The document discusses four ways to leverage the internet: 1) live presenting using tools like Skype, 2) creating an informative online profile with contact information, 3) maintaining an online presence through email, messaging, and virtual office hours, and 4) using online tools like announcements and social media to engage with students.
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15 5/25/2011
Our students grew up with the Internet, so they come here familiar with and perhaps even expecting to make use of social media at school.
I have been teaching this multi-disciplinary, graduate level course since 2001. I completely overhauled the curriculum, formerly taught by my friend and colleague, Michael Bailey, who moved to Oregon State University in Corvallis. I started out face to face, jumped onto Bb right away and gradually migrated content online. By 2009, I felt close, but not really ready to commit to a fully asynchronous delivery, mostly because I had some activities I did with my students I still felt reluctant to give upor replace with a substitute.
These were:a presentation exercise consisting of 2talks made in front of the room. The first, unguided, the second incorporating what they learned during the term. They were graded on a combination of success incorporating best presentation practices and relative improvement from their first attempt.A show and tell activity for which I brought in a collection of items representing the evolution and current capability for generating models in 3D. I would describe and pass them around to give my students a very tangible experience.I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t taken the leap. I have overcome my reluctance on both of these issues. First of all, the presentation experience can easily be transferred to a webinar using the Wimba tools. And I took advantage of the very capable and talented video production team here at ITS to produce a video version of my show and tell classroom experience. Even though they can't actually handle the models, they do get to see them.
Here I summarize 6 areas I’m prepared to address. My title promises 4, and I have included more in case we have time. Profiles give me a way to get to know my students, give them a way to know each other while I surreptitiously gather data on each of them. Handling questions: Office Hours work like a dream. Once you get a basic handle on IM or chatting short cuts, you can easily and conveniently answer questions at the beach!Keeping apprised of updates concerns students. They’d like to know about changes without having to log in every day so they don’t miss something.A common question comes up for instructors who like using discussions to engage students. With a little forethought, a discussion board, or audio DB, can get just as lively.Exams online raise lots of concerns for faculty AND students. I’ll tell you about my strategy.And finally I’ll show you how video, which is all the rage online these days, does a great job conveying content.A 7th: Wikis I won’t cover this today.
Our students grew up with the Internet, so they come here familiar with and perhaps even expecting to make use of social media at school.I have them create a “profile” as part of my Orientation module. The profile has 4 components that they must complete before the Learning Modules become available.Profiles give me a way to get to know my students, give them a way to know each other while I surreptitiously gather data on each of them. This is not as sinister as it sounds; I use this exercise to gauge ability to follow directions on a relatively low stakes task and to collect a writing sample. Poor performance on either count merits a warning from me via email in which I explain the importance of self-directed learning online and my policies on English language skills. Also, I now have writing and audio samples from all students for comparison in case of “unauthorized collaboration.” Haven’t had to use it for that yet…
A rubric for completion tells them whether they have fulfilled this component. The score does not count toward their grade, BUT they must get a 4 to accessthe Learning Modules. As I explained earlier, our students grew up with the Internet, so they come here familiar with and perhaps even expecting to make use of social media at school. I havegotten NO push back on this.
I use the adaptive release feature in Bb.
Handling questions: Students can send email, of course, but my response is almost always: great question! Please post to the FAQs DB so everyone can benefit.Chatting tools make it very convenient to make myself available for questions. I keep my status as invisible, or just don’t log on, when I’m busy. When I can handle interruptions, or during office hours, I leave the metaphorical door open. For scheduled office hours, I also launch the Virtual Office classroom. Students can ask a quick question Via Yahoo! Messenger without having to launch Wimba. For more involved questions, I direct them to Wimba where we can speak and share the desktop if necessary.
Students want to know when stuff changes or gets updated.The Blackboard announcements page is where I keep them updated on a regular basis. I like the audio announcements because it makes it a bit more personal. I write it first, then read it aloud into the microphone. I send the announcements as email as well. But they don’t want to have to login every day. So I can push updates out to them via twitter. I will tweet a summary of the announcement or direct them to log in. If they have atwitter account, all they have to do is follow prof_larsen. If they want messages pushed to their phones, they can set up the appropriate mobile app or SMS messaging.
Discussion boards can seem a bit ungainly to the uninitiated. With a little bit of planning and structure they can be a very effective leaning tool. With a few exceptions, the students seem to be comfortable using these tools.I use both the DB and the voice board tools. I give them a topic, a question, an image--something to discuss. For example, I ask them to relay a story from their own experience where technical imagery has had an influence in their lives. This can range from an X-ray to an advertisement they have seen. They get points for this story, then they must comment on 2 other posts, offering evidence that supports or refutes them.The rubric spells out what they must do to earn points, i.e., 10pts for the first post, then 10 each for two original comments. They might have to come back later, giving others a chance to post. And they must come up with new material, which means they must read everything. As moderator, I will delete redundant posts. I review the activity and am prepared to stir the pot if necessary.
This simplified rubric represents how I score discussions.
The Voice Board Interface. Students paste a transcript and record their comment.
With an online group, schedules vary widely. I post the examschedule early in the tem so they can plan for it. I open up the exam for a 24 hour window. Because unforeseen glitches occur, I make myself available to reset the exam if a student gets kicked out. This trouble shooting window is shorter, and coincides with the time that most will take the test.They all have a fallback position: The optional FINAL can be taken to substitute for or improve midterm scores.
I have a particular testing strategy. My initial issue, and yours probably too, concerns the detection of cheating. Without proctoring, how do you trust the results? You can’t! But I have some tactics that help me justify online assessment. I tell them, right off, that since I can’t police the exams, I encourage them to consult their resources (as long as it's not a person). Basically, that means open book tests. And what do students expect for open book exams? Tougher questions! I tell them to expect tough questions.I want the simplest grading experience possible. I’m not comfortable with 100% of the score coming from automatically scored questions (T/F,MC, MA, fill in the blank, etc.). I am comfortable with 70% of it automated. Even if they ACE this part (cheating or not), it gets them only a “C” grade. These can be rote learning type questions, with some reasoning thrown in.The remaining 30% I grade manually. These are usually essay questions requiring synthesis of ideas, interpretation of imagery, or the like. When grading we can usually detect indications of copying. We can also use turnitin to help.
The exam comes to me in two pieces: the Bb test portion and the “take home” portion uploaded as an “assignment.”I download their papers, mark them using a tablet pc, or a markup tool on the iPad, save the annotated document, and upload it back to the Bb Gradebook.I never print! It’s all paperless and green!
I took advantage of the very capable and talented video production team here at ITS to produce a video version of my show and tell classroom experience. I showed my models and demonstrated some devices in front of a camera as a substitute for a face-to-face show and tell session. Even though they can't actually handle the models, they do get to see them. The Video production, team here at ITS did a fabulous job helping me make the video look very professional, more sothan I could have done on my own.Thank you Rudy, Sherry, and David!Video doesn’t mean you must talk to a camera. Screen capturing tools are also very useful for tutorials. You can get very fancy using Camtasia or Captivate. You can find lots of free tools on line as well.
Profiles leverage the expectations of and comfort wi th social media while I surreptitiously gather data on each student. Office Hours leverage IM, chatting toolsI leverage mobile technology to push updates out to students. Asynchronous discussions can work as well as live ones with well-devised rubrics and thoughtful moderating. Automated testing takes much of the pain out of grading Exams.And video has become ubiquitous, anyone with a phone can do it these days. I might even start assigning video projects.