Diigo Links for the Week (weekly)
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“There are a variety of teaching strategies that instructors can use to improve student learning. The links below will show you some ways to make your classes more engaging. “
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HYBRID Workshops for Effective Teaching through Online Environments – Main Page
Engaging the Learner & Building Community, Online Discussion, Promising Teaching Strategies, Teaching Critical Skills, Assessment, Testing & Grading and Web 2.0 Tools
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Communication in Online Courses: Strategies for Providing Feedback
“Students need much more support and feedback in the online environment than in a traditional course. This is because the potential threat that students feel alienated is quite high in the Virtual Classroom. Using effective feedback strategies will enable the instructor to identify and meet individual student needs as well as encourage students to participate and continue to participate at a high quality level. Here are strategies for providing feedback in the Virtual Classroom:”
MIL Proposal 2012- Statement of Project Goals
So I’m finally getting around to applying for the Maricopa Institute of Learning (MIL) Fellowship Program in the district. MIL is a “Fellowship for six residential faculty in any discipline who are interested in examining significant issues in their teaching fields and contributing to the scholarship of teaching and learning through classroom research projects. Its secondary purpose is to create a community of scholars that will engage in conversations about the scholarship of teaching and learning.” I’ve wanted to apply for about five years now, but I’ve never gotten around to it. Well, this is the year, and here is my statement of project goals. I’ll post the rest once I’m accepted (fingers crossed).
With the growing popularity of online courses in the district, more students are opting for an online course of study. And as we rush to provide these online courses, we continue to look for more effective online instructional practices. Online asynchronous discussion seems to be the most prevalent practice in online courses. Online asynchronous discussions are discussions through an online media where participants are responding to each other, but not simultaneously. Online discussions are good practice because the discussion is happening in an asynchronous manner, participants have time to think about the question and others’ responses before posting their response. They are able to develop their thoughts more fully, rather than responding immediately after the question is asked. The discussion groups also provide an opportunity for participants to hear feedback from members who may be reluctant to share information in a face-to-face group setting. It is an effective online instructional practice. However, in most cases asynchronous discussions, despite their good points, more often than not are the least favorite aspect of the online course according to students. This is the case mostly because online discussions are not implemented effectively by instructors. My goal for this project is to research effective ways to structure online asynchronous discussions with particular emphasis on student led small group interaction. Discussions in online and hybrid courses as an instructional technique are integral to using cooperative learning structures, so that will be the focus of my research.
Giving Back to Future Teachers
Last week I was asked to present at the Future Educators Association (FEA) State Conference at Grand Canyon University (March 1-2, 2012). I’ve been asked in the past to do workshops for students, adjunct faculty and residential faculty, and I always take the opportunity to teach technology skills. So this opportunity was no different. The focus of the 45 minutes session which I presented with my colleague Sue Glascoe, MCC math faculty, was our three favorite tools. I use many software tools just to help me organize and manage my online teaching life. So this workshop focused on my 3 most valuable tools that help me do just that. I demonstrated how to use Google Apps, including Gmail, to create forms, contact groups and filters for classes to create a well managed teaching environment. A second tool that I shared was Google Voice, a tool that allows for me to give students a phone number where they can both call and send text messages and allow for me to manage who, what, when, where, and how I receive those messages. The last tool I covered was audio podcasting tools for reminders and brief updates for classes using AudioBoo and iPadio. My workshop demo page is located on my wiki: http://drcoop.pbworks.com/w/page/27251733/3tools
I was surprised that there were only two technology sessions during the conference, but I guess that’s better than none. We did our session three times, so we touched a good number of future teachers. I had a great time presenting with Sue, and we both know that being examples and modeling how we teach with technology will fuel future teachers to be creative and step outside the box and try new things in the classroom.
Although this is outside my 6 hours of accountability for my Friday, I think my time was well spent and more valuable than anything I could have done while on campus sitting in my office.
Diigo Links for the Week (weekly)
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If you have a PDF file that you need to display on the web in HTML, than this website is exactly what you need. PDF files were not designed to be displayed right in browsers, and sometime converting them to HTML is the best way to display them. Using this service, the process couldn’t be easier.
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College teachers are always on the lookout for better ways to interact with their students. With technology bringing numerous innovations every day, teachers have a lot of interactive options to choose from. One of the best options available is a website called Coursekit, a free to use web service for teachers and students.
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How to Use Gmail’s Advanced Search Features & Create Filters – How-To Geek
“Gmail’s a Google product, so of course it has powerful search features. But some of Gmail’s search features are hidden and don’t appear in the Search Options pane. Learn Gmail’s search tricks to master your massive inbox. You can also create filters from any search you can perform. Filters automatically perform actions on incoming emails, such as deleting them, applying a label, or forwarding them to another email address.”
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“Effective online instructional practices may be applied to online and blended college courses. Carefully orchestrated online discussions support learning well beyond the limited face-to-face course time. Students gain greater depth of academic understanding and leadership skills if cooperative learning groups use research-based process and structure .”
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INTRODUCING ONLINE COMPONENTS TO A CLASS: HOW TO INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS
Diigo Links for the Week (weekly)
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Are Mobile Devices Destroying Your Body? [Infographic] – How-To Geek
from How-To Geek http://www.howtogeek.com
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How to Get Google Docs Form Data in an Email Message
from Digital Inspiration Technology Blog http://www.labnol.org
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Learn Podcast Editing Basics With Garageband [Mac]
from MakeUseOf http://www.makeuseof.com
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Tools to get students feedback during class lectures. Integrates with Twitter and Facebook or stand alone tools listed here.
