Presentation at the 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Distance Learning

1. Carol McQuiggan, Penn State University-Harrisburg
Lisa Byrnes, Penn State University
Linda Futch, University of Central Florida
Larry Ragan, Penn State University
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

2. • Background
• Changes
• Pilot Project Results
• Current Status
• Discussion
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

3. • Identified core competencies for online
instructors
o Baseline technical, teaching, organization, and
communication skills
• Promote eLearning through a faculty self-
assessment tool
o Determine their readiness for online teaching
o Link them to appropriate resources to fill in the
identified gaps
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

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Conference on Online Learning

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Conference on Online Learning

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Conference on Online Learning

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Conference on Online Learning

8. • Complete analysis of pilot project feedback
• Add citations/links to recommended resources
• Programmer to make recommended changes
• Complete Creative Commons license
• Add to Penn State Online website
• Add to Sloan-C website
• Tool will remain online for one more week at
https://online.ist.psu.edu/facultySelfAssess/
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

9. 1. Have you ever taught online?
Yes 80 responses 66.1%
No 41 responses 33.9%
2. How did you find using the self-assessment tool?
Easy 103 85.8%
Neither easy nor difficult 14 11.7%
Difficult 3 2.5%
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

10. 3. Which aspects of the self-assessment tool did you
find most difficult to use?
• Scrolling
• Answer options
• Contrast
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

11. 4. Were there any questions that were unclear?
• All were clear (67)
• Would like to see more or different choices (13)
• Responses needed a middle ground as a choice
• Publisher resources (4)
• 1st question led in a certain direction
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

12. 5. Which question/response provided you with the
MOST valuable feedback and why?
• All helpful (21)
• Time management (14)
• Planning & organization (8)
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

13. 6. Which question/response provided you with the
LEAST valuable feedback and why?
• None (15)
• Computer technology (7)
• Time management (6)
• Personality (5)
• Organization (5)
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

14. 7. Are there other elements of online teaching that you
felt are missing from the tool?
• Support
o Institutional - technical, training, library
o Program/dept - shared resources
• Assessment/feedback
• Community/discussion facilitation
• Material preparation
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

15. 8. Which one of the following actions would be most
valuable to you after completing the self-assessment?
Receiving a score to reflect level of preparedness to
teach online 40, 35.4%
Emailing the results to myself 30, 26.5%
Printing the results 19, 16.8%
Saving the results 17, 15.0%
Emailing the results to someone else for reflection and
consultation 7, 6.2%
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

16. 9. Did you find the results supported your general
personal feelings of your readiness to teach online?
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

17. 10. Is there anything else you would like to share with
us about your experience with the self-assessment
tool?
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

18. • Distribution of handouts
• In small groups of 4 or 5, review issue identified in
the pilot feedback
• One person from each small group record points of
discussion on paper
• Reconvene with sharing of major points
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning

19. Discussion Points
1. Which questions do you feel need DIFFERENT
choices? Which questions need MORE choices? ("Other"
as a choice is not an option since it cannot be scored.)
2. What needs a definition (e.g., publisher resources)?
3. Where is a language adjustment needed, especially in
the feedback? (e.g., "You're a pro!")

20. • The tool will remain online for another week
https://online.ist.psu.edu/facultySelfAssess/
• Post resources to del.icio.us using tag of
facprofdev
• Additional comments/suggestions?
cam240@psu.edu
The 14th Annual Sloan-C International
Conference on Online Learning