Personal Online Teaching Toolkit

My Personal Online Teaching ool Kit

Tina L. Brewer Teaching Online Courses Summer 2009 Project #5 - Personal Online Teaching Toolkit

I. Orientation/Introduction Policy

Welcome and thank you for signing up for this online course. For many of you, this may be your first online (via the Internet) course, so we'll use the entire class today to discuss the course, get acquainted with a few simple computer operations, and poke around a little to see how things will work. If you are not a computer wiz, don't worry -- you won't need to be. From a computer standpoint, absolutely everything is simple. By the time you leave class, you'll know almost everything needed to navigate this course on the Internet. Why the Online Format You Ask? If you might be wondering why the course is presented online in the first place, please continue reading… One advantage of the online format is the ability to include a variety of dimensions – graphics, video, audio, podcast, webquest and the list can go on and on. I am hoping that by using a variety of technologies they will make the subject more engaging and the material easier to understand. You won’t have to pass any of the materials needed for the class to the person sitting next to you or strain your eyes to see a screen at the front of the room – they will be right in front of you! So that you can spend countless hours studying them, keep them or whatever you may choose to do with them is entirely up to you. I expect you to gain understanding and knowledge from them. During the course I hope that you will appreciate the time and effort that was put into creating an engaging learning environment for you. The course has been created in a way that allows for 24/7 access, plenty of room for insightful discussion, regular online office hours with the instructor and much more. A Note about You and This Course Every student learns in their own way. One of the advantages of the online format of this course is that it allows students to approach the course in a way that is suitable to their personal styles and

preferences. In classrooms, instructors are inclined to teach either as they themselves were taught, or as they think "the average student" prefers. Online, all of the instructor-presented class material is laid out at once and students can do with it whatever they prefer in order to learn in as personal and unique a fashion as possible. To understand how you might learn best and how you might approach the course, I would suggest that you complete a learning style inventory, use the information given to figure and interpret your score, and plan your learning strategy accordingly. After completing the inventory please view this Learning Styles and Strategies website. Also if you have the time there is a short video where Richard Felder does an excellent job of introducing learning styles, how students learn, how teachers teach and what goes wrong within the process. This course by design accommodates different learning styles by involving a variety of components, including text, graphics, video/audio clips, quizzes, reference lists, online discussion and a problem based learning project. Since you are probably used to learning in an arranged or required format presented by a classroom teacher and are not used to designing your own learning strategy, it might take a little time to do that and to settle into a comfortable routine. I think you'll find that as you figure out on your own (and with the help of the online questionnaires mentioned above) how to learn the material, everything will fall into place. You will find that online learning is quite different than traditional faceto-face classroom learning. It requires different attitudes, responsibilities, and communication skills. To help you prepare for this different learning environment (for most students), you might want to take a FREE online preparatory quiz (a short online course about taking online courses -- sounds a little strange?). Qualities that an Online Student Should Possess An online student should: • • • • • • • •

be self-directed and motivated have good basic computer skills have recurrent access to a computer with Internet access be able to read and write well feel comfortable asking questions when they need help be probing be willing to share his or her experiences with their instructor and fellow students have good time management skills

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not need to rely on face-to-face interaction with their instructor or fellow students

Purpose of this Course The purpose of this course is to familiarize students to an online course environment, the concept of social presence and increasing studentstudent interaction outside assigned activities. There is no prerequisite for the course and it is open to anyone who may be interested. Reading, research, problem based learning and collaboration are major components of the course. The course is a three-credit hour course that on a traditional campus would require five hours of “In class” work and approximately three hours outside the class on study and other activities each week over a 15 week semester. Students taking the course online should plan to spend the same eight hours a week on the course. We will spend much more time on some topics than others, but on average we will cover about one topic per week. Technology Skills Needed Students will need to be able to complete the following successfully before taking this course: o Computer and Internet access o Navigate a web browser o Utilize a word processing program (i.e. Microsoft Word) o Save and locate files and folders o Follows and practices netiquette o Ability to receive and compose/send e-mails o Ability to understand and modify their own browser settings relating to security, pop-ups and firewall settings o Students should be able to navigate modules, discussions, homepage and presentations in the course management system. Ice Breaker Activities o Create a biography of yourself and prepare a brief video introducing yourself and a course topic to the class. This is a great way to present your personality online and set the mood for the semester. o Ask the class to share their most embarrassing mishap using a computer. I will share with the students my own experience, for example, replying to the wrong person in an email. Hopefully this

will loosen them up and cause a few to chuckle before we embark on a whole new way of thinking…using technology instead of paper and pen. o Since so many online students are so diverse in age as well as other things, such as ethnicity, it is good to close or expose the generation gaps that might exist. Ask the students to list three major world events that happened the year in which they were born, then have the other members guess the year and post a short response on whether they remembered the events or had never heard of them. o Have everyone take the Multiple Intelligence Inventory (scroll to the bottom to begin the quiz) that is offered free and online by the Learning Disabilities Resource Community. This inventory is based on Gardner’s work on multiple intelligences. After completion of the quiz please post your results and respond to two (2) other students’ postings. o Introduce yourself and tell us about how or why you have the name you have, i.e. you were named after a relative or a parent's best friend. It could be your first, middle or a nickname. Post it on the discussion board and respond to two (2) other student’s postings. o Good Things Come in Threes Activity - list your three favorite web sites, three favorite activities and three favorite famous peoples. Post it on the discussion board and respond to two (2) other student’s postings. II. Communication Guidelines Contacting the Instructor E-Mail (best way) Office Phone In Person In Chat Instructor Web Page Contacting Classmates

[email protected] (24 hour response) (330) 672-1614, (leave a detailed message; speak loud and clear) Office Hrs: 9:30-10:30 MWF, 12:30-1:30 T 108 MSC Weekly times will be arranged as needed http://www.personal.kent.edu/tbrewer~

During the first class session you will be asked to complete an information form. That information will be available on the course management site for others to view. I will ask you to share with your classmates the following information: o Name o Major/Degree o Profession (job title or field) o E-mail address (that you check on a regular basis) o Geographical location (city and state is fine) o Phone number (optional) o Personal Website (optional) This information will be used solely for educational purposes (i.e. collaboration activities, student-student interaction and/or networking). E-mail Policy In order to meet the academic and administrative needs of the University community, Kent State University has established email as an official and primary means of communication to all of its students, accepted and/or enrolled. Official University assigned email accounts are created for all accepted and/or enrolled students usually in the form of [email protected]. Students are responsible to read all information sent to them via their University assigned email account. The University has the right to expect that such communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. If students chose to utilize a different e-mail address they are responsible for forwarding their university assigned email accounts to the preferred e-mail address. Students can expect a 24 hour turnaround response on most e-mails. If more time is needed to gather information for the response, the student will be notified of the delay and given an estimated time as to when to expect the final response. Students are expected to check their e-mails for communications daily. III. Management Guidelines My approach to teaching the course is fairly traditional for an online course. Most days will consist of insightful discussions and readings. I will use Power Points; provide outlines, audio (I.e. podcast) and video (i.e. YouTube) broadcasts to teach the course with. In addition to using an outline format, these presentations contain a huge number of images—visuals, tables, graphs, cartoons, captions, notes, etc. This will help students develop skills in analyzing, visualizing visual stimuli. I will

also use short movie clips from time to time when deemed necessary. However, please remember this is not a binding contract, as real life often dictates the need for flexibility. The amount of class discussion time that is spent on the supplementary readings depends on the extent to which the lecture material is completed. Certain reading assignments and/or an occasional assignment may be cancelled if we fall too far behind. This is solely the discretion of the instructor. Assignments I expect ALL assignments to be turned in on the due date. If for some reason you are not able to do so, please notify the instructor as soon as possible. IF there is a valid reason (student can provide documentation) points WILL NOT be deducted. If a student fails to turn in assignments on time you will loose 3 points per day up to a total of 15 points (or 5 days). After five (5) days the assignment will not be accepted. Please note that there will not be any extra credit available in the course – so please plan to participate and turn assignments in on time. Students will be expected to maintain a blog of their experiences in the course using www.blogger.com. Students should blog a minimum of twice per week. The blog should consist of ideas, thoughts, suggestions and comments about assignments or anything that you feel like sharing with your classmates. I would also encourage students to read and comment on each other’s blogs. Participation I have set the course up so that students play a major role in conducting the course, as the instructor I simply expect to facilitate the discussion board – students should maintain a steady flow of communication and create insightful dialogue. If for some reason, the class becomes sidetracked or there is a reduction in participation I will step in and lead a discussion, pose questions and/or create an announcement to get everyone back on track. I expect each student to effectively contribute to the discussions to create an atmosphere conducive to learning. IV. Direct Instruction Ideas and Tools Direct teaching is one of the most widely used teaching strategies. It is a teaching model that is based on seven components of teaching, seven components of instruction, and seven components of behavioral

objectives. Please review the Power Point for further information about direct instruction. V. Discussion and Collaboration Policy Discussion Majority of the course is conducted through discussion – it will be the central means of communication for this course. Students are expected to participate in discussions, chat sessions, blogs, etc on a regular basis (minimum of once a day). Students should post a minimum of 3 postings per week (more is expected). If for any reason a student fails to participate and provide insightful and new thoughts to the class, they will be notified via there [email protected] e-mail address. The first time will be reprimanded with a written notification of failing to stay current in the course, after that point(s) will be deducted from the overall course participation points totaling sixty (60) points. New discussions will be made available Sunday evenings in preparation for Monday. If for some reason the information will not be posted on a Sunday students will be notified via a course announcement. I will begin the discussion boards with the topic for the week, reference materials and questions – this should be enough to create dialogue among students. Discussion postings should be insightful, grammatically correct, original and provide useful information to fellow classmates. Students will receive grades for discussion postings as follows: 60 - + 59 – 49 48 – 38 37 – 27 27 and below

A B C D F

Collaboration For the purpose of the course, unless otherwise specified, students may NOT collaborate on graded material. Any exceptions to this policy will be stated explicitly for individual assignments. If you have any questions about the limits of collaboration, you are expected to ask for clarification. When collaboration is permitted, each student is still required to contribute individually to group assignments. Students are expected to provide

VI. Assessment and Feedback Personal Policies Various assessment methods will be implemented in order to evaluate participation in the course. I will try to use various methods to assess whether or not course objectives are being met. Such methods include: "The Muddiest Point" is an assessment technique which was originally developed by F. Mosteller at Harvard while teaching an undergraduate statistics course. The basic strategy is to ask students to quickly write on a piece of paper the single "muddiest point" from the day’s lecture. The students submit the notes to the instructor, usually anonymously at the end of the lecture. The instructor reports back to the students at the beginning of the next lecture by a) responding to the most mentioned one or two points, and b) briefly addressing as many others as possible and reminding students of additional sources of information. In this course students will submit their responses via a discussion board dedicated to this assessment. Generally, there are no grades associated with this activity. The muddiest point incorporates some of the most useful aspects of classroom assessment techniques. The greatest value of classroom assessment techniques comes from the combination of providing effective evaluation of on-going learning for the instructor and at the same time allowing the almost instant feedback from the assessment. Additionally, effective assessment techniques possess the following characteristics: • • • • • • •

Improve instructor’s understanding of student needs and their perceptions of current material Are immediately useable Do not take up much class discussion time Are easy to administer Are easy to analyze Do not take inordinate time to analyze Are flexible and can be useful for a variety of topics

Rubrics – there will be a rubric for participation, discussion, assignments and group work. Each assignment will have an associated rubric to inform the student what is expected. The rubric will detail the amount of points assigned to a section on an assignment. For group work, students will be assessed individually as well as a group member. Feedback

Students will receive continuous feedback throughout the semester. There will also be peer feedback on various assignments throughout the semester. Students will evaluate others coursework and provide suggestions or information. VII. Student Success Strategies Academic Expectations All students are expected to: A. B. C. D.

Maintain a regular presence in the online learning environment Be prepared for classes; Submit required assignments in a timely manner; Act in a respectful manner toward other students and the instructor and in a way that does not detract from the learning experience; and E. Make and keep appointments when they have requested to meet with the instructor. Time Management Skills Time management may be the leading determinant whether or not you will success in this online course or any online course for that matter. Successful online students have to be very proactive in their studies and take ownership of their own learning. To master time management, first decide what time of day you think you will be most focused on your studies. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you concentrate best after a cup of coffee or after lunch? Once you narrow down a time of day reserve a designated period of time to dedicate to your course. Stay committed to that reserved time by treating it like an appointment that cannot be changed. Study Environment An ideal study environment is just that – ideal for the individual. Some students need absolute silence while others cannot seem to concentrate without some background noise. No matter what your preference is, a well-lit place that is free from distractions is recommended. Note that you’ll make much better use of thirty minutes of disruption-free study than an hour’s worth of commotion-filled learning. If you can’t escape in-home interruptions, try the other locations such as the library or a coffee shop.

Student Disability Services To be eligible for disability-related services, students must provide documentation that meets the standards for indicating the presence of a disability, in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students can visit the Student Disability Services on campus at 330-672-3391. Behavioral Expectations Kent State University expects all students to conduct themselves as honest, responsible and decent members of the academic community and to respect the rights of other students, members of the faculty and staff and the public to use, enjoy and participate in the University programs and facilities. When creating postings for the discussion board or responding to fellow classmates please keep in mind Plagiarism Paraphrasing or quoting another’s work without citing the source is a form of academic misconduct. Even inadvertent or unintentional misuse or appropriation of another's work (such as relying heavily on source material that is not expressly acknowledged) is considered plagiarism. If you have any questions about using and citing sources, you are expected to ask for clarification. VIII. Glossary and Resources Information found at (http://www.umuc.edu/ade/glossary.html; http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary and

http://www.skagitwatershed.org/~donclark/hrd/styles.html)

Asynchronous - of, used in, or being digital communication (as between computers) in which there is no timing requirement for transmission and in which the start of each character is individually signaled by the transmitting device. Collaboration - to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor; to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one's country and especially an occupying force. Course Management System – is a free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites. A course management system is a tool that allows instructors, universities, and corporations to develop and support online education. Blackboard and WebCT are all course management systems.

Interaction - mutual or reciprocal action or influence; shared dialogue/action between two or more persons. Learning Styles – A learning style is a student's consistent way of responding to and using stimuli in the context of learning. A composite of characteristic cognitive, affective, and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment Problem Based Learning – (PBL) is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences. Social Presence - is the ability of learners to project their personal characteristics into the community of inquiry, thereby presenting themselves as 'real people. Synchronous - happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time; recurring or operating at exactly the same periods Web browser – is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. Resources Tips and Tricks for Teaching Online Active Learning in Higher Education Online Tips for Better Web Browsing Online Learning Assessments 7 Success Strategies for Distance Learners 10 Tips for Successful Online Learning IX. Tips, Strategies and Techniques Tips for Increasing Interactivity Ensuring communication is critical. Here are some suggestions for increasing interactivity among students: • •

Use a range of interaction activities and mediums, if practical. Make the interaction procedure as user-friendly as possible.

• • •

Use thought-provoking open-ended questions that require extended responses. Require group work to stimulate peer interaction and team building skills. Encourage sharing of opinions and experiences.

Tips to be Successful in an Online Learning Environment 1. Be open-minded about sharing life, work, and educational experiences as part of the learning process. 2. Be able to communicate clearly through writing. 3. Be self-motivated and self-disciplined 4. Be willing to speak up and out – ensure that your social presence is apparent. 5. Be willing and able to commit 5 to 10 hours per week per course. 6. Accept critical thinking and decision making as part of the learning process. 7. Be able to think ideas through before responding. 8. Participate! 9. Make sure you have a private space to study 10.Log onto your course every single day 11.Be polite and respectful. 12.Lastly, apply what you learn. Self- Evaluation With my toolkit I hope to have accomplished creating a reference material that I can apply to real life experiences. I think that I have met the criteria for each section of the toolkit in a way that is apparent that I have learned the material and now ready to apply it. If I was to begin the assignment over again, I probably wouldn’t change much of anything but I would have liked to have more clarification for the assignment. The criteria was very clear, but I was unsure whether or not this was suppose to be for a actual course, a syllabi or what have you. I have learned quite a bit from completing this assignment – by putting this information in one central location I am able to refer to it quickly and easier. I learned a lot of what it takes to create policies for courses and planning ahead. There is a great deal of work that goes into planning and creating a course. I have a new found respect for the amount of effort, time, planning, careful thought etc that is needed to create a fully engaging course.