Most Faculty Tackle Synchronous Online Instruction Ill-Prepared
By Dian Schaffhauser 09/22/16
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2016/09/22/most-faculty-tackle-synchronous-online-instruction-ill-prepared.aspx
a new report from the Online Learning Consortium, a non-profit professional organization that aims to help educators integrate best practices into their online instruction. The OLC researchers involved in developing “What Can We Learn From Our Colleagues? A Framework for Virtual Classroom Training” solicited online responses from 733 people with “substantial” experience in teaching and “significant” experience in online.
Among the instructors who had taught using a synchronous classroom, two thirds (66 percent) had received training specifically on how to do that. A quarter (27 percent) received a month or more of training; a third (32 percent) received less than a day. A remarkable 55 percent took their training before going into a virtual classroom.
Half of the respondents were primarily self-taught; only 24 percent received formal training; and the remaining 26 percent did their learning through informal conversations with peers who teach synchronously. The training included lots of reading, video tutorials and listening to lectures — in other words, as the report’s authors noted, “sage on the stage” activities that are “antithetical to effective virtual classroom pedagogy.” Forty-one percent of people said synchronous activities “played little or no role in their virtual classroom training”; only 30 percent found that synchronous activities did play a substantial role.
What didn’t exist in training for almost four in five respondents were any of the following:
- “Shadowing” of an experienced online instructor;
- Teaching or co-teaching in a classroom being monitored by a trainer or experienced online instructor; or
- Reviewing recordings of their own performances in a virtual classroom.
Also helpful, the survey found:
- Peer coaching from colleagues;
- Reviewing recordings of the instructor’s performance; and
- Consulting with an instructional designer.
my note: another glaring proof that faculty IS needed in the process.
++++++++++++++
more on synchronous online instruction in this IMS blog
per SCSU faculty request, please have compiled literature (books and peer-reviewed articles) on:
Here some names who are well regarded in the community of online learning as specialists in online discussions:
- Susan Ko
https://mplus.mnpals.net/vufind/Record/007248228
- Palloff and Pratt:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/159169.Keith_Pratt (not sure if you are a goodreads user, I am)
https://mplus.mnpals.net/vufind/Record/007494813
the most recent peer-reviewed literature on keywords: “engag*” + “student*” + “online” = 13K+ titles for the period 2010-2016:
http://scsu.mn/1W6Y7wF
and about 20 articles from the link above with the general search:
Record: 1
A Digital Badging Dataset Focused on Performance, Engagement and Behavior-Related Variables from Observations in Web-Based University Courses By: McDaniel, Rudy; Fanfarelli, Joseph R.. British Journal of Educational Technology, v46 n5 p937-941 Sep 2015. (EJ1071635)
Database:
ERIC
Record: 2
A Student-Centered Guest Lecturing: A Constructivism Approach to Promote Student Engagement By: Li, Lei; Guo, Rong. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, v15 Oct 2015. (EJ1060070)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 3
Creating Effective Student Engagement in Online Courses: What Do Students Find Engaging? By: Dixson, Marcia D.. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, v10 n2 p1-13 Jun 2010. (EJ890707)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 4
Effects From Student Engagement Online. ASHE Higher Education Report. Nov2014, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p67-73. 7p. DOI: 10.1002/aehe.20018.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 5
Engaging Students in Online Courses By: Jacobs, Pearl. Research in Higher Education Journal, v26 Oct 2014. (EJ1055325)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 6
Engaging Students via Social Media: Is It Worth the Effort? By: Mostafa, Rania B.. Journal of Marketing Education, v37 n3 p144-159 Dec 2015. (EJ1080980)
Database:
ERIC
Record: 7
Engaging Students with Social Media By: Bal, Anjali S.; Grewal, Dhruv; Mills, Adam. Journal of Marketing Education, v37 n3 p190-203 Dec 2015. (EJ1081047)
Database:
ERIC
Record: 8
HOW TO BETTER ENGAGE ONLINE STUDENTS WITH ONLINE STRATEGIES. By: BRITT, DR. MARGARET. College Student Journal. Fall2015, Vol. 49 Issue 3, p399-404. 6p.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 9
Instructor scaffolding for interaction and students’ academic engagement in online learning: Mediating role of perceived online class goal structures. By: Cho, Moon-Heum; Cho, YoonJung. Internet & Higher Education. Apr2014, Vol. 21, p25-30. 6p. DOI: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2013.10.008.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 10
Measuring Student Engagement in an Online Program By: Bigatel, Paula; Williams, Vicki. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, v18 n2 Sum 2015. (EJ1065381)
Database:
ERIC
Record: 11
Measuring Student Engagement in the Online Course: The Online Student Engagement Scale (OSE) By: Dixson, Marcia D.. Online Learning, v19 n4 Sep 2015. (EJ1079585)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 12
On-Line Course Development: Engaging and Retaining Students By: Bruster, Benita G.. SRATE Journal, v24 n2 p1-7 Sum 2015. (EJ1083122)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 13
Promoting Online Students’ Engagement and Learning in Science and Sustainability Preservice Teacher Education By: Tomas, Louisa; Lasen, Michelle; Field, Ellen. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, v40 n11 Article 5 Nov 2015. (EJ1083370)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 14
Strengthening student engagement: what do students want in online courses? By: Chakraborty, Misha; Nafukho, Fredrick Muyia. European Journal of Training & Development. 2014, Vol. 38 Issue 9, p782-802. 21p. DOI: 10.1108/EJTD-11-2013-0123.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 15
Student Engagement in Online Learning: What Works and Why. ASHE Higher Education Report. Nov2014, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p1-14. 14p. DOI: 10.1002/aehe.20018.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 16
Student Perceptions of Twitters’ Effectiveness for Assessment in a Large Enrollment Online Course By: Rohr, Linda; Costello, Jane. Online Learning, v19 n4 Sep 2015. (EJ1079590)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 17
Techniques for Student Engagement Online. ASHE Higher Education Report. Nov2014, Vol. 40 Issue 6, p37-66. 30p. DOI: 10.1002/aehe.20018.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 18
The civic-social media disconnect: exploring perceptions of social media for engagement in the daily life of college students. By: Mihailidis, Paul. Information, Communication & Society. Oct2014, Vol. 17 Issue 9, p1059-1071. 13p. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2013.877054.
Database:
EBSCO MegaFILE
Record: 19
The Online University Classroom: One Perspective for Effective Student Engagement and Teaching in an Online Environment By: Carr, Marsha. Journal of Effective Teaching, v14 n1 p99-110 2014. (EJ1060450)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
Record: 20
The Perils of a Lack of Student Engagement: Reflections of a “Lonely, Brave, and Rather Exposed” Online Instructor By: Stott, Philip. British Journal of Educational Technology, v47 n1 p51-64 Jan 2016. (EJ1086712)
Database:
ERIC
Record: 21
The VIRI (Virtual, Interactive, Real-Time, Instructor-Led) Classroom: The Impact of Blended Synchronous Online Courses on Student Performance, Engagement, and Satisfaction By: Francescucci, Anthony; Foster, Mary. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, v43 n3 p78-91 2013. (EJ1018277)
Full Text from ERIC
Database:
ERIC
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More on “Classroom Discussion and Students Participation” in this IMS blog entry:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/2016/01/29/classroom-discussion-and-students-participation/
The Games Art Historians Play: Online Game-based Learning in Art History and Museum Contexts
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/the-games-art-historians-play-online-game-based-learning-in-art-history-and-museum-contexts
game-based learning differs from gamification in several important ways. Sometimes the latter is reduced to bells and whistles such as gold stars and progress bars, but gamification is potentially a much more subtle and powerful teaching strategy.
lizabeth Goins (Rochester Institute of Technology) describes several recent projects including a 3D game based on Hieronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights in her blog, and details as well assignments in which the students create games. Keri Watson (University of Central Florida), teaches with both a RPG (role-playing game) and an ARG (alternative reality game). The RPG is Gretchen Kreahling McKay’s “Modernism versus Traditionalism: Art in Paris, 1888-89,” a Reacting to the Past (see earlier PH coverage) game, targeted for use in first year seminars at small liberal arts colleges. She taught with the game several times while at Ithaca College and reflects on her experience here. Watson’s ARG, “Secret Societies of the Avant-garde,” was createdwith a colleague in digital media as a Unity-based game, and is still in development. (Anastasia Salter wrote about this game in February.) Their prototype was deployed this past spring in an upper level modern art course, the game poses for the students a series of the challenges to research and create online exhibitions. (Those interested in developing an ARG might also want to peruse this interesting recent piece from TechCrunch on historical accuracy in games.)
21 Top Presentation Tools for Teachers
http://morethanatech.com/2015/07/21/21-top-presentation-tools-for-teachers/
As repeated by me for years, PPT should not be the one and only. Here are some choices. Please consider that IMS delivers workshops, one-on-one sessions and class sessions on the applications listed below:
What Works on What Device
| Tool |
Windows |
Mac |
iPad |
iPad App |
Chromebook |
Chromebook App |
Android
Tablet |
Android App |
| Animoto |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Bunkr |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Canva |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Clear Slide |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Creedoo |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
| eMaze |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Flowvella |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Goanimate |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Google Slides |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Haiku Deck |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Impress |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Keynote |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| KnowledgeVision |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
| MoveNote |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| PearDeck |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| PowerPoint |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| PowerPoint Online |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| PowToon |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Prezi |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Slidedog |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Visme |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
More on this topic at the IMS blog:
https://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims/?s=presentation&submit=Search
http://higheredmanagement.net/2014/10/22/stuck-in-the-90s-online-course-design-in-traditional-higher-education/
Of course, not all aspects of online course design require a team of specialists, a longer development time, and more funding. Some things can be done quickly, cheaply and by individuals with focused skill sets.
But technology can, when built with a deep understanding of how students learn, meet both of these needs. We can build online courses that provide students with hundreds of opportunities to test their knowledge. Using scientifically-based learning analytics, we can provide each learner with immediate, context-specific feedback. We can build software that constantly responds to each student’s cognitive and educational differences and serves up activities that address these differences.
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Michael
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Judith
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Alex
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Maria
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Alex
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Judith
