Tena Crews

Kelly and Christi,

There is a point where reflection is a good thing. We have to provide time for students (and us) to reflect. The learning will improve from this point. Thanks!

Tena Crews

Kelly,

The more we develop ways to engage students, the better. We learn as we go, as instructors, and the students learn as they go as well. Thanks for your input.

Kelly Hess

Christi,
I agree. I do think this allows for students and instructors to think about their answers and or research to elaborate on their knowledge.Great point!
-Kelly

Kelly Hess

From what I see in teaching design and illustration courses, students can learn more when participating in discussion board activities.

The students sometimes do not always take advantage of the information, and rush through responses. This in turn doesn't allow for good evaluation. As when they take time in something you can see their learning process much better.
I have a lot of students who just randomly respond when they could put some more research and or information into their responses. I do think there could be better ways to make the discussion boards more appropriate for different classes allowing students to be more engaged.

Tena Crews

Suzanne and Christi,

Thanks for your input as we continue to learn from each other in these forums. We have to make sure we keep our expectations high and communicate effectively to help students move forward toward the learning outcomes.

Tena Crews

Suzanne and Rosalind,

Thanks for continuing the conversation. Connecting the content to the real world content is excellent. It's helps the students connect what they need to connect. Thanks!

Tena Crews

Suzanne,

I would think statistics would be a challenging subject for many students. Keep trying to engage the students and help them get over their math anxiety. Thanks!

Suzanne Malek CHEP

Christi:

I teach both online and on campus. I have maintained for many years that online environments provide for both opportunities for more effective communication and higher expectations for more effective communication.

Suzanne

Suzanne Malek CHEP

Rosalind:

I have found that adding real world content completes the "loop" of the learning, that is, taking the concepts AND applying them. Sometimes a student is learning the concepts and may apply them in a case scenario, where real-world experience is lacking. Other times, usually when students are older and professional adults, this relevance may be applied based on past experience to create a new perspective on the application.

Suzanne

Suzanne Malek CHEP

Kathleen:

I primarily teach statistics online. This is very challenging subject matter, regardless of whether it is taught online or in a face-to-face environment. I find that it can be taught successfully online utilizing different technologies and incorporating features such as graphics, videos, audio lectures both in synchronous and asynchronous formats and discussions. The most challenging aspect is often overcoming "math anxiety" and motivating students to interact in a live lecture environment. The first challenge may be unique to the content but the second is a universal challenge in any classroom and can be related to factors regarding cultural influences, confidence and experience.

Suzanne

Tena Crews

Rosalind,

Challenging, but so necessary. The thought provoking questions you ask can help with that. It's great you have real world experience that you can share as well. Thanks!

Rosalind Jones

Assessing the student's understanding of the course material can be challenging in the online environment. Therefore I have found when I present thought provoking questions about the subject in the discussion, this draws students into the discussion. I also add real world experiences so the student can better relate to the information and gain a better understanding of the subject.

Tena Crews

Christi,

This is a good piece of advice to give the students. Tell them they have the time to think; therefore, their answers should be more complete. You could build that into the rubric you use for evaluation. Thanks.

Christi Monk

I believe that online environments allow the students and instructors time to think about their answers. It allows for communication to be more effective because it times an instructor may need to research an answer. Whereas, in a face-to-face environment the instructor may be forced to formulate an answer in absence of doing more effective research to properly respond to the students.

Christi Monk

Tena Crews

Khaled,

You have given good advice. We have to transition from our face-to-face courses to the online environment. Thanks!

Khaled Elleithy

Hello Kathleen,

I would say that some subjects fit better than others to online teaching. Some classes might be extremely difficult to teach and asses in an online environment. Take for example an electrical engineering circuits lab. Although virtual labs are possible, the experience of having the instructor working with the student in the lab is certainly much different from an online experience. If we take a humanities course which depends on discussions, I Would think that online might be a better delivery vehicle than regular classes. Students in this case do have better opportunity to research and support their views before responding to a discussion board. Needless to say that a regular class can be augmented with an online discussion board component to support the class.

Khaled Elleithy

Tena Crews

Kathleen,

Good point. Any people for some reason think teaching online is easy. No teaching is easy. It is hard work! Thanks for your input.

Tena