Promoting Student Interactivity in Online and Face-to-Face Courses

1. Professional Development Institution January 7th, 2009 Presented by: Shaun Beaty Director of Course Design and Instructional Technology The Institute for Learning and Teaching Promoting Student Interactivity in Online and Face-to-Face Courses The Institute for Teaching and Learning

2. Overview of Presentation • Student to Instructor • Best Practices • Technology examples • Student to Student • Best Practices • Technology examples • Student to Content • Best Practices • Technology examples • Q and A

3. Student to Instructor Interaction Consistent and frequent student to instructor interaction is one of the most important factors in motivating students Best Practices for Student to Instructor interaction: 1. Provide frequent and thorough feedback 2. Identify and follow up with students who are not participating

4. Student to Instructor Interaction Traditional contact has been through classroom interactions, office hours and the telephone. Other modes of contact/interaction include: • Email • Used for individual communication • General class announcements • Group email notifications • Email system set up within RamCT • Instant Messenger (IM): A communication tool that can be used to synchronously chat with other users. • “Who’s Online” within RamCT • Used to chat in real time with users who are enrolled in courses and logged in to RamCT the same time current user is logged in. • Is similar to the Chat tool except that it can be used without first entering a course. • Additional IM software: • MSN Messenger (Windows Live), Yahoo, Google Talk, AOL Messenger, MySpace IM, Miranda

5. Student to Instructor Interaction • Chat: Is a web service that provides users an environment to communicate in “real time” and engage in conversations with all users or selected users • RamCT: Chat tool serves as a two way text based communication feature. • The Chat tool can only be used to chat with users in a particular course. • Can be used as a way to conduct virtual office hours. • Course Announcements: Used for addressing key points, topic review/overview, administration issues • Traditionally through whiteboard/chalkboard, word of mouth, or email. • RamCT: Messages can be sent to members of the course, based upon role in classroom environment • Can set date/time for announcement to appear/disappear • Create as a pop up message

6. Student to Instructor Interaction • Discussions • Participate and facilitate class discussions through available forums • RamCT • asynchronous communication between all members of classroom • create topics relevant to the course and generate class discussion through open-ended questions • http://learning.colostate.edu: Create additional class forums • When creating a class discussion, it’s important to: • model appropriate participation in discussions • encourage student questions, and support the expression of multiple points of view • allow expression of different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences

7. Student to Student Interaction Cooperative learning can engage students more deeply in the process of learning and provide scaffolding that allows them to deepen their understanding of course content. Best Practices for Student to Student Interaction: Design activities that promote collaboration, cooperation and networking.

8. Student to Student Interaction • Study Groups • These may be formal or informal, graded or non-graded, short-term or long-term. • Example: • Assign students to groups of 3-6 students. Group is given a task to work on together and produces a group answer, paper or project. • RamCT: • Create Custom Group: Instructor assigns group • Create Multiple Group: Instructor assigns group or students randomly distributed • Sign-up sheets: Students sign up for groups, can be limited number of group participants • Assign groups to discussions, assignments and chats • Email “lists” created by group

9. Student to Student Interaction • Discussion Forums • RamCT: • create discussions for students to discuss and reflect upon class content • create topics to facilitate communication within groups of students that are working collaboratively on a project • encourage peer review of assignments

10. Student to Student Interaction • Blogs • Students have the ability to read and reflect upon a posting and spend time to gather and express their reactions to each posting • Act as a journaling tool or central discussion topic • Sequential postings • RamCT: • Blogs built into structure, through discussion tool • Learning@CSU • Create additional blogs through site • Other third party blogging tools can easily integrate and customize into own web site/page • Wordpress (http://wordpress.com) • Blogger (http://blogger.com)

11. Student to Student Interaction • Social Networking Services • Sites designed to offer interactive, user submitted, network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, music and video • MySpace-- http://myspace.com • Facebook-- http://facebook.com • LinkedIn-- http://linkedin.com • Flickr-- Photo/video management and sharing tool http://flickr.com • Twitter-- A service to communicate and stay connected http://twitter.com • Second Life – peer to peer interaction within virtual world http://secondlife.com • YouTube -- upload, share and view videos http://youtube.com • Google Docs – web based word processor and spreadsheet allowing users to share and collaborate online http://docs.google.com

12. Student to Content Interaction Students should engage with course content, they should discuss and write about it, relating it to their experiences and, when possible, outside the institution.

13. Student to Content Interaction Best Practices with Student to Content Interaction • Create an Active Learning Environment • Active Learning: Takes place when students are provided a chance to form an interactive relationship with the subject matter, encouraging them to discover, process and apply rather than simply receiving knowledge (passive learning) • Students learn in the classroom with the help of the instructor, other students, rather than on their own • Instructors facilitate and coach rather than dictate the students’ learning • Activities should build off previous knowledge and be structured in a sequence such that earlier classes lay the foundation for complex and higher level learning tasks in later classes

14. Student to Content Interaction Examples that encourage Active Learning • PowerPoint: Short PowerPoint presentations with follow up activities • Example: Present concept, idea(s), topics, etc. through slides. Follow up with related activity—discussion, group project, quiz etc. • Adobe Presenter: Create informational, self paced and on-demand presentations with streaming video, audio and Adobe Flash movies directly from MS PowerPoint. • Publish content as a flash file (.swf) or PDF document, preserving all animations • Windows only production • Example

15. Student to Content Interaction • Adobe Captivate or Camtasia Studio: “Show How” and “Do Now” • Software creates demonstrations, interactive simulations and branched scenario, problem solving activities (Soft Skills) • Create interactive quizzing features (immediate feedback), mastery learning • Example: http://learning.colostate.edu/courses/twt/

16. Student to Content Interaction • Video • Introduce concepts, units/modules • Wrap up of unit/module, overview of exercise • Can be created with a basic web cam and software (Windows Movie Maker) • Suggestion: “chunk” videos into 5-15 minute segments. • Video supported by CSU: • MediaSite: streaming video and presentation features. Can be asynchronous and synchronous • Example: http://tilt.colostate.edu/twt/

17. Student to Content Interaction • Podcasts: A podcast is a series of digital-media files which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated download or through web feeds to portable media players and personal computers. • Audio recording of lectures, feedback to projects, announcements, intro’s, or wrap up/conclusion to modules • iTunesU • http://itunes.colostate.edu/ • Terry Gray’s presentation Teaching with Technology—Spring 2007 (located on the Tilt website)

18. Student to Content Interaction • Whiteboards • Can be used like the “chalkboard” in the classroom • Use text, color, shapes, equations • Can record and create on demand recordings • Incorporate Audio and video into some Whiteboards • Serve as virtual office hour setting • RamCT • Whiteboard and chat tool • Other whiteboard software’s include: • Elluminate: http://www.elluminate.com/ • Adobe Connect: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/

19. Student to Content Interaction • StudyMate by Respondus • Create intellectual and interactive activities and games through simple templates • Can serve as an assessment piece or way to gage understanding for concepts or topics • Web based (flash file) • Include audio, graphics, mathematic and scientific symbols, randomize questions • Create mobile files (iPod or PSP) • Example: http://www.respondus.com/studymate/samples.shtml

20. Student to Content Interaction • Wiki’s • “Multilingual, web based, free content encyclopedia project” (Wikipedia.org) • Is an avenue for sharing ideas and producing a result that was created collaboratively • Wiki’s can be used to create: • A central topic or theme is presented. Students work throughout term to define the topic • Define procedures/guidelines, create checklists • FAQ’s, error resolutions, course manuals • Class glossaries or other key resources • Other wiki providers • Learning @ Colostate -- http://learning.colostate.edu • Wikimatrix -- http://wikimatrix.org • MediaWiki -- http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki

21. Student to Content Interaction • Many of the other features previously discussed could serve as a way for presenting content that encourages student and content interaction • Discussions • Blogs • Social Networking • Chats • Instant Messenger • Email • Course Announcement

22. Q and A Time • Questions?

23. Review of Presentation • Student to Instructor • Best Practices • Technology Examples • Student to Student • Best Practices • Technology Examples • Student to Content • Best Practices • Technology Examples • Q and A • Closing Thought: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1529637984 • PowerPoint suggestions by Don McMillan

24. Resources Blogs: • Wordpress (http://wordpress.com) • Blogger (http://blogger.com) Social Networking: • MySpace-- http://myspace.com • Facebook-- http://facebook.com • LinkedIn-- http://linkedin.com • Flickr-- http://flickr.com • Twitter-- http://twitter.com • YouTube -- http://youtube.com • Google Docs –- http://docs.google.com • Second life– http://secondlife.com Presentation Software: • Adobe Captivate -- http://www.adobe.com/products/captivate/ • Adobe Presenter -- http://www.adobe.com/products/presenter/ • Camtasia Studio (TechSmith) -- http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp?CMP=KgoogleCStmhome&gclid=CJuxgYaiwJYCFRIcawodZmGIyA Video: • MediaSite (SonicFoundry) -- http://www.sonicfoundry.com/ • Adobe Connect -- http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/?promoid=DJDVR

25. Resources Podcasting: • iTunes U at CSU -- http://itunes.colostate.edu/ • Beyond Borrowed Lecture Notes: The Upsides and Downsides of Podcasting (Spring 2007)-- http://tilt.colostate.edu/twt/ WhiteBoards: • RamCT -- https://wsprod.colostate.edu/cwis5/ramct/training/CE6__846pageReference_Design_Instruct.pdf • Elluminate -- http://www.elluminate.com/ • Adobe Connect -- http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/ Flash Based Presentations: • StudyMate by Respondus -- http://www.respondus.com/studymate/samples.shtml • SwishZone -- http://www.swishzone.com/index.php?area=products&product=max • Flash -- http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/?promoid=DJDTE Wiki's: • Wikipedia – http://wikipedia.org • wikimatrix -- http://wikimatrix.org • MediaWiki -- http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki