Thomas,
Yes, the syllabus and welcome documents help connect the students and make them feel like they are a part of the group. Thanks!
Thomas,
As online instructor, we should be able to add beyond what is provided to us. We want to make sure everything is tied to the learning outcomes and edits may be necessary. Thanks!
I teach in a high-tech manner both in curriculum and in offering resources. It is imperative that my students receive enough information as our online classes run for only 5 weeks. Not even close to long enough for the learning curve they have to endure. As strange as it sounds, the internet does have many good resources for my students to include the dreaded youtube.
The online education office provides many of the basic tools and of course their is the course syllabus with details of the course. But I also provide a "faculty expectations" to inform students about what I want to see done and links to learning labs for APA Format and good writing practices to assist them.
In addition to the syllabus and Welcome to class documents I provide an expectations post where I clearly state what I expect from students and what they may expect from me. I also provide a FAQ for questions many students are likely to have when they start class or about the class structure.
The online education office provides many of the basic tools and of course their is the course syllabus with details of the course. But I also provide a "faculty expectations" to inform students about what I want to see done and links to learning labs for APA Format and good writing practices to assist them.
Lisa,
Glad you are learning new things in these forums and trying them in your classroom. It's fun to try new thing. Thanks!
The start here button as others noted is a great idea. I think, in future terms, I will create the FAQT. I like that idea a lot!
Eugenia,
Have you thought about creating the first one or two study guides and then assigning students or a group of students to do them later in the course? This involves the students and makes them revisit the content. Just a thought.
Phyllis,
I'm thrilled you brought up the welcome letter. We also need a "button" that says something like "Start Here" so students know exactly where to go first. Sounds like you have many other things in place to help students. Thanks!
I often create a study guide of topics for each week, including written and video demonstrations of the methods the students are learning in my course (math). Towards the beginning of my teaching career, I thought that the 1-1 mapping of the methods needed for the problems would stifle critical thinking and creativity. However, I find that the written analysis quality is actually improved when students have a better understanding of the steps.
Fellow Faculty,
Do you think that your students may need to be guided in a heavy handed manner in order to learn the basics as a part of the journey to gaining an understanding of the curriculum?
In teaching online courses over the years, I have developed welcome letters and follow up letters for students who are late in turning in assignments. I have also written letters that include key Instructional points to reinforce understanding assignment guidelines. In addition, I have written sample templates for structuring outlines for various writing projects, and tip sheets to provide support for students to clarify concepts or theories. Sending support documents to students help to have an ongoing relationship with students and provide a point for contact if students are struggling with a concept or understanding the assignment. Students have commented that the supporting documents have helped them to stay on task or help bring attention to their need to schedule time to prepare their assignments.
Theran,
It's great that you provide additional resources. When you can bring them into the conversation on the discussion board, how nice.
In addition to school provided documents I have created a series of informational documents based on past experience that I use to elicit comments and open more indepth discussion.
Steven,
Making things more interactive is the best thing to do. You are right, death by PowerPoint is a real thing.
Thanks!
I find there are numerous technical support documents, many of the usual ones are pdf and power points presentations. However, as the old adage goes, death by PowerPoint, I sometimes find them lacking, so basically I’ve been looking for a lot more You Tube or Interactive type videos, e.g., online quizzes, or test your knowledge, where it tries to discuss some concepts and test ones comprehension. I note Thomas has mentioned Jeopardy, I think that’s a great idea, and will have to figure out how to implement that one.
Tanya,
Videos are a great way to help students understand what to do to correct a situation. It will definitely help on your email overload. Videos in length from 3-10 minutes is a good length. Thanks!
I have created lesson videos that are broken up by topic to be 3-10 minutes long. I include the links to a video on a Word Doc with a guided walk through of the unit. This frees up my live chats to be a question and answer session to maximize student learning. So far it is working quite well!
It also saves me time in my emails. Previously I would type out a walk through of problems repeatedly in emails and now I can send them the link to the video. So much teaching occurs via email, I find the videos are more time and learning effective.
Thomas,
You are right. We have had so many great things listed on this forum. The interactive games are great as well. Thanks!
There are some wonderful suggestions on this discussion board already, and I see many of us are already sharing and utilizing some of these best practices online. Some of the documents or technology mentioned that I use in both my ground and online classes are:
PowerPoint files of lectures provided on portal so that students can annotate rather than have to take copious notes. It also assists students who do not attend ground classes and enhances retention of information for all students. A simple PowerPoint also keeps an online discussion or lecture on track.
Many of the learning management systems I have used also allow me to hold both live chat sessions (Adobe Connect) that can be recorded and archived for later use. This allows students the opportunity to ask “live†questions, but still benefit from the lecture portion of the archived video and the ability to “hear†other student’s questions answered as well.
I have many “canned†recorded lectures or demonstrations on even the simplest tasks like posting to discussion boards, where to upload assignments, or how to select files and save to a compressed folder. I use these links over and over in each of my classes. The tutorials tend to improve with each iteration, as feedback from students is gathered or the underlying technology changes (which is more likely).
I have also created interactive games such as “Jeopardy!†and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?†as previously mentioned in another learner’s post. Or sometimes, I simply use polling information if the LMS allows, so that I can get immediate feedback from students. I can tailor lectures to more specific needs or deficiencies in knowledge based on live polling data.
