Denise,
Yes, my students always ask for more time spent together but then they cannot commit to meetings.
Renee Shaffer
I am able to use ADOBE connect and teleconferences in my class. I think that the students like to have interaction with you at least one time during the term.
Michael,
I really like the idea of having students do a 1 minute presentation on a topic. Thanks.
Renee Shaffer
At the University where I teach the Adobe Chat is often used but I like for students to be engaged and busy :), so I always find YouTube clips and movie clips which are relevant to the lesson being taught. This normally results in deep conversation and me guiding to ensure the main objectives are reached through the student centered discussions. I have recorded myself and had students do a one-minute presentation on a topic or three minutes if a group, explaining a concept or thought. I am not a big fan of the social media aspects but they are a necessary requirement for learning and teaching, oops guiding.
Michael
Ronald,
How is the google docs working for grading responses quickly?
Renee Shaffer
I use a free website called Polleverywhere which allows students to take a quiz simultaneously and view the answers within a few seconds. We are then presented with a percentage of the class that got the questions correct. When students react to getting an answer correct or incorrect, we can then start a discussion about why the answer was or wasn't correct.
I am also a big fan of quizzlet as well as Engrade. I have also started using google docs to evaluate surveys and grade responses almost instantly.
Joseph,
Not at all silly. Students usually love these and it is really what they are used to now.
Renee Shaffer
Melissa,
As you finding students willing to commit to group work online?
Renee Shaffer
Melissa,
Yes, that is a great source. Let me know other sources that you would recommend. Thanks.
Renee Shaffer
i instruct culinary arts and baking and pastry... as silly as this may sound, i have used YouTube excerpts and demos in cooking an baking and pastry to incite debate and conversation about techinque and fundamentals. great results for inclusion and involvment
Yes Shundra!
I find collaborations and group/lab projects to be a great active learning approach. It is truly interactive and builds community among peers.
This is what makes online teaching so exciting as there are a number of fun, interactive technological supporting course materials that can be implemented to promote active learning within our online courses. This is a great way to enhance our student learning in an active way.
For example, Edu Apps offers great LTIs: https://www.edu-apps.org/index.html
Stephen,
That is great that your in-house software is constantly upgraded. That is such a bonus for instructors.
Renee Shaffer
I really like all of the advancements to Powerpoint and Prezi is pretty cool too! Our in-house online software set-up is constantly on the upgrade and it really allows for some innovative content delivery methods.
Cheers,
Steve
William,
I will try Zaption. I hadn't heard of it before. Thanks.
Renee Shaffer
There are a few technologies that both myself and the students enjoy such as Zaption and VoiceThread. Both of these are video-based software that allow for both written and verbal dictation to be integrated into the video. For example, I can create a video touring a local iconic building and then post the video asking each student to analyze the building, discuss key points and include their comments both verbal and written within the video. They are great tools in moving a thread-based discussion to a media much more visually interesting and interactive.
We incorporate Adobe Connect for live lectures and a course gallery for critiques. I would like to see our technical activities expanded in terms of online communication. I think it's important to the college and students to remain current on the technological advances in the classroom.
We do also incorporate a social networking forum for students and faculty in which members can discuss various topics related to the institution or their education. However, I also would like to see the college incorporate more activities on social media such as YouTube, Facebook or Twitter to reach the digital environments where many students are participating . I don't see much progress in terms of reaching this audience or the students that use them.
I think that social media can be a great way of facilitating learning in an online environment as long as it is all done respectfully and focuses on professionalism.
In my online classes we use skype for our office hours as well as an online chat feature that lets you know when students and the instructor are on line. For classroom lectures we use elluminate.
I use Breeze Connect Enterprise which has a nice interface for real time chats, I can also enable audio and video during the chat. I normally use audio while students respond by typing their responses in the chat area. Students can post questions and comments in the chat window for me to read and respond. There is some self-assessment tools in the virtual classroom that enable students to interact. The discussion forum is a very useful tool and students love it. I have used instant messaging (IM) interface in my class that enables me to interact with students. Students can also interact with other students using IM.
