teaching online

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses [Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, Schools]

On 03/28/2013, in MBA, productivity / tips and tricks, teaching online, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Faculty and Students in Graduate Online Courses — from jolt.merlot.org and California State University, Fullerton; by Gautreau, Glaeser, Renold, Ahmed, Lee, Carter-Wells, Worden, Boynton, & Schools

Excerpts:

Abstract

A review of the literature revealed that established guidelines were not available to assist faculty who use video conferencing in their online graduate courses. In an effort to address this need, a self-evaluation study was completed with faculty who teach such courses. Drawing on the results of this study together with published Netiquette guidelines and a survey of other extant literature, a set of Video Conferencing Guidelines was created.

Video Conferencing Guidelines for Online Graduate Students

Guideline #1: Remember you are on camera and live. The advantage of video conferencing is that you can take advantage of facial expressions, inflection, and tone of voice. Remember to think before you respond to make your thoughts and ideas clear and coherent to the video conferencing participants.
Guideline #2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior during the video conferencing session that you would follow in real life.
Guideline #3: Be mindful of all video conferencing participants. Allow other participants time and opportunities to contribute to the discussion and share their ideas with the group.
Guideline #4: Video conferencing provides synchronous opportunities to share knowledge. It is important to consider opinions from other participants who are engaged in the video conferencing session. Strive for a fairly equal balance among the participants.
Guideline #5: Be mindful of your tone and expressions during the video conferencing session. This is not an anonymous session. Your voice and video are viewed by all who are participating in the chat session.
Guideline #6: Share your expertise and knowledge. Be an active contributor during the video conferencing session.
Guideline #7: Remain professional in your communication with participants.
Guideline #8: Respect the context of the video conferencing session. Keep video conferencing sessions within the context of the conversation. If the session is recorded do not post isolated comments that may be taken out of context. Synchronous discussions take on a life of their own; therefore, it is important to keep conversations in context.
Guideline #9: Be forgiving of mistakes during the video conferencing session. Video conferencing is a new communication platform. There are bound to be technical glitches; be patient with the participants during the session.

Tagged with: best practices/tips • MBA • online learning • productivity • teaching online • tips and tricks • videoconferencing • web-based collaboration

The Lesson of Grace in Teaching — by Francis Su

On 01/22/2013, in adjunct faculty, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, mathematics, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Per Jim Bradley (Mathematics, Emeritus) at Calvin College:

Francis Su is a Christian teaching at Harvey Mudd, a secular liberal arts college. He was recently selected to receive the Haimo Award*, one of the mathematics community’s highest teaching honors. Receiving the award entails giving an address at the annual math association meeting, going on now in San Diego. In writing his talk, Francis asked himself, “What does the gospel have to say to this large, mostly secular group of mathematicians?” He answered, “Grace.” Here’s a link to a written copy of his talk. I think it’s quite an inspiring and enjoyable set of reflections on teaching by an obviously great teacher.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/francis-su/the-lesson-of-grace-in-teaching/10151372450043217
(From DSC: Facebook deleted the above original posting by Franic Su — not sure why)

Per Francis’ new blog:
After giving this talk, I had so many requests for the text that I
shared it on Facebook. But Facebook deleted it.
So I created a blog just for this. I hope you find it helpful.

It was the hardest thing I ever had to write:
because it is deeply personal, truly me,
and about my biggest life lesson… given at a
conference in front of hundreds of people who,
I’m sure, struggle with the same things that I do.

The Lesson of Grace in Teaching
From weakness to wholeness, the struggle and the hope
Francis Edward Su
MAA Haimo Teaching Award Lecture
Joint Math Meetings, January 11, 2013
An audio file is available: bit.ly/W4gyD0.

Excerpt:

Knowing my new advisor had grace for me meant that he could give me honest feedback on my dissertation work, even if it was hard to do, without completely destroying my identity. Because, as I was learning, my worthiness does NOT come from my accomplishments. I call this

The Lesson of GRACE:

Your accomplishments are NOT what make you a worthy human being.
You learn this lesson when someone shows you GRACE: good things you didn’t earn or deserve, but you’re getting them anyway.

I have to learn this lesson over and over again.
You can have worthiness apart from your performance.
You can have dignity independent of achievements.
Your identity does not have to be rooted in accomplishments.
You can be loved for who you are, not for what you’ve done—somebody just has to show you grace.

From DSC:
Powerful messages…often times, it’s hard for me to get my arms around the lessons/messages that Francis addressed — especially seeing as we live in a world that constantly measures us by our performance, our achievements, and/or our productivity.

* From The Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics web page:

In 1991, the Mathematical Association of America instituted Awards for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics in order to honor college or university teachers who have been widely recognized as extraordinarily successful and whose teaching effectiveness has been shown to have had influence beyond their own institutions. In 1993, the MAA Board of Governors renamed the award to honor Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo.

List of Recipients

2013
Matthias Beck, San Francisco State University
Margaret Robinson, Mount Holyoke College
Francis Edward Su, Harvey Mudd College

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • faculty • faith • hearts -- matters of the heart • math • teachers • teaching & learning • teaching online

Mapping success: Essential elements of an effective online learning experience [Hathcock]

On 09/05/2012, in online learning, teaching online, user experience (UX), by Daniel Christian

Mapping success: Essential elements of an effective online learning experience — from Faculty Focus by Danielle Hathcock

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of how the elements of an online course are integrated such that they form a cohesive whole that creates easy travel based upon instructor presence, appropriate feedback, and easy navigation for students.

Tagged with: online learning • teaching online • user experience

Nine steps to quality online learning [Bates]

On 08/10/2012, in Canada, communications, digital learning, education technology, higher education, innovation, instructional design, online learning, pedagogy, quality, teaching & learning, teaching online, using teams, by Daniel Christian

Nine steps to quality online learning — from Tony Bates

Also see:

How [not] to Design an Online Course — from onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com
Moving a face-to-face credit course to an online environment is far more challenging than one might expect – as numerous experienced and esteemed professors have discovered. In this post learn vicariously through one professor’s experience of ‘what not to do’.

Tagged with: Canada • communications • digital learning • innovation • instructional design • online learning • pedagogy • quality • teaching online • Using teams

Conflicted: Faculty and Online Education, 2012 [Allen, Seaman, Lederman, Jaschik]

On 07/11/2012, in adjunct faculty, face-to-face, faculty, online learning, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt:

The study was based on a pair of related surveys about online education, co-designed by Inside Higher Ed and administered and analyzed by the Babson Survey Research Group, which has studied online education for more than a decade. The surveys garnered responses from representative samples of 4,564 faculty members (of about 60,000 who were sent invitations to participate) and 591 academic technology administrators, from all types of institution. The surveys asked a wide range of questions of both groups about their perceptions of online quality, institutional support and training in instructional technology, and compensation, among other things. The response rates for both surveys were below 10 percent.

A PDF copy of the study report can be downloaded here. To read the text of the report, click here.

From DSC:
I urge faculty members to give online learning a try — not only for your students’ sakes, but for your own career’s sake:

Take a course from an organization that has a good reputation for their online courses
or
Take a course re: instructional design for teaching online
or
Try your hand at teaching your own course online.

I don’t mention this piece of advice as a threat or to come across as a scaremonger. Online learning has been — and continues to be — reality. In Christensen’s terms, face-to-face classrooms practice sustaining innnovations but online learning is a disruptive technology that keeps gaining ground. [When either mode are done well] it’s now not only at least as good as face-to-face learning, but the powerful tools that keep being added to online learning will take it far beyond what we are able to currently offer in a face-to-face classroom.

One comment at the end of the article stood out for me as well:

“In a capitalistic society consumer demand dictates the products it will provide and sell.”

For those interested in this topic, take a moment to check out the other comments as well.

Tagged with: adjunct faculty • face-to-face • faculty • online learning • teaching & learning • teaching online

Best Practices: Four Tips for Creating an Effective Online Syllabus [Moodlerooms]

On 06/13/2012, in ideas, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, by Daniel Christian

Excerpt from the Moodlerooms blog posting
Best Practices: Four Tips for Creating an Effective Online Syllabus

Tip #5: Make the most of Moodle modules.
As a best practice, we suggest using the Book module for your course syllabus. The Book module allows you to chunk your syllabus into logical segments (e.g., grading, participation, course description, course requirements, communication) using the Book’s chapter feature. It has in-module navigation that allows students to view the syllabus in chronological order, but also has a great Table of Contents, allowing students to jump to specific pages. The Book module also allows for printing—so students can print the syllabus for later use as well!

Tagged with: ideas • Moodle • teaching & learning • teaching online • tools

6 keys to engaging students online [Rose]

On 06/11/2012, in online learning, teaching & learning, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

6 keys to engaging students online — from campustechnology.com by Richard Rose
While some instructors think online teaching will be a breeze, the truth is that the best teachers work really hard to connect with students. CT shares tips from an insider.

From DSC:
If properly done, both teaching online and taking courses online is hard work. I’d take a successful online learner any day — as they’ve shown they are self-starters, self-motivated, and they don’t need hand holding. And in terms of the teaching aspect, I’d recommend all faculty at least try their hand at teaching online — as their careers will be more stable if they do (i.e. they will be more marketable).

Tagged with: online learning • teaching & learning • teaching online

The best Moodle tools you’ve never used [Moore]

On 09/07/2011, in blended learning, CMS/LMS, hybrid learning, instructional design, productivity / tips and tricks, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, by Daniel Christian

Tagged with: blended learning • CMS/LMS • hybrid learning • instructional design • Moodle • productivity • teaching & learning • teaching online • tips and tricks • tools

From Daniel Christian: Fasten your seatbelts! An accelerated ride through some ed-tech landscapes.

On 08/25/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, adjunct faculty, analytics, art, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / Algorithms, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), blogs / blogging / vlogging, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, computer science, convergence, creativity, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, drama/theater, e-books, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), economics, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, engineering, expectations, faculty, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent tutoring, internet, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning theories, liberal arts, lifelong learning, machine-to-machine communications, memory, mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, music, Near Field Communication (NFC), New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new media literacies, online learning, online media, pace of change, passions, pedagogy, presentations, productivity / tips and tricks, publishing, reading, reinvent, robotics, RSS, social learning / networks, social media, society, staying relevant, storytelling, strategy, streams of content, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, tablets, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telepresence, television, textbooks, tools, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, videoconferencing, virtual K-12 schools, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, visualizing information, web-based collaboration, writing, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Immediately below is a presentation that I did for the Title II Conference at Calvin College back on August 11, 2011
It is aimed at K-12 audiences.

From DSC:
Immediately below is a presentation that I did today for the Calvin College Fall 2011 Conference.
It is aimed at higher education audiences.

Note from DSC:

There is a great deal of overlap here, as many of the same technologies are (or will be) hitting the K-12 and higher ed spaces at the same time. However, there are some differences in the two presentations and what I stressed depended upon my audience.

Pending time, I may put some audio to accompany these presentations so that folks can hear a bit more about what I was trying to relay within these two presentations.

Tagged with: 21st century • 24x7x365 • A/V • adjunct faculty • AI • analytics • art • attention • augmented reality • change • cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related • colleges • communications • communities of practice • community college • computer science • cross-disciplinary assignments • dangers of the status quo • Daniel S. Christian • digital audio • digital citizenship • digital learning • digital photography • digital storytelling • digital textbooks • digital video • disruption • drama/theater • e-books • e-learning • e-publishing related items (EPUB and more) • economics/business • educational gaming • educational technology • engagement • future • game-changing environment • games • generational differences • higher education • human-computer interaction (HCI) • ideas • illustration • information overload • innovation • intelligent tutoring • internet • K-12 • Keeping students engaged • learning from the living [class] room • learning spaces • learning theories • Lifelong learning • machine-to-machine communications • memory • mirroring / multiple devices • multi-touch • multimedia • Near Field Communication (NFC) • new media literacies • online learning • online media • pace of change • participation • passions • personal learning networks (PLNs) • reading • reinvent • robotics • ROI • social learning • social media • society • staying relevant • story • storytelling • streams of content • student expectations • student teaching/teacher education • student-related • surviving • tablets • teachers • teaching & learning • teaching online • technology (general) • telepresence • textbooks • tools • ubiquitous learning • United States • universities • visualizing information • wikis • Wimba • writing

Practical strategies for online faculty orientation [Bart]

On 05/09/2011, in career development, instructional design, professional development, teaching online, by Daniel Christian

Practical strategies for online faculty orientation — from Faculty Focus by Mary Bart

Excerpt:

At Penn State World Campus, new instructors have a three-part training program that includes online pedagogy, a tour of the Learning Management System (LMS), and an orientation on the nuts and bolts of teaching in an online classroom. The goal is to streamline the teaching and learning process, and minimize the learning curves for new instructors.

In the online seminar How to Orient New Instructors to an Online Course FAST!, Jennifer Berghage, an instructional designer at Penn State World Campus, discussed her approach to orienting new instructors. It all begins with a comprehensive instructor tip sheet, which lives within the course site hidden from students but is always just a click away from instructors.

Tagged with: career development • instructional design • professional development • teaching online

Intro to teaching online [Simple K12 and Florida Virtual School]

On 04/14/2011, in professional development, student teaching/teacher education, teachers, teaching online, virtual K-12 schools, by Daniel Christian

Not sure if there is a more recent edition here…but also see:

Tagged with: professional development • student teaching/teacher education • teachers • teaching & learning • teaching online • virtual schools

A hugely powerful vision: A potent addition to our learning ecosystems of the future

On 04/09/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, change, colleges, convergence, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, digital audio, digital learning, digital photography, digital storytelling, digital textbooks, digital video, disruption, distance education, e-books, e-readers, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, entrepreneurship, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, global / globalization, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), hybrid learning, immersion, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, interaction design, interactivity, interface design, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning agents, learning ecosystem, learning spaces, lifelong learning, marketplaces, mobile learning, mobile technologies, multi-touch, multimedia, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, new business models, new media literacies, online learning, online media, online tutoring, pace of change, personalized/customized learning, platforms, play, podcasting, professional development, reinvent, RSS, simulations, smart classrooms, social learning / networks, social media, society, storytelling, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, surviving, tablets, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, technology (general), telecommunications, telepresence, television, transmedia, trends, ubiquitous learning, universities, user experience (UX), using teams, videoconferencing, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, webinars, by Daniel Christian

Daniel Christian:
A Vision of Our Future Learning Ecosystems

In the near future, as the computer, the television, the telephone (and more) continues to converge, we will most likely enjoy even more powerful capabilities to conveniently create and share our content as well as participate in a global learning ecosystem — whether that be from within our homes and/or from within our schools, colleges, universities and businesses throughout the world.

We will be teachers and students at the same time — even within the same hour — with online-based learning exchanges taking place all over the virtual and physical world. Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) — in the form of online-based tutors, instructors, teachers, and professors — will be available on demand. Even more powerful/accurate/helpful learning engines will be involved behind the scenes in delivering up personalized, customized learning — available 24x7x365. Cloud-based learner profiles may enter the equation as well.

The chances for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship that are coming will be mind-blowing! What employers will be looking for — and where they can look for it — may change as well.

What we know today as the “television” will most likely play a significant role in this learning ecosystem of the future. But it won’t be like the TV we’ve come to know. It will be much more interactive and will be aware of who is using it — and what that person is interested in learning about. Technologies/applications like Apple’s AirPlay will become more standard, allowing a person to move from device to device without missing a beat. Transmedia storytellers will thrive in this environment!

Much of the professionally done content will be created by teams of specialists, including the publishers of educational content, and the in-house teams of specialists within colleges, universities, and corporations around the globe. Perhaps consortiums of colleges/universities will each contribute some of the content — more readily accepting previous coursework that was delivered via their consortium’s membership.

An additional thought regarding higher education and K-12 and their Smart Classrooms/Spaces:
For input devices…
The “chalkboards” of the future may be transparent, or they may be on top of a drawing board-sized table or they may be tablet-based. But whatever form they take and whatever is displayed upon them, the ability to annotate will be there; with the resulting graphics saved and instantly distributed. (Eventually, we may get to voice-controlled Smart Classrooms, but we have a ways to go in that area…)

Below are some of the graphics that capture a bit of what I’m seeing in my mind…and in our futures.

Alternatively available as a PowerPoint Presentation (audio forthcoming in a future version)

— from Daniel S. Christian | April 2011

OpenStudy.com–Make the world your study group; also Supercool School [from Tony Bates]

On 03/29/2011, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, disruption, entrepreneurship, global / globalization, innovation, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, open courseware and systems, teaching online, by Daniel Christian