Tools of the Trade: Using Technology in Your Course

1. Tools of the Trade: Using Technology in Your Course Ms. Darla Runyon Assistant Director/Curriculum Specialist Northwest Missouri State University Dr. Roger Von Holzen Director—Center for Information Technology in Education Northwest Missouri State University

2. Focus of Course Redesign • Three options: • DFW reduction • Cost reduction • Increased enrollments • Three approaches to cost reduction • Keep student enrollments the same while reducing the instructional resources devoted to the course • Increased student enrollments with little or no change in course expenditures • Decrease costs by reducing the number of repetitions required to pass the course*

3. Begin with Course Site • Redesign the entire course • Design using a tool such as Quality Matters as a guideline • Eight Quality Matters General Standards • Course Overview and Introduction • Learning Objectives • Assessment and Measurement • Resources and Materials • Learner Engagement • Course Technology • Learner Support • Accessibility*

4. Begin with Course Site • Need to gain agreement on: • core course outcomes • instructional formats • textbook or eTextbook selection along with digital assets for interactive learning • publisher materials and resources • topic sequences/course site navigation • setting up a common course site • Library research module • created and monitored by librarians*

5. Continuous Assessment and Feedback • Create low-stakes online quizzes to test assigned readings and homework (formative) • Allow repeated quiz taking to achieve mastery of material (within the confines of a set course schedule) • Provide automatic grading and feedback to students via course site grade book • Provide faculty member with feedback to detect challenging content (item analysis on quizzes/exams from the CMS)*

6. Increase Interaction Among Students • Creating "Small" Within "Large" • Create small online discussion groups (10-12 students) • Have group discuss instructor questions • Create group guidelines • Assign roles • Allow students to vote out inactive or unproductive group members • Generate and submit for evaluation a group response*

7. Promote Active Learning • Replace lecture time with individual and small-group lab activities • Have labs staffed by faculty, GAs and/or undergraduate peer tutors • Provides greater one-on-one assistance • Online Tutorials • Design interactive tutorials to take over the main instructional role (SoftChalk and/or Flash learning objects) • Check digital repositories such as Merlot • Use quizzes to test mastery of the material before proceeding to next topic • Use the learning path or mastery tool in the CMS to track mastery and guide students to mastery levels*

8. Move Lectures Online • Create short (5-10 minutes) mini-lectures: • historically difficult content or concepts • critical content not covered in textbook • Use a web conferencing software such as Elluminate to record short lectures for posting and/or to provide tutoring sessions • Use Jing for screen recordings demonstrating software, web tours, and/or problem explanations with a Tablet*

9. Undergraduate Peer Tutors • Better at assisting their peers than GAs due to: • greater understanding of the course content • appropriatecommunication skills • awareness of the common misconceptions about computers held by the students • Able to assist instructors by: • addressing non-content specific questions • staffing virtual office hours to answer content-related questions • monitoring student progress*

10. Additional Cost Reduction Techniques • Reduction of space requirements • Scheduling of blended/hybrid classes • Use of online course management system • Development of shared resources to eliminate duplication of effort • Faculty resources site (separate or included within course site but hidden from students) • Online automated assessment of exercises, quizzes and tests • Need for large test banks • Use of Respondus to organize test banks*

11. Implementation Issues • Need for buy-in by Faculty, Chairs, Deans and Provost to sustain redesign effort • Sustained through faculty turnover and textbook changes • Willingness to use an appropriate blend of homegrown (created by faculty) and purchased earning materials • Avoid “not-invented-here” syndrome*

12. Implementation Issues • Need for adequate laboratory classroom space and equipment • Able to handle student technical and logistical issues*

13. Additional Key Redesign Practices • Avoid optional activities • Students participate more, score higher, and spend longer on supplementary activities when course credit is at stake • Avoid self-paced design • Most students function better in structured environments*

14. Ms. Darla Runyon drunyon@nwmissouri.edu Dr. Roger Von Holzen rvh@nwmissouri.edu