January 2011
Faculty News You Can Use
from the Office of Extended Learning
Faculty-to-Faculty Online Teaching Strategies
So You Want a Fool-proof Recipe for Successful Online Teaching? Guess Again! Tips from Nursing Professor Hiba Wehbe Alamah
Nursing
Professor Hiba Wehbe Alamah downplays her campus reputation as a
techie, but we (OEL) see her as an adventurer who enjoys testing
technology to enrich her online courses. We convinced her to
share some tips gleaned from her personal experience.
"Technology has forever transformed our lives and the way we
teach, especially in the online environment," she says. "One
question that is often debated is how can we, as educators whose
audience is not confined to one specific
geographical location, deliver quality education that is
both effective and engaging?"
"One thing is sure: there is no clear-cut answer," she says, noting that success varies with the individual and such factors as one's philosophy, creativity, comfort with technology, willingness to experiment, and having the courage to experience failure and turn it into a learning experience.
Here is Hiba’s list of online teaching DOs and DON'Ts.
| 1. | Do
take the Intensive Course Development training, but
don’t apply it verbatim to your course. Hiba says, "The biggest mistake I made the first time I taught an online course was to incorporate in it every single tip I learned [from OEL’s Intensive Course Development training]…Recognize the significance of individualizing your course. This can be done by only incorporating the learned strategies that fit your course requirements, teaching style and personality, and by forsaking the ones that don't." |
| 2. | Do
keep a journal of tips for future course improvements
and
don't rely on memory.
"I tend to keep a Word document for each course I teach that highlights strategies that worked and ones that did not. I include tips for future changes. This allows me to reflect on my teaching and learn from my mistakes." As an example, Hiba offers her experience using Elluminate for synchronous sessions in which she noticed students leaving the sessions early—getting grades without official participation. "Consider checking attendance live three times during the session—beginning, midway, and end; alternatively, this can be done by asking questions that require responses from all students logged in during the live session." And, she says, “clearly state participation expectations in the syllabus.” |
| 3. | Do
take the time to learn about UM–Flint-sponsored
technology resources and improvements—and don't
be intimated by change.
"Do invest your precious and scarce time in learning about the ever-changing Blackboard (BB) features,” she suggests, citing Elluminate and the Blackboard blog feature. "Audacity and TeamViewer are programs that can be downloaded from an OEL help guide and ITS helpdesk webpage, respectively. I use Audacity to record podcasts for my students and upload them to the [BB] Content Collection and then to Course Documents in my BB course shell." Hiba uses podcasts—10 minutes or less—to discuss most important reading material, provide feedback on assignments, and even give instructions on how to navigate through the course. "Students love the personal touch of hearing the instructor's voice." She also uses TeamViewer to share her screen with small groups of students and to work live on research projects or other assignments. |
| 4. | Do
be open-minded to innovative teaching strategies and
don't be chained by the comfort of classics. "I am always on the lookout for creative technological innovations. Skype is one such program that allows online educators to conference with their students live from anywhere around the world with devices that support Wi-Fi. I can now do a two-way video-conference with an online student (or an audio-conference with a group of students) from my home/office computer or my iPhone (expect same feature with up-coming second generation iPad)." |
| 5. | Do
accept failure and negative criticism and don't take it personally or give up on
experimentation.
"Expect bumps and small setbacks along the way. I learn a lot from trial and error. At first, I used to get depressed at minor criticisms…Eventually, I learned that perfection is nothing but a tantalizing dream and an incentive for never-ending self-assessment and future improvements." |
| 6. | Last but not least, do
seek advice/input from colleagues and/or OEL staff and
don't be afraid to share personal
mistakes, for after all, that's how wisdom is shared . |
|
|
Program Director and Assistant Professor Mike Lewis was pleased to announce this fall that the journalism major is available online, and most of the cognates for online degree completion are in the works.
Q. Why journalism?
A. Journalism is rapidly moving away from mainstream media and
into new forms online, including mobile media. It seems evident
that if we, as a society, can consume and contribute to our news
via online methods, certainly we can—and perhaps should—teach
journalism online," he says.
Q. Who was involved in developing this program?
A. The journalism faculty discussed it among ourselves and then
the Communication and Visual Art Department, which has been very
supportive.
Q. How did you transition this program to the online
environment?
A. As of fall semester 2010, journalism students can take all of
the courses required for the major online. We've been able to
offer our core courses online and, combined with communication
electives that are also online, students can reach the 40 hours
required for the major. Several of our faculty have completed
the Intensive Course Development program offered through OEL. We're
continuing to offer our classroom-based courses, too, and
recognize the value of personal contact. However, our students
seem to like the convenience of scheduling in the online
program. More importantly, they seem to be learning as well, if
not better, than in our face-to-face courses.
UM-Flint's First Open.Michigan Course
In this Issue:
- Online Training Begins Feb. 7
- Accessibility for Vision-Impaired
- Journalism Online
- Nick's Blackboard Tips
- Workshop Schedule
Call for Proposals: Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning
Strut your stuff among professionals from all over the world gathering in Madison, Wisconsin, August 3-5. Submit your proposal by January 19 at 4:00 p.m. Learn more at http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference.
Intensive Course Development (ICD) Begins February 7; Start the Prep NOW!
Want to be eligible for course development stipends for online and mixed-mode courses? Enroll in OEL's free, online training program.
Blackboard Basics for Faculty - a two-week, self-paced course (highly recommended before the ICD session if you have no Blackboard experience)
Faculty Intro to Online Teaching - a self-paced, quick primer and prerequisite for the ICD session
Intensive Course Development - an instructor-led, hands-on, online course that walks you step-by-step through online course development. This is required for stipend eligibility.
These and other free courses comprise the optional Online Instructor Certificate program. Learn more at http://www.umflint.edu/oel/OIC.htm.
Tips from Blackboard Administrator Nick Gaspar
The start of a new semester brings a new opportunity to remind students to save, save, save! In an online exam, the "save" button is a student's best friend.
If your students receive a system error when accessing the My Grades area, be sure to contact Nick, ngaspar@umflint.edu, right away. This is a known issue that can be fixed easily.
Having formatting issues when copy-pasting items from a Word document? Just copy-paste into Notepad first, and from there copy-paste into Blackboard; this will eliminate formatting problems.
Chronicle Article Explores Issues of Accessibility for Visually Impaired Learners
In the rush to develop new technology for online learning, not all companies are taking the time to iron out the kinks of compatibility with screen-readers and other accessibility technology. This means that visually impaired students who normally benefit from new technology are encountering more roadblocks to their education. Fortunately, some companies are making accessibility a top priority. Blackboard, for example, was commended in March 2010 by the National Federation of the Blind for "great improvement" in accessibility. Learn more at http://chronicle.com/article/Blind-Students-Demand-Access/125695.
For information about and technical support of JAWS (a screen reading software that's fully compatible with Blackboard, contact Nick Gaspar, ngaspar@umflint.edu.
Save the date for the upcoming Open.Michigan presentation on Wednesday, February 4, led by Emily Puckett Rodgers, Open Education Coordinator at U-M Ann Arbor.
Open.Michigan is a University of Michigan initiative that allows faculty, students and others to share their educational resources and research with the international learning community.
You can learn more about Open.Michigan by visiting open.umich.edu or attending the Open.Michigan presentation on February 4 (register below).
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
Zoe Lazar-Hale, zlazarha@umflint.edu
|
WORKSHOP |
DATE |
TIME |
ROOM |
PRESENTER(S) |
|
| Jing Basics: Similar to Captivate and Camtasia, this program is fast, cheap and easy for creating great audio video files. | Fri. Jan. 14 |
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | 1103 WSW | Andrea Becker | Register |
| Quality in an Online Course -- What is It? Join your colleagues for this informal discussion. | Wed. Jan. 26 |
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. | TBA | UM-Flint Faculty | Register |
| Open.Michigan: Discover and discuss this University of Michigan initiative that enables faculty and students to share their educational resources and research with the global learning community. | Wed. Feb. 4 |
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Michigan Room | Emily Puckett Rodgers, UM Medical School | Register |
| Cool Toys: What are the latest and greatest software programs and tech toys your colleagues are using? Share what works for YOU! | Wed. Feb. 9 |
Noon-1 p.m. | TBA | UM-Flint Faculty | Register |
newsletter_jan2011.htm
