Herbert Brown III

Location: appalachian state university - boone, nc - usa

About me

Herb Brown is a professor and program director in the business and information technology education program at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. He directs the Graduate program in New Media/Global Education and Online Teaching and Learning at Appstate. He has taught information technology, instructional technology, and business education courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels for 20 years and served 10 years in the role of Director of Technology for several universities. He has held teaching and administrative positions at James Madison University, The University of Virginia's College at Wise, the University of South Carolina and Appalachian State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Vocational Education with a cognate in Computer Information Systems from Virginia Tech. His articles have appeared in Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, and the NABTE Journal.

Interests

online teaching and learning, career and technical education, business & information technology education

Skills

online teaching and learning, teaching methodology, information technology education, web development/design

Website

http://edtech.appstate.edu

Activity

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Rocio, Timeliness is a critical factor in any online communications. You can also establish guidelines or expectations around what they communication looks like on the syllabus. Therefore, the students know they should not expect a return email from the instructor at 2am. Establishing these clear expectations ensure they student sees you as being "present" in the course even if they had to wait 24 hours to hear back from you. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Faculty Expectations

Rocio, I agree all of these are important. I would also suggest that communication expectations are also important to set boundaries and clear expectations around class communications. This clears up the issues of a student becoming angry when you didn't respond to their 2am email for help. I would also suggest that there might be some expectations listed for the instructor....what the students should expect in the course from their instructor. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Will Online Learning Replace the Traditional Classroom?

Dr. Wendie, The continued strong growth in online teaching and learning is certainly being documented in numerous studies. I also see a huge increase in the faculty I work with that want to teach blended/hybrid. They see the value of both the online teaching tools and resources as well as the benefits of the traditional face to face interaction. Students are certainly expecting even their traditional classes to incorporate technology and more and more online teaching tools. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Will Online Learning Replace the Traditional Classroom?

Michael, Online does continue to grow in all markets. Blended or hybrid environments are also growing exponentially. Most traditional classroom instructors are realizing the power of online teaching tools and are integrating them in to their traditional classrooms. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Assisting the Online Student

Jeanice, Agreed. If you communicate with your students well and take every opportunity to connect with your students you can still lose some of them over time. I also believe it is vital for someone to follow up with them to find out why they dropped to ensure it is just a personal issue or related and not something the school has control over to adjust and retain. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Assisting the Online Student

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Will Online Learning Replace the Traditional Classroom?

Lori, I would argue that an Anatomy class can benefit from online technology because you can have even more detail and can add animations to body layers and elements that could enhance the learning. However, I also agree that it is not for everyone and some skills (welding metal together) has to be done at some point with your hands and not just virtually. We will also continue to see an increase in blended or hybrid environments that provide the best of online tools and traditional on-campus courses. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Lori, I would agree that you might be able to get some facial and other cues in a traditional classroom that might demonstrate their understanding. However, I have also found that they look that way sometimes and still don't understand. What about giving them some practice quizzes or mini-assessments before the test to see if they are getting the material? Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Will Online Learning Replace the Traditional Classroom?

Michael, The data still shows a continual rise in online teaching and learning. Another area of strong growth is the hybrid classroom and the flipped classroom models that accommodate both the online and traditional structures in one course. ALL of my on-campus courses are taught in a hybrid format. Instructors are realizing the strengths of the online learning tools and integrating them in to their traditional courses. The students typically benefit from these models. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Lori, Since you teach both online and traditional do you see a ratio difference between your online and traditional classroom? Do you find you can accommodate more or less students in a traditional classroom with the same level of interaction? Herbert Brown III

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