THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH 12 FIRST PEOPLES
AS AN ONLINE DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSE
by

Jan Ellen Thorburn
B.A., Mount Allison University, 1990
B.Ed., Mount Allison University, 1993

PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF EDUCATION
IN
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY LEADERSHIP

THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
January 2010
©Jan Ellen Thorburn, 2010

UNIVERSITY of NORTHERN
BRITISH COLUMBIA
LmRARY
Prloce George, B.C.

II

Abstract
This autoethnographic study documented the development of the online version of
English 12 First Peoples and investigated which of the course qualities needed to be
developed and nurtured differently in an online format. Data were collected through a
reflective journal maintained throughout the course development process and analyzed by
examining themes which emerged. The main themes involved e-leaming as an emergent field
in education today, the advantages of e-leaming, and strategies for building community in a
virtual classroom. Subsequent themes which emerged were organizational considerations for
online course development and the challenges of time and technology. The research
determined that important course qualities such as the provision of reflective and experiential
learning opportunities and respectful interactions could be developed in an online secondary
school classroom if deliberate attention were paid to using technology effectively to build
community.

Ill

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract

II

Table of Contents

Ill

List of Tables

v

Acknowledgement

VI

Chapter One

Introduction
Rationale
Importance of Study
Research Question

1
1
3
6

Chapter Two

Review of the Literature
The E-leaming Field
Advantages ofE-leaming Delivery
E-leaming Strategies for Course Development

8
9
18
29

Chapter Three

Research Methodology
From the Classroom to the Computer
Choice ofMethodology
Action Research and Autoethnography
Data Sources
Supplementary Data Sources
Technology as a Data Source
Data Analysis

35
35
37
38
41
44
45
46

Chapter Four

Research Findings and Interpretations
Research Findings
E-leaming as an Emerging Field
Advantages of E-leaming Opportunities
Strategies for Building Community in an
Online Classroom
Organizational Considerations
Challenges
Organizational Challenges
Technological Challenges
Discussion ofFindings
E-leaming Emerging Importance in Education
Advantages ofE-leaming
Community Building in an Online Classroom

50
50
51
56
61
65
66
66
68
70
71
74
76

IV

Organizational Considerations for Developing
an Online Course
Challenges
Organizational Challenges
Technology Challenges
Chapter Five

References

Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
Recommendations

85
88
88
90

92
95

98

102

v

List of Tables
Table 1

Theme Type and Frequency of Journal Comments

50

VI

Acknowledgements

project.

I am grateful to many people who supported me through the completion of this

To my colleagues and the administration at Hazelton Secondary School and the North
Coast Distance Education School who made this project possible, thank you for your hours
of computer training, your accommodations to my teaching schedule, and your support,
guidance, and belief in me.
To my supervisor, Dr. Andrew Kitchenham, who guided and supported me with
patience and humour throughout this research, thank you for your wisdom, expertise,
encouragement, and timely responses to my many questions.

To my committee members, Dr. Colin Chasteauneuf and Mr. Grant Potter, thank you for your
contributions to the success of this project.

To my students at Hazelton Secondary School, thank you for inspiring me and
providing me with insight into what makes our classroom a place we all enjoying being.
To my friends, who understood why this work was so important to me, thank you for
being my cheerleaders.
To my family, who supported me throughout this learning process, thank you for
always being there.

1

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
"When some people look at a room full of desks facing a central podium, they see a dinosaur."
(Young, 1997, as cited in Garrison & Anderson, 2007)

Research Topic
This research project traced the development of the face-to-face delivery model of the
new English 12 First Peoples course into an e-learning format for the North Coast Distance
Education School (NCDES). The goal was to create an on-line learning model that would
reflect the First Peoples principles oflearning outlined in the English 12 First Peoples IRP,
but would use technology to support and enhance students' abilities to meet the prescribed
learning outcomes. The proposed model would use the most current knowledge of best
practices in establishing virtual classrooms and on-line courses to create a viable, vibrant
online version of the course in which students from around the province could enroll and

Rationale
There are many changes facing the education system today, including the impact of
the emerging and essential role that technology plays in both the culture of our classrooms
and in our teaching (Kajder, 2003). Rapid impro ements in technology within schools, easy
access to the Internet, and our students' comfort with technology are providing teachers and
students alike with new opportunities to explore the world, to take or teach courses not
offered in their schools, and to make educational connections they would not otherwise
make. £-learning, which is defined as a form of education where the main medium of

2

instruction is computer technology, is not simply an add-on to classroom practice (Garrison
& Anderson, 2007). Instead, it can be seen as a different mode of communication, and

because communication is vital to all successful educational interaction (Garrison &
Anderson, 2007), its impact on education, teachers, and learners is significant. In fact,
Garrison and Anderson (2007) argued that that "[e)-learning will inevitably transform all
forms of education and learning in the twenty-first century" (p. 2). For me, it was an
opportune time to take a revolutionary new course such as English 12 First Peoples and
develop it into an e-learning format in order to broaden its reach, appeal, and accessibility to
learners across the province and elsewhere.
Another consideration for this project was related to changes in the way school
districts are funded in British Columbia. These changes in funding formulae have meant
changes to the way many schools, particularly small schools and rural schools must operate.
For instance, if schools must maximize class size enrollments at 30 students, it can be very
challenging for a small secondary school, for example, to offer a full range of courses and fill
each ofthem to capacity. Out of fiscal necessity, cuts to course offerings are made, often to
the detriment of the students in those schools. However, on-line learning opportunities can
fill the gap and allow students to take courses that are not offered within their schools.
Conversely, it also allows small schools to offer courses that cannot be filled solely by their
own students, but can be supplemented by students from other schools around the province.
This opportunity, I believe, allows small schools to maintain an appropriate level of course
selections for their students, allows students from smaller, often isolated, schools to gain
exposure to and knowledge from students throughout the province, and brings equity to the
educational offerings students in more rural areas often lack.

3

I chose this topic as a project because the opportunity presented itself to me at a time
when I was trying to determine a project topic that was appropriate both to the University of
Northern British Columbia's Multidisciplinary Leadership program and to my classroom
practice. I was teaching English 12 First Peoples as a face-to-face course. It was the first time
the course was offered in our district and at this time, Hazelton Secondary is still the only
school in School District #82 offering the course. I was also, in 2007, one of 15 pilot teachers
in the province to test various units of the course, and had been involved in other areas of
training and development for the course prior to this time. The North Coast Distance
Education School (NCDES) was interested in becoming one of the first distance education
programs to develop it as an on-line offering, because of the uniqueness of the course and its
creation, because of the significant population of Aboriginal students in our district, and
because the course is not yet widely offered around the province. Because of my experience
with the course and its development to date, the principal ofNCDES asked ifl would be
interested in developing the e-leaming version of the course and eventually be a facilitator
for it when it is available online. It was a timely opportunity, because I wanted a project that
was related directly to my classroom practice, had a connection to Aboriginal education
issues and involved teacher leadership, and would be of benefit to my school and/or district.
This project fit all of those criteria.
Importance ofthe Study
The project was important to me on many levels. Professionally, I believed it would
enhance my classroom teaching practice and would open up new opportunities for me as a
teacher. I have been teaching English, Grades 8 through 12, for 17 years. While I have

4

always strived to ensure I engage in ongoing professional development and employ current
best practices, I know that many of my students are now far more advanced, technologicallyspeaking, than I am. They are of the technology generation, whereas I am a "digital
immigrant" (Prensky, 2001) I firmly believe, however, that technology can and should be
used purposefully and effectively in today's classrooms, and that teachers, with the proper
training, can use technology to enhance and support a positive learning environment and a
range of student learning styles. Being given the opportunity to set up my classroom to
support thee-learning model and become a facilitator for an online course that I am also
teaching face-to-face was an excellent way to enhance my practice and create what Kajder
(2003) called the "tech-savvy English classroom." This opportunity would allow me to
integrate technology meaningfully into my English classroom, to offer a new course to a
wide range of students both within and outside of our school district, and to enhance
opportunities for additional online course development in the future.
Secondly, having invested much time into the development of English 12 First
Peoples for our school, I was pleased to have the opportunity to develop an e-learning model
of the course for wider distribution that will do justice to the principles and pedagogy of the
course. With a significant Aboriginal population in our school and our community, it was
important to me that this course be successful. It was also important to me that the students
who took this course recognized its value and significance, were successful in completing it,
and embraced the opportunity they were given to engage personally in the various forms of
text that focus on "the experiences, values, beliefs, and lived realities of First Peoples"
(Ministry of Education, 2008, p. 11) from around the province, the country, and the world.
My hope was, and continues to be, that students from around the province will have the

5

opportunity to use available technology in a meaningful, educational way to partake in this
course, to engage with students from Coast Mountains School District, and to appreciate the
rich vitality and diversity of First Peoples literature.
Thirdly, I believed this project would help me, and others who wish to develop
courses online, to understand more fully how to create an interactive, collaborative,
community-based virtual secondary school classroom. Palloff and Pratt (2003) stated that
online learning, ideally, is centred on the learner. They also indicated that the students in a
virtual classroom must take control of the learning process and that they must work
collaboratively with their classmates in order to achieve the learning objectives. In addition,
opportunities must be given to ensure that students are able to reflect on their learning
activities in order to increase their ability to think critically and to recognize that the creation
of knowledge occurs mutually and collaboratively online (Palloff & Pratt, 2003).
For me, the development of the English 12 First Peoples course in an online format
was an ideal course to develop as we pursued those objectives. The BC Ministry of
Education's Integrated Resource Package (2008) for the course is developed around the
following First Peoples principles of learning:
•

Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the
family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors.

•

Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and
relational.

•

Learning involves recognizing the consequences of one's
actions.

6

•

Learning involves generational roles and responsibilities.

•

Learning recognizes the role of indigenous knowledge.

•

Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.

•

Learning involves patience and time.

•

Learning requires exploration of one's identity.

(Ministry of Education, 2008, p. 12)
These principles of learning mesh well with the principles of e-learning that Palloff and
Pratt (2003) outlined. They described effective online learning as a "transformative
experience" (p. 8) that requires reading, experiential learning opportunities, reflection, and
personal responses, which the majority oflesson plans for English 12 First Peoples also
emphasize. They discussed how reflection should include an exploration of the meaning the
course material has for the student' s life and the questioning of important ideas (Palloff &
Pratt, 2003), which are also critical elements of the course. Effective delivery of the English
12 First Peoples course requires significant community-building, sharing, and the
development of trust between participants; an effective online course requires the same
(Palloff & Pratt, 2003). In a well-developed online classroom, as in a face-to-face
classroom, the sharing of reflections should transform the learner, the group, and the
instructor, and an appropriate atmosphere must be established in which to share.
Research Question
The central question of my research sought to identify the key elements required to
create and sustain an appropriate e-learning model of English 12 First Peoples and ensure
that an online version maintained the integrity of the original course, which by its nature is

7

very personal, reflective, and experiential. To this end, I investigated the following question:
Which of the English 12 First Peoples course qualities needed to be developed and nurtured
differently in a virtual classroom than in a face-to-face setting, and how? Additional
supporting questions included the following : How does one build mutual trust and respect in
a virtual classroom among students who not only do not know each other, but also cannot see
each other in person? To what degree was this possible? What supports would students need
to be successful participants in the course? What online activities would encourage the
development of a sense of community and social presence? What online practices may
hinder successful participation and the development of a sense of community?
The English 12 First Peoples curriculum also places an emphasis on the study of local
First Peoples culture and literature when applicable; this concept took on a different element
when one considered that members of a virtual classroom may come from many different
locales. The requirement to incorporate local content needed to be addressed through flexible
lesson plans with various options for students from different places to access and explore
material that is "local" to them.

8

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Chapter 1 outlined the importance of the study and introduced the central research
topic. This chapter reviews the professional literature as it relates to my research project. As
with many qualitative research projects, the literature review was an ongoing process that
continued throughout the project. I encountered three main foci in my review that were
applicable to my project: the emerging field of e-learning as a viable, transformative
educational experience for a variety of learners in a variety of circumstances, the advantages
of e-learning course delivery, and strategies for developing effective e-learning courses. The
largest amount of information available relative to my project was the background
information on the development of distance education, and more specifically, distance
learning through computer-based technology. Most studies that involved online distance
education offered a substantial overview of the history of distance education and the
increasing importance of computer-based e-learning in education. Many of the studies also
outlined the benefits and challenges of e-learning delivery models and followed up the
theoretical discussions with practical, application-based strategies to guide teachers in
developing effective e-leaming courses.
Authors such as Garrison and Anderson (2007), Kajder (2003), and Pall off and Pratt
(2003) have turned their research into texts and manuals for educators who are moving from
traditional face-to-face teaching methods into online course delivery, and offered extensive
overviews of the history and theories behind effective online course development and
practical virtual classroom applications and strategies. Notably, much of the research in this
field is very current, generally less than ten years old; however, it is also worthy of note that

:

9

much of the research available at this time also targets post-secondary education and adult
learners, rather than secondary school settings. This relative lack of secondary school
information reinforced for me the importance of the project.
TheE-learning Field
Current research on thee-learning field emphasizes the growing importance of elearning to the general field of education and the importance of understanding how to use it
effectively to support today's students. Hannum, Irvin, Lei and Farmer (2008) researched the
effectiveness of training on-site facilitators in secondary schools to follow learner-centred
principles to support distance education students. This study was conducted in rural
American schools, using a cluster-randomized selection process of 36 matched pairs of
schools and 246 students. Results indicated that students who were offered appropriate
support interventions completed courses at a higher rate than students in the control group.
The study offered a solid overview of the proliferation of distance education in schools
across the US in the past few years, noting in particular the increase of students in rural areas
who access online distance education is nearly double the rates of students in urban or
suburban regions. It also addressed the specific needs of students enrolled in distance
education courses with respect to on-site support and personal contact with an adult involved
in the course; the study hypothesized that this support was important to maintaining student
engagement and motivation in online courses and to improving student success.
Although this study looked specifically at the training of on-site facilitators (separate
from the actual teachers of the courses) to support students as they participated in their online
courses, it is of relevance to my project because of its focus on secondary schools and

10

because of the information provided on the increase in and benefits of distance education,
particularly for students in rural areas and small schools. It also examined student needs and
various means to meet those needs. While it targeted the use of facilitators to support and
guide students through their online courses, it also noted strategies for communication and
discussion forums to build an interactive learning community, which I believed to be key to
the development of an effective online version of English 12 First Peoples.
Selwyn, Gorard, and Williams (2001) conducted a review ofthe United States
government's educational policy following implementation of an information infrastructure
initiative under the Clinton-Gore administration. This initiative was meant to expand
equitable use of information technology throughout the United States and overcome
traditional barriers to education and lifelong learning opportunities, such as socio-economic
and geographic barriers. The research reviewed economic and political issues that impacted
or supported the success of the initiative, which is beyond the scope of my project. However,
the overview of the emergent field of technology in education and the impact of the
availability of technology to support the equitable access to education in rural and isolated
areas assist in establishing a foundation for my project.
One area for further consideration in this study is its suggestion that online distance
education opportunities through ongoing improvements in technological infrastructure in the
US is not going to improve lifelong learning opportunities for all isolated or socioeconomically restricted groups. This seemed to be a logical conclusion for those adults who
have not had any exposure to distance learning online, as was the case with those examined
in the study. However, I believe that if students are exposed to distance education

11

opportunities online at the high school stage and are successful in those opportunities, it is
more likely that they will seek out and successfully complete similar educational
opportunities as needed in adulthood. Regardless, those negative conclusions in the study
reflected a focus on adult learners. No similar conclusions were drawn about high school
students, who were the main focus of my project. However, because the creation of a
successful online English 12 First Peoples course was my goal, it was wise to consider the
information provided in this study in the hopes of avoiding similar negative outcomes for my
students. Additionally, as I worked with the NCDES administrators on the computer
components ofthe course development, I was informed that it was likely that some adults
may be enrolled in the English 12 First Peoples course through NCDES; as a result,
consideration of the needs of adult learners became more relevant.
Garrison and Anderson's (2007) work was recommended to me by the principal of
the NCDES as important to the development of thee-learning version of English 12 First
Peoples. Garrison and Anderson compiled years of research and numerous studies of the
important role of technology in education and effective e-leaming delivery models into a text
for teachers and developers of online distance education courses, and their theories and
recommendations are expected to be components of courses developed for NCDES. They
drew on their extensive research to explore the pedagogical and technological implications of
e-leaming and offered a range of practical models for educators to assist in the design and
development of online distance education courses and described how to migrate traditional
courses toe-learning versions. Their explanations of the role of the teacher as facilitator in
online courses, their ideas for effective assessment and evaluations, and their ideas for
effective course design and organization have provided me with important understandings

12

about the scope of this project, considerations for its development, and a foundation on which
to base further research and literature reviews.
Palloffand Pratt (2001, 2003) have also developed comprehensive references
manuals for educators moving into thee-learning field. Their books, based on their extensive
research studies, offered thorough background information about the field of e-learning, its
advantages, and numerous practical models and ideas for online course development. Given
the numerous references to Pall off and Pratt throughout much of literature I have reviewed, I
expected their work to play an ongoing role in my understanding of developing an effective
e-learning English 12 First Peoples course and felt confident considering and implementing
their recommendations and suggestions as I developed the course. Kadjer (2003) wrote a
similar teachers' guide, geared specifically to the high school English teacher working with
technology to meet learning outcomes. The practical design elements ofKadjer's research
and personal work have also enhanced my understanding of the elements needed to develop
the practical strategies components of my project.
A common theme throughout the work of these researchers described the extent to
which the use of distance education through technology has increased dramatically in recent
years (Hannum, et al., 2008; Mupinga, 2008; Palloff & Pratt, 2001; Selwyn, et al., 2001 ). The
proliferation of personal computers and ready access to the Internet has precipitated profound
and far-reaching changes in society, and by extension, education. Although its greatest use
has been at the post-secondary level, the use of technology to provide distance education
courses is gradually finding its place in all stages of education, including many secondary
school offerings.

13

It was somewhat difficult to locate Canadian secondary school statistics, but a 2005

Statistics Canada survey on Canadian Internet usage is cited in McKeown and Underhill's
2007 research on the use of the Internet for education purposes. This survey reported that as
many as one-quarter of Canadians are accessing the Internet and other technologies for
educational purposes, which included distance education and correspondence courses, and
that a significant percentage of these people (nearly one-third) are from rural areas and are
accessing distance learning opportunities. McKeown and Underhill offered an interpretation
of the article and its data, summarizing Internet use by Canadians for a variety of educational
reasons. Their ideas were applicable to the information I needed about e-learning as an
increasingly important option for students, particularly those in rural or isolated settings and
in smaller schools seeking alternative course delivery options. More recently, an April 2009
column in The Vancouver Sun quoted a news release from the Virtual School Society (VSS)
of British Columbia regarding online learning statistics. The Virtual School Society operates
LearnNowBC, the government organization that gives students access to a range of
educational support and course offerings. The organization reported to The Vancouver Sun
that eight percent of school-aged students in the province were enrolled in at least one online
course in the past school year, and stated that this number was expected to continue to
increase in upcoming school years.
Specific statistics from the United States were easier to locate in the research. In the
United States, approximately 20% of high school students were reported to have taken elearning courses (Hannum, et al. , 2008), and a majority of states reported significant rates of
growth in the past decade in enrollment in their on-line education offerings to secondary
school students. A 2002-2003 US Department of Education study distributed a questionnaire

14

to a representative sample of 2305 public schools in 50 states to determine national data on
distance education in public K-12 schools, with interesting findings. Approximately 80% of
school districts stated that one of the main reasons for offering distance education courses
was that it enabled them to provide courses that would not otherwise be available to students.
This consideration was relevant to my project, considering that a greater proportion of
districts in rural areas were offering online distance education courses than those in urban
areas, and overall, nearly 40% of high schools were offering online distance education
courses ("Megabits", 2003).
The traditional modes of classroom delivery of curriculum are also changing
"[b]ecause of the changing nature oftoday's students, economic pressures, and rapid
implementation of distance learning courses and programs" (Palloff & Pratt, 2001, p. 3). The
use of distance learning technologies has both grown out of and enhanced our classroom
practices, and it appears to be here to stay. Mupinga (2005), a technology educator who
explored the challenges and benefits of distance education through his personal experiences
as a teacher in Indiana, described distance education as "instruction that occurs when the
instructor and student are separated by distance, time or both" (p. 105). This definition
appeared to be widely accepted. Ascough (2002), a teacher of theology (including online
courses) at Queen's Theological College in Ontario, added additional descriptors to the
definition of distance education, stating that the planned learning occurs in a different setting
than the teaching and therefore requires special techniques of course design, special methods
of communication and instruction through the use of technology, and particular organization
and administrative planning.

15

More recently, the computer and the internet have become important elements of
distance education, through computer-based instruction, web-based or online classes, virtual
classroom management programs such as Blackboard, interactive video, wikis, and other
communications technologies. Such technology is often used as an enhancement to a face-toface class, but more and more, it is used to create virtual classes as well, where there is little
or no face-to-face contact with the teacher or one's classmates; all contact is made through
the use of technology (Collins, 2001; Palloff & Pratt, 2001). Courses can be offered
synchronously, asynchronously, or as a blend of both methods. Synchronous participation
occurs when participants are all online at the same time, interacting in real time, while
asynchronous classes take place at anytime; participants access the course when they wish,
reading and responding to material on their own time.
Garrison and Anderson (2007) argued that communication is at the centre of all
educational experiences; it then follows that communication through technology must be
developed to enhance and maximize the educational experience for all involved. Clayton
(2002), referred to two key objectives in using instructional technology: preserving a sense of
community among teachers and learners, and sustaining or increasing the quality of
communication between teachers and students and between students in the class. She
indicated that the mandate should be to create learning communities through interactivity.
This premise was also supported by the work of Kehrwald (2008), in his study of social
presence in online learning environments.
Kehrwald (2008) undertook a qualitative, constructivist study in an effort to define
social presence in online learning environments and provide suggestions for educators for the

16

creation and sustenance of social presence in their online courses. Although this study was
university-based with a small sample of only 20 students, Kehrwald' s personal approach with
respondents through questionnaires, interviews, and asynchronous group discussions
provided a solid definition of social presence as defined by participants and suggestions for
developing and maintaining social presence. He also confirmed the need for providing novice
online learners with assistance in developing their skills in using technology to foster their
own social presences and in understanding the social presence of others.
Kehrwald's (2008) definition of social presence resonated with my understanding of
the need for creating community in the online English 12 First Peoples course. He described
social presence as the means by which students participating in online courses indicate their
presence and interest in the online learning environment and their "availability and
willingness to engage in the communicative exchanges which constitute learning activity in
[this environment]" (Kehrwald, 2008, p. 94). This willingness to actively participate and
interact is critical to creating community in an online classroom; given the personal,
reflective, and interactive nature of the English 12 First Peoples curriculum, the importance
ofboth developing students' skills and providing opportunities to use those skills to create a
positive social presence and build a sense of community remained paramount in my mind as
I developed the online English 12 First Peoples course.
Although current research suggested that distance education in the form of on-line or
e-learning formats was as at least as effective (and increasingly more effective than)
traditional classes in terms of meeting learning outcomes, it also suggested that many
students often fail to complete online courses (Hannum, et al., 2008). Clayton (2002) and

17

Palloff and Pratt (200 1) suggested that this rate of attrition could be reduced by creating
effective online classroom communities that promoted interactivity, offered appropriate
support and feedback, and provided relevant, reflective learning opportunities that promoted
a sense of connectivity, rapport, and mutual engagement.
Citing a US-based education commission for web-based learning, Garrison and
Anderson (2007) stated that creating a viable e-learning experience involved a serious
commitment on the part of educators to understand the features of this medium and
determine how to use it most effectively to support student learning. Teachers must
understand their role in maintaining a sense of community and purpose in order to sustain the
effectiveness of an e-learning course format. One essential purpose of quality e-learning is to
"blend diversity and cohesiveness" (Garrison & Anderson, 2007, p. 3) into a dynamic,
stimulating learning environment. This dynamic learning environment is an important
element of student motivation.
Understanding the processes required for developing and maintaining a sense of
purpose, motivation, and community was necessary for the successful development of an
online version of English 12 First Peoples. Community-building was particularly important
because the nature of the course is such that building respect and mutual understanding was
vital to successful participation in the course. A portion of the assessment of, for, and as
learning in the course is based onjournaling and the creation of reflective learning logs.
Creating an environment in which students were willing to participate and share on a
personal level was important part of my role as the teacher of this course. I also expected that
implementing specific requirements for interaction, reflection, and discussion to aid in the

18

development of a sense of community and collaboration. The research indicated that there is
ample opportunity through technology to create effective online classrooms and e-leaming
environments in which this sense of community is a key component.
Advantages of E-leaming Delivery
Critics of distance education have cited the "distance" created by the loss of face-toface contact with the teacher and classmates as a reason for the failure of students to
complete online courses (Clayton, 2002). They also reported concerns of students about a
lack of cohesiveness and personal connection to the class (Hannum, et al., 2008), as well as
degrees of self-motivation (Kember, Ho, & Hong, 2008; Parker, 2003). Selwyn, et al.,
(200 1), in their study of educational policy in the United States and the need to develop
policies to ensure equitable access to digital education opportunities nationwide, identified
barriers such as cost factors, personal motivations and circumstances, and lack of appropriate
computer training and support as common reasons for lack of success with online
coursework. These studies, however, as well as those by Zembylas (2008), Ascough (2002),
and others discussed the strategies to avoid and overcome these limitations that students
sometimes experience in distance education. They emphasized that effective teacher-training,
the use of appropriate and timely feedback for students, and course construction that focuses
on the effective means of interaction and communication through the technology being used
are all critical to successful, interactive courses. They also suggested that support for the
student on-site (whether it comes from family, a school facilitator, or other support person)
can lessen the sense of isolation and offer face-to-face communication that might not
otherwise be available.

19

Furthermore, the studies indicated that it is not possible to teach effectively an online
course using the same pedagogical styles, lessons, and expectations one uses with a face-toface course; replicating or simulating traditional face-to-face methods of instruction are
neither appropriate nor logical approaches in developing e-leaming courses (Garrison &
Anderson, 2007). Online courses are different than traditional classroom-based experiences;
attention must be paid to the technology used for communication purposes and the
pedagogical practices incorporated into the use of that technology (Ascough, 2002). Simply
transferring traditional content-driven course curriculum to an online format will not provide
opportunities for deep learning experiences, interactive dialogue, or reflection, and may
instead contribute to issues of isolation, lack of engagement, and failure to complete the
course (Boyer, Maher, & Kirkman, 2006). I kept these important concerns in mind when
developing the e-leaming course.
Mupinga (2008) presented a limited study of the benefits and challenges of distance
education in high schools in the US based on his own teaching experiences with online
courses. He described a variety of formats that distance education courses have taken over
time and explained different types of e-leaming models developed by educators who
pioneered a well-known virtual high school in Florida. Using information provided by a
number of similar high schools throughout the US, he described the types of students who
typically enroll in e-leaming programs at this age. Notably, he mentioned rural or isolated
students and those who have problems remaining in or accessing traditional classroom
courses. Describing his personal experiences as a teacher of online courses, Mupinga offered
a straightforward, practical overview of both the challenges of and considerations for
developing an e-leaming course that maximizes communication opportunities and builds a

20

sense of community. I ensured I considered the challenges and pitfalls that could detract from
effective online course delivery and maximized my use of strategies, principles, and design
ideas that were recommended by others by developing practical strategies based on sound
pedagogy from teachers directly involved in distance education e-leaming delivery.
A 2002 study by Ascough also provided practical design strategies for online distance
education. He hypothesized that "online distance education provides opportunities for quality
education" (Ascough, 2002, p. 17). However, he cautioned that online distance education
could also lead to poor pedagogical practice and that for "online distance education to be
effective, one must understand the medium and the pedagogical principles that can lead to
deep learning in the online environment" (Ascough, 2002, p. 17). Ascough provided an
extensive overview of online distance education, its development over time, its importance to
educational institutions today, and his involvement in teaching theology courses through an
online e-leaming model in an Ontario college. He promoted the use of online course delivery
but advocated that the use of technology should be driven by sound pedagogical principles
and that pedagogical decisions should not be determined by technology.
At first consideration, this strength of this article for the purposes of my project
seemed focused on the theories of e-learning and the background information provided about
online distance education. Given that his research was based on his personal experiences as a
college-level theological instructor, I did not expect to find extensive relevance to the
development of a senior level high school English course. However, the classes on which he
based his case study were beginning theology courses which incorporated extensive biblical
and other literary readings; the teaching methods, course expectations, requirements for

21

reflective responses appeared applicable on many levels to English 12 First Peoples.
Ascough's suggestions for community building, online discussion forums, text readings, and
participation requirements were based on activities and teaching methods used in his class
and supported by narratives and interview responses from his students. Additionally, he
indicated that the intention of his study was to provide a representative overview of possible
online teaching strategies with the hope of stimulating further thoughts for others teaching
online distance education courses (Ascough, 2002). This type of practical overview was
important for me as I contemplated a range of online classroom strategies and teaching
activities for English 12 First Peoples.
Collins (2001) study examined the US Army's Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps
(JROTC) and the perception of the program's teachers and administrators toward the use of
the Internet as a distance learning tool in teaching a specific secondary school subject.
Specifically, the research question asked whether teachers perceived that using the Internet as
a distance learning tool enhanced their ability to meet the desired learning outcomes in the
courses they were teaching. The research was conducted using surveys with a 5-point Likert
scale addressing teachers' ability to meet the learning outcomes using the Internet and
measuring their concerns about using distance learning delivery models to meet learning
outcomes. Surveys were conducted at 33 of 1380 Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps
units that had Internet-based course delivery options. An analysis of variance (n= 658)
measured the level of ability of teachers to meet learning outcomes and measured their level
of concern about doing the same. The researchers also collected qualitative data in the form
of open-ended questions about any obstacles faced by teachers using the Internet to offer
courses that they survey did not address.

22

The results of this research were of some interest to my project. Because it addressed
secondary school course offerings and sought the opinions of teachers about the advantages,
challenges, and concerns of teaching an online distance education course, it offered important
information from different teachers' perspectives. Results clearly indicated positive
responses from the teachers' perspectives; they stated that using the Internet as a teaching
tool was preferable to teaching in the traditional way (Collins, 2001 ). Teachers also
indicated the types of support they needed to manage the technology, the infrastructure needs
of their schools, and the staff development required to become confident and effective elearning teachers. This information was relevant to the development of English 12 First
Peoples as well. The researchers offered practical suggestions to address concerns and
challenges faced by teachers, but did not address one key topic I was searching for: the
building of a sense of community in an online environment. The researchers did caution that
because this was a study based on the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps education
program, it should not be assumed that results can be generalized to all high school
programs. Additionally, the study did not specify information about which courses were
taught, so it did not offer specifics about teaching English online, which would have made it
more relevant to my project. Nonetheless, there were some important considerations about
the advantages of teaching online courses at a secondary school level.
Clayton (2002) constructed a personal narrative of her experiences teaching webbased literature courses to college freshmen in two different classes over the course of a
school year. She solicited feedback from her students through and informal survey on the
effects of interactivity and collaborative activities in her courses. Albeit a small personal
study, the results were overwhelmingly positive (92%) in favour of the extensive use of

23

online interactive tools such as discussion boards and class websites to build a sense of a
community of learners. She also noted improved retention and completion rates in these
courses compared to retention and completion rates from previous years, and a slightly
improved GP A over previous years. She did not apply statistical significance to this, but
noted that the results were encouraging and that she would continue to follow such trends
with her classes. For me, this paper offered important information about potential advantages
of online courses and describes several important features from both a teacher's perspective
and a student's perspectives about community building in the virtual classroom setting.
Parker (2003) conducted a study to test the theory that the level of self-motivation in
students is significantly correlated with academic persistence in students taking online
distance education courses. She also hypothesized that the level of self-motivation increased
in students enrolled in web-based courses. Ninety-five students and four instructors
completed the surveys, which were hand-scored and analyzed using SPSS 10. Again, this
was a study conducted with first-year US community college students, so its results were not
directly applicable to my students. However, the study addressed important issues that I was
exploring, particularly the supports needed for students with little or no face-to-face contact

with teachers or classmates and the need for effective forms of online interaction to enable
good communication. She noted that effective technological interaction and online
instruction "can improve students' sense of competence, independent thinking skills, and
self-motivation" (Parker, 2003, p. 3). Although, as Parker noted, the results did not provide
evidence that could be generalized to all e-leaming courses, she did find significant
correlation between level of self-motivation and completion of courses. As well, her results
indicated that students who enroll in online courses become more self-motivated than those

24

who enroll in traditional courses, and that these factors should be taken into consideration
when developing e-learning courses for students.
Kember, et al., (2008) also addressed the motivation ofundergraduate students. They
interviewed 36 students in Hong Kong universities to determine main factors for motivation.
Although this study was small and was conducted with students who did not fit the profile of
students expected to enroll in English 12 First Peoples, the results were consistent with
Parker's findings and others who discussed motivation as important to student success. In
this study, students identified subject relevance, effective assessment, and a sense of
belonging or community in the virtual classroom as key to maintaining motivation and
supporting student success. In spite of the different backgrounds and demographics of the
students involved in these various research studies, consistent themes appeared with respect
to the advantages of e-learning and the need for a sense of community and interaction in
virtual classroom situations.
Wang and Reeves (2007) suggested that motivation could be improved by
challenging students' abilities through online activities that aroused curiosity and increased
student autonomy. Their study involved the design of a web-based learning tool for tenth
grade science teachers to use as a student-centred learning activity for a specific science
topic. The web-based program was designed as part of a larger four-year study intended to
enhance the use of laptop computers as cognitive tools in a K-12 school. The study was
applicable to my project in that it was a reflective inquiry tracing the development of
innovative learning practices using technology, and because it targeted motivation and
engagement of high school students using web-based learning tools. Although this was a

25

specific program designed for a specific grade, subject, and teacher, the results confirmed
that students were more engaged when using interactive web-based activities than they had
been using traditional classroom activities. When students were given clear opportunities to
take responsibility for achieving the prescribed learning outcomes, explore new information
in new ways, and engage in experiential learning, student motivation improved. These were
important considerations in designing course activities for English 12 First Peoples and in
considering ways to maximize effective use of the tools available in Desire2Learn to
encourage student engagement.
Boyer, Maher, and Kirkman (2006) conducted a phenomenological study of a specific
graduate level course and supported much of the literature examined to date. They described
in detail the emergent field of e-learning and identified a sense of community and belonging
in the virtual class as an important motivator and element of success for graduate students.
They also examined evidence oftransformative learning and identified the ability of online
reflective discussion as key to transformative learning, which they describe as dramatic
change in the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us. Collaborative learning
was critical to this change, and my goal was to design a course for high school level students
that would also help them see the world around them, through the literature of First Nations
authors and storytellers, in new and different ways. Although this research was conducted
with graduate level students, it provided me with some inspirational guidance about the
benefits of collaborative learning and a sense of community, both of which are important
components of the English 12 First Peoples learning outcomes.

26

Passey's (2000) study of how teachers in primary and secondary schools in Britain
developed strategies for developing and implementing distance education courses also
supported these concepts. He emphasized evidence of improved subject learning, motivation,
attitudes towards learning, independent learning abilities, and online social interaction as
ongoing benefits of distance education courses. He also reiterated what other researchers
have noted: the negatives of isolation and lack of course completion can be mitigated by
proper course development and recognition of the supports and social interactions in which
students need to feel engaged and successful.
Teachers understand that learning is a dynamic, complex process, and that genuine
learning comes from the development of ideas, not facts. Garrison and Anderson (2007)
postulated that the excessive use of standardized testing has resulted in an education system
that imparts information but does not encourage critical thinking. High school students need
to develop better critical thinking skills and self-directed learning skills if they are to be
successful life-long learners. While e-learning can enhance anyone's access to information,
what today's learners need are "better ways to process, make sense of, and recreate this
information" (Garrison & Anderson, 2007, p. 4). E-learning has the potential to be both
constructive and interactive, and offers the opportunity for teachers to create for their
students a true community of inquiry or community of learners where students' experiences
and ideas are shared and discussed in a collaborative environment of mutual respect
(Garrison & Anderson, 2007). I believed that because ofthe principles of learning embedded
within the content and learning outcomes of English 12 First Peoples, the development of
this course into an effective e-leaming format using the concepts of such communitybuilding was possible.

27

Clearly, the content of the course itself is not sufficient to define a quality learning
experience. The way an online course is designed and the interactions involved will
determine its success. A critical consideration for migrating the course to an e-learning
format is integrating content and context (Garrison & Anderson, 2007). The content of
English 12 First Peoples is well-developed within its IRP. There are more than a sufficient
number of units, texts, assignments, and assessment opportunities outlined for teachers to use
in a face-to-face delivery model or online. Context refers to the appropriate levels of social
interaction and presence needed to reinforce the educational goals, enhance cognitive
development, and realize the higher-order learning outcomes (Garrison & Anderson, 2007).
It was my job to effectively blend the course content and its context to create a successful

online English 12 First Peoples course.
Garrison and Anderson (2007) assert that current computer technology has the
capacity to support reflective interaction between student and course content. In this era of
immediate access to information, the advantage of e-learning technology is not faster access
to more information; instead, the advantage is that existing technology gives educators and
learners practical ways to learn collaboratively by facilitating communication and sharing of
ideas, thereby encouraging the construction of new meaning and knowledge. I saw this
concept as an excellent fit with the learning outcomes of English 12 First Peoples. £-learning
should not be used as simply another tool in the delivery of information to our students; it has
the potential to expand students' educational horizons and it should change how they
experience learning (Garrison & Anderson, 2007). It should provide what Boyer, et al.
(2006) called a transformative learning experience, which changes the way students perceive
themselves and the world around them.

28

Zembylas (2008) conducted a study of adult learners (who were mainly teachers) in
an online university course about engaging with issues of cultural diversity through personal
reflection and addressed the benefits of online learning for engaging in such personal
reflection. The study confirmed the importance of building trust while discussing personal
and sensitive cultural issues, addressing personal biases and challenging one's own world
views, and reflecting on emotional responses to reading material - all through the use of
technology for communication. In this study, Zembylas (2008) described online learning as
an excellent opportunity for reflective, thoughtful interaction that can transform how students
perceive and understand the world around them. Such opportunities for deep learning, I
believe, are important for all students, and particularly those in rural and isolated
communities for whom distance learning is crucial for equal access to the range of
educational opportunities available in the province. As we move towards a more knowledgebased future, the ability to access and understand information and interpret its importance
relative to their understanding of the world they live in is vital to students' future success.
Another advantage of e-learning is the opportunity it can offer for more in-depth
intellectual interaction. Often in a traditional classroom, the more extroverted learners
dominate discussions, group work, and other social situations. In my experience, less
confident students or those who require more processing time to formulate ideas and
responses often participate to a lesser degree. However, people generally interact differently
online than they do in class (Ascough, 2002; Boyer, et al, 2006). When regular contributions
and active online participation are key requirements in an online course, even the more
introverted participants are required to share thoughts, ideas, responses, and reflections.
Having the opportunity to do so in writing, in a chat forum, or in an asynchronous

29

environment has shown that, although people will participate at different levels, everyone
will participate (Ascough, 2002; B. Hartman, personal communication, March 31, 2009;
Zembylas, 2008). Again, the degree to which this is done effectively was an ongoing part of
the focus of my work in developing the English 12 First Peoples course for the North Coast
Distance Education School.
Ascough (2002) and Palloff and Pratt (2001, 2003) also noted that online courses can
change the social dynamics of a class with respect to gender, class, and race issues.
Participants can disclose information as they feel comfortable about their personal
circumstances, but there remains a degree of anonymity if students so choose. However, this
may be counter-intuitive to the idea of building a learning community in which all
participants are active members; finding a balance that respects people's comfort zones and
encourages reflective sharing practices remained an ongoing consideration for effective
course development.
E-learning Strategies for Course Development
Additionally, there was a wealth of practical information on distance education and
on-line course design and the theory behind building effective on-line courses through books
such as those by Palloff and Pratt (200 1, 2003), Lynch (2002), Conrad and Richardson
(2004), Lever-Duffy and McDonald (2008), and others. The study of these books and the
incorporation of their design suggestions as applicable to English 12 First Peoples was an
ongoing process throughout my research and project. As I developed specific resource
material and lesson plans to meet the course's learning outcomes, I continued to seek out and

30

incorporate the practical strategies outlined by researchers and authors as the culmination of
their extensive experience and research.
It was my belief at the outset of this project that at the heart of developing a

successful online version of English 12 First Peoples was the development and incorporation
of strategies that build a sense of community in the virtual classroom setting. It was my
intention to use strategies that encouraged interaction, reflection, and transformative learning
experiences. To do so, I knew I would have to develop some idea about the students who will
enroll in the course and get a sense of their learning needs, including an assessment of their
technological skills and the access they have to various modes of technology. McLoughlin
(1999) noted that, in order to move from surface level comprehension to deeper learning,
online delivery models "required incorporation of culture specific values, styles of learning
and cognitive preferences" (McLoughlin, 1999, p. 231). It was important to establish an
understanding of who would be enrolling in the course and their reasons for doing so through
the distance education format. I was able to formulate some understanding of my students
through information provided by NCDES registration process and through an initial
introductory assignment students were required to submit as part of the registration process.
Additionally, it was likely that many of the students would be computer-savvy, but it
was also possible that others would not be particularly technologically proficient. To begin
the course, I created an opportunity to have an orientation process to the technology being
used, the course structure, and the online requirements for participation, communication, and
submission of assignments. Based on the literature review, I felt this would be beneficial to
the class as a whole (Boyer, et al., 2006). Throughout the course design, I found myself

31

reflecting on my own teaching style in order to ensure that the teaching elements I
incorporated into the course were geared to my own strengths.
The learning outcomes of English 12 First Peoples are clearly and thoroughly
established in the course IRP, so I did not need to develop the course goals and objectives,
but I had to give consideration to how those goals, objectives, and learning outcomes could
be met online. The technology being used must be at the service of the teaching and learning
process; the teaching and learning process should not be driven by technology (Ascough,
2002). The technology was the tool by which to facilitate communication, interaction,
sharing, reflection, and learning; it must be employed to help maximize the potential for
student learning. One of the key aspects of e-learning is the ability of the available
technology to facilitate interaction between teacher and student, between students in the
class, and between students and the course content. Such wide-ranging interaction "allows
for the creation and synthesis of knowledge" (Ascough, 2002, p. 22). Researchers agreed that
the collaborative process of online interaction through reflection, sharing, and exploration
leads to deeper student learning (Ascough, 2002; McLoughlin, 1999; Palloff & Pratt, 2001).
I believed part of my role as teacher would be to guide students through the reflective
process, enabling them to experience deeper learning and engage in what Boyer, et al. (2006)
described as a transformative learning experience. As I taught more of the course in my
regular classroom, I began to better understand the potential for English 12 First Peoples, if
delivered effectively, to be a transformative learning experience for many students from a
diverse range of backgrounds.

32

Two other important components of building a course that enables collaboration and a
sense of community are engagement and motivation. Encouraging engagement and
motivation must be deliberately built into the design of the course. Grisham and Wolsey
(2006) studied online literature discussion groups in middle school classrooms in California
and stated that community was at the core of all learning. They concluded that what students
learned was defined by those with whom they shared their ideas and built that learning. An
important element in creating a community of learners who are motivated and engaged was
to provide opportunity for students to get to know one another. Specific activities, using the
available technology, included setting up a forum for students to introduce themselves and
interact socially and informally throughout the course (Ascough, 2002; Grisham & Wolsey,
2006; McLoughlin, 1999). In addition to informal contact, students should be required to
participate formally in online discussions and be expected to offer reflective, thoughtful
responses to class readings and discussions regularly (Ascough, 2002; Pall off & Pratt, 2001 ).
Additionally, to promote a sense of community of inquiry, activities had to be designed to
move students away from simply being recipients of information and towards being
constructors of knowledge and collaborative partners in disseminating information and
problem-solving (Grisham & Wolsey, 2006; McLoughlin, 1999). With appropriate teacher
guidance, I expected students to take an active role and accept responsibility for contributing
regularly and thoughtfully, demonstrating their learning and encouraging others to do the
same.
As the literature review and the course design progressed, I explored more research
around factors that influenced online participation. Clearly, students will not be successful in
online courses if they do not participate. Vonderwell and Zachariah (2005) explored factors

33

that influenced learner participation in a graduate online course for teachers about using
technology in the classroom. They used a case study approach and several data sources,
including questionnaires with a Likert scale, interviews, and a thematic data analysis of
online discussions about participation. The results of this study were applicable to my
research on several levels. Once again, however, this was a study of graduate students who
were mainly teachers, so its conclusions are not necessarily directly applicable to a high
school course. However, they offered some insight into several of the questions I had to
consider while developing my course. They noted that students' technology skills and the
design of the discussion board influenced student participation and reflection in course
activities (Vonderwell & Zachariah, 2005). I found myself spending time designing and
redesigning my discussion board, to the extent Desire2Leam allowed any sort of flexibility,
considering both ease of use for students with varying levels of computer skills and the
creation of a board that felt welcoming, accessible, and useful. Vonderwell and Zachariah
(2005) also noted that student participation was impacted by the sense of comfort and
community among class members, a factor that had been reinforced throughout the literature.
A third component of participation that resonated strongly with me was students' indication
that assessment criteria played a role in their participation (Vonderwell & Zachariah, 2005).
Ensuring what type of participation (deep and meaningful reflections versus superficial
postings, for example) and how much participation was required became important
considerations as I continued to develop assessment criteria for the course.
The key areas of literature on which I focused my research- the e-leaming field, the
advantages of e-leaming, and effective e-leaming strategies- resonated throughout the actual
course development process for the online version of English 12 First Peoples. From aiding

34

my understanding of the field of e-learning and the importance of the opportunities that the
availability of this course and others like it will provide to future students, to ensuring that I
developed a course based on the most current and sound practices, the literature helped
shaped all levels of the project. It also emphasized that thee-learning is still an emerging
field in education, particularly at the secondary school level, and I hope this project will add
to the knowledge base high school teachers need in order to pursue developing new elearning courses for their students.

35

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Chapter 1 introduced the research problem and the research question, which asked
what qualities of the English 12 First Peoples course need to be developed and nurtured
differently in a virtual classroom than in a face-to-face setting, and how. Chapter 2 surveyed
the literature and demonstrated that the emergent field of e-leaming, particularly in the
secondary school environment, can broaden the educational opportunities of students in rural
regions. It also demonstrated that it is possible to create a strong sense of community in a
virtual classroom, provided specific consideration is made to do so. This chapter will outline
my research methodology. It begins by addressing background information about my English
12 First Peoples experiences and the evolution of the project. Then it addresses my reasons
for choosing a qualitative research method over quantitative or mixed methods. It then
defines and discusses action research and autoethnography. It also includes an explanation of
my reasons for selecting autoethnography as the research method for this project. Finally, it
discusses my data sources and research tools.
From the Classroom to the Computer
In 2006, I became involved in work related to the creation ofEnglish 12 First
Peoples, a new course developed in a unique collaboration between the First Nations
Education Steering Committee (FNESC) and the BC Ministry of Education. The course was
designed to meet the graduation requirements and standards equivalent to that of the
traditional English 12 course, but focused exclusively on texts by First Nations authors from
Canada and around the world. At that time, I was asked to become a trial writer on a contract
basis for the newly-developed provincial exams. Shortly thereafter, a pilot teacher for the

36

course from a neighbouring northern school district had to move unexpectedly, and the First
Nations Education Steering Committee urgently needed another English teacher who would
be available to pilot one unit of the course during a regular English 12 class in the Fall
semester of the 2007-2008 school year. I was asked by the course development team leader at
the First Nations Education Steering Committee to participate as a pilot teacher, in addition
to my trial writing work. I obtained permission from school administration do so and
attended a training session in Vancouver in July 2007 as preparation for teaching a unit of the
course in a pilot format.
I taught a pilot unit, Residential Schools Literature, in my English 12 class at
Hazelton Secondary School that fall, which was successful and generated a significant
amount of interest in the course in both our school and our community. In consultation with
the English Department, the school administration decided to offer English 12 First Peoples
as a regular course during the following school year, 2008-2009, and assigned it to me to
teach. It was offered in the second semester of the school year, and 27 students enrolled in
the course.
Shortly after I began teaching this class, I had to select a project topic to fulfill my
Master of Education degree requirements. During the same week in which I was
contemplating project possibilities, I was approached by the principal of the NCDES, who
had consulted with the First Nations Education Steering Committee about the possibility of
developing an online version of the course. After discovering that Hazelton Secondary was
offering the first class of English 12 First Peoples in the district and that I had been involved
in piloting the course, he asked if I would be interested in taking on this project and

37

eventually teaching the course for NCDES online in 2010. The opportunity was intriguing,
and the idea of undertaking the process as a Masters project was borne.
Choice ofMethodology
I chose to do a qualitative research project for several reasons. Qualitative research
focuses on the views of participants and asks broad, general questions. It looks at what
participants have to say and analyzes their words, thoughts, and ideas for important themes
(Creswell, 2008). The research inquiry is subjective and personal, and the proj ect I undertook
met the criteria for qualitative research. I did not feel a quantitative approach was suitable for
the project I designed. My questions were broad and I could not envision useful quantifiable
data emerging from the story of developing the online version of English 12 First Peoples.
For instance, my central research question asked which qualities of the English 12 First
Peoples course needed to be developed differently in an online classroom. The answer to this
question did not appear to be quantitative based. The data were subjected to text analysis and
thematic development as opposed to the statistical analysis or comparison of relationships
among variables that quantitative research would require. For these reasons, I did not use
mixed methods either; the quantitative component was simply not appropriate for the project.
I also excluded other qualitative methods such as hermeneutics and phenomenology
when choosing my research methodology. Hermeneutics involves the interpretation and
understanding of social events by analyzing their meaning to the people involved;
phenomenology pertains to research concerned with understanding the subjects' point of
view (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). I felt these methods did not accurately fit the process I
wished to undertake; I wanted to emphasize the personal narrative, the reflective analysis,

38

and the practical results of the research. The project was a highly personal exploration of a
particular process, and so I chose to conduct an action research project that is best described
as an autoethnographical study.
Action Research and Autoethnography
An autoethnography, according to Chang (2008), is a qualitative research

methodology that emphasizes a personal approach and provides the researcher-participant
with opportunity to explore and reflect on experiences. Through this reflection, the
researcher-participant gains understanding of the research experience by first telling his story
and then subjecting it to in-depth analysis and interpretation. Chang (2008) emphasized that,
in spite of the personal nature of the research, it must be planned and implemented with the
same rigour required by other types of research. Chang (2008) described autoethnography as
an important tool for social scientists, including teachers, to give insight into a process or
make sense of an issue and offer solutions or recommendations (such how to develop an
online course that offer a strong sense of classroom community).
Bogdan and Biklen (2007) defined autoethnography as research in which the
researcher is the object of the study. It demands solid description of a situation in order to
provide meaningful interpretations and new understandings. Creswell (2008) added that
autoethnography is a highly personalized account of the research that develops an
understanding of a particular phenomenon or situation after describing, analyzing, and
interpreting the author's reflections on meaningful data. My research provided a detailed
account of the process of developing an effective online English 12 First Peoples course, and
my views as both teacher and researcher on both the process of course development and its

39

outcome formed the basis of my research. I chose autoethnography as a research
methodology because of the elements Bogdan and Biklen (2007), Chang (2008), and
Cresswell (2008) described; it is personal, yet connected to a larger element in education, and
it seemed to be the best fit for my project and my research needs at the time.
Action research is a form of reflective inquiry and fits well with autoethnography; it
is an appropriate method for teachers to use in examining their teaching practices. As Bogdan
and Biklen (2007) described, the action researcher is a practitioner such as a teacher who
wants to use a qualitative approach to examine his practice with the intention of improving it.
Creswell (2008) added that a teacher-researcher might examine a problem and determine
solutions to resolve the problem. In conducting this action research project, I developed the
online version of English 12 First Peoples, and throughout its development, I analyzed and
reflected on the process. I believe this approach suited my project because I wrote the story
and constructed a personal portrait of my experience with the development of the online
version of English 12 First Peoples. Autoethnography is a form of action research which
includes a reflexive account of one's own experiences and looks critically at the process
being described. As Creswell (2008) noted, autoethnography allows for subjectivity and the
inclusion of thoughts, feelings, and personal observations which were all-important
components of my project. As the project progressed, I became increasingly confident that
this method was the best method I could have chosen for this project, and confirmed that the
depth I hoped for in analyzing and reflecting on the process existed.
Although there is always the potential for an autoethnographical study to become too
personal in its narration (Chang, 2008), I did not see this as a significant problem for this

40

project, particularly as I became more immersed in the practical components of the course
development. The concerns I had about creating a course of substance that did justice to the
purpose of English 12 First Peoples were reflected in the literature, as were the many
questions I had about building community in an online class. As I focused on creating the
most appropriate activities, reflections, and discussion topics, I found myself referring
frequently to the research and literature for ideas, solutions, and suggestions. It was also
gratifying to have that information reinforced by the NCDES administrators who were
supporting my work.
The narrative elements in the journal targeted the work I was doing in creating the
online version of the course. The focus of the narration remained on course development,
ideas for creating opportunities for student engagement and community building, and other
elements of transforming a face-to-face course into an e-learning format. The research
provided a thorough account of these processes, and my views as both teacher and researcher
on both the process of course development and its outcome formed the basis of my research.
I chose autoethnography as a research methodology because of the elements Creswell (2008)
described; it is personal, yet connected to a broader circumstance. In this case, the personal

component was my classroom practice and the process of undertaking the online course
development of English 12 First Peoples; the broader circumstance included considerations
for future opportunities within our school and district to develop other new online course
offerings.

41

Data Sources
My data sources for this project were limited in number but rich in detail, and the
research tools used in this study were appropriate for an autoethnographic study. The most
important source of data was my reflective journal, which was written using Microsoft Word
and stored on my personal laptop. A reflective approach was necessary in this
autoethnographical research study, and the use of a reflective journal is an increasingly
accepted research tool that can facilitate reflexivity (Ortlipp, 2008). Maintaining a reflective
journal is also an important educational practice for educators interested in exploring,
understanding, and improving their teaching practice (Loughran & Russell, 2002). Thus, it
was an appropriate tool for this project.
Throughout the process, the reflective journal documented the process of teaching
English 12 First Peoples face-to-face and then transforming the course into its online version
for the North Coast Distance Education School. I began the journal in February 2009, when I
began teaching the first English 12 First Peoples face-to-face course, and maintained it
throughout the process of writing this document. At times, I wrote daily in the journal; other
times, notes were made weekly or less frequently; the frequency depended on numerous
factors throughout the process, but it was an invaluable record of what was, at times, a
convoluted process, and it helped maintain a sense of organization throughout that
convolution. As Ortlipp (2008) noted, it also helped to maintain the rigor of the research
process and allowed for critical self-reflection which enhanced the course development
process overall.
The journal itself was multi-faceted, and as I wrote in it, I endeavoured to remain
cognizant of the areas of research the literature review addressed: e-leaming, its advantages,

42

and the practical strategies for building an effective course. Early on, the journal was a
running record of activities I conducted with the face-to-face English 12 First Peoples class,
as well as thoughts, ideas, comments, and questions that arose as I taught the class. I tried to
record the ideas on which I was reflecting as I was teaching, keeping in mind the research
question about migrating particular course qualities to an online class. I often made quick
hand-written notes in class as thoughts or questions arose, then transferred them to the main
document saved on my laptop and added more in-depth comments and reflections. My intent
was to try to capture important ideas about community building and effective lesson plans
that I felt would be most relevant in the online course. I also recorded informal feedback I
received from my English 12 First Peoples students about various lessons and activities. I
usually jotted down comments verbatim if they resonated strongly with me, then transferred
them to the official journal at the end of the day and reflected on their significance. Other
times, I would paraphrase the comment during my reflection. For example, I noted that a
particular student "told me how much he enjoyed today's Thomas King reading" Qournal
entry) and then noted my reflections on the reasons he provided.
In the journal, I also recorded personal reviews of the successes and challenges of
various lessons I had designed or had adapted from the English 12 FP Teacher Resource
Guide. As I delved further into the project, including the literature review and the actual
course development work, the questions in my journal became more prominent. I certainly
had more questions than answers for a time. I also recorded concerns I had about learning the
technology that I would need to teach the course, including wondering how much training I
would need to feel comfortable teaching a course using the technology and who would help
my students with technology issues if I could not.

43

One significant theme of the journal clearly emerged by the end of the summer of
2009: frustrations with technology. I had reached the point when I wanted to start uploading
lesson plans, activities, and lectures to the NCDES course site, and needed assistance from
administration in order to do that. I wanted to see what the online course would look like to
the students and needed to feel like I was making progress in that particular component of the
project. However, I felt isolated and needed more technological support than was available at
the time; I needed more in-depth instruction on the tools I was supposed to be using to create
the course, and it struck me that this frustration was similar to what students doing online
courses without effective support could easily experience. This theme and others will be
explored in greater detail in Chapter Four.
The content of this journal was a significant component of my research. My intention
with the journal was to record more than just a chronicle of events; in recording personal and
professional observations, connections to literature, and critical assessment and analysis of
my experiences, I uncovered data in the journal that helped make explicit the knowledge and
understanding I gained in the development of an e-learning course.
I am the only actual participant in this project, but other sources of data came from
my reflections on informal discussions with other distance education and e-learning teachers
in our school and district and from students enrolled in those courses. My journal notes also
included sections containing ideas about challenges and pitfalls to avoid, as I encountered
them through my own face-to-face delivery experiences, online course development, the
literature review, and my discussions with other teachers and students involved in distance
education e-learning courses. All of these notes were recorded using Microsoft Word,

44

maintained on my personal laptop, and backed up on my external hard drive for safekeeping.
The laptop and hard drive were kept in separate and secure locations in my personal home
office.
Supplementary Data Sources
Another rich source of information was the literature itself. The literature provided
important guidance which helped inform the selection of promising practices in the
development of appropriate course components. In particular, the literature provided practical
strategies for building community. It also provided suggestions for course development
considerations such as student orientation activities, which prompted further discussions with
North Coast Distance Education School personnel about their processes for such activities.
Additionally, the English 12 First Peoples Integrated Resource Package and Teacher
Resource Guide for the course provided important foundations for the initial stages of the

project. Using them, I developed lessons and activities for the course throughout the
semester; as required in the prescribed learning outcomes, the concept of respectful
communication and community building was a constant focus . My experience teaching the
first English 12 First Peoples course in the traditional face-to-face format was another
important component of my research. That experience helped formulate much of the data in
the beginning sections of the reflective journal. The class gave me a starting place for lesson
ideas and highlighted the importance of building community in this particular course. As
well, it provided a rich source of the information about the research question, which focused
on what qualities of the English 12 First Peoples course needed to be developed and nurtured
differently in the online version of the course. For example, I could see what types of class

45

guidelines fostered respectful communication and what topics allowed for rich small-group
discussions. This knowledge provided much insight into what qualities needed to be fostered
online and required deep consideration as to how to do that effectively.
Technology as a Data Source
My research tools also included the technology that was used to develop the online
course, because the technology options in place determined several elements of the structure
of the course. The course management system that NCDES used was a key research tool.
Desire2Leam (D2L) is their system of choice, and I received in-service on several occasions
for using it; this support will continue to be provided throughout the teaching of the online
course itself. It was important to learn its strengths and weaknesses, as well as the tools
embedded within it for creating assignments, facilitating communication, and promoting that
important sense of community. I also received training in using Elluminate, which is an
Internet software program that functions like a virtual classroom and allows the teacher and
students to interact via the Internet in real-time. I maintained a section in the journal that
reflected my experiences learning the many facets of the technology required to effective
teach an online course.
As the course development became more of a reality in terms of becoming an actual
course offering for NCDES, a classroom in our school and section of the library were
designated for use by students attending Hazelton Secondary who were enrolled in e-leaming
courses through the North Coast Distance Education School. Additional wireless technology
was installed in the school, computers were designated for students enrolled in the course to
use, and videoconferencing equipment was made available. Classroom space and computer

46

access were provided for teachers of online courses, and the block of teaching time
designated to the online course was funded through the North Coast Distance Education
School's budget. The NCDES administrators also worked with enrolling students who were
not attending Hazelton Secondary to ensure they had the technology in place to participate
fully in the course. I included these developments as part of the narrative elements ofthe
journal, as they were important components of the overall process.
Data Analysis
I analyzed the journal for themes by initially focusing on the three most prominent
areas of research I had uncovered in my literature review: e-learning as an important
emergent element of the education system, the advantages of e-learning, and practical
strategies for creating viable online courses. Patton (1987) argued that this type of natural
categorization was "indigenous typologies" while those categories that came out of the data
after further analysis were "analyst-constructed typologies".
I first began the coding process by using different coloured highlighting pens to
highlighting words, phrases, and larger sections of text related to the three main themes of
the literature review. I assigned a different coloured highlighter to each of the three themes.
Shortly after beginning that process, I switched to using the highlighting feature in Microsoft
Word, as it was just as efficient to highlight the data then cut and paste the references into a
separate document under their individual headings and count them. This second document
was an effective visual organizer which allowed me to view the data in its entirety, see
patterns, identify gaps in information, and move data into different categories as needed.

47

Initially, I intended to use NVivo 8 to analyze the data because of its reputation as a
powerful research tool for managing data. However, the extensive challenges with our
school's technology infrastructure throughout the fall of2009 and the damage to my personal
computer after an accident at home made timely access to the NVivo program questionable at
best. I also experienced difficulties in an early trial using the program to code sample data.
Using the school's computers to practice using the program, I was unable to retrieve saved
data and received error messages indicating the file had been corrupted. I was extremely
concerned about entering large quantities of data and then losing access to it, and ultimately
elected to code data manually. In spite of initial reservations about this decision, I also
recognized that my data was manageable without NVivo. Mine was not a large study with
several participants; I did not have, for example, numerous interviews to transcribe and then
code by hand. The bulk of the data generated in the journal centred on the themes of the
literature review, and the volume of data was not so overwhelming as to require a computer
program to manage it.
Within the journal, many of the references toe-learning as an increasingly important
part of the public education system and its advantages for students in this region came from
reflections on my discussions with NCDES staff. As experienced practitioners in the elearning field and strong proponents of thee-learning field, their enthusiasm and knowledge
of current practices in online course development were valuable to my research. Critically
reflecting on my conversations with them reinforced my understanding of the literature and
helped me see how it applied to the work I was undertaking. These reflections helped guide
the course development process and enhanced the research.

48

After reviewing the data covering the three main themes, I noted that the category I
called "practical strategies" actually contained two very different foci: building community
and organizational strategies. I subsequently divided theme of"practical strategies" section
into two sub-themes. The most prominent section involved the concepts of building
community, which included comments such as "Could we try a talking circle in a chat room?
Rules for tum-taking? Can I do that online?" Uoumal entry). The importance of building
community was emphasized throughout the literature. Additionally, it is reflected throughout
the prescribed learning outcomes for English 12 First Peoples; for that reason, it became a
focus of my actual research question. Many sections of the journal that reflected on my
classroom practices while teaching English 12 First People specifically discussed
community-building strategies. I was looking at concrete ways to build this important course
element into online lessons, discussions, and class activities. At the same time, I was trying
to understand the technological features that would best enable community-building
practices. This theme had the greatest number of references in the data collected as described
in the next chapter.
The second sub-theme that emerged from that initial section on practical strategies
involved "organizational considerations". These considerations involved practical teaching
strategies for the actual online course, including technology orientation plans for students,
time management strategies for online participation, and course development questions. The
frequency of references to these types of practical considerations increased as we uploaded
coursework into the course webpage and the time to teach the course online drew nearer.

49

Once I had a clear picture of the data involving the themes that developed from the
literature review, I noted that there were still several lengthy sections of the journal that did
not fall easily into any of those previous categories. It was visually obvious that I had
highlighted very little data in these particular sections. As I reviewed them again, it became
clear that they focused on emotions. Because this was a personal reflective journal, it made
sense that emotions would play a role in the reflections I made on my work, my project, and
my experiences teaching English 12 First Peoples for the first time. I then began highlighting
these data, identifying different emotions with different coloured highlighters. There were
many positive experiences noted throughout the journal, but the emotion that I reflected on
most frequently can most clearly be described as frustration. The frustration had two main
sources: time and technology. I chose to categorize this new data theme as "challenges",
because I believed that it would be important to identify the challenges that arose during the
project and attempt to learn from them. I also believed that understanding the causes of such
frustration would be beneficial in avoiding such pitfalls in future online course development.
This section on challenges was second only to the section on community building in terms of
the frequency of the data.
This chapter focused on background information about my experience with English
12 First Peoples and the development of the project. It then addressed my choice of research
methodology, which was an action research project in the form of an autoethnography.
Finally, it discussed the sources of research data and the method of data analysis. The next
chapter will discuss in detail the data collected from these sources and the themes that
emerged through analysis of the data. It will also offer my interpretation of the data and of
the challenges faced in undertaking this process.

50

CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS
Chapter 1 introduced the research problem and the research question, which asked
what qualities of the English 12 First Peoples course need to be developed and nurtured
differently in a virtual classroom than in a face-to-face setting, and how. Chapter 2 surveyed
the research on the advantages of the emergent field of e-learning and on using technology to
create a strong sense of community in a virtual classroom. Chapter 3 outlined my research
methodology, discussed action research and autoethnography, and concluded with an
overview of my data sources and research tools. This chapter will describe the data collected
through the course of the research. As noted previously, the main data source was a reflective
journal that I maintained from February 2009 to February 2010. I will provide a detailed
description of the data, which included information about e-learning as an emergent field in
the education system, the advantages of e-leaming, and practical strategies for building
community online. The data also included other prominent themes uncovered during the
course of the research, including organizing for effective course delivery, challenges to
effective organizing, and technological challenges. Finally, I will offer my analysis and
interpretation of them in an effort to answer the research questions.
Research Findings
I first reviewed my main data source, the journal, keeping in mind the three most
prominent areas of research I had uncovered in my literature review: e-learning as an
important emergent component of the education system, the advantages of e-learning, and
practical strategies for creating viable online courses. Additionally, upon further reviews of
the data, two other themes emerged that related to organizational considerations and

51

challenges encountered during the process. After further review of the data, I divided the
theme of challenges into two new themes: organizational challenges and technological
challenges. Table 1 summarizes these themes and is followed by an in-depth discussion of
each theme.
Table 1

Theme type and frequency ofjournal comments (in raw score)
Theme

Frequency

£-learning as an emerging field

24

Advantages of e-learning

31

Building community

106

Organizational Considerations

20

Organizational Challenges

18

Technological Challenges

46

£-learning as an Emerging Field
In the early stages of the project during the spring of2009, I met with a teacher and
the administrator of the NCDES on three occasions. These meetings were focused on
organizing the process of developing the online English 12 First Peoples course and
establishing a timeframe for making it available to students. During the meetings, the
NCDES staff outlined the role I would fill as one of their teachers and the expectations they
had for the course. The school offers a full range of courses to enable people to meet BC
Ministry of Education graduation requirements. I was shown a variety of the online courses

52

offered by NCDES, which ranged from elementary Science and Social Studies, to high
school French Immersion classes, to adult photography courses. During our third meeting, I
was also shown basic profiles ofthe diverse range of students enrolled in the school's
distance education programs. These profiles helped me understand the great potential that
online courses had in meeting the needs of a diverse group of learners, particularly in rural or
isolated areas.
It was both inspiring and enlightening to view the potential for English 12 First
Peoples to be developed in such a dynamic way as these other courses were designed, and to
see how far-reaching and diverse the potential student enrollment in the course could be. As
time passed and NCDES began publicizing the opportunity to enroll in English 12 First
Peoples in 2010, I was encouraged by the interest expressed by potential enrollees. A group
of First Nations adults living on reserve and working with NCDES to complete their high
school graduation requirements expressed their interest in taking the course, as did a number
of high school students in various communities in the Northwest. As one colleague from
NCDES commented, "Courses like yours can open so many doors for people, and we want to
take advantage of every opportunity like this one to be leaders [in the distance education
field]" Uoumal entry). The reflections in the journal about these conversations highlighted
my growing awareness of the importance of distance education opportunities for our school
district and its clientele.
During one meeting with NCDES staff, I also made particular note of the principal's
discussion about the school's growing partnerships with adult education programs in the
Northwest. There are a number of adult programs in the area, including several on-reserve

53

programs at First Nations education centres. The North Coast Distance Education School has
been working with these programs to offer a wider range of courses to adults who are
working towards completing high school graduation requirements or who are upgrading the
courses they took in high school. The NCDES principal indicated that a "significant focus of
[their] work" Uoumal entry) recently was to increase awareness of the availability of online
courses for students in these adult education programs and to develop new online courses as
needed to meet the needs of these students. Indeed, following several ofhis visits to meet
with me at Hazelton Secondary, he was also meeting with directors of other education
centres in the area, working to develop new partnerships between their programs and NCDES
and increase the number of online course offerings available to their students. I made note of
his comments about these partnerships in my journal because it reflected the research about
e-leaming as an increasingly important option in rural or isolated settings.
As the course development work progressed, I also developed a better understanding
of the staffing and program structures ofNCDES. Some of the early questions in my journal
centred on who was responsible for certain tasks. I knew what my role was in terms of
developing the online English 12 First Peoples, and knew that I would teach in online when it
was ready. However, I had questions regarding the how the course would fit into my daily
schedule at school. The teaching block that would be assigned to English 12 First Peoples in
my teaching timetable was funded by NCDES. Students would be enrolled in NCDES for
that course, even if they were still regular students at Hazelton Secondary or at another
school. I was initially unsure of the registration process for them. Who was responsible for it,
Hazelton Secondary staff, or NCDES staff? Would students have to pay for the textbooks?
How would I do daily attendance as required by Hazelton Secondary, if the students were not

54

Hazelton Secondary students during that class? Who would assist students with computer
problems if they arose? These issues caused confusion both for me and for our office staff
responsible for timetabling and student programming, simply because we were unfamiliar
with the details of the process. Although we had many individual students enrolled in
distance education courses, we had never had a full class enrolled in an online course prior to
this time. I sought answers from the NCDES staff in an effort to resolve this confusion, and
over the final weeks of preparing to teach the course, found resolution in the assistance they
provided.
I coded the data that addressed these areas of concern under the theme of e-leaming
as an emergent field. In subsequent meetings with NCDES personnel, these questions about
day-to-day structures, responsibility for various tasks, and enrollment procedures were
answered readily. As experienced practitioners in an established distance education school,
the NCDES staff had well-established structures for technology support, registration
procedures, recording students' marks, and other areas for which I had expressed uncertainty.
Many of their procedures, including the registration process which requires students to
complete a course assignment before being officially enrolled in the course, were established
under strict BC Ministry of Education guidelines for distance education. Others, such as
technology orientation, were simply necessary and logical parts of the structures and
procedures of the school itself that had been established over time. With the increased use of
technology to support distance education programs, NCDES also recently added personnel
directly responsible for the technology components of their course offerings. This support
included training teachers of online courses in the use of the technology, ensuring students

55

had access to all necessary computer software and programs, and assisting in the
development of online courses.
Near the end of the course development process, a number of Hazelton Secondary
students approached me at school about enrolling in the online version of English 12 First
Peoples. I had several conversations with these students, all of whom I had taught previously
in other English classes. Students initially expressed confusion about the option of taking the
course online, but when I explained the situation to them and how we envisioned the
structure of the course, they became quite interested. They had questions about what we were
doing, why we were offering the course online instead of in a regular class, and how the class
would work. One suggested that because of her part-time job and family responsibilities, she
would much rather take a course online on her own time if it was available. Others suggested
that it would be hard if they did not have reliable computer access at home and wondered
about how the process would work at school. Another student indicated he considered
himself a very independent worker and was eager to enroll in the course because it "sounded
just right" (journal entry) for his needs this semester.
I reflected on these conversations in the journal and coded that data under the theme
of e-learning as an emergent field for several reasons. I listed their concerns in the journal
and noted that the concerns and comments expressed clearly by students reflected the
literature about e-learning as an emergent field. The conversations with the students
highlighted for me the importance of proper course design as well; the course needed to be
accessible and student-friendly. Students needed have sufficient training and support to
manage the course, and they needed to have good communication with the teacher in order to

56

ensure they could successfully complete the course. It was important for me to remember that
I wished to create more than just an online correspondence course; interaction and effective
communication were a focus of the research question and a focus ofthe considerations for
course design.
It would appear that School District #82, through the initiatives of the North Coast

Distance Education School, has embraced the trend emphasized in the research about the
proliferation of e-learning courses. In reviewing the thoughts generated in my journal after
these discussions, I had a strong sense that a northern district like ours, with students living in
relatively isolated locales, should be on the forefront of online course offerings. The fact that
they have endeavoured to be the first to offer a new course like English 12 First Peoples
speaks to their efforts in this area.
Advantages ofE-learning Opportunities
In addition to enhancing my understanding of the e-learning field as an increasingly

important part of the education system, my early discussions with NCDES staff enlightened
me about various advantages of e-learning opportunities. Certainly one advantage is the
opportunity for students to take courses that may not otherwise be available to them. As
noted previously, the NCDES administration was working towards developing deeper
partnerships with adult education centres in the region. One group of adult learners had
enquired about the possibility of taking English 12 First Peoples, which prompted staff at
NCDES to explore opportunities to offer the course online. I reflected in the journal how
significant such opportunities could be for people who had been unable to complete high
school initially, and now could make choices about the types of courses they wished to take

57

in order to do so later in life. I also reflected on the students I knew at Hazelton Secondary,
and the potential for deepening their understanding of the lives of others by participating with
students outside of our school in an online course such as English 12 First Peoples.
These reflections highlighted for me once again the importance ofbuilding
community in an online course and taking advantage of the technology to do so. One
particular discussion with NCDES staff focused on the potential of the features of
Desire2Leam to be used when designing my course, keeping in focus the importance of
building community. Making good use of email, chat features, video conferences, and other
features of Desire2Leam were described as vital to a successful online course. These
discussions led to further reflections in the journal. I wondered, for example, how to "become
sufficiently comfortable with these features myself in order to help students become
comfortable using them" Uournal entry). I also questioned how much time it would take to
become proficient and when proper training could actually take place. I reflected on the need
to maximize the potential of these technological features to build a sense of community in
my online class, understanding that I could not do so until I had sufficient course material
created in order to have a course site created. This led to another critical question that
highlighted a big challenge of the process: "How do I create a sufficient amount of
appropriate course material, with an emphasis on building community, so that [North Coast
Distance Education personnel] can create my course site, in order for me to be able to access
the features of D2L and better understand how to use those features to enhance that sense of
community within the course material?" Uournal entry). The convoluted nature of the
question highlighted the dilemma I was facing at this stage of the project. The advantages of

58

e-learning courses seemed obvious to me, but I had several concerns about how to make the
best use of technology in order to maximize these advantages.
I used the question about creating appropriate course material and using the features
ofDesire2Learn (D2L) as a heading on one page of my journal, and over a short time filled
the page with answers to the questions. As I progressed through the creation of course
material, I was able to work with D2L to enhance the community-building elements of the
assignments I created. Understanding that I could experiment with the features of D2L and
make modifications to various discussion topics and assignments in order to enhance the
sense of community within the class meant that I could continue to make improvements over
time to the work the class was doing.
Subsequent meetings with the teacher in charge of technical and computer support for
NCDES occurred on three separate occasions in October and November 2009. His role was
to provide training in the actual use of Desire2Learn and to assist me in uploading all course
material I had created to the actual course website. He also showed me his online course
websites, which allowed me to see the various features of Desire2Learn in action from both a
student perspective and a teacher perspective. This information provided valuable insight into
potential uses of various communications tools within Desire2Learn for building community
in an online class. It also highlighted the advantages of using technology to create a positive
and inclusive learning environment.
During these meetings, I also spoke to another teacher at Hazelton Secondary who
recently began teaching a French Immersion course online from our building for NCDES. He
echoed the teacher overseeing technology training in noting that there are many useful

59

features in Desire2Learn, but stated that it was "a challenge to learn how to make the best use
of it all when there is so much to learn at once" (journal entry). This comment paralleled
many of the questions I had noted in the journal. I made several comments about addressing
the research question in conjunction with learning the technology. I wanted to determine
which qualities of the course needed to be developed and nurtured differently online so as to
ensure I was not simply creating an online correspondence course. I wanted to ensure I "used
the technology effectively to create community" (journal entry) and to maximize its potential
in the best interest of my students.
By late October 2009, much of the course material I had created was uploaded to the
course website. I met again with teacher responsible for overseeing the technology I was
learning; with his guidance, I explored the course site both as a teacher and as a student
would see it. My first focus was to gain a better understanding of how the technological
functioned as a virtual classroom; my second focus was to "determine what sense of
community I could feel" (journal entry). I listed questions in my journal that I wanted to
answer when I explored the course site: "Would I be comfortable answering these questions
in a class discussion forum? Can I follow the instructions for this assignment? Can I find the
proper location to comment and share with the class? Is the format of this assignment an
appropriate use of the technology available?" (journal entry). Through the last two weeks of
November, I periodically entered the course website simply to look at the assignments and
evaluate them from the perspective of a student, keeping in mind the questions noted in the
journal. I added new material, revised existing material, and added components that were
similar to what I would say or do in a face-to-face class to prepare students for new material,
such as pre-reading activities and discussion of important background information. The goal

60

was to ensure the course material made effective use of available technology and that the use
of the technology supported the practical suggestions uncovered in the research for building
community.
In later discussions with students who were enquiring about enrolling in the English

12 First Peoples online course when it was offered in Semester Two, I became aware of other
advantages to online course offerings for students. One student, who only needed to complete
his English 12 requirement in order to graduate, indicated to me that he had a full-time job he
wished to maintain and that he was worried about how to complete school at the same time.
When I outlined the structure of the course for him, he realized that taking English 12 First
Peoples online would allow him to continue to work and complete his graduation
requirements simultaneously. Another student noted that family members in university do
some coursework through online avenues and suggested that this type of course would be
good preparation for future undertakings: "It's going to get us ready for the future!" Uournal
entry). I coded these data as advantages to e-leaming and reflected that it was important to
note that students identified advantages I had not necessarily considered or had reviewed in
the literature.
In summary, numerous advantages for students were identified in the data. They

ranged from personal advantages for students to practical advantages for our school. One
important advantage was our ability to offer several students a course in a format that was
more convenient and appropriate to their personal circumstances than a traditional face-toface class would be. Another involved having students in rural, isolated communities
enrolled in a course with people from elsewhere in the region. Offering the course online also

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alleviated some timetabling concerns for Hazelton Secondary. Establishing infrastructure to
be used with future online course offerings and training teachers as online course facilitators
will also provide Hazelton Secondary with other opportunities in the distance education field.
Strategies for Building Community in an Online Classroom
As noted previously, I first coded data in the journal under the heading "practical
strategies". It became obvious as I analyzed the data that I was looking at two different types
of practical strategies, however. Because my research question focused in part on the concept
of building community, much of the research focused on determining ways to build
community in an online class. As I explored the literature about this topic, I also uncovered
practical strategies for designing online courses that were essentially step-by-step instructions
for online course design in general. I realized this information was important in addressing
some of the challenges I faced with the rather convoluted process of designing the course, so
I began coding it as separate data from the practical strategies for community building.
The initial data recorded in the journal about building a sense of community in an
online class included a list of strategies and personal strengths that I felt enabled me to build
community in my regular classes. The list included notations such as "Humour and laughter;
Personal greetings to students entering classroom; Encouraging the sharing of personal
reflections and opinions; Emphasizing respect- from teacher to student and between
students ... " (journal entry). These elements of my teaching style were vital qualities I wished
to maintain in my new role as an online course facilitator. I also made note of the importance
I placed on modeling when teaching. As a classroom teacher, I have always endeavoured to
model the respectful behaviour I expect to see in my class; I also model what is expected on

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assignments, and frequently teach using the method of gradual release of responsibility. I
reflected in the journal that, in my experience as a classroom teacher, "if students know what
is expected, whether that refers to behaviour or to quality assignments, they are more likely
to participate more fully and meet those expectations" Qournal entry). Creating a welcoming
environment that fosters a sense of community comes quite naturally to me in a regular
classroom; I had to determine how to use those strengths and strategies in an online
environment.
I then looked at the expectations for English 12 First Peoples and made a
corresponding list in the journal of qualities of the course that involved building a sense of
community and fostering a respectful classroom environment. Recommended strategies
included establishing classroom rules for respectful communications, providing students with
opportunities for sharing information about their own cultures, and offering extensive
opportunities for personal reflections on literature and important issues. I gave significant
thought to a variety of introductory activities that would allow students to familiarize
themselves with each other and the technology. I also wanted them to participate in the
establishment of rules and guidelines for respectful communication and interaction, and to
use the technology effectively to do so.
Finally, using information from my conversations with NCDES staff about the
features ofDesire2Learn (D2L) and suggestions from the literature review, I made a third list
in the journal. This list focused on the online classroom environment. It contained everevolving questions and ideas for revising the course material I was using to teach English 12
First Peoples face-to-face for use in the distance education course. The list included

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comments such as "Determine the best place in D2L to have students submit personal
reflections on a reading passage- should these be public or private [submissions]?" Uoumal
entry). It also contained reflections such as "I hope I can make my own online presence
reflective of who I am in my regular classroom - how do I make this happen?" Uoumal
entry). Additionally, I made notes about making changes to assignments to better suit the
online environment, such as "use discussion forum in lieu of class discussion", "set up small
group chat for this question", and "virtual field trip possible?" Uoumal entry). It was helpful
to note that there was a variety of options available to explore.
As the course development neared completion and I became more comfortable using
Desire2Leam to create and modify assignments, I recorded more data about community
building in my journal. Specific assignments were designed to promote discussion and
sharing; evaluation of such assignments included marks for participating in discussions. The
colleague who taught the online French Immersion Social Studies course advised me that
"students seem to participate better when there are marks involved" Uoumal entry). Although
I endeavoured to create meaningful assignments that would promote interaction naturally, I
also understood from my years of teaching experience that sometimes students are more
motivated to participate when their marks depend upon their participation.
I also took into consideration my assessment practices in my face-to-face English
courses. I have noted over the years that students make an effort to improve their work when
they receive meaningful comments and information about how to improve their work on their
assignments, rather than just a numerical grade. Providing opportunities to conference with
students and discuss their written work has also been beneficial in supporting student

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improvement. I believed such opportunities were also important in building a community of
learners. In considering ways to build community and engage students in the online course, I
reflected on ways to use technology to conference with students about their work, with the
intention of providing feedback that could lead to improvements in writing and other areas of
learning. I also noted in the journal that I should also endeavour to "contribute meaningfully
to discussions as teacher-facilitator" Uournal entry), providing both commentary and
informal assessment of the discussions. I believed that ensuring that students received
feedback that would help them continue to improve their level and quality of participation
would also support the type of virtual classroom environment I wished to foster. Encouraging
them to be supportive of their classmates through their classroom discussions and through
informal assessments of each others' contributions was also noted in the journal as an
important consideration for enhancing the virtual classroom community.
During and after my training sessions with NCDES personnel, I spent time practicing
the use of the various features ofDesire2Learn that I felt would be most beneficial to
community-building. Such features included email, the paging system, the discussion forums,
and the blog. I noted in the journal that I would need to "feel comfortable with the
technology ... in order to support students in feeling comfortable with the technology"
Uournal entry), especially when sharing ideas or personal opinions. I spoke to colleagues
who were familiar with Desire2Learn to get opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of
various features and was advised that "the success of using different features varied from
class to class" Uournal entry). I reflected on the need for flexibility in the design of some
assignments and the need to remain open to adjusting methods of interaction when the course
began. I also reflected on different types of assignments that would support community

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building, particularly early in the course as students familiarized themselves with the course,
the technology, and each other. I noted that involving students in the creation of rules for
respectful communication and deliberately creating opportunities for positive interactions
were deemed as particularly important by other online teachers.
The data about building community was substantial. It began with questions and
evolved into lists of pedagogical considerations and practical suggestions. Ultimately, the
answers to those questions began to emerge as I became more familiar with the technology I
would be using. I became more confident about developing and nurturing that sense of
classroom community when I finally had the opportunity to use it to redesign some
assignments and create new ones based on the features of Desire2Learn.
Organizational Considerations
In the journal, data about organizational considerations emerged as I coded data about

building community. Reflecting on my readings, various discussions with NCDES personnel,
and my understanding of the English 12 First Peoples curriculum, I made numerous notes
about community-building strategies. In the process, however, I was also reflecting on other
how-to ideas. To some extent, these ideas involved elements of community building, but they
also focused on basic organizational considerations. For example, a colleague who was
studying the development of online courses using Desire2Learn at the same time as I was
learning the program mentioned to me that her "orientation to the features ofD2L as a
student really helped [her] grasp the best ways to use it as a teacher as well" (journal entry).
Highlighting these data allowed me to recognize that there was more to teaching a course
online than simply presenting the curriculum. This recognition prompted me to delve further

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into other organizational considerations. These considerations included establishing a more
concrete timeline for my own training in using the range of technology and software
programs I needed to master before February 2010. Other planning included developing
specific tasks for orienting students in the use of various features of Desire2Leam prior to
any real coursework, meeting (in real-time or online) with students to gain an understanding
of their computer self-sufficiency, and ensuring that I had the proper supports in place for
myself to ensure I could assist students as needed.
Challenges
After reviewing the data for themes that emerged from the literature, I reviewed the
journal again in its entirety and focused solely on challenges that arose. These challenges
arose from two main issues: organizational challenges and technological challenges.
Organizational challenges pertained mainly to time factors and scheduling difficulties;
technological factors related to computer issues and challenges with the infrastructure.
Occasionally, the two issues overlapped.
Organizational Challenges
Organizational challenges were multi-faceted. As discussed previously, the project
began to take shape in February of2009. Once approvals were obtained from the University
of Northern British Columbia Research Ethics Board and Coast Mountains School District
#82 to pursue the project, preliminary meetings took place with the administrator ofNCDES.
In the Spring of2009, these meetings were basic planning sessions for the course. We
discussed his vision of the course, the practical aspects of offering it online with me as the

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teacher based out of Hazelton Secondary School, and the training I would need. Much of the
background work for establishing and marketing the course and ensuring the technology was
in place was the mandate of the staff of NCDES. My role was to develop the course material
to be used online, learn the technology needed to teach the course, and be prepared to teach
the course in February 2010.
Over the summer of 2009, I continued to maintain the journal, focusing on lesson
ideas and developing course material. With holidays there was less contact time with NCDES
staff, and as questions arose about formatting assignments for the website, or teaching the
course itself, I simply noted them in the journal for later reference. The course development
process slowed as school began in September. I had a full teaching load of four English
classes and no designated preparation time for the Fall semester. Arranging time to meet with
personnel from NCDES was difficult. Then, the teacher in charge of technology training took
a reduced teaching assignment from full-time to 0.6, further reducing available contact and
training time. The NCDES principal then retired in December; his replacement took over the
position in January 2010. These unexpected changes impacted my ability to complete several
tasks in a timely manner, and the data from the journal highlights numerous concerns and
questions that arose from this period and remained unanswered for a significant period of
time. An example of one of these questions was "Is the timeframe for getting this course
done still reasonable?" Uournal entry). I also wondered if I "should ask for release time to get
caught up" Uournal entry). It is important to note that NCDES staff made every effort to be
available to assist me whenever I needed; my appreciation for their efforts was also noted in
the data.

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As the February 2010 start date for the course drew near, Hazelton Secondary
counseling staff in charge of student schedules and timetables approached me with questions
about the structure of the course as well. It was necessary to coordinate registration
procedures with NCDES, to meet with students to explain that they would be taking English
12 First Peoples online and not in a face-to-face class, to seek parental permission, and to
ensure student access to computers was sufficient and reliable. These requirements resulted
in additional discussions with NCDES staff and also involved Hazelton Secondary
counselors and administrators in order to ensure the needs of the students were being met; it
was also vital to ensure all paperwork and procedures for both schools were completed. The
discussions highlighted the need for proper communication, consultation, and coordination of
roles and responsibilities between all stakeholders in the online course process. Although
these organizational processes were not directly related to the research question about which
course qualities needed to be development differently in an online course and how, they were
vital to developing the course effectively. Without conscious consideration of all elements of
the course development process, from the organizational requirements to the delivery of the
curriculum, it would have been difficult to uncover answers to the research questions. All
parts of the process were important to the development of the online course.
Technological Challenges
Challenges with technology also resulted in time delays and other frustrations
throughout the process. Over the summer of2009, our school district's informational
technology infrastructure was being overhauled. I worked from home in August, and "made
great progress revising assignments to better suit online delivery" Uournal entry) over a two

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week period. I also had sufficient time to become more familiar with Desire2Leam and with
the North Coast Distance Education School's website. Then, the hard drive on my personal
laptop crashed, and I was without a home computer for nearly four weeks due to unexpected
complications with the repairs. School began in September 2009, but the work redesigning
the school district's technology infrastructure had not been completed, and teachers had very
little reliable computer access of any kind through most of September. A colleague whose
work also relied largely on technology at this time commented, "I wonder how we're
supposed to make distance learning worth doing if we can't even get on our own classroom
computers to do the most basic daily tasks!" Uournal entry).
It is difficult to express fully the extent of the frustration and the challenges that such

technological unreliability caused; it was, at times, a truly overwhelming situation. Although
I continued to develop course material, I noted in the journal early in October, "This [the
online course development] is an impossible job!" Uournal entry). When one's job relies on
technology that simply will not function, the problems and the frustrations multiply
continuously. Intermittent problems with access to programs, the Internet, and saved files
continued through December 2009, when we then lost all access to our school district's email
system for nearly three weeks over the winter break and into the new year. At that time, I was
also unable to access my course website online, causing further delays in completing the
project and readying the course for its February 2010 start online. Clearly, a reliable
computer infrastructure is important for online course development and fore-learning to be a
viable part of the education system. When technological challenges arise, sufficient support
is important for teachers and students alike is required to maintain the integrity of the online
programs, minimize frustrations, and maximize opportunities for success.

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In summary, the data in the journal provided important information about how the

online learning model could reflect the First Peoples principles of learning as outlined in the
BC Ministry of Education's English 12 First Peoples Integrated Resource Package (2008).
Through the reflective journaling process, I found answers to my questions about how to use
technology to help students meet prescribed learning outcomes, including those about
reflexive learning and community building. The data contained in the reflective journal
provided insight into the three main themes identified in the literature review: e-learning as
an emergent field in education, the advantages of e-learning, and strategies for building
community in an online classroom environment. The data also uncovered three additional
themes connected to the process of online course development: organizational
considerations, organizational challenges, and technological challenges. The themes
addressed the central research question, which sought to identify which English 12 First
Peoples course qualities needed to be developed and nurtured differently in an online
environment and how. The data also addressed several of the supporting questions, including
how to build mutual trust, respect, and sense of community in an online class and what
supports were needed for students to be successful.
Discussion of Findings
The previous section addressed the data produced in the reflective journal. The
journal was a powerful tool for recording the narrative of the course development process
and enabled me to reflect on the process and make interpretations on my findings. Ultimately
it allowed me to draw conclusions and make recommendations which will be explored in the
final chapter. This section will discuss my interpretations of the data contained in the journal.

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The process of taking a newly-established course, English 12 First Peoples, and transforming
it appropriately for use as a distance education for the North Coast Distance Education
School was informative and enlightening. It was a more daunting and convoluted process
than expected, but it provided insight into the value of online distance learning opportunities
for both teachers and students.
E-learning's Emergent Importance in Education
Selwyn, Garard, and Williams (2001) reviewed the US government's educational
policy following implementation of an information infrastructure initiative under the ClintonGore administration. They highlighted the ability of information technology to overcome
traditional barriers to education and lifelong learning opportunities, such as socio-economic
and geographic barriers. My conversations with the NCDES staff were enlightening about
similar opportunities for our current and potential future students. The North Coast Distance
Education School enrolls students from around the province but focuses its mandate on the
four northern school districts located along the Highway 16 corridor west of the Lakes
District area. It currently has several hundred students enrolled. With approximately ten
percent of students at Hazelton Secondary enrolled in distance education courses through
NCDES this year (journal entry), it appears they are embracing the trend at an increasing rate
towards supplementing traditional in-class course offerings with distance learning
opportunities.
As the enrollment at Hazelton Secondary School continues to decline, it will be
important to rethink our traditional course offerings and to consider alternative course
delivery models. Hannum, et al. (2008) suggested that offering alternate course delivery

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methods, such as online courses, can enable school districts to offer courses that would not
be available otherwise. I reflected on the opportunities online courses could offer Hazelton
Secondary students following my early discussions with NCDES staff about the English 12
First Peoples course development. Learning of their growing partnerships with education
centres and schools throughout the region suggested that because of the different needs of
today's students, changing demographics, and declining enrollment, traditional modes of
classroom delivery are also changing. These changes mean that creating viable and
appropriate online courses to meet student needs and to enable student success may become
increasingly important to today's teachers as well.
Another element of the increased importance of e-leaming in education today
involved the changing role of the teacher. Mupinga (2005), Garrison and Anderson (2007)
and Pall off and Pratt (200 1, 2003) discussed the concept of the role of the teacher of online
courses as that of facilitator more so than that of a traditional teacher. This concept was also
clarified for me through my conversations with NCDES personnel, who indeed see
themselves as course facilitators. I began to revise my traditional vision of myself as a
classroom teacher as I worked through the process of developing English 12 First Peoples
online. I had to create opportunities, using technology, for students to interact with each
other, with me, and with the course content. I also had to ensure I used the technology to
create a welcoming, respectful environment rich in opportunities for interaction. I learned
that I had to be conscious of the need to track discussions and to contribute to them, and that
I also had to encourage critical thinking and discussion opportunities. I recognized through
reflection on my discussions with NCDES colleagues that it would take time for everyone to
become comfortable with this new class format and environment, and that enabling students

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to appreciate this type of course would require them to take more responsibility for their
learning.
In my discussions with NCDES personnel, I also received the impression that the
teachers worked as a team with each other, with the technology, and with the students to
facilitate effective courses. That sense of collaboration resonated strongly as I met with the
NCDES staff to work on the technological components of the course development and with a
Hazelton Secondary colleague who taught an online course as well. The support,
collaboration, and communication between colleagues were important parts of my training
and enabled me to envision the type of support and assistance that students may also need. I
received the impression that because technology is constantly changing and updating, it was
necessary to work closely with all partners involved in the online courses to ensure the
necessary support was there in order for people to successfully participate in them.
The support I was offered throughout the development of the course was substantial;
it increased over time as the course start date drew near and will remain in place throughout
the semester. The need for such support was emphasized in the research of Ascough (2002),
Collins (2001), and Zembylas (2008), citing improved retention and completion rates in
online courses when sufficient support for both teacher and students was provided.
Hannum, et al. (2008) also reinforced the importance of training facilitators to support
students and noted that such support was important for building community and creating an
interactive learning environment. As the time to teach English 12 First Peoples drew nearer, I
recognized my own need for more training and needed to designate time each day to work
with the technology. I also observed a colleague orienting several students to the technology

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needed to engage in their own online courses over a period of several days. Seeing their
initial confusion and uncertainty tum to clarity and confidence reinforced the need for
appropriate supports to be in place. These observations suggested that for students to feel
engaged and successful, and ultimately to participate effectively in the online classroom
community, making the necessary time to orient and support students to the expectations of
the online environment was vital.
Advantages of E-leaming
There are clearly many advantages to online learning opportunities, particularly in our
region. Declining school enrollment makes it more challenging for schools to offer a full
range of courses for secondary school students. For example, at Hazelton Secondary, we
have traditionally offered two English 12 classes and a Communications 12 (non-academic
English) class each year. If we are to meet class enrollment requirements, each of those
classes should have 30 students in them, but we no longer have that many grade 12 students
each year. However, we still need to offer enough sections of that course in order for all
students to meet their English 12 requirement and still take all of the other courses they both
need and want in order to graduate. This situation results in imbalances in the school
timetable and in teaching loads, which can be challenging to justify to staff and to school
administration, and can have impacts on our funding formulae. Considering alternate modes
of course delivery and offering teachers the opportunity to become involved in the delivery
of those non-traditional course offerings can alleviate some of the complications noted. As
NCDES staff discussed with me, the increasing number of partnerships between their school
and others can positively impact such situations.

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As an example, consider two English 12 courses that I taught three years ago, one in
each semester of the school year. One class had 10 students; the other had 33. The
Communications 12 course that year had 28 students. Realistically, the English 12 class of 10
should have been cancelled, but because the school year had begun before the imbalance was
recognized, it would have wide-reaching implications affecting many students as well as
staffing levels. Such imbalances have far-reaching effects on the entire timetable in a small
school; an under-enrolling class in one block generally means another block at that time is
over-enrolled, and other ripple effects are also felt. If we had recognized the issue early on,
we would have been able to accommodate those students through alternate means, such as an
online course, and numerous problems would have been alleviated. By setting up a system
within our school that allows us to partner with NCDES and offer online courses on-site,
with trained teachers and the technological equipment required to accommodate students
within our school and from elsewhere in the province, timetabling concerns can be alleviated.
As I began to understand how NCDES and the courses it offers fit into our school
system, I came to more fully appreciate their mandate, which is to provide all students with
successful learning experiences through access to a full range of support and programs, using
appropriate technology. For students, these opportunities are clearly beneficial; additional
benefits for small schools like Hazelton Secondary as they endeavour to provide students
with a full range of programming are also evident.
Through conversations with NCDES staff, I also developed a greater appreciation the
importance of personal contact between teacher and student and between teachers in the
program as well. As both Clayton (2002) and Kehrwald (2008) described, the quality of

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communication between students and between the students and the teacher-facilitator was a
critical component of building and sustaining a sense of community in the online classroom.
Both the teachers and the administrator emphasized how they used technology to support
contact and communication, with each other and with students. Individual teachers used
different features in different ways, often depending on their comfort level with various
components of the technology, but it was clear that they felt they could not function
effectively as teacher-facilitator of their courses without using communication features
extensively. They stressed to me that in order "to avoid that sense of isolation that working
solely in an online environment can create" Uournal entry), regular communication between
NCDES staff, between teachers and students, and between students themselves was vital to
successful course delivery. This information was important because it directly addressed the
additional questions I wanted to consider as I researched what qualities of the course needed
to be developed differently. Some of these supporting questions included determining how
one built mutual trust and respect in a virtual classroom among students who not only do not
know each other, but also cannot see each other in person, and determining what supports
students needed in order to be successful participants in the course. Placing an emphasis on
teamwork and communication and being able to facilitate those qualities through the
technology in use can provide students with dynamic education opportunities they may not
otherwise be able to access.
Community Building in the Online Classroom
The design ofEnglishl2 First Peoples is inherently supportive of community building
in the classroom. The Introductory Unit of the course is intended to establish a respectful,

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comfortable environment that encourages mutual trust, respect, and openness. These factors
are particularly important for a course like this one because of the nature of the material
covered. With literature about topics such as residential schools, child abuse, First Nations
spirituality, suicide, the Indian Act, and racism, many of the class activities and discussions
must be conducted with sensitivity and the utmost respect for people's feelings, opinions, and
personal experiences.
My training for teaching English 12 First Peoples emphasized numerous ways to
establish an environment of trust and respect and demonstrated ways to incorporate
traditional beliefs about teaching and learning into the methods used to establish such an
environment. Introductory lessons on developing guidelines with the group about what
respect looked like in our classroom and for speaking in turn about difficult, sensitive, or
controversial topics were considered vital for building a sense of trust and community.
Discussing and exploring the cultural backgrounds of students in the class through
individual, small group, and whole class sharing activities proved to be critical get-to-knowyou activities for the class as well. In spite of the fact that my face-to-face class consisted of
27 students who had spent much of the last five years in school together (and had me for their
English teacher for three or more of those years), I realized that many of the students knew
very little about their classmates outside of their immediate circle of friends. Over the course
of about two weeks, I could see that sharing information about their backgrounds, including
the sharing of artifacts that represented themselves as individuals, their peer group, their
family, and their culture, opened students' eyes and minds to the people around them. It was
interesting and gratifying to see students who had never really spoken to each other in depth

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begin to ask questions about each other's grandparents, to look at each others ' travel photos,
and to sample new foods from different cultures.
These deliberate opportunities for students to get to know their classmates and share
information of a personal nature with each other were clearly important to establishing a
sense of trust and respect, and were important considerations as I sought answers to the
research question. Students' interest and enjoyment in the activity was evident, and it was
particularly heartening to see certain First Nations students whom I have known to be less
vocal class participants over the years sharing their families' artwork, traditional foods, and
personal stories. Students also indicated to me that they felt comfortable sharing because they
knew me as their teacher and because I had also shared my story and my artifacts with them
first to model what was expected. By spending several days working through these
introductory activities and discussing as a group the importance of trust, respect, and a sense
of community in the context of some difficult topics, it felt as though the right tone was
established for the course.
As this introductory process unfolded, I consciously wondered how I would establish
the same sort of rapport with a group of students in an online environment. I was not sure
initially of how to do so successfully, without face-to-face participation or the same sense of
familiarity I had long established with my current students. My journal notes listed several
questions and concerns about this issue. Many months passed before I felt like I had any
viable answers, but as the course development process unfolded and the technology became
more familiar, I developed a deeper understanding of ways to use the technology features to
create community.

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The research of Ascough (2002), Kehrwald (2008), and Kemper et al. (2008)
repeatedly emphasized the importance of building community. They also reiterated that it
was not possible to simply take face-to-face activities and use them in an online environment,
but that they had to be transformed to meet to the needs of online learners. The importance of
community building was the most prominent theme throughout the journal. It was the source
of the most questions and my biggest concerns. Fortunately, the idea ofbuilding community
and practical considerations for doing so was also one of the most prominent themes
throughout the research as well. Additionally, community-building is also emphasized in
much of the English 12 First Peoples Teachers ' Resource Guide. There was no shortage of
ideas for lessons and strategies that supported the concept of community-building. However,
I also had to consider the features of Desire2Learn when considering how to design certain
assignments. Although Ascough (2002) stated that pedagogical decisions should not be
determined by technology, practically-speaking, they were determined by it to some degree. I
had to design a course for NCDES that used the course management system Desire2Learn
(D2L); this requirement was not a choice, because D2L is the system used by NCDES.
Available features of the technology had to be considered when I designed lessons, for
example, based on the Oral Communications components of the prescribed learning
outcomes.
In my face-to-face class, designing a lesson or assignment that focused on oral

communication was straightforward, and many assignments contained an oral language
component. The oral language component was an important consideration, because it is one
of the three main curriculum organizers for English 12 First Peoples. Assignments
emphasizing this component might have involved simply sharing reflections with a partner in

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class, discussing a reading passage in a small group and then sharing findings with the class,
or doing a larger oral presentation to the class. All of these examples were important to the
assessment of students ' oral language skills for the purpose of meeting prescribed learning
outcomes. They were also important to that sense of community and social presence. The
question then became, how do I create similar assignments in an online course, particularly if
it is asynchronous? How do I assess oral communication effectively, when our main mode of
communication uses word processing? My journal through this period of reflection was
highlighted with the word "How?" The oral language component was an area of huge
concern, and I initially had difficulty ascertaining many advantages toe-learning when it
came to assessing oral communication.
Knowing that oral communication was a key component of building community, I
turned to the teachers at NCDES for more guidance. I had some solid lesson ideas, but I was
still not fully versed at that time in all of the features ofDesire2Learn (D2L) and the other
technology available, so I was unclear as to how I might develop lessons that would work
effectively within that system. I hoped that once I had more knowledge of the technology and
could see D2L in action, I would have more answers to my questions. In the end, this hope
proved accurate. I was able to design lessons that offered students several options. We could
"meet", if it was convenient for the class, synchronously through Elluminate to discuss
readings. Students could also submit video presentations of projects, story-telling
assignments, and other oral communications assignments for me to assess. These
assignments could be uploaded to the class site for everyone's viewing, or they could be sent
directly to me. Although I found some restrictions to Desire2Learn, as I became more
familiar with it, I discovered that I could make it work with most of the assignments I wished

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to create. I was also able to record myself teaching for students to view, with the hope that as
they became more familiar with me, that sense of community would be enhanced.
Ultimately, I determined that many of the interactive and reflective qualities, include
elements of oral communication, could be addressed using a variety of technological
features.
Other lessons that were designed to enhance that class sense of community were not
challenging to revise for online use. Once I had some exposure to Desire2Learn and its
features and confirmed that the students and I would have access to Elluminate, it became
easier to add components to assignments that would enhance student interaction. To
encourage participation and meaningful communication, I required specific types and levels
of interaction for certain assignments, as recommended by Ascough (2002) and Kadjer
(2003). I incorporated components to be addressed through the discussion board and created
opportunities for online partnerships. I also had to consider ways in which students would
respond to assignments. Additionally, I provided instructions for using chat features and
encouraged the use of those features for less formal discussions with classmates. The use of
email and the paging button were also encouraged for communicating and asking questions.
For an assignment requiring a standard written response or a personal reader reflection, I had
a variety of options to offer for submission. These options included email or the course
website's assignment drop box. Although technology should not be used to dictate pedagogy,
it was important to consider ways to make optimal use of the technology when designing
curriculum was important, particularly to enhance communication and community-building.

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Other practical considerations for course development involved creating assignments
and activities that would provide that transformative learning experience, including reading,
experiential activities, and reflective responses in the online environment. As noted
previously, recommended lessons for English 12 First Peoples were based on providing
transformative learning experiences which are consistent with First Peoples' pedagogy. I
wanted to maintain or enhance the integrity of the assignments in an online format; I did not
want to simply upload a standard assignment to the course website without consideration for
how the online environment might affect that assignment. Class discussions on specific
topics needed to be guided differently than in a face-to-face environment. I had to provide
revised instructions on numerous assignments. I recognized that in an asynchronous
situation, students would respond in the discussion forum to discussions on their own time; I
would need to monitor, guide, and respond to discussions in a timely manner. Deadlines for
online responses were required in order to complete discussions so that the class could move
on to the next stage of the assignment. Creating opportunities for synchronous class
discussions, lectures, readings, and other assignments had to take into consideration the
schedules and circumstances of individual class members. The online environment offered
other interesting opportunities for experiential learning, including web quests, virtual
museum tours, and virtual field trips. It was important to seek out these opportunities
deliberately, so that regardless of where students were located, they could partake equally in
them. Such opportunities also provided another advantage of e-learning for students in rural
or isolated areas by allowing access to cultural facilities that they could not readily visit in
person.

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Ascough (2002), Hannum, et al. (2008), Kerhwald (2008), and Palloff and Pratt
(200 1, 2003) noted that requiring specific levels of participation in discussion forums was
important for ensuring all students participate to a satisfactory level in order to successfully
complete the course. This information factored into several assignment designs. As I learned
more about the features ofDesire2Learn, ways to create opportunities for meaningful
communication became more obvious. I used features for teacher-student online
conversations, class or small group online conversations, and informal discussions. In
addition, the use ofElluminate as a communication tool for students became another
opportunity for building a sense of community. I discovered that it could be used for students
to work on group projects, which were important to the assessment of the prescribed learning
outcomes for English 12 First Peoples. It could also be used for class sessions, ad hoc
meetings, and other situations where a virtual "face-to-face" setting was needed. From the
outset of the course development, it was important to ensure that students understood the
importance of meaningful contributions to class discussions about the curriculum. These
contributions were included as an important part of the assessment of student grades for the
course.
Because of my experience as a classroom teacher, I also believed it was important to
encourage casual chats, in order to facilitate building trust and community. I have seen this
type of community-building frequently in my regular English classes. Students chat
frequently of course, often about topics that are not at all connected to the subject at hand.
But they also embed in the most casual of conversations discussions about the readings or
assignments being done in class. I felt that using the chat features in D2L and Elluminate to
encourage casual conversations would enable students to get to know each other as well as

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discuss the work being done in class. Although these conversations would not be graded, I
saw value in them for students. This value was reinforced in the journal, where I made note
of casual student comments that I overheard or that were said directly to me through the
course of teaching my first English 12 First Peoples. I particularly endeavoured to ensure I
noted comments that were related to that sense of community, because I felt their insight as
we progressed through the course would be valuable from a student perspective.
Because this was an autoethnographic study, I did not formally include students as
participants in the study, but as their teacher, I believed my reflections on and professional
assessments of their input were important data to consider. I recorded some of the most
telling comments regarding community building in the journal. One student commented to
another, "It's cool to be talking about stuff like this [part of the novel, Monkey Beach] that
happens on our rez all the time" (journal entry). Another noted with pride as she listened to
members of the class discuss their backgrounds, "I never knew we all had so many different
cultures in us - we are way more diverse than we look!" (journal entry). A student who was
generally reluctant to speak out in class said to me, "We should talk like this [in groups,
about components of the Indian Act] more; it's weird and kinda scary, but you learn a lot
about our history" (journal entry). During a class presentation, another student noted, "It can
be hard to talk about these things [referring to a relative' s residential school experience], but
we need to do it to try to better understand each other" (journal entry). These sample
comments come from a variety of units in the course, and were made without any prompting
from me. I recorded them because they were profound comments from teenagers that
resonated emotionally. They reflected a growing comfort with discussing sensitive issues and
an awareness of the important of respectful communication. These comments also reinforced

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for me why specific and deliberate attention needed to be paid to developing a classroom
environment, virtual or otherwise, that facilitated this level of communication. Facilitating
this level of communication would also help ensure that the online version of English 12
First Peoples was more than just a typical correspondence course.
Organizational Considerations for Developing an Online Course
As I became more comfortable with the concept of community-building in an online
environment, I gained confidence that as I worked more with Desire2Leam and the other
technology available to me, I would be able to use it to build community effectively. I knew
there would be ongoing support in place for me throughout the process of developing and
then teaching the course. As the data showed, the issue of community-building was at the
forefront of much of the research. Less prominent in the data, but still significant as the final
details of the course were developed, was the issue of practical strategies for students
entering the course. Kadjer (2003), Parker (2003), Passey (2000), and Vonderwell and
Zachariah (2005) noted repeatedly that sufficient student support was vital to student success.
They also noted that lack of course completion could be mitigated by appropriate student
support with both technology and curriculum. It was important to me to understand what
supports were in place for students enrolling in NCDES and what my role as a teacher
entailed with respect to support for technological issues. It was also important for me to be
sufficiently trained to use the technology in order to support students with challenges they
may face with it.
According to Collins (2001) and Vonderwell and Zachariah (2005), a formal system
of orientation was important. During my training, I discovered that NCDES had an

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orientation system in place for students enrolling in their programs and that teachers of online
courses also provided some orientation to their individual courses. Introductory assignments
were required as part of the enrollment process in order to determine both student
commitment to the program and technological and academic proficiency levels. A certain
level of basic computer proficiency was required, and extensive information about the
NCDES staffs role in providing support was provided to students as well. Tutorials were
available for various computer programs through NCDES website in addition to support from
personnel.
My role was to provide support for my particular course. Ensuring that the course
description, syllabus, and evaluation methods were available online to students prior to
enrollment was a priority. Initially, I simply had to provide the information to NCDES staff
and it was uploaded to the school website. I also had to structure the course as I wished to
present it online. Once it was in place, I had access to it to revise it as needed. Having this
access meant another significant amount of training. I had to learn how to edit the website
and how to arrange my course page to suit my preferences and the course itself. I had to
ensure students could access course materials, lectures, assignments, and activities easily. It
was important to understand the whole system in order to ensure students could do so as
well. This training occurred over several sessions, usually after school hours, with one of the
NCDES teachers, and will continue as needed throughout my delivery of the course. It was
clear, particularly through the final stages of the course development process, how critical
proper training was for successful course development. Sufficient preparation time was also
an important factor.

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In addition to the basic course requirements, I had to be aware of student needs with
respect to expectations for individual assignments, methods of communicating with me and
with classmates about assignments, methods of posting assignments, and how grades would
be sent. Although I noted several questions and concerns about this in the journal,
particularly near the end of the process, I realized through my Desire2Learn training that the
mechanisms I needed for meeting those requirements were built into the system. It was
simply a matter of learning which features were best suited to my requirements and how to
use them properly. Once I became comfortable with those features, I understood that I would
also have to teach students how to use them effectively as well. I expected that receiving
appropriate orientation in how to use all of these features would be an important part of
students' success in the course. In the final days before beginning to teach English 12 First
Peoples online, I also observed a colleague at Hazelton Secondary orienting his students to
the use of Desire2Learn and other elements of his online course. I noted student reactions to
this orientation in my reflective journal. It was very clear that offering detailed instruction to
students in advance of undertaking their actual coursework was imperative to minimize
confusion, frustration, and dissatisfaction with the online process.
Finally, through discussions with other distance education teachers, I learned that it
was also necessary to review online etiquette, or "netiquette", with students. Kadjer's (2003)
research also emphasized the importance of teaching online etiquette. She noted that
guidelines for respectful communication must be established early on, and expectations for
all types of communication must be made clear. As an English teacher, proper writing and
grammar are important to me; they are also important in the evaluation process for
assignments. Students who are used to chatting online or texting frequently use a short-hand

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form of writing; in an informal discussion, that shorthand may be appropriate, but it would
not be appropriate for formal class discussions or assignments submitted to me. Such
expectations needed to be clearly outlined for students in advance of formal coursework.
Challenges
When I analyzed the themes that emerged from the journal, the second most
prominent theme that emerged involved the challenges of this project. These challenges had
two main foci : time and technology. As I wrote in the journal, I endeavoured not to spend too
much time complaining about the problems I was facing. Instead, I tried to reflect on the
challenges professionally and objectively. I hoped to learn from the challenges, and believed
that understanding why they arose throughout the process would be beneficial in addressing
them. I also believed that understanding the causes of such challenges would help mitigate
the effects of similar challenges in the future. Although these two main sources of frustration,
time and technology, were closely intertwined through much of the project, I will attempt to
address them separately for the purpose of data analysis.
Organizational Challenges
As I described at the beginning of this chapter, the process ofundertaking this project
began in February 2009. At that time, I was teaching the first class of English 12 First
Peoples in the school district and was developing the ideas for the actual project. I also sat in
on two sessions with the NCDES staff as they worked with another teacher on our staff who
was teaching a French Immersion Social Studies course online. These sessions allowed me to

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see what an online course looked like from a teacher's perspective and to get a sense of some
of the successes and challenges he faced as he undertook that class.
Initially, I felt like I was creating very little solid course material for the online
course. Teaching the face-to-face course was exciting and interesting, but very time
consuming. Working full-time, taking university courses, and doing all the regular extracurricular and family activities left very little extra time to work on the course. I have
excellent time management skills in general, but I realized that it was far more timeconsuming than expected to work on this new course in addition to all of my other work and
family obligations. I made journal notes questioning where to add the time to develop a new
course and learn the technological components needed to teach it into an already full work
schedule. These frustrations highlighted for me several important concepts. Teaching an
online course for the first time presents numerous challenges. It was difficult to know what to
expect in advance or to identify the challenges that may arise. Once the challenges surfaced,
having the support and training to learn how to address them was critical; recognizing the
importance of such a support system will help mitigate such challenges in the future. By the
end of the process, it was clear that sufficient preparation time was important as well. It
would have been more efficient to incorporate specific training times for learning the
computer programs in advance and to establish a more formal training and implementation
schedule early in the process.
As summer approached, I had more personal time to work on the course material, but
school holidays had some impact on my ability to connect with NCDES staff for assistance.
My journal through this time period reflects a more hopeful stretch, where more time was

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available to work and fewer other obligations took precedence. Then, two seemingly minor
accidents resulted in the loss of my computer for nearly four weeks at the end ofthe summer.
Fortunately, all of the work I had completed over the summer was backed up on an external
hard drive, but the loss of the actual computer meant a significant loss of work time. As I
returned to school in September, time was once again of the essence, but technology
challenges had an even bigger impact on the course development schedule.
Technology Challenges
September 2009 saw the issue oftime once again return as a major theme in the
journal. I had a full course load of four English classes, but compounding the sheer lack of
time to work on the English 12 First Peoples distance education course was a major
technological problem. From August until early October, the school district's computer
infrastructure was almost completely unusable. Major restructuring had not been completed
in time for the beginning of the school year, and it took many weeks and much frustration
before any real work through the district's computer system was possible. This lack of
working technology was out of my control, but had an impact on my ability to work on the
course development, and thus add to my research, for a lengthy period oftime. Coupled with
the loss of my personal computer, and with a February deadline looming, my concerns over
completing the course were mounting. Computer problems continued intermittently through
December 2009, impacting course development, communication, and the research process.
These setbacks highlighted another important consideration for organizing the development
of an online course. Technology challenges with the school's computer system infrastructure
had a significant impact on the course development schedule I had planned and caused

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numerous delays. Recognizing the potential for such challenges to impact course
development and preparing for delays will also be important for future online course
development plans.
The data uncovered numerous implications for online course development. Online
courses can provide significant opportunities for schools to provide courses for students that
may not typically be available to them. They can also enhance educational opportunities for
students in rural or isolated communities. Online course offerings can also help address
timetabling challenges for smaller schools. A strong computer infrastructure is important in
any educational setting, but was clearly a factor in some of the challenges that arose
throughout the course development process. These challenges impacted both the timeframe
of course development and the integrity of the process at times.

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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Chapter 1 introduced the research topic and questions. Chapter 2 reviewed the
literature. Chapter 3 outlined the data, which were collected in a reflective journal that was
maintained throughout the year-long project, and Chapter 4 provided interpretations of those
data. This chapter will summarize the results of the research and offer conclusions about the
autoethnographical study I undertook during the process of transforming English 12 First
Peoples for delivery as an online course for the North Coast Distance Education School. It
will also make recommendations for those teachers wishing to undertake a similar process.
As outlined in the previous chapter, this project took the form of an autoethnographic
case study. As the teacher of English 12 First Peoples and the developer of the online
version of the course, I was the primary participant in the project. The project evolved into a
more multi-faceted process than initially expected, with four key components.
The first major component of the project was my ongoing work as the teacher of the
face-to-face English 12 First Peoples class. Although I had excellent training in preparation
for teaching the course, solid support from the First Nations Education Steering Committee
(FNESC) personnel involved with the course, and the provision of an abundance of curricular
materials, teaching a brand new course for the first time is a learning process, regardless of
one's teaching experience. I was focused on developing interesting and appropriate lessons
for my students, on learning the new literature, and on working through the other details that
are involved with teaching a new course. Much of my preparation time at school was devoted
to this course. All of this work and preparation for the course essentially became preliminary
work for the project. In the immediate moment, my first responsibility was to my face-to-face

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class. Additionally, I knew that what I was doing would also help lay the foundation for the
online version of the course. The project, which included work for both completing the
requirements of the Master of Education program at the University ofNorthern British
Columbia and for NCDES, was always in the forefront of my planning, and the journal
reflects much contemplation about all of the overlap between the various elements of the
project.
The next two elements of the project consisted of the actual development of the
online version of the course and the work involved in learning the various technological
components required for teaching an e-learning course for NCDES. It was difficult to do both
at the same time; I had the distinct impression that if I had a better understanding of the
technology early on, I would have had fewer questions about appropriate lesson design and
could have better envisioned what online lessons would look like. In order to answer my
research question, I had to identify the key course elements required to create and sustain an
appropriate e-learning model of English 12 First Peoples. It was important to ensure that an
online version maintained the integrity of the original course, which by its nature is very
personal, reflective, and experiential. The research question asked which of the course
qualities needed to be developed and nurtured differently in a virtual classroom than a faceto-face setting, and how. Teaching the face-to-face course at the time helped focus on which
course qualities were important to maintain and nurture differently, but answering the
question "how?" was challenging until I had a more complete understanding of the
technology involved.

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As I taught my English 12 First Peoples class over the weeks and months of the
semester, worked on lessons for the online course, and endeavoured to learn the necessary
technology, I wrote many notes in my reflective journal. The journal, which reflected on the
processes involved with all aspects of the project, was the fourth major task of the process.
Knowing that the journal was a key component of the Master of Education project research
and that it would also offer important guidance through the actual of the development of the
online course, the notes I made in the journal were vast and varied. At times they were quick
thoughts and ideas for lesson plans; at other times they reflected much concern and
frustration about the technological aspects of the project. At certain points they appeared to
be rambling, random thoughts, while at other points, they were focused and reflected my
readings in the literature.
I discovered through the course of this whole process that I work better in a linear
fashion, rather than in a circular fashion where tasks overlap; I would have felt more
comfortable and confident in the whole process if I could have finished teaching English 12
First Peoples in my face-to-face class, then learned the technology sufficiently to create the
whole e-leaming version of the course, then developed the course and uploaded it in its
entirety to the North Coast Distance Education website, and then fine-tuned the course as
time passed and I began teaching the online course. This process did not unfold in that
manner; many tasks overlapped or interfered with other tasks, some required backtracking
when I only wanted to move forward, and others were put on hold until time or technology
permitted, in spite of my desire to complete them.

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Conclusions
In developing the English 12 First Peoples course, I gained insight into a number of
areas of importance to me a teacher. I explored the goals, objectives, and prescribed learning
outcomes of a course in different ways than I would have if I had solely taught the course in
a face-to-face manner. I had to look at ways to meet learning outcomes regarding
participation, interaction, and reflection using technology. Ultimately, the research question
sought to determine which of the course qualities of English 12 First Peoples needed to be
developed differently in the online version and how. The research also took into
consideration how to build mutual trust and respect in a virtual classroom among students
who do not know each other. Additionally, I hoped to determine what supports students
would need in order to successfully complete the course and what practices would help or
hinder successful participation in the course.
At the heart of English 12 First Peoples are several principles ofleaming that focus
on the connections between and among the self, the family, and the community. These
principles of learning also involve understanding one's history, identity, and place in the
world; they support reflexive, reflective, and experiential learning. I believed that these
course qualities, which are very personal and inter-relational, were the qualities that needed
to be carefully addressed in the creation of the online course. I wanted to ensure that the
online version of English 12 First Peoples developed a sense of inter-connectivity and
interaction among students. I wanted to ensure that there was a sense of community and an
environment that fostered mutual trust and respect. Otherwise, the key principles around
which English 12 First Peoples was created would be lost.

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Ascough (2002) and Zembylas (2008) both emphasized that a well-developed online
course must make effective use of technology for the purposes of communication and
interaction. Interaction was important to reinforce educational goals, learning outcomes, and
cognitive development. Garrison and Anderson (2007) also stressed the importance of social
interaction, noting that for learning to be dynamic, it must effectively integrate content and
context. Ensuring students interacted with each other, with the technology, and with the
content were critical elements of effective course development. It was not sufficient to
simply recreate ordinary classroom lessons online; it was critical to make use of the
technology to facilitate communication, interaction, and reflection. These concepts were at
the forefront of my lesson planning throughout the course development. It was vital for me to
understand the technology and to make use of the programs available to me as I developed
interactive, reflective, and experiential lessons.
Passey (2000) and Kehrwald (2008) also noted that proper course development
should mitigate the sense of isolation that students in online courses often feel. Deliberately
developing requirements for interaction as well as offering numerous ways for the class to
interact both formally and informally was paramount in the course development process. By
creating these opportunities for interaction, several of the key principles of learning and
important learning outcomes were addressed.
Additionally, Passey (2000) noted that online interaction helped mitigate instances of
student failure. Hannum, et al. (2008), Clayton (2002), and Pall off and Pratt (200 1) affirmed
that rates of attrition were reduced by creating a welcoming, interactive online community.
Students' connectivity and rapport was enhanced through opportunities to share reflections,

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to receive timely feedback, and to communicate in a variety of ways using technology.
Again, I kept these concepts at the forefront of my planning. I designed a variety of
interactive assignments, created opportunities for students to learn about each other and
converse online, and ensured students would receive timely feedback on their informal
discussions as well as formal assignments. I endeavoured to honour the First Peoples '
principles of learning through the design of online lessons and assignments and to ensure that
the learning outcomes were met through the effective use of technology.
I believed at the outset of this project that at the heart of developing a successful
online version of English 12 First Peoples was the creation of a course that encouraged
collaboration and engagement. It was vital to develop strategies that would build a sense of
community in the virtual classroom environment, using the available technology to its utmost
advantage. It was also important, as Ascough (2002) and Kehrwald (2008) noted, that
students be provided with the technological support needed actively participate in the online
environment and to be successful in the course. The importance of this support was made
clear to me through my own training for the course; experiencing various levels of frustration
allowed me insight into the challenges students would face if they were not sufficiently
oriented to the use of the necessary technology. The more comfortable I became with the
technology, the more I was able to experiment more fully with its various features and
ultimately, feel more confident in using its numerous features. For a time, I was essentially a
student learning the programs needed to successfully teach the course, and that situation
enabled me to understand the challenges students might face when beginning the course. As
a result, I ensured the appropriate processes were in place to enable students to receive the
support they would need throughout the course.

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Developing and offering English 12 First Peoples in an online format had several
implications for our school and students. Through our partnership with NCDES, we were
able to offer a course we would not have been able to offer otherwise this year due to
enrollment numbers. As well, it allowed a number of adult students in the region to take a
course that was both culturally relevant to them and that would allow them to complete their
high school graduation requirements. It also enabled a number of high school students with
job and family obligations to take a course that allowed some flexibility in their schedules,
because they could do the course work on their own time as needed. It also provided
important professional development for me as the course facilitator. Being trained to use the
online course management system and work with colleagues on such a project were excellent
opportunities that will enable us to undertake future opportunities for course development
and online course offerings as they arise. With training complete and infrastructure and
systems now in place, offering future online courses can occur more readily.
Recommendations
Creating thee-learning version of English 12 First Peoples provided good insight into
the demands of online course development and determined which course qualities needed to
be nurtured differently in the online environment. It also provided some considerations for
future course development and further research.
One recommendation with respect to course development involves the timeline. It is
important to be aware of the amount of time such development can take, particularly if
significant computer training is involved. Ideally, designated preparation time to create the
online course should be provided. As well, scheduling specific training times in advance of

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the development of course content can make the process of designing online lessons and
assignments simpler. Once sufficient technology training is completed, developing the
content area of the course and making effective use of the technology to do so will become a
more straightforward undertaking.
A second recommendation with respect to time factors is consideration for potential
technology problems to disrupt the course development process. Educators often rely heavily
on computers for classroom administration, lesson planning, and other tasks; when the
technology fails, frustrations can arise. However, when one relies entirely on technology to
teach a course, and the technology fails, frustration is compounded by the inability to actually
do one's job. The training process can be interrupted, the course development process can be
delayed, and the actual teaching of the course can become problematic until problems are
resolved. Although computer problems are impossible to predict, it is important to remember
that they can and will happen. Ideally, technology support will be immediately available, but
it is important to build flexibility into one's schedule in order to mitigate the delays that may
be caused by computer problems.
Another recommendation concerns technology support. It is important for the course
teacher-facilitator to have sufficient training prior to developing and teaching the course. It is
important to have ongoing support through the teaching of the course as well, to address new
questions and issues as they arise. The teacher-facilitator must be able to manage both the
course development and teaching demands, as well as be able to assist students during the
course itself. Students also need support, particularly at the outset of the course, to learn the

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technology needed to successfully participate in the course. It is also important to ensure
students have support throughout the course.
With respect to course development, I advocate maintaining some flexibility in the
design of assignments . Learning outcomes and teaching lessons needed to be clearly
established in order for the course to begin. Incorporating assignments at the beginning of the
course to enable students to interact and get to know each other are also critical starting
points for building community. It is important to take the students' needs, experiences, and
backgrounds into consideration when creating some assignments over time, however,
particularly those that are reflective or more personal. As the teacher becomes more familiar
with the students, and the students become more familiar with the course technology,
designing the most appropriate lessons becomes easier. Thus, maintaining some flexibility
with assignments over time can help enhance both the success of the assignments and the
sense of community within the virtual classroom environment.
Considerations for future research include determining whether building community
would be different in an asynchronous course versus a synchronous course. Lessons,
discussions, and activities that are designed to build community may be different in a
synchronous environment, where students are interacting in real time. Building community
may take on different forms or requirements in a course with a less personal focus than
English 12 First Peoples as well.
Specific areas of e-learning instructional design issues are also areas for future
research. Possible topics include online assessment strategies, online collaborative learning
practices, and blended learning practices. Literature one-learning in secondary schools was

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underrepresented in the research, so a focus on practices in secondary schools would be
appropriate for further study as well.
Another consideration for future study would be to explore course development
through personal learning environments rather than through course management systems
such as Desire2Leam. The design of course management systems dictate to some degree the
design of the course; a personal learning environment allows the students to control their
learning environment and choose the technology tools that best support their learning needs.
(Attwell, 2007). Such research is more learner-centred than course- or institutional-centred,
which was the case with my research.
Finally, the timing of this project enabled me to trace the development of the online
course itself, but not the actual teaching of the course. Another area of research to explore
would be to extend the research from the course development process to the actual
implementation of the course and assess the success of the community-building strategies
and other activities .
Undertaking an autoethnographical study that examined the development of English
12 First Peoples in an online setting required critical examination of learning outcomes and
course requirements. It required me to consider new ways to achieve those outcomes in a
non-traditional classroom setting through reflection on the entire course development
process. Deliberately creating opportunities for building community and promoting reflective
and critical thinking using technology were critical for successful course development.
Doing so fulfilled not the only the learning outcomes of the course, but also honoured the
First Peoples' principles of learning around which the course was based.

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References
Ascough, R. (2002). Designing for online distance education: Putting pedagogy before
technology. Teaching theology and religion, 5, 17-29.
Attwell, G. (2007). Personal learning environments - The future of e-learning?
eLearning Papers, 2, 1-7.
BC Ministry ofEducation (2008). English 12 First Peoples Integrated Resource Package.
Victoria, BC: Ministry of Education.
Barbour, M. (2005). From telematics to web-based: The progression of distance education in
Newfoundland-Labrador. British journal of educational technology, 36, 1055-1058.
Bogdan, R. C. & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction
to theories and methods (5 1h ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education, Inc.
Boyer, N., Maher, P., & Kirkman, S. (2006). Transformative learning in online settings: The
use of self-direction, metacognition, and collaborative learning. Journal of
transformative education, 4, 335-361.
Clayton, M. (2002). Communities of learners: Connecting students to maximize learning.
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