Online Course Peer Review

How do you keep your online students actively engaged throughout the semester?  Is it possible?  Absolutely!  Learn how to incorporate active learning activities into your online courses through the step-by-step tutorial found at the following CTL link:  http://ctlactiveonline.project.mnscu.edu/

This week’s Learn from Each Other session focused on how to best use the D2L News area. The presentation focused on adding graphics, quicklinks, and video to the course homepage while also stressing the importance of updating course news regularly. Check out the following brief slideshow for some helpful links and ideas:

Social Media:  Trends and Implications for Learning will be offered over three different sessions on Friday, October 30 at 8:00pm, Tuesday, November 24 at 2:00pm and Tuesday, December 8 at 8:00pm.

“The seminar series, led by George Siemens and David Cormier, is without fee and will include live interactive sessions, in addition to discussions with guest speakers and participants.”

For details visit:  http://aace.org/GlobalU/seminars/socialmedia/

I probably spend too much time looking for fun things on the web.  Here are a few I found this week, plus an excellent blog I try to visit frequently:

Five best virtual field trips

Best social networks for online students

One of my favorite blogs:  http://technologybites.blogspot.com/ 

100 Free Productivity Tools

As we design and teach our online courses we need to keep in mind some basic accessibility issues over and above just listing the contact information for LSC’s Disability Coordinator.  The online course peer review rubric addresses this in one of its standards.  It reads:

“There is evidence of effort to recognize the importance of ADA  (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements.

Some easy things we can do to increase the accessibility of our online courses:

• Avoid using colorful text, especially oranges, yellows, and pinks.  If using darker colors, such as maroon, navy, etc, bold them. Consider emphasizing important points using italics and bold, rather than with color.
• If using audio or video, try to always have a written alternative or a script that could be made available upon request.
• Use sans serif fonts, such as Arial, Tahoma, and Verdana as they tend to be easier to read on a computer screen.
• Provide alt tags on all images (D2L prompts us to do this everytime we insert an image directly into the class).
• Avoid overusing animated images.  Some images in a class can add a great deal, but too much action can be distracting.

For more information visit:

http://www.doit.wisc.edu/accessibility/online-course/index.htm

http://www.accesselearning.net/

Hey, online faculty!  It’s been awfully quiet in our online faculty lounge.  Let’s use this important forum to learn from each other as we progress through the semester and learn from our successes and mistakes.  It is a bit more difficult to find the lounge now that it’s been moved and I know that it’s an “out of sight, out of mind” type of situation, but let’s make an effort to visit it a couple times a week!

So where is the lounge?  Click on the “Staff” tab on your D2L entry page.  What’s in the lounge?  Discussion forums of all types, D2L how-to videos (do you know how to use the checklist tool?), and links to just about anything and everything involving online instruction.

See you in the lounge!

Last spring, Jody Ondich and I completed a Faculty Award for Excellence project that gave LSC faculty the opportunity to share some of what they do in their online classrooms.  Approximately two dozen online instructors contributed class activities, discussion ideas, and other items.  In addition, we added LOTS of other related information including online how-to’s, links to D2L tutorials, and teaching and course design tips.

It is our hope that you will use this site often, post questions, and consider contributing something of your own to it!

To access the Best Practices site, click the Training tab on your D2L entry page.  Please let me know if you have questions!

~Susan

Student introductions help to create a sense of community in a class and get students interacting the first week.  What some instructors forget, however, is that students are interested in getting to know who is teaching the class!

Online Course Peer Review Rubric standard I.5 states: The self-introductions by the instructor and student mentor (if utilized) are available and appropriate.

Ideally, an instructor’s introduction will go beyond the essentials which might include the instructor’s name, title, field of expertise, and contact information. Including information such as past experiences with teaching online, personal teaching philosophies, hobbies, and so on can help to create a sense of connection between the instructor and the students. Building that connection can help to put nervous students at ease, as they may feel more comfortable asking course-related questions of both the instructor and fellow classmates.

It’s that time of the year again — when online instructors are crazy-busy getting their courses ready for opening week.  Just a few things to remember as you put the finishing touches on your online courses:

• Welcome students to your class in the homepage news area.  Specifically tell them what they should do first upon entering your class.  Include in your message how they can contact you.
• Include an Ask the Instructor/Ask the Class forum on the discussion board.  Encourage students to ask class-related questions there instead of via email.  Other students will benefit from the questions and responses.
• Remind students to read the syllabus and other important course information carefully.
• Consider putting a photo of the required textbook (or other materials) in the news area.
• Encourage (or require) students to introduce themselves to one another in the discussion area.  Introduce yourself, too!
• Remember to include the course description and outcomes, word-for-word, from the official course outline on your syllabus.  Peggy Gustofson has all official course outlines available online and will email them to faculty, upon request.
  

Have a great semester — and remember to check in weekly for tips and online peer review updates!