Face-to-Face
Teaching / T
Lecture Notes and Slides
Learning
Activities
Determined by the faculty
Assessment
Tasks
Primarily or exclusively
Synchronous or synchronous lecture
Asynchronous (Zoom,Skype,Hangout,
Facebook Live)
ndividual
ndividual
ndividual Faculty or
Course Creator I
Faculty
Delivered by Individual
Teaching or Faculty: Faculty mainly
Facilitation of serves as source of
information.
Learning
Adaptive Design for Learning
REMOTE SELF-STUDY
Posting of assignments
(readings, projects,
assessments) that learners
should do given a period of
time. Also “Remote
Self-Study”
Can be as large as possible
as long as enough
the teacher. Ideally, designed
up and give feedback
Posting of Resources and
Assignments used in
Face-to-Face Classes
Determined by the faculty
Primarily or exclusively
asynchronous (via email,
LMS, Facebook, etc.)
I
Faculty
onitored by Individual
M
Faculty: Faculty curates/
creates learning materials &
activities, & marks
submitted works.
ONLINE LEARNING
Offering a variety of online
experiences designed to
result in learning
COACH, and COHORT
LARGE-SCALE or SMALL SCALE:
Depending on the nature of
the course and capability of
for “everyone” but facilitated
and tweaked for manageable
class sizes by faculty
Fully designed (not simply
translation of existing
lectures and plans)
Given at the end of every
competence- based module,
based on the student giving
evidence of competence.
ostly asynchronous, with
M
strategically designed and
scheduled synchronous
sessions, facilitated by
individual teachers (via LMS)
I
Team/Department
Facilitated by Individual
Faculty: Faculty curates or
creates learning materials
and activities, provides
timely feedback, and adjusts
instruction accordingly.
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