Techniques and examples for creating an online learning community conducive to teaching human services is discussed. The challenges and benefits of teaching human services through distance learning is also explored.

1. APRIL 27,28
S U N Y E M P I R E S TAT E C O L L E G E
2012
7th Annual Center For Distance Learning Conference
An Open Community of Learning,Teaching and Mentoring
presents
Creating An Online Community For Human
Service Students
Benefits in Teaching and Learning Human Services Online
• Students have the ability to curtail learning to their schedule.
• Work at one's own pace.
• Students have the ability to apply course concepts to areas of the field that they are interested in.
• Students have access to immediate information via the web.
• Social Learning Theory and Collaborative Learning
• Students have the opportunity to learn from peers who are in the field.
• Students who work in the field bring diversity of professional perspective to course discussions.
• Synchronous activities help students to feel connected to the course and assists with building
peer relations.
• Instructors have the ability to examine posts and edit information if necessary while also providing
immediate and private feedback.
• Improve expressed written content through Informative Feedback.
• Students have the ability to delay responses until more information is attained.
• Through synchronous activities students can utilize techniques with limited performance anxiety.
• Follow up asynchronous discussions can assist students in de-briefing.
• Students who fear their ability could harm the "consumer".
• Instructors can provide Informative feedback on performance, as synchronous activities have the
ability to be recorded and reviewed at a later time.
YO U NEVER KNOW
WHERE THE NEXT GREAT
IDE A MAY CO ME FROM
GIVEN THE RIGHT LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT SET BY THE
INSTRUCTOR NEW IDEAS AND
CREATIVITY CAN BE FOSTERED.
IN GARY LARSON’S “HOPEFUL
PARENTS”, HE COULD FORESEE
THE JOB MARKET FOR GAMERS.
ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF
LABOR STATISTICS THE AVERAGE
SALARY FOR WEB DESIGNERS
$70,490

2. Challenges in Teaching and Learning Human Services Online
• Instructors need to establishing appropriate personal
boundaries without impacting reflection of one's experiences THE LURKING STUDENT
as they pertain to course concepts. OFTEN HAS SOME ANXIETY
• Instructors must assist students in understanding that their is ABOUT POSTING THE
no confidentiality amongst students and personal information “RIGHT” INFORMATION AND
can be shared. OFTEN TIMES SUBMIT
• Assisting students in understanding how one's political POSTS THAT ARE “LESS
ideology can influence their understanding of the HS system THAN” THEIR OWN
and policies.
EXPECTATION. STUDENTS
• Students must recognize and overcome prejudicial beliefs as
CAN FEEL LIKE GARY
they pertain to consumers.
LARSON’S TARZAN.
• Challenging students to examine and understand their
emotional reasons for entering the field.
• Instructing students to utilize scholarly work to support their
beliefs and ideas.
• Helping students to see the hard science aspect of the field as
it pertains to working in direct care.
• Teaching how to incorporate evidence based research in
written assignments.
• Teaching/Understanding therapeutic techniques and practices
without body language.
• Providing feedback in Active Listening without being able to
see the other person.
• What takes 6 hours in an online discussion can take 1 hour in
a synchronous live interaction.
• Synchronous learning activities require that more than one
student be available at the same time, thereby leaving students
feeling as if there grade is based on someone else's
TYPOS AND GRAMMAR
participation.
ISSUES CAN ALTER THE
• Addressing students needs who like the subject matter but are
not interested in the social interaction of the field. MEANING OF POSTS IN
• Many online students choose this learning environment ONLINE COUNSELING
because they don't want to interact in person. ACTIVITIES.
• Addressing appropriate needs of students already working in
the field.
• Providing feedback to those students who do not think they
need it.
• Providing feedback for growth to those students who meet very
high academic standards due to professional experience.
• Some techniques used in the field due to realistic restrictions
are not supported by evidence based best practices, ie.
Incorrect documentation practices, understaffing, limited
financial resources (funding).

3. T ECH N IQ U E S TO EN HAN C E T E AC H I N G H U M AN
SE RV I C E S I N O NL I N E L E A R N I N G
• Utilizing IceBreaker discussions to establish course culture.
• Instructor can grade Ice breaker discussion to establish participation expectations of the
course.
• Grading Module discussions while providing Informative Feedback.
• Instructors can utilize course polls at the start of the course to meet the academic needs of the
learner. This can be done for scheduling live/synchronous activities. This can also enable
instructors to learn the academic strengths,weaknesses and learning styles of students
through the use of personal inventories.
• Adding synchronous activities to human services courses to teach counseling skills or skills
that require interaction and to assist the kinesthetic learner.
• Utilize Elluminate, Live Chat, Google Plus, Skype as assignments or extra credit.
• Utilizing asynchronous team activities to assist in building a sense of community and peer
relations.
• Group work and partnering diminishes attrition and increases participation.
• Scaffolding and utilizing smaller assignments to teach written skills necessary for larger written
assignments and APA format.
• Students can utilize websites like Youtube to see skills in action. Instructors can post video
clips in asynchronous discussion ares that illustrate skills.
• Utilizing Second Life in therapeutic practice sessions.
ONLINE We must remember that
RESOURCES students new to the online
environment often initially
1. LEARNING STYLES
feel very vulnerable as they
http://www.personal.psu.edu/ do not have immediate
bxb11/LSI/LSI.htm access to their instructors.
2. WHAT’S YOUR LEARNING Photos, formative
STYLE http:// feedback, live synchronous
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people.usd.edu activities such as
tut/learning-style/
styleres.html
Elluminate can help to
diminish these feelings and
3. WEB TECHNOLOGIES IN allow for student risk
HIGHER EDUCATION
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JOURNALS/12_4/9.PDF