Ground to Online
I have taken multiple ground courses and reconfigured for online. I agree with the statement that an online syllabus/course must be more dynamic. In the classroom we have instant feedback to our teaching style, assignments, and participation. Online there is an inherent feedback delay, and shortcomings are often not discovered until the students submit their assignments.
I try to keep students on track by providing "Hints Announcements" each week highlighting what the key concepts are for the week. I then reinforce this with the assignments (or vice versa if the assignments are static from the school).
Rodney C.
Barbara,
I try to chunk the information in about 10-15 minute chunks, but I rarely go over 30 minutes overall. I also require web cams from the students perspective and ask them to turn on their camera when they ask a question. It seems more like a "regular" class with many faces.
I haven't had much success with long synchronous sessions. I would love to know the secret to keeping students interested.
Barbara
Cynthia,
Like your "kick start" method to stir up discussion. Personal examples from you and the students can be a great way to engage the students in the content.
Thanks for your input.
I think the 'hints' idea is great for interacting and helping students to focus on key topics. I found that creating a list of questions that helps 'kick-start' the discussion also helps with eliciting more substantial posts from students. They seem to be able to find a target within the topic more easily or perhaps one of the questions hit home with a theme they can relate to. I like when they can provide a personal example as I think this helps with them relating the course material to how it impacts them directly.
Randy,
I love the blended model. It works well for the students and applies to so many different courses. It does have benefits. Thanks!
We have recently been able to move most of our courses to a blended model, in which the synchronous session is in the classroom. Another benefit of this model is that discussions can be carried over and continued in the "real world," thus making the online environment more connected.
Cheryl,
Good questions (popping in/out). Also, when you have extended time like this for synchronous sessions, many times the technology will time out and possibly become an issue. Do you record these session so students can watch them later? That's a long time to watch too.
Emma,
A 3-hour synchronous session seems long to me. I see from your comment that it obviously helps performance-wise. Do many students stay for the whole session, or do they "pop in and out"?
Cheryl
Lori and Jon,
Cool. It's nice when we see that others are trying similar things. Thanks for your input and the continuation of the conversation.
Jon,
I do the same when it comes to teaching online and ground as far as adding media in the class. The only problem I have is that with the online class you are not able to see if the students are using the material that I have spent researching. This really becomes a problem when you mention the information in the discussion and the student doesn't respond which means to me that they properly didn't watch the media.
Emma,
I like the blended method as well. I think the students feel more like they are "in class" and not just doing things online. Thanks for sharing.
In the last few months, I have transitioned to teaching blended classes, where students attend a 3 hour synchronous session, once per week, and then complete and submit assignments on their own. The sessions are recorded so the students can watch the recording if they miss the class. However, students who attend the class always perform better on weekly quizzes because they had an opportunity to actively engage, discuss and practice the subject, which is English grammar.
Jon,
You are right. There are somethings that transfer quickly and some that take a bit more time and tweaking. We have to analyze all the parts and see how to best do them online. Thanks!
Dr. Crews:
There is definitely a transition from teaching on ground to faciliating online. I approach online very similar to a traditional classroom. I incorporate media and labs to stimulate the learning online. I conduct one hour live lectures one time a week. The lectures do not just focus on the upcoming assignments but it does provide the students an opportunity to ask questions about the class or anything in general. JMH
Rodney,
Thanks for your input. Sounds like you have some good experience. It's good that you have shared your thoughts with us as we continue to learn from each other. Thanks!
