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

Managing Learner Behaviors

dwight, Do you think that the student has any point to their issues? Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Faculty Expectations

dwight, How have you been able to do this in your teaching? Are there any specific statements or special things that you do that help students feel this way. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Will Online Learning Replace the Traditional Classroom?

Mekia, I have also seen this in my traditional age and non-traditional student populations. The more mature students are more likely to meet deadlines and turn in high quality work and my younger students are less likely too - as a general rule, of course there are always exceptions. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Managing Learner Behaviors - 2

Kelly, Great points. Such a critical element is for the students to know you care about them and are there to help them anyway that you can. Oftentimes they feel disconnected from the online course, and that personal touch will likely keep them in the class and be enough encouragement for them to continue and succeed. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Engaging Learners in Discussion

Cally, I use similar techniques are well and find it effective in getting students to engage the content in more depth than just a cursory approach to an assignment. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Jane, You are absolutely correct. The format of the course, the content of the course all determine the ratio for the course. I also teach writing intensive courses and I keep them in the same range you mention. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Will Online Learning Replace the Traditional Classroom?

Cally, What do you mean by trade schools? Do you mean trades like welding, building trades, etc.? I agree that many of the skills-based careers might need more traditional hands on classroom instruction, but we are also likely to see a hybrid model develop even there. What about covering all of the technical information in building or welding online and then just conducting "labs" every week or couple of weeks to apply and refine those specific skills in a production environment with supervision? Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Jeff, Their feeling does have an impact on the interpretation of your e-mail, but I have found that the tone and wording are more important. If I am warm and clear in my email the student is less likely to read it the wrong way. When I get in a hurry and just respond with the hard facts, I usually get responses about how insensitive I am. It is a fine line at times and sometimes I fail at it. Although the more I do it, the better I get. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Anthony, You also cannot sometimes get a good discussion dynamic with small numbers of students. Your ideals are also my ideals. However, my institution, as with most, is driven by the bottom line so they want at least 18 or more in a course. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Managing Learner Behaviors - 2

Lisa, All good points. Oftentimes there are other underlying issues that might be contributing to the problems students are experiencing. If we don't take a proactive approach and try to determine all of the underlying issues, it makes it very difficult to successfully help students. Herbert Brown III

End of Content