Mary Brady Ph.D. WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY College of Education Teacher Education Division

1. Mary Brady Ph.D. WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY College of Education Teacher Education Division 279 College of Education Detroit, Michigan 48202 Office: 313-577-0927 Fax: 313-577-4091 Home Office: 248-693-3515 Email: mary.brady@wayne.edu Presentation URL: http://ted.coe.wayne.edu/Brady/Lilly_North/LN_VC_links.htm

2. Thank you for attending this workshop

3. The purpose of this workshop is to suggest ways for you to turn your online or adjunct Blackboard course site into an interactive virtual learning community for your students.

4. Introduction Whether your class is totally on-line or an adjunct to your existing class, the virtual classroom allows you and your students to interact outside of the traditional classroom in a synchronous (real time) environment.

5. Higher education is responsible to maximize access to online learning as readily as other modes of course delivery for today’s electronic learner.

6. Today’s students expect pedagogically sound implementation of technology in an online environment that includes the synchronous virtual classroom.

7. Virtual classrooms (chat / whiteboard) are used to: • Deliver Lectures • Provide content • Hold office hours • Q & As • Tutoring • Discussions • Demonstrations • Group Projects

8. Several tricks and tips are available to enhance the online teaching and learning experience. You are here to learn them today!

9. Workshop Objectives Participants will: • Gain knowledge on how to utilize the Blackboard tool “Virtual Classroom” • Observe short cuts, tips and tricks in utilizing the virtual classroom within their blackboard course site • Discover the value of creating a virtual community

10. LET’S DEFINE A FEW CONCEPTS.

11. WHAT IS a VIRTUAL CLASSROOM?A virtual classroom is an online communication that is facilitated by technology in real time so that learning communities are separated by space and not time!

12. WHAT IS THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM TOOL WITHIN BLACKBOARD?The Virtual Classroom is a chat facility within Blackboard, which allows instructors and students to conduct synchronous communication online – at the same time, but at a distance.

13. In addition the Blackboard Virtual Classroom tool allows the instructor and students to annotate on a whiteboard or presentation slide. Web pages can also be viewed from the whiteboard through Blackboard.

14. WHAT IS A WHITE BOARD? The white board is an Internet communication vehicle that allows instructors to illustrate concepts using freehand, drawing, text tools and web resources. It is a meaningful two-way communication tool.

15. WHAT IS A VIRTUAL LEARNING COMMUNITY?Fulton and Riel (1999) define a learning community as “a group of individuals who are interested in a common topic or area and who engage in knowledge-related transactions as well as transformations within it.continued

16. ….Thus, an online course learning community consists of students who are working towards the primary goal of acquiring and building knowledge.”

17. Virtual learning communities are created when students: • Participate in common activities • Depend on one another • Make decisions together • Identify themselves as part of a learning group • Make semester-long commitment to their personal, individual and the group’s well-being.

18. STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITY Palloff and Pratt (1999) suggest some basic steps that must be taken in order to build a virtual community: 1. Clearly define the purpose of the group. 2. Create a distinctive gathering place for the group (Blackboard Discussion Board forum groups, group virtual classroom times etc.). 3. Allow for a range of member roles. continued

19. 4. Allow for and facilitate subgroups.5. Promote effective leadership from within the group (group members assign roles). 6. Define norms and a clear code of conduct (clearly spelled out in syllabus).7. Allow members to resolve their own disputes.

20. KEEPING ONLINE COURSE COMMUNITY LEARNERS ALIVE • Learning communities are held together by four cohesion factors:

21. function: the goal or purpose of the community • identity: the validation of 'self' through membership • discursive participation: the means by which the members' discourse helps to advance the function or goal of the community • shared values: the global beliefs held by members which unite them and help to promote an emerging discourse (Woodruff, 1999).

22. WHY TURN YOUR COURSE INTO A VIRTUAL LEARNING COMMUNITY? Today’s students are looking for flexibility in their educational endeavors.

23. Students’ learning environments are no longer confined to the days and times set in the course syllabus. Interactions and learning can take place anywhere and anytime to meet the needs of individual students and groups.

24. WHAT ARE THE SHARED VALUES AND COMMITMENTS BETWEEN THE INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENTS THAT WOULD ALLOW YOUR COURSE TO BECOME AN INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY?

25. According to Palloff and Pratt (1999), interactions within synchronous virtual environments, allowing for the exchange of information, provide students with a shared feeling of presence or immediacy that reinforces their membership in the community.

26. HOW CAN THE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM BE USED FOR OFFICE HOURS? A weekly chat session called “Cyber Office Hour” (synchronous communication) can be established. This chat can be held any time and anywhere from your office, kitchen or a hotel room out of state.

27. Summary: Synchronous participation through Blackboard’s virtual chat and whiteboard can be effective with students who are at a distance and can also be used to host virtual tutorials, lessons, office hours, directed discussion, debates, critiques, mentoring, role playing and a place for groups to work on their class project.

28. WHAT ARE THE SHORT CUTS, TRICKS AND TIPS TO USING THE BLACKBOARD VIRTUAL CLASSROOM TOOL? Now comes the fun part!

29. Let’s get started with some step-by-step instructions using the Virtual Classroom chat and whiteboard features and several new tips! • Log into Blackboard • Enter your Username and Password • Click on your Course Site • Click on Virtual Classroom • Wait for the program to load.

30. Logging into Blackboard  • Here is an example using Mathematics  • Link to handouts 

31. Questions? Discussion? I will remain after all three presentations are completed (for this session) to answer any additional questions. I am available all weekend if any of you want to schedule some time together to chat.

32. HANDOUTS Please take one of the cards on the table with a URL to my presentation and links to resources to assist you with setting up your own virtual classroom.

33. Want to view a course site? Email me if you would like to preview any of my course sites to assist you with your endeavors to start your own Virtual Learning Communities in real time.

34. Thank you for attending this presentation. You can contact Mary Brady at • mary.brady@wayne.edu or • 313 - 577-0927

35. References Fulton, K., & Riel, M. (1999). Professional development through learning communities. Edutopia, 6(2), 8-10. Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers. Woodruff, E. (1999). Concerning the cohesive nature of CSCL communities. In C. Hoadley & J. Roschelle (Eds.), Proceedings of the Computer Support for Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 1999 Conference.