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

Faculty Expectations

Janis, This is a good start. These statements head off problems before they arise in the class. You can make assumptions that students won't call after 8 pm, but why not be clear. I have tweaked my expectations over the years as issues arise each semester. I am not sure my expectations will ever be perfect, but as long as I hit the important points then I am good. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Morgan, That has been my experience as well. 15-20 has been about right in many of my class to have enough for quality discussions, without too many that negatively effect the logistics of the course. I would say that the content of the course, the level of students, and structure of the course do have major impacts on the ratio. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Betsy, You are right you cannot read the body language, unless maybe you are doing a lot of synchronous video conferencing. I have found though over a number of years of teaching online that I can establish "tone" pretty well in the written communication with students (postings, email, etc.). It may not be as good as body language but the more you teach online I believe you establish a better feel for this. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Engaging Learners in Discussion

Jared, Providing students with those probing questions as follow up is crucial to the discussion process...otherwise the discussion dies. Clear expectations are also important to help students understand what level of discussion they are expected to complete. Are they to respond to other students postings, how many, how often, and even the depth of content they are to provide in their discussions help students understand what is appropriate. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Managing Learner Behaviors

Jared, Making your course content and activities real and relevant helps with this process as well. If the content is real and relevant then the students should see the direct connections between the classroom content and what they are going (or are doing) to do in the workplace. This should help the students see the value of what they are learning. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Richard, I also use video in my online and traditional courses - both synch. and asynch. I have also found video to be an effective tool. And even more important to me, my students regularly tell me how important the videos are to them - that is the best validation I can get. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Faculty Expectations

Richard, I agree that setting high expectations for faculty and students will help to ensure consistency throughout the students' educational experiences at that institution. High expectations also encourage a higher caliber of work in both groups. I would suggest that there needs to be some flexibility in the faculty expectations as each class and content differs. Therefore, in some classes a direct instructor post to every student post might not foster the sense of community among the students that you want. It seems there would just need to be some flexibility in the model. rbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Richard, You mention cross-sectionally, does that mean that you are teaching a traditional class and Live broadcasting it to an online audience as the same time? Do you also offer a recording of the session for those online students that might not be able to connect during the live session? How is that process working for you? I have taught this way for a number of courses and found it to be very functional Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Managing Learner Behaviors

Richard, Communicating with the student offline on an individual basis is a good idea. Sometimes students need that one on one to really discuss issues. Sometimes you find deeper issues that need to be addressed through these discussions. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Faculty Expectations

Richard, Can you clarify this statement a little? Are you suggesting that faculty need high expectations set for them? What might those look like? I concur that if students do not have clear expectations identified in their online courses then it leads to a lot of confusion and misunderstanding as well as a lot of questions for the instructor. Herbert Brown III

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