University of Michigan-Flint

Faculty-to-Faculty Online Teaching Strategies

For this issue, we talked to Dr. Randall Repic, professor of earth and resource science. Dr. Repic teaches Environmental Science II (ENV 102), a mixed-mode course that meets face-to-face only once in the course of the seven-week summer semester.

The face-to-face meeting is held on a weekend, Friday through Saturday, and is essentially an extended laboratory period. During this lab, students explore the Flint River watershed, initially through computer-assisted explorations and then through fieldwork. The data that students collect are then stored, to be used for analysis over subsequent years.

But what about the online portion of the course? Since most of the instruction of ENV 102 is done online, it is essential for Dr. Repic to keep students engaged in the online environment. One of the most important things, he explains, is to keep things moving.  “Students’ interests wax and wane; tempo and momentum are everything.” To avoid losing students’ attention, Dr. Repic tries not to linger on one topic for too long. Instead, he gauges interest on topics through the discussion board and other communications, and sometimes alters ensuing course content to give more attention to topics that clearly inspire discussion and thought. When doing this, he explains, it is most practical to use controlled release of course content, meaning that folders or lessons are kept unavailable until their scheduled week.

Continuous assessment is another important element of Dr. Repic’s online teaching style. Each module of the course contains a vocabulary matching exercise, designed to evaluate students’ grasp of essential science terminology, as well as a short answer exercise, comprised of more conceptual questions. The vocabulary exercise carries immediate feedback, which helps students efficiently self-correct. These assessments, Dr. Repic explains, are meant to give students practice and preparation for the chapter quizzes and other assessments. The exercises help build confidence and, although they do carry points, are not meant to make or break a student’s score.

Lastly, instructor involvement and individualized attention are invaluable. Dr. Repic combs through discussion boards and looks for students who are not very active; then he contacts these students directly, asking them if he can better explain any particular concept or answer any questions they might have. If necessary, he will schedule a phone or face-to-face appointment with the student. In short, he will do what it takes to keep students motivated. “I try to teach online just like I would in the classroom,” he explains. It’s a simple philosophy, but it seems to be working very well for him.

IS THIS YOUR ONLINE COURSE?
Read the material, post to the discussion board, take the test ¹

Each year, OEL surveys online students to assess learner perception of online course quality. This year,

• 77% of the respondents said they are satisfied with the overall quality of their online learning experience, down from a high of 87% in 2006; 16% were dissatisfied, and 9% were neutral.

When asked to think about their best online course and what made it great, they said:

• The course was well-organized with easy-to-locate content.
• The instructor responded promptly to questions (within 48 hours).
• There were clear learning objectives for each unit or topic.
• There was plenty of instructor involvement and feedback.
• There were opportunities for student interaction.
• The discussion board activities enhanced understanding of a topic.

Here's what one happy student had to say:

"I am a returning student who avoided all online courses because of my lack of knowledge and familiarity with computers. I thought it would be cold and impersonal, but it was completely opposite of that. [My instructor] did an amazing job of always being accessible, and by creating a class blog and having us blog, tweet, and incorporate a group project, I actually felt like I got to know classmates better than some face-to-face classes."

A frequent complaint of the unhappy student is that the course is simply “Read the material, post, take the test” format, you might want to participate in the upcoming online workshop, “Using the Quality Matters Rubric to Improve Your Online Course,” offered by Sloan-C (www.sloan-c.org) from May 4-20. As a member of Sloan-C, OEL has discount coupons available. Contact Krista Heiser at krheiser@umflint.edu

¹ Meets the U.S. Department of Education definition of a correspondence course, not a distance learning course, which is differentiated by the level of meaningful faculty-student interaction.

New "Cool Toys" Blog Goes Live

In February, OEL launched "Cool Toys UM-Flint" a collaborative blogging space for faculty and staff interested in the latest and greatest in teaching and learning technology. Visitors to the blog can post comments, or contact Deb White, debwhite@umflint.edu, to be added as a contributor.

U.S. Department of Education's new "Program Integrity" Regulations go into Effect July 1

On October 29, 2010, U.S. Department of Education passed a 90-page set of regulations on program integrity and student aid. Beginning July 1, institutions must demonstrate compliance with the distance learning requirements of any state in which they enroll students. Any institution that does not comply could risk losing financial aid, not only for its online students, but for face-to-face students too.

UM-Flint's online learning and teaching leadership is aware of these new regulations and is taking steps to ensure UM-Flint's compliance with other states' regulations. If you have any questions regarding the program integrity regulations, please contact Deb White, debwhite@umflint.edu.

Tips and News from Blackboard Administrator, Nick Gaspar

• When weighting grades, make sure to check your calculations manually to make sure that the numbers are adding up.
• Having formatting issues in your class? Contact me, ngaspar@umflint.edu, I found a great tool for fixing formatting and I can apply it to your course.
• Are you spending a lot of time unlocking tests? If so, uncheck "force completion" when selecting test options.

OEL is about to launch a new streaming server for video-viewing in online classes. The streaming server will make watching an online video from Blackboard as easy as watching a video on YouTube!

Fast fact:

Winter 2011 online enrollments
were a record 4,866.

Contact Us

UM-Flint Online is published six times per year with topics related to online/mixed-mode teaching and instructional design. Address comments and suggestions to:

Zoë Lazar-Hale, zlazarha@umflint.edu

Ever wondered if there was an easier way to get to the right person in OEL with a specific online learning need? Here's your cheat sheet!