Rachele DeMeo ~ Teaching Blog & Site

Week 17: Classroom Management

One of my strengths in teaching is Classroom Management. In previous evaluations I’ve been told I have good organization and classroom management skills. I feel like I’m able to keep my students interested and focused in class while promoting structure and avoid distractions/disruptions. However, I feel like in an online class environment, it’s a different ball game. Students might not be chatting away while you’re lecturing but you still need to figure out how to have good “control of the classroom” so to speak.

The textbook (Chapter 11) defines Classroom Management as: “organizational and procedural measures that keep a class moving along” (page 301). I couldn’t agree more. Facilitation, as described by Ko & Rossen “is defined as the way in which an instructor interacts within the online classroom to set things in motion and to respond to students, focusing here on discussion and student presentations in the classroom.”

Some points brought up were:

• The importance of record keeping. It’s important to come up with a system to best save what we work so diligently on. I have found, personally that keeping a copy on my computer, on a USB card as well as both on Google Drive and Dropbox is a way to ensure I have a good track of the hard work I put into my classes.
• We were also encouraged to keep track of students’ work whether on Blackboard or emails exchanged. I’ve set up file folders for that. I like the idea of having students’ name their attached files in a certain format (we request) and/or the subject line of the email.
• Communication is one of the challenges of online classroom management. We need to avoid miscommunication. Students need to know where to find “what”. I’ve realized that some emails can be replied to by creating a tutorial instead of a point by point guide for what they might be looking for. It’s sometimes less time-consuming to create a short video than to reply to a lengthy email. Plus, students often “get it” when they can watch and listen to a video rather than read an email. Here’s an example of a tutorial I created for a student who couldn’t figure out how to view her grades on Blackboard:

• It’s important to remind students of important due dates and various tasks. It’s extremely important to encourage students. Any changes the student should also be informed of.
• In an online class, the professor can seem “absent” (one of my Master degrees was completed completely online so I can relate) so maintaining a presence is very important.
• As with any class, it’s important to set rules and procedures. I can imagine those would be different than a on-campus class.
• The textbook also helped determine group strategies for the content.
• Pages 315-317 showed us how various work (individual or group) can be organized.
• Class Participation is HUGE in my classroom. Actually, if students are absent too many times, I end up dropping them from my course. Online, it can be challenging to figure out how much participation is “good enough”. Page 319 discusses this and how we should find ways to grade class participation based not just on the student logging in but on the activities completed.
• Another topic presented was the Discussion Board. The textbook (page 321) said to start major topic threads ourselves. We should also narrow down topics, be specific and organize forums accordingly. In my blog for Week 15, I show a short video / tutorial on how students can add a thread (and picture/avatar) to the Discussion Board.
• It’s very important to provide feedback. I see this in an on-campus class so in an online class where students don’t physically “see” you, it’s vital to provide feedback that stimulates higher-level thinking.
• In my classroom, I periodically have guest speakers. I liked the idea of having guest speakers in my online class as well. I’ve already thought of various videos I could create “interviews”.

I watched the slides/audio presentation of the Ten Time-Saving Tips for Online Teaching.

I embeded Louisa Moon’s presentation below:

Here are my notes (I tried to embed my two favorite slides but had some issues with WordPress):

In the short amount of time I’ve been planning a future online course, I can see how time-consuming teaching online can be. In her presentation, Louisa points out it’s important to detect what takes up the most of our time in teaching online. It’s important that we are clear that we are not available 24/7, we are not tutors and we are not tech-support. I sometimes see this in teaching on-campus.

Organization in teaching is extremely important. Finding ways to not redo the same thing over and over again (such as creating a curriculum that can be taught in a different semester). It’s important to regularly communicate with students and to know when the instructor should write a personal email versus sending out an announcement with important information for the entire class.

I enjoyed reading Lisa Lane’s January 2011 blog: Seven Things I’d Want to Know.

She talks about the importance of saving everything! I’ve learned, the hard way, to save everything I work on. I used to save everything on the computer in my classroom (at the first school I taught at when I first moved to California in 2004). Now, I keep everything on my laptop–with copies on Google Drive and Dropbox.

She also discusses the importance of serving our creations on a server. To be honest, I didn’t quite get how to do that. (Maybe someone can illuminate me?). I know that a lot of work for my online work (blog, website and/or Blackboard) I use Quackit.com

HTML Online Editor Sample

But I am unable to save any of my work (embedded videos, formatting, etc.) from Quackit.com

Knowing HTML coding is key. I never thought I could “get it” but I realize the little I’m using is a very useful resource! I hope to learn more!

Reducing workload is, in my opinion, smart thinking. How we manage our time, our organization, our curriculum and our students (grouping them) will determine how much work we do in an online class.

We need to realize that online teaching is a whole different ball game. I’m seeing a glimpse of that as I’m preparing an online class. My mind thinks of the “delivery” since I won’t be in the classroom. I’ve been using Present.me to upload and record Power Point Presentations I could incorporate into my online class.

Sharing our work is easy with these various tools (from social media to our own website). Just like this class, we can learn from one another and share ideas that can help us even if we teach different disciplines.

Finally, Lisa states that the content isn’t the course. As online instructors we are behind the pedagogy and organization of the online course–which is much more than a recorded lecture.

Week 16: Our Students Online

From our textbook, this week we had to read: Ko & Rossen, Chapter 10: Preparing Students for Online Learning.

In these pages, various challenges are discussed such as problems that students typically encounter in an online class. I can relate a lot to this as one of my Master degrees was completed entirely online. The terminology can definitely be a challenge for students who aren’t familiar with the “online world” let alone taking a class online. Technical Problems also exist either because a) the browser they are using is too old or b) because they haven’t installed the necessary plug-ins. Students can also get frustrated if they aren’t able to share documents. I’ve seen this issue in my own “blended” class. As instructors, we must, consequently, provide them with the necessary tools to navigate through the online class and best learn. To do this, we can offer student orientations. I have created various tutorials (or screen-shot videos) that explains “where is what” on Blackboard. Those short videos seem to be very useful for students to understand the terminology and placement of various items of the course.  I’ve created a short one-minute video of myself, introducing myself as their instructor. Hopefully that will make the online aspect of the class more personable. Also, telling students when we are available is important. They need to know they are not alone in this.

In my on-campus class, I ask students to introduce themselves (in the target language) both in class and on the Discussion Board. As the book suggests, this can be a way for students to familiarize themselves with posts.

It is also important to give students the tools on requirement for equipment and browsers. Information and links to what they need simply to get set up will make it easier for them to get started. If students are frustrated before the class even starts, they’ll just want to drop the course entirely.

Reading Jakob Nielsen’s article: “College Students on the Web” (2010) enlightened me on the fact that despite how technology-oriented students are (getting on social media websites several times a day for instance), it doesn’t mean they are “tech-savvy”. We should take that in consideration when building our curriculum online. This article encouraged instructors to make their websites interesting, fun, not too lengthy (in web pages) and age-appropriate.

Another article, from the New York Times, we had to read this week was “Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction” by Matt Richtel (2010). I found this article to be particularly interesting and true. We live in a world where everything is so fast and students prefer to “cram” for a test looking up something online than actually study from a book. I couldn’t agree more that nowadays people tend to need to be constantly stimulated. I wonder how we can encourage and motivate students to not always be so fast paced….

Finally we had to read: “ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology” (2010). I noticed a lot of similarities from my classes. Most students (of all ages) now have a cell phone that has Internet on it. They can stay in touch with friends (through social media), get answers to questions online and look up things in the “dictionary” (without even buying one). When I provide my students with useful “Apps”, students are quick to jot them down; unlike when we’re conjugating verbs on the board and I’m explaining the “formation” of the tense.

This fast-paced world of technology is both a blessing and a curse, in my personal opinion. I love staying in touch with my friends around the world (notably my childhood friends in France). Yet, I do believe we are training our brains to constantly be stimulated. I see a difference in the ages of my students. The 18-year olds can’t follow through the textbook, take proper notes and easily get “bored” and distracted. They will then reach for their phones when they are not getting enough stimulation (i.e. a video in class versus a lecture). My 60-year old students enjoy having a held-hand textbook and following along. I truly believe it’s because they have trained their minds to be able to do this. Creating a balance between including technology to make our online “lectures” interesting yet helping students “train their minds” to concentrate is quite a challenge, I think.

I took one of the readiness quizzes (http://lrc.sierracollege.edu/dl/survey/OL-student-assess.html) which I found very interesting.

The pages from the textbook also recommend we create a FAQ.

So here is mine:

FAQs – Online Class

1.     Where do I start?

For this class you will need to access the Internet by using a browser such as Firefox or Chrome.

2.     How do I access my online class?

Log in to: https://blackboard.miracosta.edu using your student ID and password and look for our class: “FREN101” under “my Courses”. Look for the week we are on (by the due date) on the left side of menu.

3. How is my participation in class evaluated in an online class?

You must login at least once a week on Blackboard and participate in the activities listed each week. (More details on this in the Syllabus).

4.     How do I get a hold of my instructor?

a. Either during office hours (via Skype).

b. Via email: rdemeo@miracosta.edu (expect a reply within 2-3 business days).

5.     Where can I find tutorials on familiarizing myself with the contents of this online course?

Go to “Outils & Ressources” on the left side menu on Blackboard. You’ll notice various tutorials such as a description of the Syllabus, a walk-through of our online course, an introduction by your professor, how to add a thread to the discussion board, how to view your grades on Blackboard and more!

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Finally, I created a short “Readiness Quiz” for students to determine whether or not they are ready for an online class.

Program for Online Teaching – Week 15: Creating Class Elements Part 3: Screencasting and multimedia

I checked out Prezi, and created a presentation (after hours of work, should I add) with two practice exercises for my students (relating to food). I couldn’t figure out how to embed it so CLICK HERE to view it.

This week the pages  in our textbook (from Chapter 9) introduced various tools such as screencasting.

SCREENSHOTS

I’ve been using Screencast-o-Matic and really like it to take different screen shots of my computer. Other screen capture sites are: ScreenToaster, Jing, Camtasia Studio.

SURVEYS/POLLS

I’ve created surveys/polls using Google Drive (previously known as Google Docs). In this chapter, we learned how to create polls and surveys using tools like Polldaddy and Pollanywhere also known as polleverywhere. I tested out Polldaddy to create the survey below which is for students to “critique” a lesson, giving me various feedback:

Another useful, yet popular survey creation tool is Survey Monkey.

QUIZZES

I personally use a Word Document, Google Drive or simply Blackboard to create new Quizzes. The textbook suggested Quiz School and My Studiyo as other free quizmakers.

MIND-MAPPING

Mind-mapping is a useful way for the instructor or students to brainstorm, work on outlines and various upcoming projects. In a on-campus class, I usually have students draw out these “maps”, but here are the textbook’s recommendations for online mind-mapping:

• Mindomo
• Jane Hart’s Top Learning Tools site (by the way, the URL listed in the textbook didn’t work)

I created the map below to help my students write research papers in French:

(Make your own mind maps with Mindomo.)

Here’s the screenshot of my mind-mapping:

Make your own mind maps with Mindomo.

AVATARS

The first week of class, I have my students introduce themselves on the Discussion Board. There’s a thread just for “Présentations” (Introductions). Students may add a picture or avatar. I actually have a tutorial on doing just that. Here it is:

Voki helps one create avatars.

ANIMATED MOVIES

I haven’t tested out using animated movies yet since I create my own videos or use a number of good videos I find online. The textbook, however, provides us with many sites that will help us create animated movies, such as:

• DoInk
• Digital Films
• Fuzzwich

The textbook also gives us much information on why, when and is it worth creating multimedia. I’ve found many tools online that have helped me not need to create my own. But over the years, sometimes I find topics that students have a difficult time understanding either because the textbook doesn’t explain it well enough or because they need it broken up differently. I’ve consequently had to create my own Power Point Presentations, handouts and/or videos for them. When using material that is NOT my own, I always site my source at the bottom (whether in a Power Point Presentation and/or handout).

Here’s my Eyejot video version of the written reflections below:

I learned a lot from what we read in this week’s book. The authors provided us with many ressources, such as finding pictures. I personally really like Flickr and PicFindr. So far I haven’t needed to edit images (except for cropping) but the book gives us multiple suggestions such as Adobe Photoshop, GIMP and Paint.Net. (Note: Picnik closed April 19th, 2012).

We also analyzed various ways that audio can enhance our online class, such as:

1. Introducing ourselves to the class in a personalized manner. I recently (just for the fun) created a video doing just that. You can watch it below:
2. Using audio for feedback on assignments. I use the Wimba tool in Blackboard (already now) to guide students in pronunciation when I grade their online Quizzes. It’s been an effective tool in my on-campus class so I can only imagine how it could benefit an online class.
3. Recording lectures in a natural manner.
4. Allowing students to create presentations that include audio. I have thought of a project (Mid-Term Project/Presentation) where students could do just that. I think it would be a fun assignment for them.
5. Using audio to bring interviews and guest speakers in our class. I that considered doing that. In my on-campus class, I already have guest speakers come in my class to be interviewed. My students love it. When thinking of developing an online class, I’ve thought of video taping guest speakers.

Personally I’ve had some “technological” problems such as volume / microphone issues. I might have to purchase a different microphone to make my recordings more professional. It was nice having recommendations. I have already toyed around with Audacity. Did you know you can also convert (old school) cassette tapes into MP3s by using Audacity? I was able to upload a bunch of old music tapes I had from the 90s (why does that seem so long ago?) using Audacity. Great tool!

Another recommendation for including audio content into our online class, was the use of Skype. I use Skype frequently to communicate with my friends around the worlds (especially my childhood friends in France). I have used Skype on one occasion to conduct a student’s verbal Quiz since he was out-of-state on the day the Quiz was given. It worked great! I also like Viber – but it only has the text messaging and phone options–not the video. Both Skype and Viber have Apps by the way!

We were also encouraged to check out different Podcasting Services such as Podomatic or Posterous (Note: I didn’t find Gabcast or Gcast online). I have not had much experience with these yet, so look forward to trying them out and deciding what I think of each.

I have tried multiple times to record a Power Presentation – Video using Present.me but have had problems with the site… Power Point allows you to record audio which makes it pretty simple. I personally like the freebies so popular hosting sites such as Slideshare are of interest to me. I like VoiceThread.

I used SoundCloud and SlideShare to create the Audio Power Presentation below (note: it took me MANY hours to work on this):

The book also described the “how” and “why” of video and how it can help students feel personally connected with us. I have been making cooking videos for several years now and am getting familiar with making short, informative videos. I’ve used YouTube to record videos. Other sites such as Vimeo or Viddler format and share videos. I’ve used Screencast-o-Matic to make screen captures. Other tools such as Jing or ScreenToaster also are available. I really like Screencast-o-Matic because it’s so simple, easy to use and it takes pretty good quality videos.

Here’s an example of a Screenshot I took:

Finally, thanks to Norm Wright’s Blog, I was able to discover how to create a 3-D rotating cube. Check it out:

And we’re back! Back to a new semester and discovering the world of online teaching through the Program for Online Teaching. First of all I must say that I’m really grateful for all I have already learned from the POT! I have already incorporated a lot of what was learned last semester towards the (on-campus) class I am teaching this semester. I feel like much we are learning for teaching online can be applied in “embellishing” our on-campus class.

This week, we had to read our textbook: Ko & Rossen, Chapter 9: Creating Courseware and Using Web 2.0 Tools, to p. 252 (to heading “Finding Images”). I found a lot of useful information such as finding appropriate pictures for our class, copyright information and the overall appearance of our web page. One thing that I learned regarding the appearance of our web page is that the background color and font color should be opposite (dark/light). Another thing was to not “overdo it”. I believe students get quickly overwhelmed when there are too many pictures, diagrams, and overall “business”. I couldn’t agree more that it becomes “wearing” on the eyes to scroll down endlessly.

I took a screenshot (from my Mac) of my current Blackboard (I still haven’t figured out how to properly size the picture though I played around with the settings). I organize my work by week and we’re about to be in our 4th week of classes, so this is what my students can see when they log on to Blackboard:

We also had to explore Flickr. This is a pretty neat picture I found on this image-hosting site:

Les Arènes de Nîmes

No, it’s not the Colosseum in Rome (as some might think);

it’s the “Arènes” (arenas) in Nîmes, France where I was born and raised. 😉

Mid-year Self-Assessment Check

1. In our first week, we were assigned to create a blog. I used to keep a blog to update friends and family about what was going on in our lives. I have found it very time-consuming to keep up regularly though and because of privacy concerns, ended up deleting it altogether (I tend to keep my personal and private life quite separate). We also had to introduce ourselves. I will admit when I first started this blog, I thought I was supposed to create it for my students and not for the Program for Online Teaching. I ended up editing the content, title, picture, format and so much more! In our first week, I also started pondering on what tools might be right for my online class.
2. In week 2, I analyzed my personal Pedagogy. As suspected, I realized I like to incorporate a variety of ways for my students to learn: from Lectures to Practice! In my classrooms, students are used to multiple activities and going from learning point to learning point sometimes even before connecting all the dots (to one lesson) together.
3. In my third post, I wrote how I’d picture the format of an online class (versus an on-campus/blended class).  I reflected a few things I’d change from my on-campus class.
4. In My fourth post, we learned how to brainstorm for ideas for an online class. I was able to revise important components I’d include in an online class. I pondered on how my SLOs (Student Learning Outcomes) would differ from an on-campus class. Though Listening (understanding), Reading, Writing and Speaking (at least to me) are essential in learning a language–the delivery of these SLOs might be different in an on-campus course than in an online course. I started wondering what kind of tools I might want to use for my class. One, I actually have tested out this semester, is having a Facebook group page for the class.
5. In my fifth post, we learned the possible uses of having a blog. We were able to look over other instructors’ online courses and see how they organized their work online.
6. In my next post, we learned how to write an Syllabus (for an online course). Some things we reflected on was the use of hyperlinks, policies and procedures and where to post the Syllabus online.
7. In week 6 post, I realized I should change my Curriculum format and add a bunch of hyperlinks (which, even if time-consuming, will save time for both student and instructor in the long run). I learned how making it simple for the student is important. Something that might seem “logical” to me might be confusing to a student, so taking the approach of “how could the student see/understand this?” makes more sense. We learned a lot about the HTLM codes (thanks to Dave Raggett’s Introduction to HTML) and incorporating media into blogs, course modules (such as Blackboard) and websites. We were also able to subscribe to different reads to read more online (and highlight).
8. In week 7, we learned ways Twitter (and text messaging should I add) could benefit us as an instructor. We also discovered ways to build an online community and hence close the “distance” gap. Staying personable while teaching an online course can certainly be a challenge that can be overcome. I was able to compare the use of Dropbox versus Google Drive.  I realized I like using both for different reasons and in different ways.
9. In my post for week 8, we were able to toy around with VoiceThread. It proved to be an effective tool for an online classroom–creating a community in the classroom instead of simply a course one individual was taking “somewhere” on the Internet.
10. In week 9, we explored different Student Activities. I was introduced to Second Life, which is a world in itself. We learned a lot about Diigo. I liked how one could make comments, highlight, make notes and such through Diigo.
11. In my next post (week 10), we read about Peer Review which I believe can be a motivating, fun way to learn.  I also began wondering if blogging could be a good project for my class. I believe in a 201 class it might be a fun thing for my students to do after each class (as a summary of what was learned and to use what was learned in a “journal”). I also was able to discover Engrade and decided to use Engrade over Gradekeeper (which I was using previously) to keep tract of attendance (and possibly grading). In this week’s tasks, I was also able to create my own mini website: https://sites.google.com/site/profdemeo/ – and since creating my website, I have updated it several times, recently adding a new video.
12. Week 11 opened my eyes to a lot of policies and rules regarding copyrighting, getting permissions and how to properly list where one got his/her resources. The TEACH Act Checklist was very useful to me.
13. In my final post, so far, I learned about student plagiarism and explored various Internet Tools and eBooks: through Free eBooks, Open Textbooks and Internet Archive – some of which (Français Interactif) I have and can continue to use in my classes.

So far the Program for Online Teaching has been a wonderful experience for me. I have learned so much and not only discovered  tools I can use for an online class but also for my on-campus/blended class. I’ve been really excited about the various resources readily made available to us, the information given by various mentors and other colleagues as well as posts, the POT Facebook Group Page and of course our textbook. I’m very pleased by this program so far.

This week we had quite a few things to do. I started by exploring the Free eBooks which seemed quite interesting to me. I found many books I could use for future classes. I am very excited to have a new resources. The suggested books varied from Grammar to Literature so I can see many levels of French that could use the books they list.

The second website, Open Textbooks offered only one true resource, “Français Interactif“, which I actually already knew of. I have used some of the exercises from Français Interactif to supplement my classes. I didn’t know, however, they have so many PDFs.

The Internet Archive is a chestfull of useful information, tools and resources. When I was in school, we’d go to the school library or a public library (see picture below of the public library I’d go to in my hometown of Nîmes, France):

 Nowadays, a computer will suffice to find almost anything we want via the Internet. How times have changed–and so quickly! What I liked about the Internet Archive website was the various content one could look for. I searched for “French” and found various tools–from audio to videos to handouts! Very interesting!

I love where I work!!! MiraCosta College has so many resources .The Library has various tools. It’s pretty easy to browse through as well.

I also read our textbook’s (Ko and Rossen) Chapter 8: Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Open Educational Resources which I enjoyed. I was very intrigued reading about student plagiarism. I haven’t had much of a problem with this in my classes but I have occasionally had a student “borrow” someone else’s work. It is difficult to know if a student does this knowingly and purposely or not.

I found this week’s information to be very interesting.

In the last 4-5 years I’ve been creating handouts for everything I teach. Each class, I use both the textbook and my own handouts to teach my students. Some/a lot of the information I’ve gathered for my handouts come from an outside source (usually found on various websites). I’ve, hence, “copied and pasted” some of the information I use for my classes. I always include a resource/reference (as stated in page 228 of our textbook). I have often wondered about the laws  regarding my handouts… The TEACH Act Checklist was very useful to me. I never “sell” any handout but do use it for teaching as I often find textbooks I have used to be lacking. I’d be interested in knowing if other instructors make their own handouts, where they get their information, if they list it and what laws exist pertaining to such handouts. Click here to view an example of such a handout.

Our textbook continued exploring Student Activities in the Online Environment. I particularly enjoyed reading about Peer-Review. I used to use Peer-Review when I taught middle school/high school but haven’t yet used it in a College setting–at least not in a way that was graded. Page 206 describes how “students should be graded as much on their own work as reviewers as on their classmates’ reviews of their work.” I think that certainly could be a motivating tool for encouraging students to “grade” their classmate’s work. Additionally looking over somehow else’s paper requires one to pay attention to details such as spelling or grammar–which can easily be overlooked.

I enjoyed finding out many reasons for blogging as seen in Lisa’s slidecast on blogging. I pondered about the advantages and disadvantages of using blogs for my own class. I think a main advantage would be for students to keep a “journal” of what was learned in class and use their blog to summarize their class (in the target language). In terms of disadvantages, I’m not really sure yet. I’d have to try it out to know.

Another task we had to complete this week was to check out Engrade. I have been use Gradekeeper for years and have found it useful. However, I find Engrade a lot easier to use–especially since it’s accessible anywhere (from any computer) so grades and attendance are easy to input and retrieve. After testing it out, I’m now thinking of using Engrade instead of Gradekeeper.

Pilar’s tutorial made creating a Google website quite simple. I was able to create my own mini-website in a lot less time than I would have imagined. Click here to view my new mini-website. I think that having a website, as “little” or simple as it can be creates a “presence” on the World Wide Web which in itself is something. Having students read up about the instructor and view information (such as next semester’s schedule) could be useful.

This week was filled with many learning activities.

Personally, I really enjoy reading other people’s interesting blogs (even if I don’t always comment) whether through the POT (or weekly videos) or other. Laura’s video went well with discovering the whole world (as I believe it truly is a world) of Second Life. I started creating my Avatar and realized how many options existed (hairdo, outfits, shoes, etc.). I could picture how using a program such as Second Life would be beneficial to re-create real-life situations (in my case, teaching languages). Though it seems like creating the Avatar and changing settings was pretty time-consuming, once completed, I could picture using this in a classroom-setting where students learning a new language could make exchanges, possibly even in certain given scenarios (grocery shopping, asking for directions, following directions, making reservations, etc.). I enjoyed what the textbook discussed about such student activities (page 193 specifically). Something also discussed in the textbook, made me think of Ted TV‘s video.

I created an account with Diigo and was able to browse through its uses (also discussed on page 80 of our textbook). It was fun reading an article (Three Generations of Distance Education Pedagogy) and being able to highlight, make notes and such. I’m looking forward to explore Diigo more in depth. I could see how useful it could be in analyzing articles, having students comments and make notes.