There were many elements of creating community & time saving tips that stood out from the readings and videos from this week. I do not teach an online class yet, but I would like to include the following bits:
- Engage students early by posting a welcome video with detailed instructions at the entrance point of the course or by email.
- Post a couple brief, informal videos throughout the semester (personalizes the class a bit).
- In transitioning my class from on-campus to online, I may have to decrease the number of assignments I assign. I will have to look closely at my learning objectives and make sure I keep the most important assignments. I don’t want my students to miss out on any learning opportunities. I really enjoy the focus on pedagogy through this class. I think it will make me take another look at my on-campus classes and make them better.
- I would organize my online class by week (not topic) and establish a rhythm by having assignments due at the same time each week…reading each week is due by Sunday at midnight, do learning activities (handouts or quizzes or papers) by Wednesday at midnight, post reflections by Friday at midnight. Then, start the next week over with the same pattern.
- I would allow them to see the reading assignments in the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, but I would not post weekly assignments until the beginning of each week.
- I would include both a downloadable/printable syllabus and an online syllabus with live links.
- I agree that it is important to have more than one form of graded assessment – papers (research and personal reflections/thoughts), quizzes, tests (essay and multiple choice), poster presentations, simple handouts to augment learning…etc.
- I agree that students should always track their grades online in the Blackboard gradebook.
- Communicate appropriate expectations of when your are available to students and what the best way to reach you is. “I check email everyday, and will try to respond within 48 hours. Make sure you include your class number (Psyc101, Student Name) and student name in the subject line.”
- From the videos…. what really stood out for me…”there are many ways to get it right,” “place is important – just different.” When you start out as an online teacher, focus on the teaching, not just the technology – being good enough is enough and expect to get better over time. Your pedagogy should shine in your class, not just your technological skills. Be simple, direct, and straightforward.
- Encourage students to answer each others questions, not just to wait for the teacher to respond.
- Good idea to have pre-written email for crashers at the beginning of the semester that you can just cut and paste. You can do this with grading papers too (cut and paste common comments) – or better yet, use audio comments to save time.
Here are some questions I thought of when going through all the readings and videos:
- The biggest question I have is about group work. I have students engage in the classroom in group discussion and cooperative learning activities. I have not yet had them peer review or do collaborative group projects. I teach beginning psychology classes. It seems that in the online classes, group collaborative projects are often used. Again, with my focus on pedagogy, how important is peer review or collaborative group projects in the online class?
- If I want the students to work in small groups to help each other complete handouts/quizzes, would I divide them into small groups and then let them work away? Do you give the amount of time you think they should devote to a project (so they don’t spend too much time)? It seems like group work online could really slow down the speed of work? I allow for that process in my on-campus classes, but seems like you’d need more time online?
- For Lisa’s 7 things… http://lisahistory.net/wordpress/2011/01/seven-things-id-want-to-know-as-a-new-online-teacher/, do you create test questions in word, then cut and paste to Bb to create tests/quizzes? When and where have you had to bust out your HTML skills?
- Does anyone use the concept of the “student lounge” online? Is this helpful to students?
- Is twitter really necessary? Is it enough if I just plan to use email to communicate with students? And, not the Bb email, their regular email (that you can access via announcements on Bb or via surf)?