Your palms begin to sweat. You watch traffic whiz by you at an alarming rate. You're trying to merge into a lane of unending traffic traveling at a much faster than legal speed limit. This may be what it's like to drive in a large city that is unfamiliar to you. It can be a panic inducing event. Now, think about this same trip with a friend as a copilot, and a shiny new navigation system delivering turn-by-turn instructions. Ahhhhhh nothing could be finer than a Sunday drive in the city!
For many first-time users of an online course's management system, the panic can be just as scary. They need to remember a login and password, they need to find their course from a list of several sections and instructors. Once they are in the right course, they need to be able to find the first assignments and learn how to submit them. All of these steps are easily taken for granted by a veteran user. On top of all this, students need to know how to navigate your course. Depending on how complex your course directory structure is, even the most experienced online learner may have troubles navigating. As the instructor of an online course, I urge you to take a step back and examine your course's navigation.
Some course's navigation is straight forward. There is a very linear progression for the student. However, the Internet is a very dynamic entity allowing those that develop in it to take a user almost anywhere. There may be certain restrictions placed on any given CMS either by the developing company of the CMS, or the System Administrator. For the most part, instructors have the ability to manipulate their navigation in any way they see fit. There is nothing wrong with adding complexity to your navigation if the content and your pedagogy require it, but you may want to add a flowchart that maps out all destinations in your course.
There are a couple of ways to do this. The first is to develop a site map. In fact, some Course Management Systems have a site map built in to their interface. A site map is a text based way of showing the topic or title of each "page" in the course. Each of the "page" listings in this site map is a hyperlink that will take you to the page it calls out. A site map can be organized in several different ways. It can be designed to list pages by category, alphabetical order, or by how each page is nested in relation to its parent directory. Most complex Web sites have a site map as a way to assist visitors in finding what they are looking for.
The second option only differs from the first in that it is image based. You can use a flow charting application like Microsoft's Vizio, or Omni Groups Omnigraffle to visually map out the flow of your online class. This type of visual can show students how the site flows and how each area relates to all the others in a course. The image can be hyperlinked to the individual pages of the course if you have have a degree of technical competence in writing HTML. You may just want to create a PDF document that students can download, print and keep next to their computer. Students can then use this as their map to navigate into the far reaches of your course.
Creating some type of navigational map is not something that everyone has to do. If your course is small, or has few places where information is saved, a map is probably not necessary. If your course contains large numbers of resources and multiple nested directories, a course map is almost mandatory. Besides, creating a map may help you to better organize your course. Think about developing it before you begin populating your directories. You will be able to streamline your navigation and in the end make your course that much more navigable by your students. Creating a course map is a way to help your students navigate to their own success.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Rubric as a Form of Communication?
Any seasoned instructor will agree that learning objectives must be stated so that the learner knows what they will accomplish by the end of a particular rubric. This is just good practice, and generally accepted as a global best practice.
Just as objectives keep learners on track, they keep me, as an instructional designer on track. They are the road map that direct all who are involved. So, I often wonder why objectives often disappear once students dive in to the nitty gritty of each learning unit. The assignments that instructors ask their students to complete always have instructions, but often there is no way for the student to know how a particular assignment will be evaluated. Grading rubrics are important to the evaluation process, but for some reason, the grading criteria is not always made available or at least clear to the student. Communicating this type of information must be done. It has never been more important than in today's online classroom environment.
A rubric does two things at once. It allows the student to see exactly how they will be evaluated. Secondly, it makes the instructor's job of evaluating an assignment much less subjective. When an instructor takes the time to cement the evaluation criteria in the form of a rubric, they save themselves time down the road. With their trusty matrix of criteria, instructors can accomplish the task of grading more quickly and with an impartial eye.
There are any number of resources on creating a rubric. A Google search alone will garner you far more options than you knew existed. Weeding through all the advice and examples can be a daunting task. The thing to remember is that the rubric has to make sense to you, and your content.
A rubric is another tool that is so helpful to you as an instructor, while at the same time they provide support and direction to students. Another two-way tool that helps you and your students.
Just as objectives keep learners on track, they keep me, as an instructional designer on track. They are the road map that direct all who are involved. So, I often wonder why objectives often disappear once students dive in to the nitty gritty of each learning unit. The assignments that instructors ask their students to complete always have instructions, but often there is no way for the student to know how a particular assignment will be evaluated. Grading rubrics are important to the evaluation process, but for some reason, the grading criteria is not always made available or at least clear to the student. Communicating this type of information must be done. It has never been more important than in today's online classroom environment.
A rubric does two things at once. It allows the student to see exactly how they will be evaluated. Secondly, it makes the instructor's job of evaluating an assignment much less subjective. When an instructor takes the time to cement the evaluation criteria in the form of a rubric, they save themselves time down the road. With their trusty matrix of criteria, instructors can accomplish the task of grading more quickly and with an impartial eye.
There are any number of resources on creating a rubric. A Google search alone will garner you far more options than you knew existed. Weeding through all the advice and examples can be a daunting task. The thing to remember is that the rubric has to make sense to you, and your content.
A rubric is another tool that is so helpful to you as an instructor, while at the same time they provide support and direction to students. Another two-way tool that helps you and your students.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Instructors Can Help Students Tame Flexibility
This week marks the third in a series of articles on the Hyflex Model of delivery. The last two weeks I have described what the Hyflex Model is, and the type of student that will learn best in this flexible style of Hybrid learning.
While the student must be motivated to be successful in this type of course, there are several things that you can do as an instructor to help your students down the path of success. Many of the suggestions that I will make are things that you could also do in an online course with a few small changes. If you think about these suggestions before your begin developing a Hyflex course, you could easily integrate some or all of these strategies with your content/exercises.
The first day of any class is always an important one. The ground rules are explained and expectations are established. In a face-to-face class, instructors typically hand out all of their administrative items--documents like the syllabus, time lines, etc. To help facilitate this process in the online environment, create a scavenger hunt game. Have students enroll in the online course, and locate the course syllabus, post an introduction of themselves in the discussion board, take a "for fun" quiz about the contents of the syllabus. It is very easy for an instructor to tell if students complete each of these items in a course. It's fun for students and it encourages them to get comfortable with how the course is laid out and how it functions.
People in education, myself included, often forget that education is a social event. No place is it more detrimental to not have a sense of community than in an online course. The discussion board seems to bring everyone together. It gives each student a platform to express their thoughts, feelings, research, agreement, and disgust. When dealing with the Hyflex Model, instructors have to be concerned with bringing two groups together; The face-to-face group and the online group. Encourage both the face-to-face and the online groups to summarize what they do each week and what they learned in the discussion board. It helps to blend these separate entities into one cohesive group. It also allows the student that chooses to participate in one group to see what happened in the other side of the class. It may just build enough curiosity that they begin participating more regularly in both facets of a Hyflex course. These "summaries" are a nice quick way for students to quickly see what content really lies in front of them and ultimately gives them the "choice" that the model is predicated on.
Finally, give your students even more freedom. Have them move away from their computer and do some meaningful research outside of the "classroom". It could be something as simple as watching a movie, going to a public place to people watch, interview a professional in the field of study. Have them do anything that is related to course content. Allow them to experience content in the real world. There is no better way to synthesize what is taught in the classroom than to see it in action. These experiences allow students to further cement course concepts in their mind. It also gets them up and away from their computers, or the classroom. Have them come back to their computers or the face-to-face classroom to share their experiences and thoughts. Regardless of what format the class is taught, these experiences need to be recorded and available for all students to read and respond.
I will be the first to admit that these ideas take some planning and a lot of work. If you haven't, go back and read the first article in this series. I pointed out that instructors will have a great deal of work to do to develop a Hyflex course. The amount of work is in direct relationship to the level of richness and understanding that your students will experience.
Useful link:
http://itec.sfsu.edu/hyflex/hyflex_home.htm
Stay subscribed to this blog as many of my next postings will be regarding the Hyflex Model, how to implement it, who it's good for, and tips for student success in this method of teaching and learning.
While the student must be motivated to be successful in this type of course, there are several things that you can do as an instructor to help your students down the path of success. Many of the suggestions that I will make are things that you could also do in an online course with a few small changes. If you think about these suggestions before your begin developing a Hyflex course, you could easily integrate some or all of these strategies with your content/exercises.
The first day of any class is always an important one. The ground rules are explained and expectations are established. In a face-to-face class, instructors typically hand out all of their administrative items--documents like the syllabus, time lines, etc. To help facilitate this process in the online environment, create a scavenger hunt game. Have students enroll in the online course, and locate the course syllabus, post an introduction of themselves in the discussion board, take a "for fun" quiz about the contents of the syllabus. It is very easy for an instructor to tell if students complete each of these items in a course. It's fun for students and it encourages them to get comfortable with how the course is laid out and how it functions.
People in education, myself included, often forget that education is a social event. No place is it more detrimental to not have a sense of community than in an online course. The discussion board seems to bring everyone together. It gives each student a platform to express their thoughts, feelings, research, agreement, and disgust. When dealing with the Hyflex Model, instructors have to be concerned with bringing two groups together; The face-to-face group and the online group. Encourage both the face-to-face and the online groups to summarize what they do each week and what they learned in the discussion board. It helps to blend these separate entities into one cohesive group. It also allows the student that chooses to participate in one group to see what happened in the other side of the class. It may just build enough curiosity that they begin participating more regularly in both facets of a Hyflex course. These "summaries" are a nice quick way for students to quickly see what content really lies in front of them and ultimately gives them the "choice" that the model is predicated on.
Finally, give your students even more freedom. Have them move away from their computer and do some meaningful research outside of the "classroom". It could be something as simple as watching a movie, going to a public place to people watch, interview a professional in the field of study. Have them do anything that is related to course content. Allow them to experience content in the real world. There is no better way to synthesize what is taught in the classroom than to see it in action. These experiences allow students to further cement course concepts in their mind. It also gets them up and away from their computers, or the classroom. Have them come back to their computers or the face-to-face classroom to share their experiences and thoughts. Regardless of what format the class is taught, these experiences need to be recorded and available for all students to read and respond.
I will be the first to admit that these ideas take some planning and a lot of work. If you haven't, go back and read the first article in this series. I pointed out that instructors will have a great deal of work to do to develop a Hyflex course. The amount of work is in direct relationship to the level of richness and understanding that your students will experience.
Useful link:
http://itec.sfsu.edu/hyflex/hyflex_home.htm
Stay subscribed to this blog as many of my next postings will be regarding the Hyflex Model, how to implement it, who it's good for, and tips for student success in this method of teaching and learning.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Do All Students Benefit From The Hyflex Model?
Last week, I outlined the major points to how the Hyflex Model works. This week, I want to describe the students that I feel will benefit the most from this course delivery method. As you may have guessed, this type of course isn't for everyone.
Just like pure online learning, the Hyflex model requires students to be somewhat self-directed learners. They need to make decisions on attendance and certain aspects of participation based on how well they feel they understand the content. If someone doesn't do well in this type of environment, they probably won't be as successful as you, or they would like to be. Have your students check out the two links at the bottom of this article PRIOR to signing up for your Hyflex course. The first link will help them decide if distance learning is right for them. The second link helps them to see what kind of learner they are.
So, who is the ideal student for this type of learning? I hate to say it, but it is not the first or second year undergraduate. I think that there are too many decisions that are left up to the student. I think that most traditional aged first and second year college students are not motivated enough to have the freedom of choice. They know they need to put the time in, but there is a disconnect between knowing they should be in class, and actually going--especially if it isn't mandatory! If you are someone that teaches an upper level course, would you want students coming from prerequisite courses that may or may not of attended those prerequisite courses?
Call me overprotective, but I really think this method of course delivery should be at the very minimum, reserved for third and fourth year students. The ideal target audience is graduate students. These groups of students have a track record, and are motivated to apply themselves and do well in their chosen fields of study.
Another group that will really benefit from the Hyflex Model are those adult learners that work full-time, but need to retool, or extend their knowledge for their current jobs. This model would serve this demographic well. Again, you are dealing with a highly motivated student that may not be able to make every face-to-face meeting because of job travels or meetings. If they miss here or there, they can still do well in the class and make up for the occasional miss with the content that is posted online.
Useful links:
http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=2284
http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=2285
Stay subscribed to this blog as many of my next postings will be regarding the Hyflex Model, how to implement it, who it's good for, and tips for student success in this method of teaching and learning.
Just like pure online learning, the Hyflex model requires students to be somewhat self-directed learners. They need to make decisions on attendance and certain aspects of participation based on how well they feel they understand the content. If someone doesn't do well in this type of environment, they probably won't be as successful as you, or they would like to be. Have your students check out the two links at the bottom of this article PRIOR to signing up for your Hyflex course. The first link will help them decide if distance learning is right for them. The second link helps them to see what kind of learner they are.
So, who is the ideal student for this type of learning? I hate to say it, but it is not the first or second year undergraduate. I think that there are too many decisions that are left up to the student. I think that most traditional aged first and second year college students are not motivated enough to have the freedom of choice. They know they need to put the time in, but there is a disconnect between knowing they should be in class, and actually going--especially if it isn't mandatory! If you are someone that teaches an upper level course, would you want students coming from prerequisite courses that may or may not of attended those prerequisite courses?
Call me overprotective, but I really think this method of course delivery should be at the very minimum, reserved for third and fourth year students. The ideal target audience is graduate students. These groups of students have a track record, and are motivated to apply themselves and do well in their chosen fields of study.
Another group that will really benefit from the Hyflex Model are those adult learners that work full-time, but need to retool, or extend their knowledge for their current jobs. This model would serve this demographic well. Again, you are dealing with a highly motivated student that may not be able to make every face-to-face meeting because of job travels or meetings. If they miss here or there, they can still do well in the class and make up for the occasional miss with the content that is posted online.
Useful links:
http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=2284
http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=2285
Stay subscribed to this blog as many of my next postings will be regarding the Hyflex Model, how to implement it, who it's good for, and tips for student success in this method of teaching and learning.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
A New Version Of Blended Learning
Just this past week, I have started taking a week-long workshop from the Sloan-C organization on the Hyflex model. The Hyflex model takes blended learning to the next level. A typical blended scenario places students in a face-to-face class about 50% of the time. The rest of their course is conducted in an online environment. (This percentage is general. Each institution defines what mix of classroom to online time makes a blended course.) The Hyflex model puts the decision of attendance in the students hands.
Students decide if they should attend regularly scheduled face-to-face sessions, or if they should "attend" the online session for that week. Students can also decide to attend both the face-to-face and online sessions. Regardless of the choice students make in prior weeks, the next week, they could "attend" class using one of the other attendance options.
The Hyflex approach adds a challenge for both the student and the instructor. I am going to focus on the instructor's challenges, but I hope to do it in a way that will allow instructors to make sure they are addressing their student's needs. After all, this is what the Learner Advocate is all about!
The biggest challenge for the instructor and any development staff is the amount of work that must be put into a course that follows the Hyflex Model. In essence, faculty are developing what amounts to two courses. They need to develop their lecture materials and face-to-face activities, and they need to develop their online materials for each unit of instruction. After initial observation one might think that I will develop my lecture and then find a way to make sure that I can deliver it online. This seems to make the most sense from an amount of work and time perspective, but it isn't the correct approach to take with this method of instruction. Faculty are encouraged to develop their lecture materials and activities and post them online. Then, they should develop separate materials and activities for the online version of the course. The online materials need to meet the same objectives as their face-to-face counterpart, but the activities and how content is delivered should be different. The thinking behind this is that regardless of which delivery method a student chooses in a given week, they have the benefit of experiencing the delivery of content in two very different ways. If a student attends one, or the other, or both, they have access to all materials for each unit of instruction. This is a time intensive task that is the crux of the Hyflex model.
Useful links:
http://www.sloan-c.org/
http://itec.sfsu.edu/hyflex/hyflex_home.htm
Stay subscribed to this blog as many of my next postings will be regarding the Hyflex Model, how to implement it, who it's good for, and tips for student success in this method of teaching and learning.
Students decide if they should attend regularly scheduled face-to-face sessions, or if they should "attend" the online session for that week. Students can also decide to attend both the face-to-face and online sessions. Regardless of the choice students make in prior weeks, the next week, they could "attend" class using one of the other attendance options.
The Hyflex approach adds a challenge for both the student and the instructor. I am going to focus on the instructor's challenges, but I hope to do it in a way that will allow instructors to make sure they are addressing their student's needs. After all, this is what the Learner Advocate is all about!
The biggest challenge for the instructor and any development staff is the amount of work that must be put into a course that follows the Hyflex Model. In essence, faculty are developing what amounts to two courses. They need to develop their lecture materials and face-to-face activities, and they need to develop their online materials for each unit of instruction. After initial observation one might think that I will develop my lecture and then find a way to make sure that I can deliver it online. This seems to make the most sense from an amount of work and time perspective, but it isn't the correct approach to take with this method of instruction. Faculty are encouraged to develop their lecture materials and activities and post them online. Then, they should develop separate materials and activities for the online version of the course. The online materials need to meet the same objectives as their face-to-face counterpart, but the activities and how content is delivered should be different. The thinking behind this is that regardless of which delivery method a student chooses in a given week, they have the benefit of experiencing the delivery of content in two very different ways. If a student attends one, or the other, or both, they have access to all materials for each unit of instruction. This is a time intensive task that is the crux of the Hyflex model.
Useful links:
http://www.sloan-c.org/
http://itec.sfsu.edu/hyflex/hyflex_home.htm
Stay subscribed to this blog as many of my next postings will be regarding the Hyflex Model, how to implement it, who it's good for, and tips for student success in this method of teaching and learning.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Students Embrace Synchronous Learning
For close to 2 years now, I have been working with a number of faculty and instructional staff to bring synchronous learning to our e-learning campus. Like any new technology, I had early adopters, the wait and sees or WASs, and those that well, let’s just say preferred not to use synchronous technology at all. There was one group that I had forgotten about. A group that is probably the most important--the students.
I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m never surprised by the folks that are willing to be one of the first to implement a new technology in their classroom. The biggest reason for adding synchronous learning to our campus’s toolbox was that we had a rather large group of faculty members that refused to use asynchronous technologies alone. They wanted to have direct real-time access to their students. My initial thought was that this was the missing piece. The magic bullet that would bring all faculty members into the distance learning fold.
Two years passed, and the synchronous environment is finally beginning to take off. We have a number of faculty using our synchronous tool Elluminate Live, in a variety of ways. Many use it to conduct lectures at a distance. Some hold virtual office hours. Still others are capturing their face-to-face lectures and then sending out a link or even using RSS to create Vodcast archives of their lectures. Students can then review and make-up work. I have also worked hard to establish some partnerships between faculty members and our campus tutoring center. We now offer limited tutoring sessions in English and Statistics.
While faculty have not been the quickest to embrace this modality, students seem to love it! I’m certain there is a level of novelty to all of this, but students are quick to notice the necessity of such a tool. After “attending” a course meeting via Elluminate Live, a group of students asked if they might use the tool to facilitate their group meetings. We are currently using this student group as a pilot.
The day after the students met for the first time on their own in Elluminate Live, I watched the session via the automatically generated recording link. I would give the session a mixed review. The student that agreed to be the moderator had done their homework. Facilitating the group’s discussion using the technology went off without a hitch. If what I was seeing was an indicator of future performance, I was concerned that the group wouldn’t stay on track and use their time wisely. However, by the time the group requested their second session, they had figured out that in order to be successful as a group, as well as take advantage of Elluminate Live’s tools, they had to have a larger part of their assigned work completed prior to meeting online.
Now, this might not seem like a complicated concept. Stop and think about all the meetings you have attended in the face-to-face format. How many times have those meetings never achieved what they were supposed to? More often than not, you walk out of these meetings feeling dumber than when you went in.
As far as I know there is no technological tool on the face of the earth that will prepare your work and deliver it for you. But the use of synchronous tools like Elluminate Live help facilitate group member buy-in to a process and project.
This synchronous tool helped students realize something very early on. They needed to work closely as a group, take ownership of a piece of the work, and be ready to present their work. Regardless of the subject matter, these career skills will help them perform their jobs as employees. This kind of first-hand group experience is the type of thing that employers have been asking of Higher education providers for at least the last ten years.
From an academic standpoint synchronous tools allow students to set meeting times that are convenient for them. They allow the student be in a comfortable physical environment, such as their home, and to have access to all of their work in the same location as their communication tool--their computer! All of these attributes combine to make synchronous communication a welcome addition to our virtual campus. It helps to build community, but most importantly, it helps the learner.
Useful Link:
http://www.elluminate.com
Please stay subscribed for more features on both asynchronous and synchronous practices in education and how they directly affect the learner.
I’ve been doing this long enough that I’m never surprised by the folks that are willing to be one of the first to implement a new technology in their classroom. The biggest reason for adding synchronous learning to our campus’s toolbox was that we had a rather large group of faculty members that refused to use asynchronous technologies alone. They wanted to have direct real-time access to their students. My initial thought was that this was the missing piece. The magic bullet that would bring all faculty members into the distance learning fold.
Two years passed, and the synchronous environment is finally beginning to take off. We have a number of faculty using our synchronous tool Elluminate Live, in a variety of ways. Many use it to conduct lectures at a distance. Some hold virtual office hours. Still others are capturing their face-to-face lectures and then sending out a link or even using RSS to create Vodcast archives of their lectures. Students can then review and make-up work. I have also worked hard to establish some partnerships between faculty members and our campus tutoring center. We now offer limited tutoring sessions in English and Statistics.
While faculty have not been the quickest to embrace this modality, students seem to love it! I’m certain there is a level of novelty to all of this, but students are quick to notice the necessity of such a tool. After “attending” a course meeting via Elluminate Live, a group of students asked if they might use the tool to facilitate their group meetings. We are currently using this student group as a pilot.
The day after the students met for the first time on their own in Elluminate Live, I watched the session via the automatically generated recording link. I would give the session a mixed review. The student that agreed to be the moderator had done their homework. Facilitating the group’s discussion using the technology went off without a hitch. If what I was seeing was an indicator of future performance, I was concerned that the group wouldn’t stay on track and use their time wisely. However, by the time the group requested their second session, they had figured out that in order to be successful as a group, as well as take advantage of Elluminate Live’s tools, they had to have a larger part of their assigned work completed prior to meeting online.
Now, this might not seem like a complicated concept. Stop and think about all the meetings you have attended in the face-to-face format. How many times have those meetings never achieved what they were supposed to? More often than not, you walk out of these meetings feeling dumber than when you went in.
As far as I know there is no technological tool on the face of the earth that will prepare your work and deliver it for you. But the use of synchronous tools like Elluminate Live help facilitate group member buy-in to a process and project.
This synchronous tool helped students realize something very early on. They needed to work closely as a group, take ownership of a piece of the work, and be ready to present their work. Regardless of the subject matter, these career skills will help them perform their jobs as employees. This kind of first-hand group experience is the type of thing that employers have been asking of Higher education providers for at least the last ten years.
From an academic standpoint synchronous tools allow students to set meeting times that are convenient for them. They allow the student be in a comfortable physical environment, such as their home, and to have access to all of their work in the same location as their communication tool--their computer! All of these attributes combine to make synchronous communication a welcome addition to our virtual campus. It helps to build community, but most importantly, it helps the learner.
Useful Link:
http://www.elluminate.com
Please stay subscribed for more features on both asynchronous and synchronous practices in education and how they directly affect the learner.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Online Orientation Considerations
For most people in higher education, this time of year means the start of a new semester. We have succumb to the holiday rush, and now we are making a mad dash to kick off the new year with the Spring semester. For those instructors teaching online, part of the rush always entails hosting some type of orientation session for students. On my campus, faculty have the choice of hosting orientations as a face-to-face or online session.
Many will argue that they enjoy the face-to-face session because it gives them the chance to personally meet their students. After all, this may be the one and only chance they will physically be in the same location. I have no issue with this train of thought. Please continue to meet face-to-face, but integrate an online component into your orientation session. It will give you and your students a head start.
An instructor must change their pedagogy when they transition from the traditional classroom to online instruction. This paradigm shift needs to make it all the way to the level of the course orientation. Teaching strategies in an online course are different, and so orientation strategies must change as well!
With the above paragraphs as a given, I share with you a Web site. This site is one that I recommend faculty send their students to as part of their orientation:
http://www.harperdoit.net/dlo/DLOwebsite/index.htm
I have several reasons why I like this site. The first (and honest) reason is that I helped put some of the content together. Secondly, this site is well rounded. It makes an attempt to walk students through multiple areas that are necessary for successful distance learners. Finally, the site delivers the information in a nonthreatening way while addressing multiple learning styles that inevitably access the site.
The site is divided into three major sections: Learning online, Using Blackboard, and computer skills. Each of these sections is a learning unit unto itself. An instructor could assign a specific piece, or they could have their students complete all three units. We have instructors that link to a specific component. Most of the time this is done with the Blackboard section. Instructors will link to a piece as a reminder for students on how to complete a task. For instance, submit an assignment in Blackboard.
Regardless of how its used, this site, or something like it should be available for instructors teaching an online course. It's a great way to introduce students to online learning. It's also a great way to show students early in the course that while there may not be a course prerequisite, there is a certain level of technology proficiency and an appropriate mind-set for taking an online course. Just like a face-to-face course, it's important for the student to know what they're getting into.
Many have probably already started their semester, but think about implementing something like this for next semester's online orientation. After initially setting up the site, the work is minimal. The session can be accessed anywhere you can get an Internet connection, and watching which students encounter problems with the distance environment you will be able to intervene and help those students determine if this really is the learning format for them.
Using the various surveys, tools, and video tutorials, students will have a good idea of what it is like to be a student in a virtual classroom. They will have an environment in which they can experience online learning. They can control that experience and learn about things that they may never ask about in a face-to-face session for fear of being ridiculed by their peers. Finding a comfort zone early in the semester means, the technology recedes into the background, the content becomes king, and the students are stars.
Useful links:
http://www.harperdoit.net/dlo/DLOwebsite/index.htm
Please stay subscribed for more features on both asynchronous and synchronous practices in education and how they directly affect the learner.
Many will argue that they enjoy the face-to-face session because it gives them the chance to personally meet their students. After all, this may be the one and only chance they will physically be in the same location. I have no issue with this train of thought. Please continue to meet face-to-face, but integrate an online component into your orientation session. It will give you and your students a head start.
An instructor must change their pedagogy when they transition from the traditional classroom to online instruction. This paradigm shift needs to make it all the way to the level of the course orientation. Teaching strategies in an online course are different, and so orientation strategies must change as well!
With the above paragraphs as a given, I share with you a Web site. This site is one that I recommend faculty send their students to as part of their orientation:
http://www.harperdoit.net/dlo/DLOwebsite/index.htm
I have several reasons why I like this site. The first (and honest) reason is that I helped put some of the content together. Secondly, this site is well rounded. It makes an attempt to walk students through multiple areas that are necessary for successful distance learners. Finally, the site delivers the information in a nonthreatening way while addressing multiple learning styles that inevitably access the site.
The site is divided into three major sections: Learning online, Using Blackboard, and computer skills. Each of these sections is a learning unit unto itself. An instructor could assign a specific piece, or they could have their students complete all three units. We have instructors that link to a specific component. Most of the time this is done with the Blackboard section. Instructors will link to a piece as a reminder for students on how to complete a task. For instance, submit an assignment in Blackboard.
Regardless of how its used, this site, or something like it should be available for instructors teaching an online course. It's a great way to introduce students to online learning. It's also a great way to show students early in the course that while there may not be a course prerequisite, there is a certain level of technology proficiency and an appropriate mind-set for taking an online course. Just like a face-to-face course, it's important for the student to know what they're getting into.
Many have probably already started their semester, but think about implementing something like this for next semester's online orientation. After initially setting up the site, the work is minimal. The session can be accessed anywhere you can get an Internet connection, and watching which students encounter problems with the distance environment you will be able to intervene and help those students determine if this really is the learning format for them.
Using the various surveys, tools, and video tutorials, students will have a good idea of what it is like to be a student in a virtual classroom. They will have an environment in which they can experience online learning. They can control that experience and learn about things that they may never ask about in a face-to-face session for fear of being ridiculed by their peers. Finding a comfort zone early in the semester means, the technology recedes into the background, the content becomes king, and the students are stars.
Useful links:
http://www.harperdoit.net/dlo/DLOwebsite/index.htm
Please stay subscribed for more features on both asynchronous and synchronous practices in education and how they directly affect the learner.
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