Transcript Exploring Online University Instruction

Exploring Online
University Instruction
Edward C. Robeck, Ph.D.
Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi
Batteries and Bulbs
You have three objects in your set.



battery
bulb
wire
Make the bulb light using just the
battery and the wire.
Learning Activities
1.
2.
3.
What makes this a good learning
activity?
What would have to be added to make a
whole class out of activities like this?
What would need to change if we moved
that class to an online format?
5 Key Elements to Consider
Learning Goals
Learning
Activities
Expectations
Assessment
Communication
5 Key Elements to Consider
1. Learning Goals
• Normal course goals
• Goals directly related to online format
2. Expectations
• Clarity at outset is more important than F2F
• More dimensions must be considered
• e.g., Extent, Quality, Timing
3. Communication
• Multiple options—a blessing and a curse
4. Learning Activities
• Making use of online options—not lecture
• Extent to which modeling is important
5. Assessment
• Conventional assumptions do not apply
1. Learning Goals
Normal course goals

I.
“Students will be able to make effective use of
primary sources of educational research“
Accessing
Referencing
Summarizing
Comparing and contrasting

To what extent will this be different
because the course is taught online?
1. Learning Goals

Normal course goals
II.
“Students will be able to effectively critique
primary and secondary source material in
educational research”
Organization
Substance
Mechanics

To what extent will this be different
because the course is taught online?
2. Expectations

In what areas will you establish specific
expectations for students?
•
•
Discussions, Assignments, Peer-to-peer,
Leadership, Off-line work, Readings & responses
Clarity at outset is more important than with F2F

Typically addressed through rubrics
•
•
•
More dimensions must be considered



Holistic
Analytic
Online instruction tends toward more open-endedness,
which creates ambiguity
e.g., Extent, Quality, Timing
What’s really important & necessary?
3. Communication

Multiple options—a blessing and a curse
•
•
•
•
•
What pattern are you comfortable with?
What pattern is necessary for success?
What pattern is expected?
How will you make your expectations clear?
How will you socialize students into the pattern of
communication for the course?




•
“Netiquette” as a special form of etiquette
Supportiveness
Frequency
Focus
Rubrics often help here even if you are not marking
the interactions
4. Learning Activities
Making use of online options

•
Why is the course online?



Logistical (timing, travel)
Audience (distance, lifestyle)
Instruction (specialization, expertise)
How do the reasons for it being online affect instruction?
Extent to which modeling is important

•
What behaviors should students be able to do? How can
those be made part of the class?



Use of resources (e.g., social book-marking site)
Style of teaching (e.g., collaborative—wikis)
Specific strategies (e.g., webquests, photo-essay)
How does modeling involve online and offline approaches?
5. Assessment

Conventional assumptions do not apply
•
Questions of identity



•
Questions of timing


•
Who is posting?
How much individual vs. sharing of work?
How much image management is going on?
Time on task?
Deadlines vs. Guidelines?
Questions of Teacher-Student interactions



“Immediacy” of response?
Individual vs. whole group facilitation?
Open-endedness of outcome—modeling vs. mimicry?
Nine Principles of Instruction









Modeling—instruction matches expectation
Coordination—meaning across and between
Flexibility—logistics allow different patterns
Scaffolding—part-to-whole teaching
Transformation—change the format of ideas
Accountability—structured guidance
Personalization—open-ended using own ideas
Interactivity—networking and evocation
Collaboration—share and develop skills together
Changing Culture of Studenting
Consider this assignment
• Choose one educational researcher who has published at least
three peer-reviewed journal articles in your field. (Note:
Avoid very prolific researchers for this assignment.)
• Write a one-page profile of that person’s work based on a
selection of three to five articles.
• In the profile, look for themes, commonalities and contrasts in
the person’s work, don’t just summarize each article
separately.
Consider the “5 Key Elements” discussed.
1. What issues might emerge in using this in an online class?
Consider the “9 Principles of Instruction” discussed
2. How could those principles shape the presentation of the
assignment?
Which Web?

Web 1.0
• Basic model is to get information from Internet sites and
basic communication—”just in time” content; filing,
asynchronous messaging, online catalogs and purchases

Web 2.0
• Expanded model that facilitates individual authoring of
Internet content and interaction—”peer to peer (P2P)”;
“social _____”, online marketplace, profiles, maps, tagging

Web 3.0
• Virtual worlds—avatars, caching, in-world commerce,
The Basic Web 1.0 Tool
Online Discussions



Why you want them to use online discussion
(explore new ideas, review concepts, compare experiences …)
What you want them to base their discussion on
(readings, in-class discussion, personal opinion …)
How you expect them to use it
(when, how often, types of postings: original vs. response …)
From:http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html
1. “Discuss the article by Fletcher about moving from research to
practice.”
2. “Discuss your own experiences with the challenges that Fletcher
describes in the article for this week.”
3. “As you read the article by Fletcher on moving from research to
practice, think about the challenges that the author describes.
Which of these challenges are most significant in your own
setting? How can you overcome those challenges to moving
research into practice?”
The Basic Web 1.0 Tool
Online Discussions
Posts tend to fit into one of three types:
• (1) "cheerleading," or posting reinforcement, such as
"Great job!," that added no new information;
• (2) adding new information; and
• (3) questioning or challenging.
“This leads to the conclusion that cheerleading tends only to
create more cheerleading, while questioning leads to more new
information added. Basically, cheerleading doesn't move the
conversation forward at all.”
From:
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53734
The Basic Web 1.0 Tool
Online Discussions
“Another way to encourage more meaningful online discussions
is by choosing discussion topics that lead to what Lowes calls
"exploratory talk." This kind of talk is characterized by an
assertion followed a challenge and counter-challenge (or
differences in answers), by new information accompanied by
elaboration and explanation, by different ideas discussed before
an agreement is reached, and by new information being added
after a challenge.”
The value of educational research is decreased by what Fletcher
calls the “research to practice divide”.
Some have suggested that ONLY research with direct classroom
application should be pursued within schools, since doing other
research can distract from teaching and learning without
providing any benefit. Discuss what types of research should
and should not be conducted in schools.
(To be added later: How does this relate to “Action Research”.)
The Basic Web 1.0 Tool
Online Discussions


In this posting, please offer a rationale for why
educational research is important. Why should
people take the time to do research? What
benefits might come from it?
Relate what you say to at least a few entries
posted by other students, referring to them by
name in your post and being clear how their
ideas relate to yours. If you are one of the first to
post on this topic, it would be best if you return
to the topic later to add to what has been said by
others.
Online Discussions
Category
1
Promptness Does not
respond to
and
most
Initiative
postings;
rarely
participates
freely
2
3
4
Responds to
most
postings
several days
after initial
discussion;
limited
initiative
Responds to
most postings
within a 24
hour period;
requires
occasional
prompting to
post
Consistently
responds to
postings in
less than 24
hours;
demonstrates
good selfinitiative
The Basic Web 1.0 Tool
Online Discussions

CIDR Teaching & Learning Bulletin
Engaging Students in Discussion Online
http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/Bulletin/OnlineDiscussion.html

If You Build It, They Will Come: Building Learning Communities
Through Threaded Discussions
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring51/edelstein51.html

Online insight: Challenges beat cheerleading
Educators consider how to foster meaningful interaction among
students in online courses
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53734

FSU Best Practices for Online Delivery of Instruction
http://wiki.ferris.edu/fckb/index.php/FSU_Best_Practices_for_Online_Deli
very_of_Instruction
Web 2.0 Tools
There are many free tools available.
Three very important* ones are…(*I think so, anyway)
 Wikis – www.wikispaces.com
http://robeckukm.wikispaces.com
 Social Bookmarking – www.delicious.com
http://del.icio.us/ecrobeck
 Online Surveys – www.surveymonkey.com


More…
Go to http://zaidlearn.blogspot.com/
• Click on “Learning Tools” under Zaid Alsagoff’s photo
Consider Alternative Formats
Add Ons—Instructor posts a “stem
file”, which students add to:
• Explanations
• PowerPoint
• Concept maps
Note: the amount each students are
to add should be indicated.
The student additions may be
collective, sequential or independent
Concept Map
Download this file. Add one concept to the map. Be
sure to include a verb/phrase on the arrow connecting
your concept to those already on the map. In addition,
you can add relationships (arrows) between concepts.
Can be
Educational
Research
Qualitative
Can be
Quantitative
Can make us of
Methods may
Include those that are
Ethnographic
Can make use of
Surveys
Consider Alternative Formats
Photo Files – Send students to an
online photo library where they can
download photos. Have them choose a
photo that illustrates a concept. The
concept may be one of several, or it
may be that all students are to find an
illustration for the same concept.
Earth Systems
This photo illustrates “Earth systems” by
showing…
Consider Alternative Formats
Scrambled Notes Grid—Students are given
a grid of information, some of which has
been rearranged. The students are to
unscramble the information on the grid. At
least two columns must be in the correct
positions to guide the unscrambling. It is
helpful if at least one row is also intact.
This works well for complex material
where several attributes are considered
with respect to several similar topics.
Getting Started
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Try something
Try something
Try something
Start with a “blended” format
Set goals—e.g., one new tool a term
Make full use of the LMS available
Make use of formative assessment
and student input
Get advice—make use of all your
support, admit ignorance
Terima Kasih

ID : K9000050
Password : HC3192