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Donna Angley

ETAP640amp2011: Peer evaluation- does it tell the whole story? - 0 views

  • Michael Sweet (1999), “The real value of the process [student evaluation] lies in the rationale behind the number.”
    • Donna Angley
       
      Just a few sentences elaborating on what Michael Sweet's research suggested would have helped support your assertion. Not every post can be researched for hours, but at the very least, my initial post will have many hours of research behind it. BTW, it took me several weeks to realize this; prior to that, I was getting very low scores as well. It's a learning process.
Diane Gusa

Relational Context of Teaching - 3 views

  • He continues that we can face the future with confidence if we know how to teach ourselves, read between the subjective lines of media, process the vast amount of information that will be available, work collaboratively, and reaching for resources that will expand our capacities – for example a resource like this course!!
  • I believe that anyone can conquer fear by doing the things he fears to do, provided he keeps doing them until he gets a record of successful experience behind him.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      You can do this!!! You are doing this diane!!! Thank you for being brave and persisting. you just made my day!! : )
  • However, to be part of the social network and be actively involve citizens, each must become life-long learners. 
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      ... and like it or not life is now technology mediated. No matter who you end up being "when you grow up" if you are not comfortable with technology, can't assess/evaluate information, can't find information when you need it, you will be at a disadvantage.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      I agree. I am concern for the students who are not exposed to this technology. In our district, the computer teacher was laid off, yet we kept all the coaches/sports. Adults, who are not on board with the technological needs of their students, are the ones making these decisions.
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  • Eleanor Roosevelt
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      don't forget to self-assess!
  • I am going to give this blog a 3.
  • Teacher presence
  • June 21st,
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      diane: the blogging assignment for module 2 was due on june 19th.
  • What I would like is to have the option of posting and assessing it as NG (no grade)
    • Donna Angley
       
      I too feel that the blog area should be a little more relaxed. I like your idea of a NG post. I'm wondering if you could create a separate "page" just for social commentary. Just a thought.
  • Finally, I carefully considers there are no place where Alex might say “can you tell me more”
    • Donna Angley
       
      It's okay if Alex asks you to elaborate a little more, that's the role of the instructor if the students aren't providing enough feedback.
  • Since our blogs are shared work-spaces, we are suppose to engage in collaborative reflective discourses,  creating a shared understanding, leading to collaborative knowledge
    • Donna Angley
       
      Yes, it has taken me a while to figure all this out as well. I never take the straight path from point A to point B. I always take the detour, but I do get there eventually :-)
  • Dewey states: “I assume that amid all uncertainties there is one permanent frame of reference: namely the organic connection between education and personal experience. (Dewey 1939:25).
    • Donna Angley
       
      Dewey was a great believer in the connection between the educational system and the social community. "It was forgotten that to become integral parts of the child's conduct and chracter they must be assimilated; not as mere items of information, but as organic parts of his present needs and aims -- which in turn are social" (Dewey). In his book, The School and Society, he talks about the deep connection between home and school, between home and work, and the importance of the school as the connector.
  • pay attention
    • Donna Angley
       
      I had a doctor describe ADD very aptly to me. He said think about your child's surroundings as radio waves. Your child is picking up every radio wave that is out there and he does not have the ability to ignore any of it. When my son was 11 he described his inability to understand things in school like this: it's like I'm looking through a window that is foggy. I can see, but it's not clear enough to make sense.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      This was a good explanation of ADD. Do you know that there is a college that is set up for ADD students? It is called Landmark College and it is a remarkable place!
  • then I go on an adventure and troll through the internet and my books to satisfy my desire to learn. I continue, immerse in my hyper-focus state of mind, until I feel that I have a deep understanding of whatever I am exploring.
    • Donna Angley
       
      This is a good thing; it's what online learning is all about. I realize it's probably frustrating to you because you focus so intensely on what you're doing, but I definitely see your presence in this course, so I wouldn't worry that you're not interacting enough. Just for the record, 12 posts is difficult for me as well when you consider how much research goes into each one.
  • I will investigate and use group Wikis
    • Donna Angley
       
      I've decided to have my students use Wiki as well for a group project. I think it will be a good learning activity and will give them the opportunity to collaborate outside of the forum. They will be writing their own short stories in small groups.
  • detailed rubric
    • Donna Angley
       
      I need to create a rubric for my "Book Club" forum. Any suggestions for where to start? Do I reinvent the wheel, or are there sites that have pre-fabricated rubrics that can be tweaked to fit my needs?
    • Diane Gusa
       
      Hi Donna, Whenever youi can do not reinvent the wheel. I am going to post either today or tomorrow a post on building a rubric. First I need to see what Alex wants us to do
  • plan on using Alex’s rubric for my instructional design,
    • Donna Angley
       
      Can we do this, just borrow a rubric from somebody else? That would be awesome, but I don't want to plagarize anything.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      I prefer to think I synthesize....I always search the internet for "ideas" for my rubrics and course syllabi.
    • ian august
       
      Hey diane, sometimes I never know when I am ready to write. I thought I had the pattern down. Read the material, take notes, reflect and research on what interests or inspres me, but this module I was not ready to blog and i started writing something, and some crazy stuff just came out. It might have been the two best blog posts of the semester. 
    • ian august
       
      Give this women a thousand points for quoting me :)!!
    • Diane Gusa
       
      Yes Ian I have learned much from you all. I also could use the 1,000 points! :)
    • ian august
       
      While i agree with you I think I would not push myself sometimes if I wasnt forced. I might have chosen to slack instead of worked when I was tired or busy with life.  Do you think you can use different models of teaching with different students in the same class?
    • Kimberly Barss
       
      I agree with Ian...it reminds me of doing sports in high school. If my coach didn't push us harder and harder we wouldn't ever have been successful! Alex is our coach and we can either choose to step up to the plate and work our butts off or we can sit on the bench and let the game, or in this case the learning, pass us by!
    • Kimberly Barss
       
      On a side note, I loved kung fu panda!!
  • I am saddened and concern for the positivist, behaviorist methods she employs and models. I
    • Donna Angley
       
      I don't understand this comment.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      This was base on reading only half of the rubric...
  • poor grade.
    • Donna Angley
       
      This is the second time you've brought up this issue. The way I see, Alex is the instructor, and she has designed a course with rubrics. I really don't see that the rubrics are that difficult to understand. I understand you wanting to get an "A" but if you want the "A" you have to work hard for it. If your life circumstances prevent you from doing what she considers the fair amount of work, that's not her problem. I don't feel an instructor should change the syllabus or rubrics for every student that complains about the work load, unless the instructor has received numerous complaints. I think that perhaps you have a lot on your plate right now, atleast that's the feeling I get from reading some of your posts. I can understand that, I've been through a lot myself this semester. However, it's unfair to expect Alex to change the point system just for you. May I suggest something: Clearly you are a hard working student, but circumstances are obviously preventing you from putting in the amount of work needed to earn an "A." Just accept that and work toward a "B" which is a perfectly acceptable grade. Take the pressure off of yourself. It's just a grade. A year or two from now it won't matter. All that will matter is that you learned about online teaching and came away with a robust course that you can teach. I think that's a good deal.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      Donna My comment is a pedagogical one and not an attack on Alex. The point I may not be making clearly, why the number 12? I am not the only student who has stated that a post takes several hours. Does Alex require this? No. Why I take this time is because of the quality I expect to bring to the discussion forum. I was not posting prior knowlege, but new understandings. Learning takes time and the #12 does not seem to recognize this time. I again do not see "choice" in this rubric. I agree the knowlege is the goal, and I have no problem with what I have learned and will continue to learn. However, with the exception of the last grading I have not gotten a "B" but failed every discussion forum except the last. Yes I was teaching a summer online course. I also have home responisblilites. These were stresses, but not obstacles. According to the expectations we were expected to do ~ 45 hours in class work and 100+ hours building our course. I don't know about you but the class work I have done over 150 hours just in class work. Finally, why do I bring this argument up for a second time. It is not for Alex to change; but for you all in this class to not simply copy and use Alex's rubric in your own courses. That is why I speak out.
    • Diane Gusa
       
      Again if I had scrolled down I would have seen that 12 posts were not required.
  • In the future I will build my course off line,
    • Donna Angley
       
      Good idea!
  • when a student finally understands that their discussions need to encompass teaching, cognitive engagement, and social presence, then the discussion forum truly becomes a awesome learning tool!!!!!!  
    • Donna Angley
       
      I guess that's what it's all about in the end. I'm not sure all online students understand this concept when they first delve into it. I've actually added a resource that explains the generalities of social learning theory and the students part in it.
  • Alex, my  Shifu, has diligently pushed me down the road of online pedagogy. There were many times when I landed hard and bounced a few times. However, just like the panda, I too will become capable in my bumbling ways. I too realize there is no secret ingredients in 21st century teaching….it still is best practices in education with technology embedded in it.
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      i TOTALLY LOVE this image : ) thank you! : )
  • I have changed in many ways as a result of this class. I am now and will continue to be a blogger, and use blogs  as one way to facilitate learning for my students. I understand the Community of inquiry approach, and have now created a rubric for my discussion forums that reflect the elements of teacher, cognitive, and social presence. I was fortunate to be teaching online as I took this class, and I observed my discussion forums going from conversations to dialogue that exhibit depth of learning. I have observed the pedagogy of my professor and will incorporate similar ways of interacting with my students, using the tools that web 2.0 affords me. I have moved from having little enthusiasm for online learning to embracing it as an essential medium for learning.  
  • I will do this because I care about their learning.
  • I knew I needed this course to become the better online teacher, what I didn’t know was the transformative change  that I would experience this summer.
  • ulnerability, especially with the knowledge that their efforts will be evaluated by their instructor.
Joy Quah Yien-ling

Online Community of Inquiry Review: Social, Cognitive and Teaching Presence Issues - 1 views

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    Paper by D. R. Garrison
kasey8876

Internet Access for All: A New Program Targets Low-Income Students - 0 views

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    Allowing students from all backgrounds to access the same resources and tools. Others see potential for technology to do great harm, widening an already substantial achievement gap related to issues of equity.
efleonhardt

What is Interdisciplinary Teaching? - 0 views

  • Interdisciplinary instruction entails the use and integration of methods and analytical frameworks from more than one academic discipline to examine a theme, issue, question or topic.
efleonhardt

Examining motivation in online distance learning environments: Complex, multifaceted an... - 0 views

  • Poor motivation has been identified as a decisive factor in contributing to the high dropout rates from online courses
  • suggest that online students are more intrinsically motivated across the board than their on-campus counterparts at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
  • Self-determination theory is a contemporary theory of situated motivation that is built on the fundamental premise of learner autonomy
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  • all humans have an intrinsic need to be self-determining or autonomous
  • as well as to feel competent
  • connected
  • SDT explains extrinsic motivation processes in terms of external regulation as the reasons for undertaking the task lie outside the individual.
  • a perception that what they do will not affect the outcome
  • an attribution of low value to the task being undertaken
  • the tendency to focus only on intrinsic motivation
  • It measures situational intrinsic motivation, extrinsic forms of motivation (external regulation and identified regulation), and amotivation
  • Case study one was situated within a compulsory integrated science and technology course
  • Case study two was positioned within an introductory social studies curriculum course that formed a compulsory component of the same programme.
  • suggests that higher quality, more self-determined types of motivation were only slightly more evident than the traditional type of extrinsic motivation–external regulation (Ryan & Deci, 2000) and amotivatio
  • suggesting that autonomous types of motivation (i.e., identified regulation and intrinsic motivation) were more prevalent.
  • associated with individuals who engage in an activity because the results may have personal value to them or because the activity is regarded as worthwhile.
  • these findings clearly show that motivation can be a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that cannot be fully explained from the perspective of motivation as either a learner characteristic or an effect of learning environment design.
  • practitioners need to be cognisant of the important role they play in influencing learner motivation when designing learning activities.
  • he relevance and value of the task
  • need to be clearly identified and linked to learning objectives to help
  • By offering meaningful choices (i.e., not just option choices) to learners that allow them to pursue topics that are of interest to them, the perceived value of the activity is further enhanced.
  • ongoing communication with learners, where they feel able to discuss issues in an open and honest manner, practitioners are in a better position to accurately monitor and respond to situational factors that could potentially undermine learner motivation.
Jessica M

Educators: Are Web - based Resources an Effective Means for Increasing Knowledge in Hig... - 0 views

  • Previous research has shown that online instruction has aided in the preparation and retention of special education teachers (Dymond & Bentz, 2006; Knapczyk, Frey, & Wall-Marencik, 2005).
    • Jessica M
       
      Online instruction is research proven to help benefit special education students
  • positively affect attitudes, knowledge
  • lack of training during their preservice years in proper interventions for students with disabilities, including modification, accommodations and assistive technology
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  • outcomes, and perceptions of educating students with disabilities in general education (Carroll, 2003; Cook, 2002; Kirk, 1998; Powers, 1992).
  • For example teacher educators identify time constraints as one of the biggest barriers in providing an effective overall class on how to educate students with disabilities in the general education classroom
  • ill-equipped
  • Assistive Technology Outcomes and BenefitsFocused Issue: The Role of Higher Education in Preparing Education Professionals to Use AT
  •  
    Many facts about students with disabilities and how educators can benefit from online courses and learning to better support the needs of these students. Benefit of taking this course online - community, sharing..
Catherine Strattner

Group items tagged module 4 assignment - ETAP640 | Diigo Groups - 2 views

  • Teachers' Domain: Pizza Toppings - 1 views www.teachersdomain.org/...vtl07.math.data.rep.pizzatopp Module 4 Assignment Pizza Venn Diagram Video Cyberchase OER teachers domain shared by Catherine Strattner on 21 Jul 12 - comment - like... - No Cached - more▼ Link to this item Edit this item Delete this item Save Send to Disable email alert Victoria Keller liked it In order to organize the preferences, Bianca draws a Venn Diagram and then arranges the pizza toppings according to the diagram. Catherine Strattner on 21 Jul 12 - edit - delete  I will be using this video as a resource for students to view prior to engaging in discussion on 2-set and 3-set venn diagrams.   <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">I will be using this video as a resource for students to view prior to engaging in discussion on 2-set and 3-set venn diagrams.</div> ... Cancel ... Cancel Add Sticky Note Victoria Keller on 21 Jul 12  This is a great motivation to use for your course on venn-diagrams!! As an added note the pizzeria John's is in NYC and is a franchise from NJ.   <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">This is a great motivation to use for your course on venn-diagrams!! As an added note the pizzeria John's is in NYC and is a franchise from NJ.</div> ... Cancel
  • Pizza Toppings | OER Commons - 0 views www.oercommons.org/...view Module 4 Assignment Pizza Venn Diagram Video OER Cyberchase shared by Catherine Strattner on 21 Jul 12 - comment - like... - No Cached - more▼ Link to this item Edit this item Delete this item Save Send to Disable email alert Catherine Strattner on 21 Jul 12 - edit - delete  Great video on a practical use of Venn diagrams- will use in my course as a resource for viewing prior to engaging in discussion on 3-set Venn diagrams.   <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Great video on a practical use of Venn diagrams- will use in my course as a resource for viewing prior to engaging in discussion on 3-set Venn diagrams.</div> ... Cancel ... Cancel
  •  
    Alex, I did complete this assignment as instructed. Not sure why you didn't see it as it is tagged appropriately... let me know if there is some issue on my end that needs to be fixed. Thanks- Catherine
sschwartz03

Amber's Secret | OER Commons - 0 views

    • sschwartz03
       
      This case study is amazing! It discusses pregnancy and relates to my students because Amber is just out of high school. It gives some great guiding questions and has great resources at the end. This activity could be used online but I think I'd rather do it in class. I would love to hear my students discuss the questions, debate, and listen to their classmates differing opinions. 
    • alexandra m. pickett
       
      this looks like a great resource, Sam!
sherrilattimer

FILLING THE TOOL BOX - 0 views

  • If on the other hand, they are used to information questions, they may ask, "Which states joined the Confederacy? What were the six main causes of the war? What happened at Shiloh? Who was the Union commander at Shiloh? When did the war end?"
  • If you ask many tantalizing and divergent questions in your classroom, your students are likely to model after your behavior for example, "What would have happened if Lincoln was shot in the first month of the war? Why did Lincoln only free the slaves in the rebel states? How did it feel to be a woman in the path of Sherman's army?"
  • The four rules of brainstorming: 1. all contributions are accepted without judgment; 2. the goal is a large number of ideas or questions; 3. building on other people's ideas is encouraged; 4. farout, unusual ideas are encouraged.
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  • And why do we bother with a time-consuming activity like developing a typology of questions? Because once students have the labels, you can lead them to practice each type of question thoughtfully. You can show a film and ask each student to think of three "why?" questions to share with the class at its conclusion. You may assign a story to read and ask for three "inference" questions. Suddenly the students can reach into their questioning tool box and carefully select the saw for sawing and the plane for planing.
  • When questions are nurtured, admitting a lack of knowledge is rewarded. It is the first step in learning and problem-solving
  • Unlike answers, questions carry little risk because the activity has made it acceptable to identify what it is that you do not know.
  • Some questions deserve 10 seconds of thought. Others require days or even months. Great questions span centuries of human civilization (i.e., "why are we here?" "How do we know?" "Can we know?" "How can we know if we know?").
  • The more typical classroom activity involves concealing what it is that you do not know.
  • Research into wait-time for American classrooms paints a distressing picture. Many teachers wait less than two seconds for the answer to each question and ask hundreds of questions per hour. These types of questions are generally recall questions demanding little thought.
  • Unlike many textbook publishers, reporters like to ask questions that flow from or stimulate curiosity, because unlike schools, televisions do not have captive audiences. A reporter will ask the victim how he or she is feeling, the rock star why he or she used drugs and the politician why he or she betrayed his or her constituents. Sometimes we are offended by the boundary lines of decency that curiosity compels these people to cross, so a recent rock song portrayed the phenomenon as "We love dirty laundry." We should expect considerably more sensitivity from our students, yet the model can work powerfully for us as we explore the issues surrounding any human event being studied in a classroom.
  •  
    Classroom strategies to engender student questioning.
efleonhardt

How to Design Effective Online Group Work Activities Faculty Focus | Faculty Focus - 0 views

  • Online collaboration tools While Skype and other real-time collaboration tools make it easier for dispersed students to “get together,” Mandernach cautions against overusing synchronous tools. Instead, she says, you should encourage your students to take advantage of the many asynchronous collaborative tools inside your course management system or some of the new Web 2.0 tools. Some of her favorite Web 2.0 tools include: Tokbox, VoiceThread, Creately, Google Docs, and Teambox. These tools are relatively easy to use and help build a sense of community in the online classroom. They’re also another way to get students to buy into group work activities and using them makes the students more marketable upon graduation. “If you can use the collaborative environment to really bring them into your classroom and get connected to you and connected to their peers you’re going to see a lot of benefits besides increased test scores,” Mandernach says. “Many employers and graduate schools really view online learning as learning in isolation, and I think it’s important for students to show that they are capable of collaborative work — that they can work independently and with others.”
  • In the recent online seminar Online Group Work: Making It Meaningful and Manageable, Mandernach provided tips for adapting proven face-to-face group work strategies to the online environment. The key is to design tasks that are truly collaborative, meaning the students will benefit more from doing the activity as a group than doing it alone. Effective online group activities often fall into one of three categories: There’s no right answer, such as debates, or research on controversial issues. There are multiple perspectives, such as analyzing current events, cultural comparisons, or case studies. There are too many resources for one person to evaluate, so a jigsaw puzzle approach is needed with each student responsible for one part.
sherrilattimer

Harvard Education Publishing Group - Home - 0 views

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    Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions. One small change can yield big results.
Kimberly Barss

The Wooden Periodic Table Table - 1 views

  • This website documents, in great depth, a large collection of chemical elements and examples of their applications, common and uncommon. Click any element tile above and you will find probably more than you ever wanted to know about that element. All these samples (well, at least the ones that fit) are stored in a wooden periodic table, by which I mean a physical table you can actually sit at, in my office at Wolfram Research. I decided to build this table by accident in early 2002, as a result of a misunderstanding while reading Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks. I won't bore you with the details here (see the Complete Pictorial History of the Wooden Periodic Table Table), but once it was finished I felt obligated to start finding elements to go in it (because under the name of each element in my table there is a sample area). Then I started building a website to document all my samples, and that's when things really got out of hand. A few months later my little table won the 2002 Ig Nobel Prize in Chemistry, clearly the highest honor for which it is eligible. Sensing an audience, I began to take the website more seriously, which led to my being asked to write a monthly column for Popular Science magazine, which I've now been doing continuously since the July 2003 issue. Later I formed a most satisfying partnership with Max Whitby building high-end museum displays, selling element samples and sets, and filming video demonstrations of the chemical properties of the elements. This website now contains the largest, most complete library of stock photographs of the elements and their applications available anywhere, as well as a large and growing collection of 3D images documenting hundreds of samples rotated through 360 degrees. Try clicking on some elements in the table above: I think you'll be surprised what's lurking behind those little tiles. And if you like the pictures, you'll love the poster! After years of photography and months of assembling images, I published a photographic periodic table poster based on my collection:
    • Kimberly Barss
       
      Everything about this site is brilliant! I am so grateful that I found this resource...and wish that I could someday purchase a table of his!
kasey8876

Teaching critical thinking through online discussions. - 0 views

  •  
    -Small group discussions- led by the instructor (Good way to start out a course to scaffold these principles) -Buzz groups- which allows two students to discuss an issue -Case discussions- using real or simulated complex problems to be analyzed in detail -Debating teams- where students improve their critical thinking skills by formulating ideas, defending their positions, and countering the opposition's conclusions -Jigsaw groups- students break up into subgroups to discuss various parts of a topic and then come together to present it or teach it to other classmates -Mock trials- students assume different roles in a trial setting
  •  
    Educators role in fostering critical thinking in online discussions
Alicia Fernandez

Student Perceptions of the Relationship between Indicators of Teaching Presence and Suc... - 0 views

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    Study explores student perceptions of Teaching Presence and impact on success in online courses.
Teresa Dobler

JOLT - Journal of Online Learning and Teaching - 1 views

  • Student learning ought to be at the heart of any pedagogical strategy or technique, regardless of whether the class is delivered online or in a more traditional classroom setting.
  • there is little doubt that online teaching and learning requires more time in both preparation and delivery; however, the point was previously made that this should not necessarily be the case. Good teaching in traditional classrooms, when done well, also requires a significant amount of time to prepare and deliver. We argue here that both teaching and learning would improve if many of the considerations inherent in the preparation and delivery of online learning were given priority in courses delivered in traditional classrooms.
  • It is hoped that the key issues addressed here will assist faculty in the preparation and delivery of their traditional courses. In summary, the benefits for traditional instruction in statistics through the use of online pedagogy are: 1) Improved ability to know what material is “essential” to the students’ understanding and learning. A focused delivery of traditional pedagogy minimizes student confusion and misunderstandings and leaves time for additional activities that can be used to enhance student learning. 2) Improved ability to logically and consistently organize and deliver course material. The use of weekly modules containing an overview that summarizes the lecture topic and objectives is helpful to both the instructor and the student in organizing course material 3) Improved willingness to seek out and complete training on how to teach in the traditional classroom. While some colleges and universities require training to teach online, few, if any, require training to teach in the classroom. Many colleges and universities provide both individual and group training to instructors who are new to teaching, and the experience of teaching online can enhance an instructor’s desire and ability to be a better teacher in the traditional classroom. 4) Improved ability to create multiple strategies for the submission of student work and clarification of misunderstandings. The experience of teaching online enables instructors to devise varied strategies for the submission of course work, and provides additional arenas for the instructor to clarify misunderstandings in a forum in which all students can participate. 5) Improved ability to use new technologies for the development and delivery of instruction. Knowing what tools are available for course development and delivery can broaden an instructor’s ability to prepare course materials and deliver them in creative, stimulating ways. 6) Improved ability to maintain the course schedule. 7) Improved ability to maintain contact with all students in the course. In traditional classrooms, students can sit quietly for weeks, engaging little, if at all, with the instructor, the material, or their peers. Teaching online exposes instructors to a wide variety of strategies for enhancing student engagement because they must participate. 8) Improved pedagogical versatility. Being proficient teaching in multiple venues increases one’s own instructional flexibility, and also increases the flexibility of a department to deliver instruction to students. 9) Improved student access to the course material during instructor absences. Having the course material created by the instructor available during the instructor’s absence facilitates student learning and helps maintain the course schedule. 10) Improved student learning due to the repetitive availability of course material, including practice problems and solutions. Once voice-over lectures have been created, they can be uploaded to Blackboard for use in any course.
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  • The pedagogical and practical benefits of teaching online are identified, and specific suggestions are made for how instructors can use these benefits to improve their traditional classroom pedagogy.
  • If instructors gave as much thought to the construction of their on-campus courses as they do their online courses, all education would be better
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      My experiences building an online course will greatly impact my face-to-face teaching - I spend so much time planning, revising, and improving before I even begin teaching, and I have an end goal in mind.
  • Successful online learning outcomes appear in large part to be due to the care with which the course is designed and delivered.
  • online pedagogy frequently involves consultation and collaboration
    • Teresa Dobler
       
      I wonder why? This is definitely true of my course as a grad student. Is it true elsewhere?
  •  
    online and on campus teaching should both take the same amount of prep
Nicole Arduini-Van Hoose

Bringing Life to Online Instruction with Humor - 1 views

  • Based on our experience using humor as an instructional strategy in traditional and online courses, we explain how instructors can incorporate humor into online courses
  • Of the personal dimensions of teaching, humor is the most human of them all. T
  • Humor is not a pedagogical panacea, and the mere inclusion of humor will not assure that learning will occur. I
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  • The challenge for instructors teaching online courses is to learn to use humor to create interesting and inviting virtual learning environments while minimizing any potential pitfalls of humor as an instructional device
  • e, the educational purpose of the humor is the most important consideration. As a pedagogical device, humor can promote various objectives, such as to increase student interest and attention, facilitate the student-teacher relationship, provide students with a “mental break,” or promote the understanding and retention of a concept. In contrast to humorists, who gauge success by laughter, educators measure the effectiveness of humor by how it promotes learning. Although humor can be used to increase students’ overall enjoyment of the online experience, most of the humor incorporated into an online course should serve an instructional purpos
  • simpler forms of humor that would “bomb” in a comedy venue, such as word-play (e.g., puns, oxymorons) and clever or witty observations, can be used successfully in online course
  • nstructors recognize that potentially offensive humor, such as sexist or racist jokes, is not appropriate (Perlman & McCann, 1998). The safest target is the instructor, because self-deprecating humor avoids offending or alienating others, and allows students to view the teacher as more “human.
  • several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment
  • journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research).
  • Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course
  • e, we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course?
  • For this type of humor to be effective, the visual punch line needs to be hidden behind a hyperlink.
  • We strongly believe that integrating personal photographs or “home movies” into online instruction adds a more personalized and intimate feel to the often sterile nature of online courses
  • use an extra-credit activity called the “Contributing Editor” that requires students to locate potential sources of humor on any course topic.
  • For instructors who are comfortable using humor in course examinations, there are several approaches for adding humor to multiple-choice tests. First, an additional distracter (e.g., choice “e”), such as a joke at the expense of the instructor, can be added to select items. Second, names that appear in items can be reformatted by inserting the instructor's name or creating fictitious names. Third, a “final” item can be added with the setup “The test is over and you...” with funny distracters targeted to the students, instructor, or course. (See Berk, 2000 for additional strategies for infusing humor into multiple-choice examinations.)
  • the most suitable joke formulas for the online course are word-play and exaggeration. A word-play joke involves the modification of a word, clichés, definition, common phrase, or concept. Examples of word-play pedagogical humor include silly names, funny unit subtitles, oxymorons, and factitious definitions. Word-play is a relatively simple form of humor, and instructors should expect smirks (or moans) rather than big laughs. Also, word-play jokes will only be successful when instructors follow the principle of “knowing your audience” (i.e., students must recognize the word, concept, or phrase that is being reformatted or embellished).
  • The final step of humor writing is to edit the joke by following the four principles of “aggressive editing” (Sankey, 1998)
  • The placement and duration of humor used in online lecture modules are critical to the flow of instruction.
  • Humor can allow students a brief “mental break” from an online lecture, and instructors can use transitions to illustrate a concept with topic-related tangents or self-deprecating stories.
  • ules as an opportunity to use humorous personal examples and commentary to expand on previously discussed lecture topics. By clearly identifying the tangent, students recognize that the rant is separate from the lecture
  • For a more detailed explanation of the techniques and principles of humor writing, instructors can refer to various comedy writing books (e.g., Carter, 2001; Helitzer & Shatz, 2005).
  • course, we strongly encourage instru
  • course, we strongly encourage instru
  • luding funny quotes, jokes, and cartoons, and in this section, we identify resources for locating pedagogical humor. When deciding which material to use for the online course, we strongly encourage instructors to c
  • we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course? The Internet is the best resource for pedagogical humor, and although any search using a discipline and “humor” as descriptors will yield numerous web sites, we recommend more narrowly focused searches (i.e., “humor” and a specific discipline topic). Additional resources for pedagogical humor include supplemental instructional materials provided by book publishers and journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research). When using humor from other sources, instructors need to adhere to copyright considerations. Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course. Although visual humor is usually self-contained (i.e., a caption or the illustration delivers the punch line), there are several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment. Visuals, such as photographs or illustrations, can be used as a punch line for a joke. For example, when discussing the difficulty of course examinations, the setup would be “And this is how students often feel after an exam…” with a photograph or cartoon of frighten individuals delivering the punch line. For this type of humor to be effective,
  • we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course? The Internet is the best resource for pedagogical humor, and although any search using a discipline and “humor” as descriptors will yield numerous web sites, we recommend more narrowly focused searches (i.e., “humor” and a specific discipline topic). Additional resources for pedagogical humor include supplemental instructional materials provided by book publishers and journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research). When using humor from other sources, instructors need to adhere to copyright considerations. Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course. Although visual humor is usually self-contained (i.e., a caption or the illustration delivers the punch line), there are several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment. Visuals, such as photographs or illustrations, can be used as a punch line for a joke. For example, when discussing the difficulty of course examinations, the setup would be “And this is how students often feel after an exam…” with a photograph or cartoon of frighten individuals delivering the punch line. For this type of humor to be effective,
  • we strongly encourage instructors to consider the guidelines for pedagogical humor mentioned in the previous section. First, does the humor promote an educational objective? Second, will the students understand and appreciate the humor? Third, is the target of the humor appropriate for the course? The Internet is the best resource for pedagogical humor, and although any search using a discipline and “humor” as descriptors will yield numerous web sites, we recommend more narrowly focused searches (i.e., “humor” and a specific discipline topic). Additional resources for pedagogical humor include supplemental instructional materials provided by book publishers and journals devoted to humorous research (e.g., Journal of Polymorphous Perversity, Annals of Improbable Research). When using humor from other sources, instructors need to adhere to copyright considerations. Visual humor is especially effective in online courses, and cartoons, illustrations, and photographs, can easily be integrated throughout the course. Although visual humor is usually self-contained (i.e., a caption or the illustration delivers the punch line), there are several ways that instructors can enhance visual humor for the online environment. Visuals, such as photographs or illustrations, can be used as a punch line for a joke. For example, when discussing the difficulty of course examinations, the setup would be “And this is how students often feel after an exam…” with a photograph or cartoon of frighten individuals delivering the punch line. For this type of humor to be effective,
  • ll the students unders
  • A wide range of hum
  •  
    "The challenge for instructors teaching online courses is to learn to use humor to create interesting and inviting virtual learning environments while minimizing any potential pitfalls of humor as an instructional device. In a commentary noting the need for humor in online courses, James (2004) observed that "Because humor is one of the major traits of the best, most effective teachers, it is a characteristic that all teachers should want to hone, practice, and nurture, regardless of medium" "
  •  
    Thinking back to our conversation on humor. (I was only a lurker in that conversation, but maybe now I have time to revisit this idea). Hope this adds to your thoughts.
  •  
    explain how instructors can incorporate humor in an online course, the enhancement humor can bring, guidelines for locating, selecting, developing, and integrating humor into an online courses, and examples of humor in various online components.
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