Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kimberly Kruse
CUR 532
May 30, 2016
Melinda Medina
and all are intended to refer to distance learning. Teaching online is fundamentally very different
than teaching face to face. This manual will provide the necessary training to ensure faculty
embrace the instructional differences and produce an engaging learning environment for their
students.
Goals and Objectives:
The ultimate goal and desired outcome of this course are to produce competent
instructors who can successfully translate their in-class experience and competencies to a
thriving and efficient online learning environment.
Goal
Objective
Demonstrate awareness of the necessary skills Participants should name five necessary skills
for an effective online facilitator.
Understand and implement online
engagement techniques.
Identify and utilize tools to assist with
program.
Clearly communicate classroom expectations
communication.
Traditional Testing This assessment will include true/false, multiple choice and fill in
the blank.
Written Assessment Students will be asked to demonstrate their understanding and
Levels of
Outcome
Evaluation
Reaction
Description
Effect of training on
participants
Based on learning
Monkey
Comparison of pre and post knowledge
evaluation.
Blogs and journals of perceived learning,
Transfer
willingness of participants
to apply new knowledge
Results
to their work
post-training management
environments
The degree in which the
feedback/monitoring
The second skill our training will focus on is ensuring instructors know how to build an
online community. When students are disconnected from a physical classroom and campus, this
presents a unique challenge. However, it does not lessen the value of connection students need to
have with each other or their instructor. Palloff and Pratt shared, By learning together in a
learning community, students have the opportunity to extend and deepen their learning
experience, test out new ideas by sharing them with a supportive group, and receive critical and
constructive feedback (Palloff & Pratt, 2011, p. 9). Building a community can occur in multiple
ways through learning teams, group projects, and online debates. The culture in ones classroom
should be that learning can occur from sources other than material and the instructor, students
can in fact learn from each other. By creating an opportunity for students to take control of the
conversation, an instructor displays an intense amount of self-control and confidence.
Phases of Development of Distance Learning Facilitators
There are 5 different phases of development for learning facilitators. This training will
center around Palloff and Pratts coverage of these 5 phases; visitor, novice, apprentice, insider
and master (2011). A visitor is someone who has exposure to adult teaching theories, but no
exposure to online learning or principals for distance education facilitation. A novice is someone
who might have attended an online course, or has used minimal technology. This individual has
seen online instruction techniques but lacks the experience of incorporating those into their
teaching. An apprentice is an instructor, who has had experience delivering distance learning, and
is aware of technologies used in delivering online instruction but is fairly new to the field. An
insider is an individual who regularly teaches online and proactively includes technology and
occasionally looks for new technology to incorporate into their classroom. And lastly a master is
an instructor who is very experienced at online delivery and technologies and they are often
training others on how to teach online. They are resources to their peers and a master of their
trade, staying current with trends and continually improving their skill sets.
M
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Connectivism
Explanation
Reshaping an individual's
incorporating technologies to
(Haythornthwaite &Andrews,
2011).
thinking.
Transactional
perspectives.
Providing resources and projects
Distance Theory
or community observances
Selection criteria for those who will perform in the mentor role will be those labeled at a
Master level. Individuals in this role will have three or more years of experience in teaching
online, with a minimum of 10 courses successfully completed. Successful completion is
determined by the pass rate of students (80% or above) and student feedback surveys with a
minimum of 90% satisfaction score. Masters mush also display a vast knowledge of technologies
used in the online environment, and will have a robust knowledge of online teaching and
engagement strategies. Lastly, mentors selected for this program will also have documented
experience of at least one other mentor-mentee experience to ensure they have exposure to
developing others in a formal relationship.
using two different technologies to increase their exposure to multiple technology resources. The
mentor will establish SMART goals and specific learning outcomes that can be measured.
Evaluation of the mentees progress will directly correlate to the SMART goals established during
their initial interaction. These evaluations will tie back to the learning objectives of this course. A
rubric will be created by the mentor to ensure that learning outcomes are achieved, and peer
evaluations are collected to ensure more than one perspective or opinion is taken into
consideration.
Learning Platform
Instructors will use our Universities LMS system, Canvas to administer their courses and
the previously described mentor program. This provides value to instructors by exposing them to
the platform they are required to use as instructors of online course delivery. Currently, this is
optional for face to face faculty and can simply be used to post final grades, so some faculty who
are in the initial phase of transitioning to online instruction may have limited exposure.
Canvas allows instructors to build and deliver their entire course to students. The LMS
system allows faculty to build assignments; reading, quizzes, homework, and exams. They can
also incorporate learning discussions and learning teams for collaborative communication and
projects. Another feature of this platform is lecture capture, allowing faculty to record a visual or
audio lecture and share that with students. These videos can be assignable and instructors may
also incorporate videos that are not their own, such as content featured as TED talk. Lastly Cavas
allows communication to the entire classroom, as well as, one on one. Instructors can provide
individual coaching and feedback through private conversations.
Technology and Media Tools
Various forms of technology will be used to engage learners and provide multiple means
of communication to ensure diversity in learning preferences.
Resource
Tegrity
Description
Tegrity is a lecture capture
Application
Instructors might identify a
auditory explanations to
students.
Simulations
concept.
Our biology department uses
development. Simulations
concept in a virtual
chemicals or performing an
knowledge. Virtual
assignments, it might be
or examples of completed
work outlines can help
Description
The technology encourages open
Application
In an online learning environment
(Mindmeister, 2015).
Voice Thread
Blogs
classroom debate.
Working as a group, individuals can
(VoiceThread, 2014).
Blogs are intended to encourage
encourage collaboration.
A student can be asked to create a
for instructors, but we also provide training videos for students. Successful facilitators will know
how to support their struggling students by referencing these training tools. We also provide
access for all faculty to Lynda.com, where non-university specific training can be located.
Another large issue facing online courses is the overall integrity of our students and
academic structure. Specifically, how instructors are making sure that the assignments submitted
are the original work of the student officially registered in the class. For this reason, many
instructors will take advantage of the proctored test center, requiring students to take finals or
multiple exams in a testing center where their identification is verified before allowing them
access to the exam online. We also provide a plagiarism tool for both students and faculty to use
to ensure that students are embracing academic integrity and not copying information without
properly citing that material.
And lastly, instructors often comment how surprised they are when online students
complain about their lack of access to a computer or the internet. While our admissions team
discourages students enrolling in online classes without the proper resources, they cannot
discriminate and deny them access. Therefore, instructors should be aware of online computer
lab hours and provide those to students at the beginning of the course. Likewise, faculty should
also research other local computer lab options for students to proactively provide them with
alternative locations should the campus computer lab be inaccessible. With each issue, an
instructor must be proactive and creative in finding a resolution so as to avoid frustration for both
the student and themselves.
Classroom Management Issues
Effective classroom management starts with great communication. Students need to feel
comfortable asking for help and need to know that their instructor is genuinely invested in their
success within the course. Instructors will want to provide substantive and constructive feedback
on each assignment, both positive and developmental. An instructor should post virtual office
hours and methods of communication, as well as an expected turnaround time for responses, so
students are informed and have clear expectations. Students should always have the opportunity
to voice their opinion in a professional way, and the instructor should encourage all students to
complete an end of course survey so that they can develop the course and their method of online
instruction to enhance the overall learning experience. Again setting expectations up front and
ensuring that students have read those is paramount to the success of the course. Often
instructors might require students to pass a course overview assessment, as a prerequisite to
having access to the course content. This ensures that students are held accountable to the
expectations the instructor has set for the class.
Occasionally an online student might present characteristics that are offensive, combative
or counterproductive to the learning environment. These situations must be dealt with
immediately and with professionalism. Robert Kelly describes various potential
miscommunications and controversies that an occur in an online learning environment and
recommends that the instructor address that head on by communicating proactively with the class
(Kelly, 2013). Set expectations early that written communication can often be misinterpreted and
that one expects learners in the classroom to avoid the tendency to reactive negatively and with
aggression. The instructor should encourage students to handle conversations in the classroom
with open, honest and professional communication. However, if multiple instances occur with a
particular student, the instructor should encourage others to communicate privately with the
instructor so he or she can address that privately with the individual.
Instructors may be made aware of particular students who require ADA accommodations.
As educators, they have legal and moral obligations to ensure that every student has equal access
and ability to be successful in the learning environment by making reasonable accommodations.
Instructors are required to participate in an annual ADA Compliance training, and it is expected
that they are familiar with the standards and obligations they have as instructors. If additional
help or guidance is needed, instructors always have access to their ADA Compliance Officer to
brainstorm ideas for accommodations. Some typical accommodations that online classrooms
embrace are close-captioned videos, audio books and proctored exams which can allow for
additional time on exams and quizzes if necessary. It is imperative that instructors remember
that special accommodations should not be publically announced to the classroom in an effort to
protect the privacy of those impacted. Therefore, accommodations or alternations in assignment
should be made via private communication.
References
Bull, B. (2013). Eight Roles of an Effective Online Teacher. Faculty Focus, (),
Retrieved from
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/eight-roles-of-an
effective-online-teacher/
Haythornthwaite, C., & Andrews, R. (2011). E-learning theory & practice. Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE.
Higley, M. (2015). Benefits of synchronous and asynchronous e-learning. Retrieved from
http://elearningindustry.com/benefits-of-synchrounous-and-asynchronous-e-learning
Kelly, R. (March 19, 2013). Managing controversy in the online classroom, Faculty Focus,
retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/managing
controversy-in-the-online-classroom/
Mindmeister. (2015). Collaborative mindmapping. Retrieved from
https://www/mindmeister.com
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2011). The excellent online instructor: Strategies for professional
development. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
VoiceThread. (2014). Communicate collaborate connect. Retrieved from
http://voicethread.com/about/features