Online Best Practices Teachers Presented at: STEMtech 2011 by : Craig Gilman

1. Online Best Practices Teachers Presented at:STEMtech 2011 by: Craig Gilman American Public University System Community College Outreach Manager COLL100 Instructor

2. Online Best Practices for Instructors Introducing your speaker. Craig Gilman • On the same sheet of music: • fully online v. hybrid/blended v. web-assisted • synchronous v. asynchronous • K-12 v. traditional v. non-traditional students My perspective is from the fully online, asynchronous, post-secondary environment with a larger percentage of non-traditional students.

3. Online Best Practices for Instructors Where it begins - the Learning Management System (LMS) Simply put – the LMS is a virtual classroom. • Some more robust than others. • open source v. closed • All will have similar features: • “Landing page” often either campus or classroom • Announcements (when entering the “classroom”) • Syllabus • Course materials (weekly packets) • Assignments • Discussion boards/Email/Chat • Tests/Quizzes/Assessment & Gradebook • Analytics (what the students don’t see)

4. Online Best Practices for Instructors RULE #1 - Students must know there is a human behind the computer! • Put your picture in the syllabus along with your contact information. • Add a personalized introductory video/link. • Include your “virtual” introduction in a week one discussion board topic. • Include and encourage the inclusion of something personal, such as hobbies, along with degree, career, community information. • Empathy goes a long way. “I know how you feel.” • The light interjection of humor goes even further. • Share personal experiences, examples, anecdotes. • Have a signature tag line – “keep your eyes on the prize!”

5. Online Best Practices for Instructors RULE #2 - Clearly set policies and procedures from day 1! • Instructional (for students) • Must be clear to students • Must be concise • Office hours • Methods of preferred contact • Expectations for participation • Submission requirements • Late turn-in procedures • Netiquette • Procedural (for instructors) • Classroom readiness • Class size • Response times (student inquires) • Turnaround time (assignments) • Feedback on assignments • Posting of grades • Proctoring requirements • Course extensions

6. Online Best Practices for Instructors RULE #3 – It is about Interaction! • It is about creating an interactive virtual environment in which students, the professor and other community members feel comfortable interacting, sharing and learning. (COI) More importantly, it is about providing access to a rich and diverse selection of resources with which learners can interact to construct new understandings that leads to learning. Empower the student!

7. Online Best Practices for Instructors RULE #4 – Written communication skills are essential! New, younger and lower level (100 – 200 level) students may need support in regards to both the written communication skills required for academic success • and the social skills and netiquette required for civil, sometimes lively, academic debate.

8. Online Best Practices for Instructors • There is really no difference between the brick & mortar and virtual classroom in regards to instructional presence. The difference is in how it is achieved. Community of Inquiry Three “presences” contribute to the learning experience. Social Presence Cognitive Presence Teaching Presence

9. Online Best Practices for Instructors

10. Online Best Practices for Instructors Social Presence: participants in an online course help establish a community of learning by projecting their personal characteristics into the discussion. In that way they present themselves as ‘real people’. • Three forms of social presence • Affective - The expression of emotion, feelings, and mood. • Interactive - Evidence of reading, attending, understanding, thinking about others‘ responses. • Cohesive - Responses that build and sustain a sense of belonging, group commitment, or common goals and objectives

11. Online Best Practices for Instructors • Cognitive Presence: The extent to which the professor and the students are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained discourse in a community of inquiry. • Can be demonstrated by introducing factual, conceptual, and theoretical knowledge into the discussions and classroom. • While the professor may be the primary subject matter expert within the community of inquiry, expert outside resources and contributions of students are to be included.

12. Online Best Practices for Instructors Teaching Presence: the facilitation and direction of cognitive and social process leading to the mastery of learning outcomes. Two ways that the professor and the students can add teaching presence to a discussion: • Directing the Instruction • Facilitating the Instruction

13. Online Best Practices for Instructors • Facilitating the discussion • Identifying areas of agreement and disagreement • Seeking consensus / understanding • Encouraging, acknowledging and reinforcing student contributions • Setting a climate for learning • Drawing in participants / prompting discussion • Assessing the efficacy of the process • Directing the Instruction • Presenting content and questions • Focusing the discussion • Confirming understanding • Diagnosing misperceptions • Injecting knowledge from diverse sources • Summarizing the discussion • Responding to technical concerns

14. Online Best Practices for Instructors

15. Online Best Practices for Instructors Online Course Design • Quality Matters is a rubric that identifies key areas to consider. • Course overview and introduction • Learning objectives • Measurement and assessment • Resources and materials • Learner engagement • Course technology • Learner support • Accessibility • Continual course/program review leads to continual improvement.

16. Online Best Practices for Instructors http://qminstitute.org/home/Public%20Library/About%20QM/RubricStandards2008-2010.pdf

17. Online Best Practices for Instructors Design your classroom so that all necessary tools and information is readily available to students.

18. Online Best Practices for Instructors Use announcements to provide group information and personal email to provide private commentary to students.

19. Online Best Practices for Instructors Use video as a means of presenting information or accepting student work.

20. Online Best Practices for Instructors Use document sharing software to provide comments on graphical representations.

21. Online Best Practices for Instructors Use discussion boards, not only to discuss subjects related to current learning objectives, but also to build class cohesion and student confidence.

22. Online Best Practices for Instructors QUESTIONS? Contact: Craig Gilman Community College Outreach Manager American Public University System cgilman@apus.edu

23. Online Best Practices for Instructors Resources: Community of Inquiry: http://communitiesofinquiry.com/introduction This site documents the work completed during a Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities research funded project entitled "A Study of the Characteristics and Qualities of Text-Based Computer Conferencing for Educational Purposes". Quality Matters Program: http://www.qmprogram.org/ Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. Note: QM has recently partnered with Blackboard. SLOAN-C: http://sloanconsortium.org A Consortium of Individuals, Institutions and Organizations Committed to Quality Online Education Excellent free resources: http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/freedownloads#EffectivePractices Viddler: http://www.viddler.com/ Free basic product; lets you record video & audio with your computer camera and microphone, edit sharing options, and embed link in classroom. Voicethread: http://voicethread.com/ Free basic product; lets you upload slides, docs or pics and make text, audio, and video comments while writing on the screen. Allows students to post their text, audio, and video comments. National Technology Goals: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf “Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology” Author’s note: these are samples of resources I often use and are no means meant to be an exclusive list. Connect Safely: http://www.connectsafely.org/ Social network safety tips for teens and parents.