2019 Annual Conference

Distance Learning (Technology and Online Learning)

Roundtable (45 minutes)

Adult learners engaged in online education differ in their individual characteristics and are often struggling to adjust to the virtual environment. The presenter will share her experience as an online student success coordinator aiming to act as a mentor, resource provider and success coach for nontraditional online students.

This roundtable session is suitable for any educator or student who has an interest in online learning.

Participants will be able to reflect on the transforming educational landscape due to innovative technologies.
Participants will be able to identify the most suitable success strategies when mentoring online adult learners.
Participants will leave the session with a handout including strategies for supporting and teaching online adult learners.

Due to the proliferation of innovative technologies and the transforming landscape of higher education, online learning has now been called “any way education” (Lehman & Conceição, 2014). There are increased demands for flexible and accessible education, as the virtual environment provides new and creative learning opportunities. Nonetheless, learning online involves adjustment to study and teaching habits (Ko & Rossen, 2010) that may present challenges.

During this roundtable session I will describe the strategic plan I developed as a new online student success coordinator in my efforts to be a liaison between online students, faculty, and administrators. I will present the findings of an online student experience survey and the retention strategies I developed in order to maximize online student success.

The goal of this session is to discuss effective strategies for online student retention and the importance of intentional instructional design for online courses. I trust this presentation will engage diverse faculty, students and administrators who are interested in the transformative aspect of online education.  

The presenter will start the session by providing an overview of her experience as an online student success coordinator. Handouts will be available. Participants will have 4-5 minutes to analyze the effectiveness of these strategies. There will be an open discussion about best methods to support online learners. Participants will leave the session with a list of strategies they could use as mentors and instructors.