Presented by: Julie Hutchin & Kathy Chatfield Clark College, Vancouver

1. Presented by:Julie Hutchin &Kathy ChatfieldClark College, Vancouver How to design, organize, and teach online effectively http://onlineteachingandlearning.wikispaces.com/

2. Audience Survey • How many have never taught online? • How many consider yourselves beginning online instructors, looking for ways to be more effective? • How many are already teaching online and feel like you have effective ideas that you can contribute here today?

3. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating a Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice Your handout is an outline of these slides and reference to the WIKI content.

4. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating a Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice

5. Getting Your Class Started • Research shows: • Your navigational instructions must make the organization of the course easy to understand • You must have a welcoming announcement or statement at the beginning of the class that introduces the student to the course and to how student learning is structured • Have students introduce themselves to the other participants in the course ~QualityMatters.org, 2005-6 Rubric (An organization under Maryland Online)

6. Sample Welcomes

7. Possible Orientation Items • Welcome announcement • What to do first • Course orientation—how online or hybrid works • Describe a typical week • Require reading of syllabus and calendar/schedule • Self-assessment for suitability of online learning • Introductory discussion board posting • Quiz, checklist, commitment email or letter • Explore the course

8. Example

9. Tips for a Great Start • Students love it when the instructor replies to every single introduction message with an individual welcome to that student • Be enthusiastic; let your personality come through • Be assertive in following up with students—especially in the first two weeks

10. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating A Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice

11. Creating a Clear Course Structure • Research shows: • Instructions should be clear, consistent, intuitive • Take technical limitations into account • Keep it simple (KISS) • Face-to-face materials may need to be reorganized • Group together everything for one "module" (probably one week) into manageable chunks • Scaffold learning within the course development to "lead" the learner from one concept to the next logical concept • Students easily become frustrated with confusion within a course, inconsistent instructions, overkill of do's and don'ts

12. Sample Announcement

13. Sample Module Design

15. Sample Instructions

16. Tips for Course Structure • Students don’t like to click around. They want everything right in front of them. So, your design goal should be to have as few “clicks” as possible. • Use color and motion sparingly for visual learners • Be as consistent as you can: • Keep your terminology consistent • Keep your directions consistent • Keep the look and feel and flow of the course consistent

17. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating A Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice

18. Creating a Strong Learning Environment • Research tells us: • The term “Learning Environment” has been used to indicate a type of learning task to denote virtual spaces found in computer applications and on the Internet, and to refer to the classroom psychosocial environment • Interactivity is probably the single most effective component in a learning community • Discussion Boards are widely used for creating interactivity in online courses

19. Examples “The point of our weekly discussions is to provide a forum where student communication can take place similar to what you would experience if you were attending an onsite class. It is often noted that students learn as much (if not more) before and after class in discussions and working with each other than they do during the class itself. Please put every effort into making this discussion requirement beneficial to everyone. But, also note, there are points associated with this part of the assignment. Refer to the Discussion Grading Rubric (Course Documents area) to see how your weekly discussion postings and replies will be evaluated.”

20. Discussion Grading Rubric ~adapted from http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/otai/Examples/DiscussionQuestionExample.asp

21. Tips for Learning Environment • Award points for and grade discussion participation • You cannot assume that students will read each discussion post; require replies to enforce this • Make discussion topics relevant to the students, relating what they are learning to the real world • Don’t do the students’ work for them, but BE PRESENT! (You must be a role model.)

22. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating A Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice

23. Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Research shows: • Learners usually have a combination of learning styles • Online activities should provide significant experiences for each class participant • Many instructional strategies used in traditional classrooms can be successfully adapted to the online environment • Use a combination of instructional strategies, so different learning styles can be accommodated ~http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/instructionalstrategies.asp

24. Resource from Illinois Online:

25. Multiple Strategy Assignment ~Lucy McDonald, Chemeketa Community College

26. Tips for F2F  Online • Consider electronic submission of work/projects • Consider “web quests” or online scavenger hunts • Consider projects vs. tests to demonstrate knowledge and understanding

27. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating A Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice

28. Finding Your Virtual Voice Research shows: • The overall idea of a Virtual Voice is to create a safe, interactive, and learner-centered environment for the student and instructor • This will not only help to retain students, but it also makes the job of an online facilitator a much more enjoyable experience • Change of focus from “expert teacher” to “effective facilitator”

29. Another Welcome http://newterra.chemeketa.edu/faculty/education/ed101lucy/Images/lucyintro/lucyhello.html

30. Examples of the Tone You Set—who are you? • Introduce yourself; let your students know what to call you (first name, Dr., Prof., etc.) • Your contact information; what you like to do when you aren’t teaching • A picture of yourself; the type of picture can set the tone (professional, relaxed, stern, friendly)

31. Examples of the Tone You Set—what can students expect from you? • Regular announcements so students are alerted to important matter and “see” that class is taking place • Reply to email within a 24-hour period • Be “present” in discussions several times each week • Virtual office hours (via chat or phone) • Return homework in timely manner • Use formative feedback; what they did well, what they need to work on, positive reinforcement • Create a Q&A forum (Water Cooler, Chat Café, etc.)

32. Tips for a Positive Tone • Call students by their first names in discussions • Schedule homework due dates when you will be most active for preceding two days • Be as flexible as possible with students—making it more of a “learner” experience than a “teacher” experience • Reach out to those who are not participating at beginning or in danger of failing near mid to end • Schedule (and announce) a day off for yourself

33. Sink or Swim? AGENDA • Getting Your Class Started • Creating a Clear Course Structure • Creating A Strong Learning Environment • Designing Online Curriculum from F2F • Finding Your Virtual Voice Any Questions?