an online, general education math/finances/spreadsheet course v. 3.x
TRANSCRIPT
An Online, General Education Math/Finances/Spreadsheet
Course v. 3.x Jon Ernstberger13 March 2015
LaGrange College and Online Courses
● Private, Wesleyan, small; operational since 1831.
● Online classes began in 2013.● Summer courses are 50% online enrollment
only; 69% some online.● Fall/Spring find 26% in online courses in just
two years.
CORE 1140 - Computer Applications
● A gen. ed., one credit-hour, finances course.● Topics: simple interest, compound interest,
annuities, cost of living increases, mortgage amortization.
● Linear and exponential algebra.● Consumer mathematics course.
Versions 0.x
● Barebones● Students submitted digital spreadsheets by
specific deadlines.● I provided lecture notes and my own work.● Smaller class size (13).● Off-campus students could not have
survived.
Versions 1.x
● Included introduction presentations and videos
● Basic quizzes● Class sizes
increased to 45-50 [2]
Versions 2.x
Primary change: use of the Moodle Lesson.[1]● Implement low-stakes assessments
(multiple-choice, true/false)● Minimum time lengths imposed● Minimum passing score before proceeding
to medium- and high-stakes assessments.● Chickering & Gamson “Seven Principles” [3]
Versions 3.x
● “An online course without conversation is just a correspondence course.”
● Significant video revisions were made.● Module and assessment objectives clarified.● Complete assessment rubrics made
available to students.● College-consistent branding employed.
Education of the Educator
● Participation takes on a different meaning.● Tools change.● Communication must improve.● Content to be re-refined again.
Outcomes
● Student grades increased (qualitative).● Portable, well-built course● Data/logs are available.
○ Conditional probability (P(student passing | student passed syllabus quiz))
○ Information about student body (ex: connections between gender/ethnicity and community)
References
[1] Lesson module. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2015, from https://docs.moodle.org/28/en/Lesson_module[2] Ko, S., & Rossen, S. (2004). Teaching Online: A practical Guide (2nd. ed.). Houghton Mifflin: Boston.[3] Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE bulletin, 3, 7.
