everything you wanted to know about online teaching and learning (but were afraid to ask) dr....

Everything You Wanted to Know Everything You Wanted to Know about Online Teaching and Learningabout Online Teaching and Learning

(but were afraid to ask)(but were afraid to ask)

Dr. Dolores Burton, Chair, Teacher EducationDr. Sarah McPherson, Chair, Instructional Technology

Dr. Michael Uttendorfer, Dean

1Burton, McPherson & Uttendorfer

• Are Online Course Enrollments Still Growing?

• What Do We Know About Online Students?

• What Do Online Students Want?

• What Are the Success Rates?

• What Skills Do Successful Online Students Need?

• What’s Different About Teaching Online?

Some Common Questions about Online?

2Burton, McPherson & UttendorferBurton, McPherson & Uttendorfer

• How Much Time Does It Take?

• Should I Use a Course Management System (CMS)

• If You “Build It” Will They Come?

• How Do You Retain Students Online?

• How Do You Create a Community of Learners?

• How Do You Supplement the Course With Your Own

Material?

Common Questions… (Con’t)


Yes. The evidence (from Sloan-C reports):– Over 3.9 million students were taking at least one online

course during the fall 2007 term; a 12 percent increase over the number reported the previous year.

– The 12.9 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.2 percent growth of the overall higher education student population.

– Over twenty percent of all U.S. higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2007.

– In 2007-2008, 1.03 million U.S. students in K-12 schools participated in online courses (up 47% from the previous year)

Are Online Course Enrollments Still Growing?


What Do We Know About Online Students?

• 75% were caring for dependents. • Half were working at jobs more than 30 hours per

week. • Half were enrolled part-time compared with only

10% of other students. • Online students were older (mean=32) on average

than on-campus students.• 63% of online students were first generation college

compared with 42% of other students. • The majority of online students chose this format for

reasons of convenience and being able to work at their own pace.

2006 National Survey of Student Engagement


What Do Online Students Want?

• Content that they feel is relevant to their needs• Clear directions for what the should do at every

stage of the course• As much control of the pace of learning as

possible• A means of drawing attention to individual

concerns• Materials that are useful, active, and interesting

(Moore, 1998)


What Are the Success Rates?

• Equal to or better than face-to-face classes

• Why are some online course outcomes better? – Syllabi are often revisited and refreshed when moving from

face-to-face to online formats (quality improves)– Online format fosters more independent learning– Instructor gives more attention to some students who might

otherwise be ignored– Students schedule study time with less distractions, greater

concentration– Students study and interact with anyone rather than just

who they sit next to in class


What Skills Do Online Students Need?

A successful online learner should:• be skilled in the use of online learning technologies,

particularly communication and collaborative technologies.

• have a strong academic self-concept and good interpersonal and communication skills.

• have a basic understanding and appreciation of collaborative learning and develop competencies in related skills.

• acquire self-directed learning skills through the deployment of time management and cognitive learning strategies.

(Dabbagh, 2007)


What’s Different About Teaching Online?

CONS:

• There’s a learning curve• Usually more time-consuming (at least initially)• You see less students face-to-face• Number of e-mails increases• More work must be done up-front• You spend a lot of time on the computer


PROS:

• Increased flexibility• Ability to teach from any location• Building a community of learners is possible!!• Can be equally rewarding and enjoyable as face-to-face• Number of students you can reach individually

increases• Students can collaborate easier• Students have greater responsibility for their learning



PROS (Con’t):

• Assessments (such as homework & quizzes) can be automatically graded, saving time

• Mid-course corrects can be made based on feedback• You and your students have more time to think and

research before answering questions• Technology use increases online (by necessity)• Supplemental and enrichment materials can be more

timely and individually focused



• Time required is greater than or equal to face-to-face classes

• To minimize that:– Don’t “reinvent the wheel.” Use a Course Management

System (CMS)– Share online material with other faculty in your department– Link to quality online resources instead of making your own– Discourage the use of e-mail AND …– Encourage use of the discussion board– Build a FAQ section to respond to common questions


How Much Time Does It Take?

Should I Use a Course Management System (CMS)?

• It does not makes sense to reinvent the wheel. • Using a CMS saves time and effort. It allows you to

focus on good instruction instead of focusing on getting the materials online.

• Check for available resources FREE from a variety of publishers pre-loaded with textbook-specific content and numerous features (e.g., course cartridges).

• Some popular systems include Angel Learning, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, eCollege, Moodle and Sakai.

Burton, McPherson & UttendorferBurton, McPherson & Uttendorfer13

If You Build It, Will They Come?

• Online programs/courses are no “Field of Dreams.”• Build it!• Publicize it!• Promote it!• Support it!• Evaluate it and Improve it!


How Do You Retain Online Students?

Build a Community of Learners– Your participation is key– Students will “follow your lead”– Require a student intro be posted the first week– Discourage other forms of communication and focus on the

Discussion Board– Visit Discussion Board daily, before you open your e-mail,

before you check voicemail– Thank students by name, acknowledge their involvement,

provide positive reinforcement


“Reach Out” at regular intervals to individual students– Send an email to all registered students before class begins– Send e-mail to all students 1-2 weeks after semester starts– Send e-mail 1-2 weeks later, to students with little or no

activity, asking how you can help– Send e-mail before the Midterm, with study suggestions

and wishing them luck– Send e-mail before drop deadline encouraging catch-up

and offering help


How Do You Create a Community of Learners?

Encourage student-to-student interaction• Form groups• Homogeneous or random?• Assign peer-evaluated projects or papers• Praise students for helping each other (public

acknowledgement on the Discussion Board or privately in an e-mail)

• Choose a student or group of students to be in the “hot seat” for a question in the discussion board




Post items that invite and encourage students to visit the Discussion Board, such as:

– Extra credit problems “first-come, first-served”– Hints to succeed in the class– “Hot tips” for studying for exams– Current articles or other items of interest – Comics, puzzles and cartoons– Helpful links


Supplement the Course with Your Own Material

Some suggested products:• Microsoft PowerPoint • Screen capture programs like Camtasia and SnagIt at

www.techsmith.com or Jing (www.jingproject.com)• Movie-making software like Movie Maker or PhotoStory plus a

webcam, digital video cam, or your digital still camera and a microphone

• Create a video in your own studio or a podcast from home• Use a Tablet PC to “ink” your lectures and review sessions• Include live web conferencing technology like Elluminate , DimDim

or Adobe ConnectPro for instructional sessions, office hours or extra help.


ReferencesAllen, I. & Seaman, J. (2008). Staying the Course: Online Education in the

United States, 2008. Available: http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/staying_the_course.pdf

Dabbagh, N. (2007). The online learner: Characteristics and pedagogical implications. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 7(3). Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol7/iss3/general/article1.cfm

Moore, M. (1998). Introduction. In C. Gibson (Ed.), Distance Learners in Higher Education: Institutional responses for quality outcomes. Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing.

National Survey of Student Engagement (2006). Available: http://www.assessment.ilstu.edu/activities_services/nsse.shtml

Picciano, A. & Seaman, J. (2009). K-12 online learning. Available: http://http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/pdf/k-12_online_learning_2008.pdf


Other Questions?

• Contact Us– Dolores Burton ([email protected])– Sarah McPherson ([email protected])– Michael Uttendorfer ([email protected])

• Other Resources– Sloan-C (http://www.sloan-c.org)– NYSTC Online Academy

(http://eeznt3.nyiteez.org/olacatalog/)


everything you wanted to know about online teaching and learning (but were afraid to ask) dr....

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