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

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

compreca, Is this a "set" number for you under all circumstances? Would there be any other criteria that might exist that would cause this ratio to increase or decrease? What might some of those criteria be? Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Engaging Learners in Discussion

Terry, Can you elaborate a little on this statement? How have you gone about this personally? I know I have had to pick up on some of the little elements they might have gotten and guide them with some specific questions, such as "have you thought about this?" or "what if you do xyz, does that have an effect...?" Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Responsibilities of Teaching Online

Jim, What are some reasons you like to teach online? What kind of special attributes do you believe it takes to be successful? Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Instructor Presence

Edwin, It is nice when you can provide this level of feedback, but many can't. The 48 hour rule matches a traditional course schedule...you meet classes every other day so it can normally take students 24-48 hours for get a question answered. I try to respond as quickly as possible as well, and get similar feedback from students. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Rob, When students learn from other students it also helps to build a community among the students that often lasts well beyond the classroom and the program. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Edwin, Very interesting, thanks for sharing. There are so many different models for online education. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Managing Learner Behaviors - 2

Rob, Oftentimes students are reaching out for other reasons than that which they are mentioning. Any time you can reach out to students in a personal way and determine what is really going on, you will be able to connect with them and keep them going. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Edwin, This does sound confusing. I am surprised that your institution will "make" courses with 2-6 students in each that seems really low. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

Faculty Expectations

Teresa, The "read and sign" concept is an interesting one. Some of the CMS systems allow you to create "conditional" assignments. You could have students agree to a series of course expectations and they can't get to the rest of the course content until they have completed that assignment. Herbert Brown III

Herbert Brown III

Discussion Comment

The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio

Rob, Absolutely, the level and content of the course does strongly correlate to the student-instructor ratio. Graduate courses that are usually heavy research and writing based typically have lower ratios. It can also be dependent on the types of activities you have in your course. You might be able to handle a few more if you have more student-to-student interaction then student-instructor interaction. Herbert Brown III

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