Dr. C
One of the constantly evolving information management skills has been the delivery of information to m y learners. I teach at various university levels and the need to deliver information differently to different levels is a must.
Ed,
Good point. Templates are very helpful, but you'd be surprised the number of online instructors I talk with that have not done this. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it's just the little things that count.
As most other instructors have probably already done, I too have created Microsoft templates to aide in grading work. Templates help to prevent duplicity of work.
Mark,
We do have to block off time for lots of things when we teach online, but having that set ahead of time helps us stay on task. Prioritizing is the key! Nice job.
I have found that having a calendar laid out by day with blocks of time to do different tasks if helpful. I teach for three different schools and they all have different due dates for various task. Having this block time allocated in a prioritized way helps to keep me on task to meet these deadlines. I also keeps me from doing things that do not really need to be done right away
John,
You have just described three very important communication documents - welcome letter, biography, and syllabus. These help the students better understand the expectations, the instructor, and start to feel as a part of the learning community. Great job.
John,
Ah - once you figure it out though, isn't it a great relief and level of satisfaction? ;-). Keep it up!
Daniel,
I must agree with you. When I first started online instruction, I found myself consumed with all the "extra" stuff that I really did not need to be looking at; it was a nightmare! I was teaching a Leadership course (which I did not develop) and there were 20 students in the class. Each week there was upwards of 5 submissions due by each student. By week 4, I had truly figured out what was value added and what was not.
John
I have been teaching for 6 years and I have found that using a well developed welcome letter, biography and syllabus has been very helpful in streamlining teaching efforts. I have also been fortunate enough to teach the same courses which has allowed me to save and develop templates that can be used. I also take the time to have students introduce themselves to the class. This helps shape the approach that I use for the given semester. I have recently began experimenting with a dictation program as a means of making feedback even more personal. In an ever changing online environment, I have found myself reading and considering all sorts of techniques to stay engaged in the classroom while also keeping the students' interest. All in all, I would say the information management skill that has been developed is one of adaptability.
Dr. James ,
We have to try various ways to get the information to students. I use Jing to record my feedback to students and they seem to respond well to that. Keep moving forward. Thanks!
Dr. James ,
Creating a schedule is the first step in trying to manage your time and the course. When students know when you are going to be in communication with them, their stress may be reduced. Thanks!
Stephanie: I have been teaching online for 10 years and your steps that you take to keep in touch with the students are fine, the tough part as you will learn is how to get the students to take the steps to get the information you are presenting to them.
I have taken the necessary steps to set up a schedule everyday for responses to students in the classes that I teach. That way the students know that I will be responding the same time each day.
Deborah,
Great skills to have. We do feel, many times, that we are constantly learning new technology and just trying to stay ahead of the game. Keep up the good work.
Deborah and Christine,
Thanks for the resources and ideas. We should all look into Textepander and StyleWriter. Thanks!
The skills I have developed include: 1) testing and trying out class features (chat session tools, e-Books, etc.); 2) planning my time using a class calendar and breaking down work into daily and weekly to do lists; 3) being open to learning about new tools; 4) looking for new ways to give feedback, understand student errors and so forth. I believe the key is to keep learning. You can never know everything about the tools and the platforms for online learning.
Nice idea Christine. I will try Textepander. I have templates with "boiler plate" language on feedback (such as writing advice or common math problems). Further, I save static announcements.
One tool I like is StyleWriter. This tool helps me give writing feedback
Phyllis,
Great job. The tips sheet or a FAQ discussion board all provide good information to students. The more they can decipher themselves, the more we can start to eliminate information overload. Thanks!
Phyllis,
Yes, they can be used to address frequent errors. It's great to get a glimpse of how you may use templates. Thanks.
In terms of reducing the information overload during the first week of class by students, I find that developing Tip Sheets placed in the Instructor’s Files assist students in answering some of their questions about writing. In addition, setting up a discussion board with answers to FAQs also provide student with information and decrease the number of emails sent during the first week of class. Reducing the number of emails the first week, assist me in being able to focus on guiding and interacting with students more effectively on the discussion boards for the course.
Phyllis Gooden
