What is Online Learning and How Much Easier is it Than Face to Face?

A key ingredient for online learning is MOTIVATION. Because students don’t have to be at a specific place at a specific time, it’s easy for them to forget the online class exists. I recently read a blog post on Teaching Online where the virtual professor talked about adult learning environments being “learner-centered education that guides learners to be self-directed and independent in their learning.” The desired end result in such an environment is that students and teachers become equal partners in the learning process. This to me is a perfect description of online learning

Sometimes students don't realize how reading- and writing intensive online classes are. Students need to self-evaluate to determine if this format will work for them.

One way to change the perception that online=easy is for instructors to be clear and up front about the time commitment necessary and how the way one operates in an online setting is totally different than the traditional classroom.

When instructors are clear about their expectations, serious students will be motivated to think about their schedule and how they will fit the level of interaction necessary to succeed into what is likely a pretty busy lifestyle.

I, for one, am often at the mercy of my kids and my students (and my husband, and the laundry/dishes/house, and the kids a little more). It's kind of scary to be committed to teaching and taking an online class because there will be days (like today) where I can cyber stalk the discussion boards, but there may be others where I'm so busy that I miss that 48 hour window.

Do how do students/teachers get organized?

One of the first things I tell my online students is to get a calendar and write down due dates for all assignments for not only my course and their other courses, but also their other commitments in life. There's a healthy population of young adults out there who don't know how to manage a calendar.

Weekly announcements help as well. I try to be friendly and conversational in them as I remind them of the week's due dates and to look ahead to next week.

This will not guarantee a student will be successful in an online course; however, being clear about expectations and helping students get organized are two important factors in achieving success in an online class.

Continuing My Own Education, Part 2

Having gotten my first F2F class on the other side of the podium under my belt, I decided to pursue something more. It started with a conversation with the woman who teaches before me in the computer lab on Thursday nights. JJ and I have about 40 minutes each week to shoot the breeze about English 1101 and other teaching topics between class meetings.

JJ told me about the Illinois Online Network, where I can pursue a Master Online Teacher Certificate where else but online. What is particularly cool about this program is because I'm a part of the College of DuPage faculty (a COD faculty member helped design this program), tuition is only $60 per class.

In this program, I will take four core classes that are fully online and 8-weeks long. There's also one elective and a practicum that needs to be completed. I started my first class, "Online Learning: An Overview," earlier this week and I'm loving it.

I've been online grading a lot this week and have more time to devote than usual, so I've been quite the over-achiever on the message boards. I hope my classmates don't think I'm a total suck-up. I'm simply deprived of conversation with other adults in my field. I've been deprived for a very long time, so I'm really enjoying connecting with my peers in the field.

I certainly don't have the time for these classes, but I'm so incredibly motivated right now that I'm MAKING the time. It's such a creative outlet for me and it's inspiring me to make time to reach my own personal writing and teaching goals instead of always focusing on the needs and goals of others. It's a nice change.

Related links: Continuing My Own Education, Part 1

Continuing My Own Education

I've been teaching for nearly 10 years and I've recently gotten the go-back-to-school bug. With two young kids and a full teaching schedule, pursuing another degree is not appealing. I really don't want a doctorate in this point in my career and I can't really think of a master's program that I want to enroll in (or pay for). But recently at College of DuPage, I got an email about an opportunity to take a graduate-level class through Aurora University for $325--INCLUDING the book.

I didn't think I could ever beat that price, and the subject was of interest--teaching studentes for the workplace. So a month ago, I attended my first class.

I love it. The discussion is stimulating and the instructor is open-minded. Everything we do in this class serves a greater purpose: to apply new ways of teaching to a specific class I'm teaching. How cool is that!

Right now I'm working on a resource website that I'm creating as an assignment called the Writing Resources Toolbox. In it I'm creating links to tools and resources for my students and for other instructors.

The student section has (or will have) both a Grammar Toolbox and a Writing Style Toolbox. The toolboxes will contain links to webpages and interactive exercises to help students brush up on grammar- and style-related issues in their writing.

The instructor section is the most exciting for me and includes Social Media Resources, Google Apps Resources, Additional Online Resources, and Web 2.0 Resources. I'm also hoping to create sections for Using Blackboard Effectively and Writing Assignments.

I'm most excited about this section. Basically, whenever I'm in my reader reviewing my favorite blogs (like Teach Online, Free Technology for Teachers, and Blogging about the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom), I add a link to anything useful out there that I've been successful implementing, would like to implement, or would simply like to learn more about.

What new technologies have you implemented in the classroom--online or F2F?

Establishing Rapport with Online Students is Essential

Even though my schedule is crazed, I'm really excited about teaching this semester. I just started three new sections (two 8-week English composition courses online and one 8-week academic writing class online).

Establishing rapport with my students is my number one priority this week. It's difficult enough to take a writing class, but to do so online presents even more challenges. Many students do not feel confident about their writing, so to send it to some virtual grade book can be intimidating.

It is important to establish an online dialog with students the very first week. I do this in many ways using several venues. First of all, I start the class with a welcome email. If I can, I send it a week in advance to get students thinking about the course. Then when the course begins, I resend it to establish an official connection. I also recorded an introductory podcast, so students hear my voice and get to see me as a person. I build on this with a fun insightful instructor page, where I introduce myself and my "teaching assistants."

It is essential that during the first week of an online class, the instructor email the students 3-4 times to encourage their participation. By the first day of class, they've already heard from me twice: once inviting them for a sneak peak at the course and again the first day of the course.

The day of the first deadline (or night before), I send a reminder email to motivate students to get on Blackboard and complete their assignments. I also make grading a priority and virtually stalk the grade book so that I can review the first assignment and give feedback. While it's not essential to give feedback on all the exercises, it's important to establish a connection within those first assignments.

In my Comp 1 classes, for example, students are asked to discuss several areas of their writing. When I review their responses, I look for something to grasp onto, whether it's a way to compliment them or a way to alleviate their fears or stress. The next thing I do is review their class homepage, which is one of their first assignments for the term. Again, I search for a connection and make comments as I find them. The goal is for every student to receive feedback from me during that first week.

Another thing I do is start a discussion board right away. This semester, I am taking a graduate-level class about preparing students to write in the workplace. One of my assignments was to write an advance organizer, which consists of ten T/F questions related to the course content, ten Interesting/Boring questions as a means to touch base with each students personal interest levels, and ten Agree/Disagree questions to tap into their expectations for the course. I posted an "extra credit" (yes, I lured them with the academic equivalent to candy) discussion board to talk about the survey. Then I cyber-stalked the discussion boards looking for reasons to respond and encourage participants.

I am now at the end of my first week of eight and my final email of the week is to those who have not yet logged in to Blackboard, gently reminding them of the importance of timely participation.

I think I've don just about all I've can to engage students this week and am looking forward to seeing how my efforts pay off throughout the semester.

I'll let you know how it goes.

5 Great Web Resources to Enhance Learning

Using the Internet to enhance the classroom experience is almost a must in 21st century learning. Here are five great ways engage students online and in the classroom.

Create a Class Wiki
Looking for a fresh way for students to work collaboratively? Why not create a class wiki. As a writing instructor, I love to bring my own interests into the classroom. One thing I love are movies. Recently I decided I needed a fresh way to write about film in a Freshman composition class. It all started with the use of a typical assignment I'd given over the years: to watch the film Rebel Without a Cause and write a character analysis. Students at College 2 found this assignment challenging as they they didn't have much experience writing an analytical, literary analysis. This came as kind of a surprise to me, as at College 1 dealt with this kind of assignment pretty regularly. As a way to better reach my students with this kind of assignment, I created a Class Wiki project.

After watching and thoroughly discussing Rebel Without a Cause, students were asked to choose their own film along the theme of teen drama--another love of mine. I then created a site on Wetpaint called Writer's Workshop.

The assignment: as a group, create a wiki page highlighting a teen drama. Students were asked to write a brief plot summary, three-five character analyses (depending on how many people were in the group), and a theme analysis. They were responsible for dividing the writing responsibilities, adding visual content (pictures, video clips, music, etc), and editing each other's work.

This assignment is unlike a typical group assignment in that every student is accountable in two ways: 1) they're required to turn in a one-page summary/analysis of their participation in the project, and 2) their work online is tracked on the wiki itself, so the content they add and edit is easily tracked.

After using this assignment for two semesters now, I have heard from many students that this was their favorite project for the course. More than half of my students stated that they were incredibly motivated to participate, enjoyed the process, and learned a lot about group dynamics.

Google Docs
After teaching writing for eight years, I still found it difficult to teach students about revision. Then College 3 introduced me to using Google Docs to teach revision. At College 2, I developed a revision assignment that students worked on weekly for four weeks. Each student created a Google account and uploaded their first paper onto Google Docs. They then shared their document with me so we both had access to it. Each week, I'd give students a new way to revise their papers: for punctuation, for word choice, for sentence structure, etc.

They also wrote a journal at the bottom of the document explaining what changes they either made or contemplated, or why they decided not to make any changes. This gave them an opportunity to reflect on their own writing process. After students made the assigned revisions for the week, I'd give them feedback and specific pointers. By making revision four separate assignments during four different classes, students got a feel for how to revise more extensively, reading their paper differently depending on what they were working on.

Google Alerts
If students are already logged in to a Google account, using Google Alerts is easy. With Google alerts they can create a search for a research topic, choose the types of websites they'd like results from, allocate how often they'd like to receive an alert (as they come, daily, weekly, etc), and assign an email address to which alerts will come.

For students doing research, this is a great way to generate ideas and possibly even sources. Links to news sites, websites, blogs, video sites, and groups related to specific searches are sent directly to email.

Podcasting
Making a verbal connection with online students is essential to their success. The more connected students are, the more likely they are to complete their assignments, interact on discussion boards, email the instructor with thoughts, suggestions, and questions, and succeed in an online course.

Podcasting is made easy through Audacity, which provides free, open source software that allows users to record and edit their own podcasts. Then either load podcasts onto Blackboard or find a free podcasting host site the podcast.

Blogs
When I teach writing a narrative, I like to teach by example. I do this by introducing students to my blog, The Adventures of Mr. Busypants, and providing commentary on my own writing process. This works well because students get to see me not just as a teacher, but as a writer. This especially helps build that personal connection that helps motivate students to care about what they're learning. I also invite students to give me feedback so that I may improve on my own writing.

How do you use the web-based resources to enhance the classroom experience?

Related Links
Week 2 for English 1102 on Blackboard
Teaching Online Blog is a Good Read for Online Instructors
Might as Well Face it I'm Addicted to Podcasting
Need a Documentary Now? Search from over 700 Documentaries Available Free at SnagFilms

Week 1 for English 1102 on Blackboard

Well, I've just completed Week 1 of my first online class at College 2 and I have to say, I'm pretty excited. First off, every student has now successfully logged in and started their assignments. Several are completely in sync with what's due, although I'm giving a little slack this week because the week 1 assignments are so tied to the book, which some are still waiting for from Amazon.com.

Some things I've done to ensure a successful start include:

Announcements
I posted an announcement, which I also emailed students over the weekend, inviting them to check out the course. I will also post weekly announcements reminding them about what's coming up.

Staff Information
I made the course inviting by posting my picture under staff information. It's the same one I use for my blog. Hopefully they'll see that I am human and that English doesn't have to be that scary or painful. Since I'm adjunct and I pretty much never check my voicemail, I included a cell phone number. We'll see how this goes. I tried this with College 3 and so far, the privilege has not been abused.

To mix things up, I added two teaching assistants to my staff list: my six-year-old son and his two-year-old sister. I added fun notes from each of them, which I hope fill add personality to the course. I want my students to see me not only as an expert in writing, but also as a person who cares about theirs. What better way to do this then to add some fun features that distinguish my online course from another?

My son Alex, aka Mr. Busypants "writes": My desk is situated right next to my mom's in our office. I work with her constantly and interrupt her whenever necessary. You can read about me at The Adventures of Mr. Busypants. I post my best artwork on Mondays. Click on the slideshow on the right to see examples of why I'm called Mr. Busypants.

As for my daughter, Jorie, aka Miss Chattyshoes, she "writes": If my mom isn't answering your emails, I am probably the reason. I demand attention all day long and if I even think I might not get it, I will throw myself on the floor and scream. You can read about me on The Adventures of Mr. Busypants every Tuesday in my supposed-to-be-weekly column Tuesdays with Jorie.

Discussion Boards
The primary work of week 1 was to participate on the discussion boards. The first board asked students to introduce themselves. I made sure I had a post as well and checked in several times a day to see who accessed the course. I also tried to respond to each student with some kind of connection, whether it be to the town they live in or a personal interest of theirs--I looked to make a connection.

The rest of the discussions assigned for that week had to do with completing exercises for the reading. Mid-week I noticed no one had yet tackled the first exercise, so I did the exercise myself and posted my thoughts and additional encouragement and pointers. As students started to post their assignments, I again looked for ways to acknowledge or encourage them. I didn't reply to every response, but I made an effort to respond once to each student.

Podcasts
Now I must admit, I'm addicted to podcasting. It's so fun! So far for the course, I've recorded three podcasts: the first went step-by-step through my Blackboard site; it was about twelve minutes long. The second went through the course introduction, which included an explanation of all the week 1 assignments, and was three minutes long. The latest podcast, also three minutes, discussed the first project, which will span over weeks 2, 3 and 4.

In my podcasts, I made sure I encouraged students to manage their time against their work, school and social schedule and to look ahead to the next project so that no assignment sneaks up on them. There are weeks where projects overlap (for example, I told them to look at project 1 this week so they could start thinking about a research topic), so I want to make sure they're aware of this. There will also be portions of the second project that may take time to execute (like scheduling an interview with an expert), so I don't want that part of the assignment to catch them by surprise.

Not only do I plan on posting a podcast for each project, but I also plan on posting weekly check-in podcasts to stay in touch. I have a tab called Podcasts on Blackboard and I also post each podcast on the Announcements page with a link, which is also emailed to each student.

Late Log Ons
By Thursday of week 1, I noticed that one student still had not logged on (you can check a student's last access through the grade book on Blackboard.) I emailed that student to find out what the problem was and encourage him to drop the course if he wasn't going to pursue it. I heard back from him within 24 hours. He was trying to access Blackboard through his old school account. Since the school recently switched over to a new system, his Blackboard account with his live classes came from a different log in. I am happy we resolved this issue so quickly and it was in part because of that personal connection.

Email Organization
One thing that I find to be difficult with working at several different colleges is email. It's time consuming to have to regularly check several accounts, several times a day.

To help with this, I created personal gmail accounts for each college, and forwarded those accounts to my primary email. In my primary email box, each email I receive is labeled with the address it is sent to, so it's really easy to see what emails come from which college.

For College 2, I went into my school email address and set up "rules" for forwarding certain email. For example, all email from important people in my department (like the dean, her assistants, key people from the library and other areas in the college) and with specific subjects (like English 1102), to my Gmail. That way, if something important pops up in that email account, I get it a little more quickly than I would otherwise.

Well, that's about it for Week 1. I'm looking forward to an excellent semester and will keep you posted on the ups and downs of English 1102 online.

Related Links
Teaching Online Blog is a Good Read for Online Instructors
Might As Well Face It I'm Addicted to Podcasting
Using Google Alerts to Enhance Research
My Journey with Gmail
5 Great Web Resources to Enhance Learning

Might As Well Face It: I'm Addicted to Podcasting

I was supposed to launch my first online class at College 2 on the Tuesday after Memorial Day, but it was cancelled because no students registered. Every other online section filled, so I was incredibly disappointed. Even the day, I waited anxiously for the registration love all the while wondering if any of the following reasons kept me from filling up:

1. The college changed my 8-week, June 8 start to a 5-week start with six days notice, so not only is my class not published in the catalog, it wasn't available for all that long.


2. Students had to pay for the class as soon as they register, so I was left wondering if some would register at the last minute for financial reasons.


3. The link in the School Online section for my class was developed by another instructor, so my teaching-style was not reflected in a place where students go to make decisions.

Nonetheless, I worked like a crazy woman to get the class ready on the off chance that it would be a go. I only needed five students, but it wasn't meant to be.

I'm pretty proud of the class. It's organized, intuitive, and since I had to re-create an 8-week curriculum into 5-weeks, I decided to use my own assignments rather than the ready-made course I was given.

During all the training I've received to get started at this college (College 1 isn't as advanced in it's Blackboard capabilities, so I'm learning a lot), I discovered Podcasting.

The first thing I did was download free software for recording and sound edting at Audacity. It was a quick and easy process.

Then I just hit record and started talking. For some of my podcasts (I recorded five) I wrote scripts so there wouldn't be long pauses as I reviewed my lessons. For others, like the ones where I simply tell the students what they're going to be working on in the current unit, I just talked.

They take an eternity to upload onto Blackboard, but since I record and upload on my laptop, I can move over to my desktop to continue to work.

Now I also blog at The Adventures of Mr. Busypants, and with all these newly acquired podcasting capabilities, I decided to have a little fun. When Mr. Busypants came home from school, I pulled up all my blogposts that had his artwork and interviewed him about it. Some of his artwork included books he wrote that I scanned in, so I had him narrate.

He totally got into it, and like his mother, he couldn't stop podcasting.

Now we both have our mark on the world of podcasting. Every time I play one of his, he grins from ear to ear and listens to himself intently.

Bookended by Bull--it

The spring semester just ended and I'm already starting summer courses. Friday ends one term and the next begins Monday. The result is in the same week I get the "I'm not happy with my grade" whining and the "I missed the mandatory orientation but please let me in your class" requests.

As a result, my terms are bookeneded with bull--it.

On the one hand, there's Miss GPA, who coincidentally missed the orientation but ended up staying in the class anyway. She's a prime example of why I try to stick with the college's policy of enrollment being contingent on attending an orientation. The students at this college simply can't handle it otherwise.

Here's an email I received today from one of my students from last term:

I saw that I got a B as my final grade. A great majority of my assignments are A's and A+'s, except for week 2 when I lost access to Blackboard. I really need an A to keep my honors for graduation and I am hoping you would consider my request to adjust my final grade to an A. I already spoke with my advisor, Ms. T regarding this issue and was told to ask you first. Thank you so much.

Huh? This is so insulting to me. I would have loved to have graduated with honors, but I didn't earn 'em so I didn't get 'em. I reflect fondly on the hardest grade I ever earned: a C in Economics, which I studied for day and night one semester when I was at ISU. I am convinced that the C the instructor gave me was a gift because I'd been in his office for help on a weekly basis. So someone please tell me why I could give a rip about a student's GPA. She missed a test for crying out loud.

And now for the excuse of all excuses as to why Speedy Student missed this term's orientation.

I was suppose to be in class on Saturday but on Thursday I had a problem with the local police in which they informed me that my license was suspended and if I was seen driving in the suburb I would be going to jail. On Friday I went to the DMV and found out I needed to pay a fine which I did and my license would be valid on Monday so out of fear I didn't come to the meeting. Is there some way I can meet with you to receive the information that I need to start the class.

I conclude with this: PRICELESS. What more can I say?