Nancy Tosh

This section taught me how interaction is key to a successful online classroom. It also made me think about the analysis needed to successfully take on ground information and plug it into the development of an effective online class. I think the two experiences are different and it's a mistake to try to make on ground and online the same. 

Nancy Tosh

This brought back memories of designing and revising courses. In my current position, courses are updated via a learning community (a group comprised of the instructors that teach the course). There is also standardization with the module format of the various courses so that students know what to expect when they enter the classroom. This makes the process far easier for those of us who revise and create courses.

Nancy Tosh

I was reminded that virtually everything you can do face-to-face, you can also do online. My courses do not currently have any synchronous discussions. I have had them in courses I taught previously and I had students complain about the need to show up at a specific time. It was nice to see some positive reasons for why this might work well in an online classroom.

Nancy Tosh

A good online course is well organized and easy to navigate. It will be visually engaging and balanced. It is important to present material that students can engage with in a variety of ways. That said, of course shouldn't be too busy or overwhelming.

We tend to think of grades as a way to evaluate students. One thing this unit hit home with was that the process of assessing, evaluating, and grading all lend insight to the effectiveness of the teacher and the course. I like the idea of adding value to the product we offer students. 

Nancy Tosh

I learned that I am much more comfortable with criterion-referenced assessments. As a student, I hated it when a teacher graded on a curve and I am not a competitive person by nature. I was intrigued by the idea of looking at individual test questions and evaluating who got it right and who got it wrong. I think this would be an important tool for knowing how to reach individual students and how to make a test better. 

Nancy Tosh

I learned that assessments are process-oriented and evaluations are product-oriented. I think in the first you are evaluating the class and in the second you are evaluating the student. I think that the various types of diagnostic assessments -- muddiest point and 1-2-3 list -- are best for self-paced classes where students learn independently. I think this because students come into the classroom with different things they know and don't know and trying to figure out where to focus attention for a large class would be much harder to do using these assessments because of the plethora of answers you… >>>

I learned about several assessment tools I have not used. I would love to see an example of a WebQuest and I plan to look one up online. I'm curious as to whether anyone has use this assessment tool and how they liked it. I also like the questions asked about the effectiveness of various tools. I think those should be incorporated in the evaluation of classes. I like the idea of a large test bank and allowing students to take a quiz many times. That is my belief that this simply enables the student to learn more in addition… >>>

The aspect of this section that has given me the most to ponder is being a "guide on the side" versus a "sage on the stage." I think I am a guide or facilitator in discussions, but I do post a lot. I was trained to respond to every single student and that's not required where I work now and I've been encouraged not to consider that a requirement. I wonder now if it would enhance discussions. One reason I am hesitant is because my habit of responding to everyone is one of the things students tend to post positively… >>>

The course stated students need the following:

• open mindedness
• communication (written and verbal)
• self-motivation
• self-discipline
• time management
• computer competency
• critical thinking
• teamwork

Of all of these skills, I've most often seen good students fail when they lack self-motivation, self-discipline, and time management. It's very frustrating to me as an instructor when a student habitually turns in A work late. This is especially frustrating in discussions because their work is of high quality and would have enhanced the discussion for the entire class if it had been posted on time. That's an aspect of teamwork that you don't think about initially… >>>