Teaching Online in Higher Education

Welcome to the world of Web-based learning.  Online learning is sweeping the world of higher education. The Sloan Consortium third annual survey, "Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States, 2005," (http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/survey.asp) is based on responses from 1,025 colleges and universities and represents the state of online education in U.S. higher education. Some of its findings include:

• Among Doctoral institutions and mid-size (3000–7499 students) schools with graduate and undergraduate face-to-face courses, 79% offer graduate courses online and 64% offer undergraduate courses online.
• Among mid-sized schools offering graduate and undergraduate face-to face courses, 80% are also offering undergraduate courses online and 70% are offering graduate courses online.
• The overall percent of schools identifying online education as a critical long-term strategy grew from 49% in 2003 to 56% in 2005.
• It is apparent that online learning is becoming mainstreamed into our education system. This is a not only true for national education but internationally as well.

 

1. What is an online course?
2. Constructivism vs. Objectivism
3. Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
4. From Lecturer to Facilitator
5. Faculty Support
6. Three Types of Interaction
7. Assessing Interaction in Your Online Course
8. Copyright Issues
9. Quality Control Checklist for Blackboard Courses
10. Curriculum Development
11. Instruction Design
12. Register (Registration for Teaching Online Training)

What is an online course?

For the purpose of this course, we have defined online as follows:

• Fully online courses - 100% of the course content delivered online.
• Traditional courses – 100% is face-to-face delivery.
• Web-augmented courses – 100% of the course content is delivered through face-to-face delivery and additional components are presented online.*
• Hybrid/reduced seat time courses – 50% fully online and 50% face-to-face.*

*There are various interpretations of the percentages for fully online components that constitute web-augmented and hybrid/reduced seat time courses.

References:

Sloan Consortium, (2005). Growing by Degrees: Online education in the United States.

[Online] Available: http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/survey.asp

Constructivism vs. Objectivism

The fact that a course is offered online should not compromise quality. However, teaching online does require additional skills than are required in a face-to-face environment. This requires continuous capacity building for faculty to effectively use the latest educational technologies. This may require a shift in thinking on your part.

 The beliefs that you hold about knowledge influence how learners engage in the learning process (Schommer, 1990). Knowledge can be addressed from two areas, 1) the nature of knowledge (what do I know), and 2) the process of knowing (how do I know what I know) (Hofer, 2004).Your way of thinking is shaped by your previous educational experiences and cultural factors. For example, you may hold a traditional view that the instructor is the expert and source of knowledge. Knowledge exists as a separate objective thing, i.e., separated from the knower. It represents the absolute truth and is unchanging. Most current models of teaching and learning derive from this objectivist paradigm and is evident in the transmission style of instructional practices (Bransford, 2005).

 We live in the knowledge age and it is becoming an accepted reality that knowledge is continuously evolving and changing as the broader societal context changes. Hence, learners today have different learning needs that go beyond an objectivist paradigm. Learners need to recognize the uncertainty of knowledge and develop critical thinking to evaluate the validity and potential of that knowledge. They must go beyond being passive recipients of knowledge that is propagated by an objectivist paradigm.

 Constructivist theory is purported as being responsive to these demands. Constructivism asserts that knowledge does not exist independently of the learner and learning becomes a personal interpretation of the world (Von Glasersfeld, 1989). Hence, constructivism takes an approach to teaching and learning that emphasizes the facilitation of the construction of knowledge and its application in various contexts.

 Learners today are faced with increasingly complex problems and it is argued that instructors need to help them recognize that knowledge is fluid and that they will always be working with incomplete information (Lapointe, 2005). This requires different approaches to instructional practices with the aim of assisting learners to actively engage in roles as problem solvers. Although the debate continues between the constructivist and objectivist educators, the advent of new educational technologies are facilitating the application of constructivist principles in new learning environments. The important thing to remember is that your teaching practice should always be guided by theory and research.

References

Bransford, J. (2005)

Five Thoughts on online learning and preparation for the twenty first century. Presented at Presidential Workshop and Panel Session at the International Conference of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), Orlando, FL, October 15 – 18, 2005. [On-line]. Available:http://www.learndev.org

Hofer, B.K. (2004).

Exploring the dimensions of personal epistemology in differing classroom contexts: Student interpretations during the first year of college. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 129-163.

Lapointe, D. (2005,October).

Reflections on three questions I am trying to answer. Presented at Presidential Workshop and Panel Session at the International Conference of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), Orlando, FL, October 15 – 18, 2005. [Online] Available:  http://www.learndev.org

Schommer, M. (1990).

Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 498–504.

Von Glasersfeld, E. (1989).

Cognition, construction of knowledge, and teaching. SYNTHESE, 80(1), 121-140. [On-line]. Available: http://srri.nsm.umass.edu/vonGlasersfeld/onlinePapers/html

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

Synchronous:   syn·chro·nous
Pronunciation: 'si[ng]-kr&-n&s, 'sin-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin synchronos, from Greek, from syn- + chronos time
Date: 1669
1 : happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time
2 : recurring or operating at exactly the same periods
3 : involving or indicating synchronism
4 a : having the same period; also : having the same period and phase b : geostationary
5 : of, used in, or being digital communication (as between computers) in which a common timing signal is established that dictates when individual bits can be transmitted, in which characters are not individually delimited, and which allows for very high rates of data transfer
synonym see contemporary
- syn·chro·nous·ly adverb
- syn·chro·nous·ness noun

Asynchronous: asyn·chro·nous
Pronunciation: (")A-'si[ng]-kr&-n&s, -'sin-
Function: adjective
Date: 1748
1 : not synchronous
2 : of, used in, or being digital communication (as between computers) in which there is no timing requirement for transmission and in which the start of each character is individually signaled by the transmitting device
- asyn·chro·nous·ly adverb

Both definitions are from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary at http://www.m-w.com/

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 In the traditional classroom situation, we see the students in a set time pattern, i.e., every Tuesday and Thursday class from 3:30 to 5:00. We probably have little interaction with students at any other time, except the occasional meeting during office hours. This method of interaction with students is synchronous, i.e., we deal with students in real time.

Web-based learning changes that. In an online course the professor may begin a teaching week on Sunday evening by posting new material to the course. Students may post and respond to the discussion board at any time during the week as specified by the professor. Students may email the professor and wait for a response. Students and the professor are interacting at different times as they leave messages. This method of interaction with students is asynchronous.

The implications for the instructor are many - - - 

•  Because you do not have any idea when students will be on-line, you will need to check email and discussion board postings on a regular basis. What do you believe would be an appropriate pattern  - Once per day?  Twice per day? Every other day?
• If students read your material and have a question, how will they get in touch with you to ask the question? Email? Telephone?
• What if you have an important announcement that you wish to make and the students need to know right away?
• What if the students are in different time zones?

When you are communicating asynchronously times and due dates for assignments must be made explicit. However, technology is now enabling more real time or synchronous interaction with use of virtual classrooms and Internet calling. Now asynchronous interaction can be supplemented with synchronous meetings.

 From Lecturer to Facilitator

Teaching in an online environment is a very different experience than teaching in a face-to-face classroom. If you tend to lecture this is not good practice in an online environment. The lack of physical presence makes it very difficult to hold the students’ attention for a transmitted lecture.

If you take a constructivist approach to teaching you might plan for discussion and activities in your course. In the online environment, this requires a different way of facilitation than would be done in the face-to-face classroom. You have to remember to ask questions to keep the dialogue going. You might even be more directive and ask particular students to respond. This would not be so much of an issue for the shy student who might be uncomfortable if you did this in a face-to-face class.

Faculty Support

Teaching online requires skill and knowledge for technical issues.

·Faculty will need training in the use of software, and thecourse management system, i.e. Blackboard.

·Many institutions have a "help desk" for faculty and students to call. There will be questions that students may have that you cannot answer. For example, can you advise a student how to clean up a computer infected with a virus?

Faculty also need training in how to design a good online course. This requires up-front time for development. Often faculty will work with instructional designers to develop their course but they are responsible for the content and learning outcomes.

Preparing an effective online course requires time and pre-planning. It is a good idea to talk with your department chair about this and make them aware of the extra time commitment to do this.

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Three Types of Interaction

Interaction usually means "talking to each other." We often think of interaction as being a two-way connection - exchanging ideas and words between people. Hence, we think of interaction as constituting exchanges between learner to professor and learner to learner.

Learner to Professor

As a professor some of the ways you may interact with your students include:

• Asking questions
• Giving quizzes and tests (this provides learner feedback for you)
• Discussing points in class

Learner to Learner

If you are a constructivist educator, you probably encourage substantial interaction among your students. Some of the ways you might encourage your students to interact with each other may include:

• Assigning participation marks in class discussions and seminars
• Assigning student presentations in class
• Assigning group projects

Learner to Content

Michael Moore states there is a third interaction. He believes students should also interact with content. Engaging with content means active learning and not merely rote learning. This may be more difficult to facilitate in an online environment than in a traditional classroom.

Think about the following as you are reading the articles below.

1. How does learner-to-instructor interaction motivate students?

2. How do you know if students are engaging with the content?

3. Is group work effective?

Assessing Interaction in Your Online Course

Is it really important to have interaction in a Web-based course?  Why not just post your notes to a Web page, then have the students take a test - - - kind of like an old-fashioned correspondence course?

Imagine this scenario.  Your students arrive for the usual Tuesday night class and expect to meet for three hours.  You meet them at the door and hand each student a large stack of papers and instruct each to sit down to read the material.  During the next three hours they cannot ask questions nor can they communicate with any other student.  At the conclusion of the three hours you declare it to have been a wonderful class and everyone leaves the room.

A concern for the distance student is the perceived lack of feedback or contact with the teacher. Because there is not daily or weekly face to face contact with teachers, students may have trouble in self-evaluation. Keegan (1996) believes that the separation of student and teacher imposed by distance removes a vital link of communication between these two parties. Hence explicit efforts must be designed to reintegrate the student-teacher relationship. Keegan (1996) hypothesized that students who did not receive adequate reintegration measures such as electronic or telephone communication, would be less likely to experience integration into the academic arena which could have negative consequences for retention issues.

Read the following article on interaction and how to assess it in your online course. http://distance.westga.edu/roblyer32.html
 

Keegan, D. (1996). Foundations of Distance Education. New York: Routledge.

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Copyright Issues

Copyright is always a slippery slope to go down and now for the online world there is even more confusion about Fair Use. Remember there is a difference between putting material on Internet for the world to see and putting material in a password protected environment like Blackboard. I have included a couple of links here for your perusal.

 Fair Use

http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualProperty/copypol2.htm#distance

 University of Texas system crash course in copyright

http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/Intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm#top

 Faculty, Copyright Law and Online Course Materials

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring91/sweeney91.htm

Quality Control Checklist for Blackboard Courses

Syllabus

• Course title, number, and term.
• Course instructor’s name, contact information, and office hours.
• Course description.
• Required text and/or other resources.
• Learning objectives/program outcomes.
• Assessments and grade distribution.
• Class schedule with assignment due dates.
• Minimum technology requirements.
• Policies.

Course design

• Objectives are written at the appropriate level.
• Objectives/learning outcomes are clearly revealed to students for each learning module.
• Content is made available to students in manageable segments.
• Content is easily navigated.
• Content modules are enhanced through the appropriate use of affiliated tools:
  1. quiz
  2. discussion  
  3. self test
  4. glossary  
  5. audio
  6. video 
  7. notes
  8. links  
  9. other
• The instructor makes appropriate ancillary resources available as part of the course content.
• The content and requirements are as demanding as a face-to-face course with identical or similar content.

Interaction and collaboration

Interaction and collaboration can take many forms through learner-to-learner, learner-to-content, and learner-to-instructor interaction. The course should contain:

• Clearly stated expectations defining minimal levels of student participation. 
• Clearly defined statements informing students what to expect in terms of instructor response time.
• The use of real-time features such as chat rooms and whiteboards. 
• The use of asynchronous tools such as discussion board and email. 
• Frequent instances where the instructor takes an active role in moderating discussions, providing feedback, and participating in other interactive components.

  Communication/collaboration tools used in the course:

• Discussion board
• Whiteboard
• Chat rooms
• Email
• Student presentations
• Student home pages
• Other

Assessments

Online quizzes are appropriate for fact based knowledge but other assessments are required to facilitate higher level thinking skills. Course assessments should provide clearly stated criteria that students can use as a roadmap to successfully complete the assignment.

• Assessments are aligned with course objectives/ program learning outcomes.
• Assignments and projects require students to make effective use of external resources, including print, Web-based, and other electronic resources.
• Rubrics/performance criteria are made available to students.

Copyright and fair use

Before using text or multimedia files faculty need to be aware of the following:

• Text – 10% of original work or 1000 words (least amount applies).
• Multimedia

            Music - 10% of original work.

            Photos – 5 works from a photographer; up to 10% from a collection.

            Motion Media – 10% of original work.

Learner support

When using a web enhanced course students must be provided with the following support:

• Links within the course to tutorials covering such topics as the use of email, the Internet, and other required applications such as PowerPoint.
• Access to help desk personnel. 
• Access to online library resources. 
• Tools required for viewing course content (RealPlayer, Acrobat Reader, and other plug-ins), including instructions on how to use such tools.

Curriculum Development

 There is an explosion in knowledge growth and the amount of information available is doubling every five to seven years (Hirumi, 2002).  In addition, our view of the nature of knowledge is changing. In other words, the “what we know” and “how we know what we know” is continuously evolving. Professors now are moving into new roles as facilitators of learning, directing students to a variety of sources for knowledge acquisition in their discipline. The Internet and digital resources allow students to find knowledge resources in a variety of media. The critical issue is how well they can evaluate and apply that knowledge in a meaningful way. Performance based curriculum development aligns with this emerging trend. Figure 1 compares conventional to a performance based curriculum approach.

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 FIGURE 1       Emerging Trends in Higher Education, Teaching and Learning

Source: From Alverno College, Putting student abilities to work: Integrating knowing and doing. Milwaukee: Wisconsin, 2005.

 You can see that a performance based approach is a different paradigm than what most of us have been exposed to in our own educational experiences. We have normally been immersed in courses designed from the perspective of “What you want the learners to know.” Syllabi have been topic based and courses have rolled out in tandem with the chapters in a book. This approach is no longer adequate for the competencies that students need to be successful in today’s world.

Curriculum development begins with two fundamental questions, 1) what knowledge, skills, and attitudes do we want the learners to have, and 2) how will we know when they have achieved it? When developing your curriculum, it is important to frame those knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the context of “What you want the learners to be able to do” as a result of their learning experience.

 Reference

Hirumi, T. (2002). Student-centered, technology-rich learning environments (SCenTRLE): Operationalizing constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10(4), 497-537.

Instructional Design

What is Instructional Design?

Instructional design is a quality process. It seeks to systematically serve the learning needs of students and the instructional needs of professors with appropriate design and delivery of content and learning activities. Instructional design draws from various learning theories, i.e., behaviorism, cognitive information processing, schema theory, and constructivist philosophy. Depending on the identified learning outcomes any one of these theories may provide the roadmap for the instructional design of the course. For example, if we are teaching nurses correct procedure to insert IV’s, then we would most likely use a behavioral approach to developing learning objectives and measuring learner success.

What does an Instructional Designer Do?

 

The instructional designer works with faculty to design their curriculum to best serve their instructional needs. Some questions that the instructional designer will ask include:

• What are your program outcomes that you are addressing?
• Do your course learning objectives point to those outcomes?
• What is the students’ prior knowledge that they bring to this course?
• What level are your course objectives, i.e. knowledge, comprehension, application, synthesis, and evaluation?
• How are you assessing the course objectives?
• Have you made your criteria for assessment explicit, i.e. rubrics?
• What learning activities have you planned to provide instruction? Do they address different learning styles?
• If you are delivering your course online how are you presenting the content and how have you structured your assessments?

Figure 2 below outlines the main instructional design criteria that are considered for course development. They are ranked according to baseline, effective, and exemplary levels.

Baseline	Effective	Exemplary
Course offers limited opportunity for interaction and communication for student to student, student to instructor and student to content.   Course goals are not clearly defined and do not align to learning objectives.   Learning objectives are vague or incomplete and learning activities are absent or unclear.   Course assessments are vague with no performance criteria. Course provides few visual, textual, kinesthetic and/ or auditory activities to enhance student learning.   Course provides limited or no activities to help students develop critical thinking and/or problem solving.	Course offers some opportunities for interaction and communication for student to student, student to instructor and student to content.   Course goals are defined but may not align to learning objectives.   Learning objectives are identified and learning activities are implied.   Course assessments are explicit and clear with vague performance criteria.   Course provides some visual, textual, kinesthetic and/or auditory activities to enhance student learning.   Course provides some activities to help students develop critical thinking and/skills or problem-solving skills.	Course offers ample opportunities for interaction and communication for student to student, student to instructor and student to content.   Course goals are clearly defined and aligned to learning objectives.   Learning objectives are identified and learning activities are clearly integrated.   Course assessments are explicit and clear with performance criteria comprehensively articulated.   Course provides multiple visual, textual, kinesthetic and/or auditory activities to enhance student learning.   Course provides multiple activities that help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

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