Thomas ,
Sounds like you have a system that works for you. The students can then look back at the files for remediation or review for a test or quiz. It's a good resource for them.
I always ensure to provide students via e-mail, with a copy of my weekly powerpoint files that I present during chats and seminars. I find that if they can review the information we covered during the live portion of the class at a later time it assists them with information retention.
Tom
Stacy,
You can also put all of that information in a "Start Here" button so that students understand where to start, where to refer to if they forget, etc. The technical support aspect is essential. Some online instructors are the technical support as well and some technical support is elsewhere. The students need to understand this. Thanks for your input. Good info.
Hello, everyone.
I provide students with a lengthy announcement that walks through the entire course, including the various types of assignments that are present for them. This even goes into detail on how and where various submissions should be made. Due dates are reemphasized. Contact information is also reiterated. Students are highly encouraged to contact Technical Support, especially since there is 24 hour access. The role of Technical Support is delineated from instructors so they won't rely on either for the wrong purposes. The announcement is a full guide that is frequently updated with newer concerns that may arise.
maryln,
I try to connect my announcements with the syllabus as well. The expectations should be in the syllabus as well. Sounds like you have a plan that is working for you in your course. Nice job.
Earl,
Glad you are getting some good things out of this module. As you are looking for content over formatting, you are doing the right thing. Thanks!
John,
I can only imagine how helpful the videos and study guides are for your students. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Janis,
Announcements can be used for so many reasons. This makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing.
After the welcome announcement I post an announcement with the course expectations. I outline how to contact me and what my office hours and chat times are. In addition I create a discussion thread where the students can ask questions regarding the course. If there is a group project in the course I create the groups as early as possible in week one so the students have a chance to create a timeline for the tasks for the project.
I use announcements to remind them where they can go to get help for technical issues.
I include in this even the library as it is online and requires some 'technology' knowledge as well.
Jan
I've read some great ideas here! I've never included a FAQ document that was specific to my class (I use a general one for navigating the LMS). I'll begin working on that ASAP.
While I use numerous support documents, I've found that pre-formatted template papers (formatted for APA or Chicago format) are incredibly helpful for students. I teach philosophy and the content is hard enough to master; I prefer to keep paper formatting as easy as possible to help direct student effort toward essay content.
Thanks,
Earl
Dr. Crews,
Good evening. Thank you for your question. I have created exam study guides for my online students. These help the students study for the exams. I have also provided documents of useful website links for the students to review. It's important in finance to understand the time value of money since time value of money concepts are used in bond valuation, stock valuation, and capital budgeting techniques. I also sometimes post videos of how to solve various time value of money problems.
Regards,
John Halstead
Robert,
The "start here" orientation button is very important. I'm glad you direct students to such a link/site. Sounds like you have a system that works for you.
Thanks!
I use several methods to support information:
Faculty files that include relevant video connections
A section in the announcement area devoted to tech documents with links to relevant sources: called Orientation to the Course a Must Read!!
An announcement section entitled 'getting an A grade' that offers links to the library, tech team, and encouragement to work with their advisors.
Since I teach grad students most of them have been through some tech issues in the past. However, there are occasions when students come up against a personal computer problem. I acknowledge EVERY email from a student to let them know their message has been received. On a case by case basis extra time for an assignment may be granted.
The topic of this discussion topic is particularly important with the new Hadron platform.
Heather,
Excellent. How nice for you.
Thanks for sharing.
We have a 24 hour IT support team with their own documents - praise be to the universe! I have a document instructing students to contact IT with any tech issues.
Kristina,
They are so helpful. And, I have had my students use Jing to make their own to support the class as well and I give them participation points for doing that. I ask students to make a video no more than 5 minutes that teaches someone how to do something that deals with the course content. Then, you can keep them for the next time you teach and begin to develop a "library" of support videos for the next students in the class.
Kristina,
Anything you do to personalize the environment is excellent. Thanks for sharing.
I love the idea of video tutorials. My goal is to implement this into the course home page. Great idea!
The frequently asked questions and answers uploaded to the course announcement page addresses some of the anxiety that accounting students (and students in general) may exhibit.
My first question addresses my name and preference of "what to call me". This personalizes the online class.
I also address my expectations on what I am looking for when assessing points specifically to the discussion board and individual project deliverables.
Additionally, each week, since my courses involve accounting, I provide a template in excel for optional use to provide further guidance for the students.
