Ask the ExpertPre-Conference Workshop
Sloan ConferenceOctober 28, 2009
Introductions
Susan Cannata, University of North Carolina Pembroke, Associate Professor, English (2009 University of North Carolina Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence)
Damon Gatenby, UMass Dartmouth, Instructional Technologist
Phil Ice, Director of Course Design, Research & Development, American Public University System
Jen Riley, UMass Dartmouth, Academic Director of Online Education; Associate Professor, English and Women’s Studies (Sloan 2008 Excellence in Online Teaching award recipient)
Tracey Russo, UMass Dartmouth, Instructional Technology Manager
Workshop Goals
• Identify how to determine an effective mix of instructional technologies to facilitate student interaction and learning in online courses
• Develop ideas about your course assignments and how various tools might work
• Learn tips for assignments and strategies for online course design
Workshop Plan• Presentations (1:10-2:40 with Q&A included)– Tracey on course site structure and design – Susan on discussions boards– Jen on wikis and voice boards– Damon on instructional technologies– Phil on implementing and assessing new technologies
online• Break (2:40-2:55) • Group Conversations (2:55-3:30)• Group report outs (3:30-3:40)• General Q&A session (3:40-3:55)• Wrap up and Resources (3:55-4:00 )
Guiding Questions
• There are some questions we can ask ourselves as we consider what makes an effective learning experience:– What learning behavior do I want to see?;– How will I get the students to engage in that
behavior?; and– What markers will I build into my assignments that
will help me determine if the class learning objectives are accomplished?
Effective Online Course Site Design: Strategies and Tips
Tracey RussoInstructional Technology Manager
Course Redesign
• What are your objectives for the online course or online component?
• What activities work well in your f2f classroom?• What activities do you think could be
redesigned for the online environment?• How will the learner demonstrate what they
have learned?• What content should be taught, in what order?
Putting It All Together
• Gather course materials, resources• Course organization– Clear and straightforward– Consistent design– Decide how to organize content • activities• topics• weeks
• Keep it simple
Storyboard
• Storyboarding is simply a visual interpretation or visual sketch of your ideas for organizing your course site contents and activities and their relationship to one another.
Storyboard
• Benefits– Overall view of course
site/structure– See the
relationships/links of your course design
– See missing pieces– Aids in organizing and or
sequencing instruction
Tips
• Keep your levels of information to a minimum.• Try to avoid folders inside of other folders.
This makes it more likely that students will miss course material because it is buried too deeply.
Think “Units of Instruction”
• Structure learning paths• Break your content into logical units or topics• Be consistent• Vary content and resources• If possible, integrate activities such as
discussions, assessments and assignments
Redesign for Online
• Design with scanning in mind• Small “chunks” of information• Take advantage of formatting techniques• Add text descriptions for links, folders and
modules so students clearly understand what they are viewing before they click.
Recommended Course Components
• Course Syllabus includes:– Course learning objectives– Detailed assignment explanations– Grading polices– Course schedule in one place and easy to print– Course texts and where to purchase those texts– Policies regarding plagiarism– Policies regarding late assignments and missed classes– Policies regarding disabilities (see
http://www.umassd.edu/catls/resources/nfi_resources/teach_dss_syllabus.cfm)
– Policies regarding incompletes – Faculty member introductory and contact information– Faculty member office hours (or offer Chat office hours)
Recommended Course Components
• Communication Policies:– Faculty member's email response time– Discussion board and chat room etiquette
guidelines– Procedures for course questions (i.e. a general
Q&A discussion board)
Recommended Course Components
• Course Specific Information for Students includes:– How often students should access site– How often students should check course email– Reminders to students for checking site for
announcements– Reading expectations– Participation requirements
Recommended Course Components
• Welcome Statement• Overview of course– Course tour
• Getting help• Orientation to Your LMS• Announcements• Calendar
Blended Example
Discussion Board and Critical Engagement
Susan M. Cannata, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Main Objectives for Discussion Board
• To create forums to discuss reading assignments
• To foster critical engagement with reading assignments
• To create a site where faculty and students can interact with each other
How to Accomplish Objectives
• Have a separate site, e.g., assignment descriptions, where you explain what exactly you want in Dboard
• Provide initial thread/s• Model the kinds of posts you want to see• Reinforce the good practices of students
What you can also accomplish with DBoard:
• Use student posts as teaching moments• Establish good habits in forums that carry over
into other assignments• Create a record of discussions for review
Structure Your Availability
Voice Boards and Wikis
Jen RileyAcademic Directory of Online Education
Voice Boards
• Voice Boards– Learning objective: students learn pace, tone, and
sound of poetry– Learning objective: students practice speaking
extemporaneously online– Learning objective: students practice critical
thinking verbally
Poetry Podcasts
Benefits / Drawbacks• Benefits– Students learn to “hear” poetry and appreciate hearing
classmates’ voices– Some students learn more effectively through audio
lessons and class is not just static text– Technology is easy to learn and use– Students can set up a RSS feed to get automatic updates
when classmates post• Drawbacks– 20 students X 3-5 minutes each = a lot of listening– Not all students learn through listening– Students may receive podcast, but no guarantee they
listened to it
Wikis
• What are Wikis?– A fully editable web site– Open to all (permissions can be enabled)– Multiple authors– Online discussions– Keeps a history of revisions and author’s name– Automatic notification of changes in content– Ability to review and revert to previous versions
• Multiple teaching and learning uses– Research projects; writing assignments; project
development; peer review; resource sites; course sites; study groups; a presentation tool; track group projects
• Net generation “gets” collaborative spaces on the web
• Addresses team dynamics
Why Wikis?
Wiki Example
Grading Team Projects
Grading Team Projects
Benefits / Drawbacks
• Benefits– Wikis foster group work and collaboration– Wikis are easily accessible and free– Wikis require students to create knowledge in the
classroom– Wikis draw students into the internet and demonstrate the
possibilities for social networking and public communication
• Drawbacks– Wiki formatting can be a bit pesky at times– Assignments need careful preparation and structuring;
significant time commitment on part of faculty member
Group Discussion• Individually, take a few minutes to think of a learning
objective in one of your courses. Jot down some notes in response to these questions:– What is your learning objective? – What assignment(s) will you blend to achieve that learning
objective?– What instructional technologies will you use to develop
and present the assignment(s)?– What are the benefits of your approach?– What are the drawbacks of your approach?
• Then, within a group of 4-5 people, present your ideas for feedback. Each group should plan to share 1-2 ideas wth the larger audience after the small group discussion.
Online Instructional Technology Overview
Damon GatenbyInstructional Technologist
Instructional Technologies• Synchronous Virtual
– Chat/Instant Messaging– Virtual Classrooms
• Asynchronous Virtual– Threaded Discussions (Voice or Text)– Wikis– Blogs/Journals– Weblinks
• Self-Paced Asynchronous – Standard text lectures– Audio lectures– Camtasia/PPT presentations with or without audio voice over– Podcasts– Self-tests– Tutorials/Simulations
Guiding Principles
• Find the right tool to fit the desired learning outcome
• Keep it simple– Don’t over use bells and whistles
• Start small• Let the instruction guide the technology use• Reusability
Asynchronous
• Wikis– Ancient Art and Culture
of Mexico
• Blogs– UMassD Blog Hosting System• http://blogs.umassd.edu/
Synchronous
• Wimba Classroom– Gap Conversation
• Second Life– Temple of Quetzalcoatl
Self-Paced/Reusable Learning Objects
• Embedded Streaming Video– Seneca Reflections
• Tutorial– Online Course Design Strategies
• Narrated PowerPoint– 19th Century Women’s Movement
Thank You
For more information:
http://instructionaldev.umassd.wikispaces.net/Sloan+Workshop