Tip of the Week

Know Your Role -- The discussion board is often an integral part of online learning. For students to take ownership of these forums, consider assigning student roles to facilitate the process. For example, a moderator may keep synchronous discussions alive and on topic. A summarizer might compile a report of an important discussion and make it available for everyone in the group. Different students can assume these roles (and any others you and the students deem necessary) from week to week so that everyone participates in a vital way and discussions take the most optimal form. 

Virtual Surveys -- Blackboard's survey tool can be used in a variety of pedagogically useful ways. You can guage how students are handling a new topic; get their feedback on a particular assignment or idea; get a class profile about what they know or would like to learn. For teachers who want students to take ownership of the course of their own learning, it is important for their opinion and ideas to matter. Taking surveys is one way to do it; for the virtual classroom environment, blackboard's survey tool enables quick and painless feedback from students so they have more control over what's gets taught and how.

Deadlines...Distributed -- for larger projects, it might be tempting to allow students to turn in one final project, without requiring smaller portions to be turned in along the way. Students may be full time workers, parents, etc...and may appreciate the increased freedom and flexibilty. Indiana University's Center for Research on Learning and Technology (CRLT) recently surveyed what made online courses high quality and found that smaller, distributed deadlines for larger projects may be the better way to go. Regular, distributed deadlines discourage procrastination and allows for more frequent communication (and evaluation) between teachers and students. And, in most case, distributing deadlines should allow for more quality work.

Personal Connection -- at the beginning of the term, have your students compose and post a personal introduction statement. This can include as much or as little information as seems appropriate (familly, hobbies, reason for taking course, etc...). Refer other students in the course to visit this space at the beginning of the term as this can be the starting point for community building. Also, consider printing out the personal statements and using the information periodically in your communication with students. Asking them about family or other important events can be a step along the way to transforming your class into a community.

Epiphanies -- learning occurs when we encounter some idea that exposes the unseen fissures and cracks in our prior thinking. These 'aha' moments occur far too infrenquently, but when they do, they can be used to transform the classroom environment. In your online course, have your students keep a journal of 'aha' moments they experience in the course. Encourage your students to find a way to share them. One option may be to set up a forum exclusively for documenting these moments; that way, productive conversation can occur among your students around these important moments of seeing the world differently. (This tip adapted from onlinelearningtips.org)

Necessary Controversy -- in the previous tip of the week, the discussion board was positioned as a central element in online course design. Building from here, this week's tip addresses a specific practice for encouraging debate, ongoing conversation and learning. If you want your class to use the discussion board to address a controversial and polarizing topic, then assign groups (or pairs, depending on number of students and issues) to opposing sides of an issue: this can engender a productive conversation. If you are inclined to have your class debate in the formal sense, then limit and structure the terms of conversation and response. Perhaps let groups prepare one opening argument and rebuttal, for example. Then, consider having groups switch sides of the debate and repeat the process of argument and rebuttal. This structured style can lead into many potentially productive questions for whole class to consider. What did you learn by taking a position that you didn't agree with? Is there a third position that can serve as a compromise between the two original and polarizing ones? Approaches like this that structure controversy into your online discussion boards can be a great way for students to learn from each other and from positions they don't normally take. It beats having students agree with each other all the time.

The Discussion Board -- As a means to build community and enhance learning, discussion boards should be an integral part of your online course. But, good online discussion doesn't just happen. In fact, discussion boards can often fall flat and become stagnant. As the instructor, you should model what a good discussion board entry might look like and continue throughout the term to highlight productive exchanges that occur and encourage more of them! If you want discussion board entries to originate from course readings, then show students what you want right from the beginning. If discussion devolves into ‘good point' and ‘I agreed totally with you,' then intervene again with your expectations for productive, challenging and respectful dialogue.

Online Office Hours -- To help communication with your students, try holding online office hours at a regular time each week. Online office hours may take varied forms: you could participate in a regular online forum or designate times that you will be close to email. Regardless of the form your office hours take, students know you will be available at certain times to give prompt feedback to their inquiries. In addition, you might also set aside a couple of hours weekly to be available via chat client or Skype.  If you really want to provide more in depth remediation or review, consider establishing your own free V-Room from Elluminate (www.elluminate.com) which allows you to create a free webinar for up to three people. Using webinar software gives you the additional option of desktop sharing, a whiteboard, and exploring any website together.

Feedback! -- Instructor feedback is essential in forming student-teacher relationships. In the online environment, prompt, personal and frequent feedback is important as it lets students know where they stand in the course and with you. Feedback is more than informing students of a grade. It should be encouraging and point them in directions they need to go. This might be worth trying: once a week or every two weeks, send each student a personal message and let them know that you appreciate X. This could be effort, a recent insight made in the discussion board or displayed leadership in a forum. Whatever it is, let them know about it.

Muddy Points -- as a periodic informal assessment, have students send you 1-2 paragraph reflection following a lesson or unit of study, either recapping what they learned or working through problems that remain unclear. If you have established a climate of trust, consider having students discuss the muddiest point in a discussion forum on their own. Periodic informal assessment lets you know where your students are and where and how your instruction might need to change.

Online Assessment -- When students submit work for evaluation, such as a paper or project, it is not uncommon to receive a chorus of emails asking "have you graded mine yet?" To reduce the wear and tear on your inbox, take a proactive position by sending out a mass email or posting a blackboard message announcing that 1) you will let students know when evaluations ready and posted via email or 2) that grades will be ready by this date (and stick to it!). In addition to saving you time responding to individual student inquiries, this can also relieve student anxiety by giving them a set time or occasion after which to expect grades.

The Student Experience - Do you understand how your students experience your course?  Unfortunately, many online instructors wait until the end of the course to survey their students, asking questions about aspects of that offer insight into the student experience.  For example, "The amount of work for this course is manageable," or "I know how to get support for technical and logistical issues as they arise."  Knowing student responses to these kinds of questions earlier in the course makes it possible for the instructor to actually DO SOMETHING at the point at which they occur.  Consider a weekly or biweekly invitation to your students to share their experience via a private message or email, or by creating a simple survey using built-in course software.  Knowing about such issues while they are currently happening can increase student success in the long run.