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	<title>Rhodes State Blogs Comments</title>
	<atom:link href="http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/wp-content/recent-global-comments-feed.php" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu</link>
	<description>Just another Blogs.rhodesstate.edu weblog</description>
	<pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2</generator>
	<language>en</language>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-188</link>

                <dc:creator>dmiller</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-188</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[1.  I feel one of the benefits from the assessment process has been what I have learned works or hasn't worked in the classroom.  It has forced me to measure outcomes and it has shown me what I covered well during the quarter and what I might need to cover more of during the next quarter.  I feel faculty had been doing assessment for years, it is just now we are forced to computerize it all.
2.  I teach digital media and we do projects, so we have used all types of assessment.  We have group projects in one class and individual in all the other classes.  I have all of my students do a presentation at the end of the quarter.  They present their project to the rest of the class.  Their peers assess them and the get the feedback for their project.  In our design class, the students do oral peer reviews from the rough designs that I hang on the wall.  None of the students know who's project is who's.  We talk about what improvements could be made, what attracts their peers eyes, and what successful tools and elements they have used.  My students have told me that they like this peer review, as they are interested in hearing what other students feel about their work.  Once the review is done, they have a couple days to make changes to their project before turning it in for their final grade.  In one class I assign a poster that they create the first week of class using any software they know how to use or by hand.  The last week of class I have them make the same poster using the software that the learned during the quarter.  This allows them and myself see how far they have come in the quarter.  
3.  I would allow students a week to complete their assignments for sure.  I myself take care of elderly parents and am very close with my siblings, so I am not available every evening to complete homework or to check Angel.  When I have an exam or assignment during class, I try to have it graded before the next class time.  When you offer an on-line class, I feel there need to be deadlines to keep the class on task, but think a week is ample time to complete the project.  Our students not only attend school, but have families and family functions to attend and family needs to meet.  So, I feel it is important to allow them time to complete their assignments, whether it be during the week or on weekends, evenings or days.  I agree with the time management article - that you tell the students that you do not check your email on the weekends, but will answer any questions during the week within 24 hours.  When I took my Master's courses thru OSU, we had weekly assignments and all your assignments were due by the following Tuesday and then they would be due every Tuesday.  So, even though we were not physically meeting, you knew exactly what had to be done and that it was due every Tuesday and we had a week to get it done.
4.  Like Andrea, I used Angel this quarter for one of my terminology exams.  It worked great.  It saved me time by not having to grade the exams and it saved trees by not having to copy them.  Students were allowed to look back at the exam and they saw what they answered vs what the correct answer was.  It seemed to work out well.  (My problem is that digital media students do not do well in terminology exams, so it's always been a struggle.)  Now if we could just find some technology that grades the hands-on portion I would have it made.  I have rubrics for all of my projects that I have assigned and this has helped immensely.

I liked the video where students actually ran the discussion with their poster boards and answered each other's questions.  Seemed to work great and love that engagement.

Tim, I agree with you regarding the e-portfoio loop.  I feel we should be doing matched pair comparisons to see how a student improves and as we all learned about assessment, it only works when the person being assessed is informed about it and learns from it.  Our students are interested in graduating and when they realize the exiting e-portfoio isn't being graded, they get senioritis and don't really put as much effort into it as they should, let alone the fact they do not get any feedback.  We don't close the loop that is for sure.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-187</link>

                <dc:creator>Tim Littell</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:34:26 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-187</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[John:  I agree with your thoughts on the feedback loop.  Speaking of which, do you think we'll ever see an e-portfolio system that does that for students?  I get very frustrated by that process because it excludes students so they don't see the value of submitting their work.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-186</link>

                <dc:creator>Tim Littell</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:31:09 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-186</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Hi Andrea:  We have an ongoing debate over here in Social Science about the pros and cons of posting notes on Angel.  Some suggest that student attendance decreases when doing so, so they post them after the lecture.  Others post a abridged version, so to speak, of notes to encourage classroom participation.  Do you have a strategy for that?]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-185</link>

                <dc:creator>Tim Littell</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:28:23 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-185</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Jim:  I think you make a great point about our early assessment  process.  It became such a paperwork burden that it felt at times that we forgot why we were doing it.  So much time was spent crafting documents, there was little time to implement them.  

I agree that this course has been valuable in not only what we might be doing  online, but just as beneficial to our traditional courses.  The convergence is coming!]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-184</link>

                <dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:52:58 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-184</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Response to question #1....The assessment process does not seem faculty owned.  A faculty person would never dream up e-Sieps, which is the electronic assessment mapping system at Rhodes.  Maybe my best student f eedback are the student comments on my course at the end of the term, when I can actually get a copy of the student comments.  It seems like our student feedback process is currently under revision.  And while direct student feedback is good, maybe better feedback is student performance on the course Learning Outcomes.  The extent to which we're meeting our SLO's is maybe the best assessment of my performance as a teacher, since measurably improved student learning is an indicator worth getting excited about.  

Response to question #2...What I've learned this week and from being moderator last week is that the teacher needs to match the performance criteria to the desired performance.  That's why I made my blog rubric reward posting early and often.  If I use a blog, I don't want all my postings to be on Friday night (like this one) because then the opportunity for give and take (i.e., discussion) risks being minimized.  I'm very clear on my writing rubrics to provide measurable outcomes, e.g., two citations per paragraph in a research essay; five scholarly sources from Academic Search Complete on a Works Consulted, and so on.  I need to be just as specific in an online class as to what exactly constitutes a well done performance in order to encourage students to enact that kind of performance.  They will see for themselves how much fun it is to be engaged if I structure my class such that there is no way around the engagement, if you are intending to earn a good mark.  I agree with Jim that small group work is maybe the most rewarding way to structure class.  Having students become teachers is master learning.

Response to question #3...When I am behaving successfully in an online class, I will check for the blog questions early and often and respond the first day if possible.  That gives the other students a chance to respond back to me, if they come on the discussion board before Friday.    

Response to question #4...I haven't found which technology is the wonder technology for learning.  I think have a group micro blog, like Edmodo, might work.  I wasn't able to set up Twitter to a group account, which is what I would really need if I were going to use that kind of technology for class discussion.  My best technology experience to date has been texting.  Students will text a question now so much more frequently than ever before.  I have a phone and the ability to respond back immediately, so I think continuing to promote texting in my classes is a good way to make myself available for students and support their curriculum engagement.  I had a good experience with a wiki a couple terms when I had students write comments on each other's speeches.  Like Andria mentioned, having students answer each other's questions is a powerful learning tool.  If  technology helps us connect with students and helps students connect with students, then it's good stuff.  It's also nice about having handouts available online for student downloading at anytime as was mentioned above.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-183</link>

                <dc:creator>aliles</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:17:11 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-183</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Wow...............I agree wtih John that my brain is fried as well!! There has been a vast majority of info and tools presented in this 5 week course that I wonder: "what should I use? What will work best with the structure of my classes? Where do I start???" And ........when do I work it all in? When the tools are new to me as well, it will be very time consuming for me to accomplish the act of incorporating them. As I did very well find out on Wed when I was snowed in at home and yet worked on my final project for this course ALL DAY!! I set up a basic framework for a wiki and hope it will work!!

ANYWAY.............in response to Tim for week 5 discussion: 
1. Since I am new to teaching I do not have much experience to share but I have noticed that with using Angel and being able to post lecture notes, powerpoints, handouts, and provide exams on the computer to be automatically graded that it frees up much more time to review the notes/material for lecture myself, allowing me to feel better prepared for lecture delivery. If I had to spend the extra time making copies and grading for countless hours, I would be much more stressed! Thank you Angel (despite your minor flaws I have encountered). 
2. Again, being new, my experiences are limited. I have found that with different syles of teaching comes revision of test questions, time spent on emphasizing various areas of confusion, based on commonly missed test ?s by the students, etc. I have been utiliizing previous test ?s and attempting to revise them and/or create new ?s based on how I felt I delivered the material to the students, and have found flaws. I think I have discovered that more emphasis needs to be placed on course objectives at the beginning of each topic to more obviously point out to the students what material they should focus their study on for the exams!! I also think adding "objectives" slides to the power point presentations I use would be beneficial, especially for my online class where, if they fail to look at the objectives in the syllabus, they are right there under their noses again when each topic comes up...............
3. I think a good point was brought up in the aritcle on time mgmt. where it is advisable to set up a "schedule" to work from.......like times of day to check email. I have been checking mine multiple times per day when I am on campus, including 1st thing in am, noon and before leaving. I actually just have it open an minimized the whole time I am working on my computer and an audible sound tells me when i have a new msg. so that works great. The times I am not so good about it are those when i am not on campus. But I work 9 hr. days in the clinic on those days so its difficult to do so. I also tend to let my mind go on vaca during the weekends (which maybe isnt all bad, since we do need away time for family, self, etc. Even the article on time mgmt states that as well. !!! :-) I also find it helpful for me to write everything down on a schedule/calendar so I have mtgs., due dates, etc to view at all times so I am constantly reminded of what I have to do! 
4. I think I partially responded in my intro paragraph to this already, but again, posting info vs. having to take time to make copies helps tremendously. I have also seen where the tools we have available to us provide an endless resource for gathering, sharing, and posting info for the students to learn from and reference. I really think the wiki is a powerful tool for doing this and providing a central meeting place to not only share these things but comment, respond/reply, and discuss for continual growth, learning, and understanding. And then, as it was also mentioned in the time mgmt article..........students can also help to answer each other's ?s to eliminate some of the time the instructor has to and this helps the students to become better at crtiical thinking and reasoning and makes them take more ownership of their education and become more active learners! (Which is very good for them!)]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Stepping out of the box: Using Parody and Humor to engage students /OETC2010</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/edwardsm/2010/02/02/stepping-out-of-the-box-using-parody-and-humor-to-engage-students-oetc2010/#comment-93</link>

                <dc:creator>Michael Edwards</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:45:33 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/edwardsm/2010/02/02/stepping-out-of-the-box-using-parody-and-humor-to-engage-students-oetc2010/#comment-93</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Who knows, maybe in your spare time you use your superpower of telepathy to mediate arguments between strangers.

Maybe you should get a reality show for that, you know, superpower.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Stepping out of the box: Using Parody and Humor to engage students /OETC2010</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/edwardsm/2010/02/02/stepping-out-of-the-box-using-parody-and-humor-to-engage-students-oetc2010/#comment-92</link>

                <dc:creator>Garrick Ducat</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:43:54 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/edwardsm/2010/02/02/stepping-out-of-the-box-using-parody-and-humor-to-engage-students-oetc2010/#comment-92</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[and by "mediating", I mean "meditating". Oh, how I love spell check.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Stepping out of the box: Using Parody and Humor to engage students /OETC2010</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/edwardsm/2010/02/02/stepping-out-of-the-box-using-parody-and-humor-to-engage-students-oetc2010/#comment-91</link>

                <dc:creator>Garrick Ducat</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:33:25 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/edwardsm/2010/02/02/stepping-out-of-the-box-using-parody-and-humor-to-engage-students-oetc2010/#comment-91</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Mike,

Thank you for not only attending the presentation but also sharing the process with your academic community. One addition that I would like to add which became the basis for this project was "context". Creating a parody of "The Office" was not an arbitrary decision. The students viewing the videos were all seeking degrees in healthcare administration which prepares them for roles in management, specifically office setting, upon graduation. Putting all of the marketing concepts into a context (office setting) that students could understand and relate with is what led to the engagement piece.  

I must admit that the picture you have posted makes me appear as if I am sleeping as opposed to mediating which is what I was doing if anyone asks :)

Thanks again Mike you did a great job of covering the process.

Garrick]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 5 Discussion Prompts</title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-182</link>

                <dc:creator>jdunlap</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:33:49 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/10/week-5-discussion-prompts/#comment-182</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[1.	I think we got caught up in the beaurocrosy of the process.  When we first started assessment I developed the 14 step process for both my programs and it worked well.  I was able to compare changes from year to year and from section to section for each course as well as the program as a whole.  
Although I am all for computerizing any process to  make it easier, I think we focused more on insuring that we had the documentation that we were doing assessment and that it would feed up to our strategic plan documentation rather than emphasizing the course level assessment.  It required that I complete redesign my assessment program and I don’t feel it is as good.
Assessment is a must and the results of my course assessment have triggered me to redesign a number of my courses with new books and software that do a better job of accomplishing the objectives.  In several cases we even involved the students to help us redesign the course as a class project (continual improvement).
2.	Probably the most successful strategy has been the use of small group activities to do assignments that before were required to be done independently by each student.   The students come away with a much better understanding of the concepts and learn to work in teams to solve problems.  They get hands on experience working in teams and using the many quality tools that I teach from the very beginning of the program.
3.	I found that making sure that I routinely respond to email in a timely manner has helped me to be more there for the students and it has enhance interaction.  This course has given me a number of ideas of ways to improve my online course but also to greatly enhance my F2F classes.  Finding the time to implement them all will be the challenge.  I need to get a better handle on the drop box for assignments and grading and incorporate more discussion forums, blogs and/or wikis.   I think the best idea from this weeks discussion is to construct a course FAQ document.  This could even be done for the weekly assignments.  I have answered them so many times that I already know what many of them are.
4.	OMG!!   I would have to outline the content of this whole course to answer this question.  I have been bombarded by so much new technology that can enhance online courses that there were times that my mind was fried.  What was unexpected was what I learned that could also be applied to my F2F classes that I have been working to hybrid for next year.  I wish I would have had this course last summer.  I developed Angel Masters for all of my courses and now I am going back and revising them.  I was struggling as to how I could do as good of a job teach students if I had half the time to do so.  I now see ways to help do that.  I have already implemented some techniques in my current classes and will have to try some of the other applications so that I am more familiar as to how they will work to deliver content and assess students.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-181</link>

                <dc:creator>Michael Edwards</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:52:01 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-181</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[No worries on the delay, Andrea. Obviously your family comes first!

I'm glad that this course has been helpful. I hope to continue to improve it as time goes on.

I will ask Lyn to keep the course shell open so you can all refer to the contents of the course down the road. However, if there are any articles or other resources you particularly value you might want to find a way to save it to your computer, either by copying and pasting the articles to Word or saving pdfs, etc.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-180</link>

                <dc:creator>aliles</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:44:27 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-180</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[thank you everyone for your replies, opions, and words of wisdom. I do apologige for this late reply but (not looking for excuses) I had to leave campus early on Fri. found out my son (6ys old) has pneumonia and had to run to dr. office to pick up machine for breathing treatments and run to pharmacy to get drugs, then to get him to start drugging him up-back to health. Meanwhile my 2yr old is sick as well. (both are doing better). Anyway not to bog you all down with that, just wanted to explain my little "absence" from the discussion that has been taking place!!
So again thank you all for your replies, I have to agree with you all that due to the main goal and appeal of an online class that the student wants (and a lot of times needs) to complete things at their own pace, that asychronous works the best. Facilitating at times with asynchronous chat could be helpful in starting things off, perhaps getting things back on track or just keeping the right pace, and/or as a wrap up in the end. 
I am feeling now like I did not miss much with Web CT in the past and do feel that Angel has been pretty user friendly to me. I think it's a great tool for having one central "home" for the course to guide and steer the students from. 
I also feel that being an online student in the past does help with that sensitivity factor in knowing what your students need and what may or may not work. 
I feel as if I have gained some guideance and more insight from this class for online teaching and agree with the other comments posted that this class should actually be a pre-requisite for teaching an online class! I also would 2nd (or at this point 3rd) the notion for Mike to keep this course available to us on our Angel homepage for us to be able to refer to all of this information and websties/etc. later!!!!]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-179</link>

                <dc:creator>jdunlap</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:58:59 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-179</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[1.  I have used WebCT and Angel and my feeling is there is know comparison.  WebCT was archaic.  Angel is so much more user friendly althought there is a lot of room for improvement.  Maybe the new version will be even better.  

2.  I have only used asynchronous and as I have expressed before there is something missing which is the connection with the student that you have in the classroom.  I am hoping to move many of my courses to a hybrid format in the next few years which I think will give me the best of both worlds.  May 1st experience with synchronous has been chat on Facebook.  I have found it enlightening in that I now connect routinely with some friends and family for short notes about what is going on in each others lives.  It brings you closer.  OMG is Twitter next!!!

3.  I use both test and assignments to assess student performance.  What is interesting is that they are almost identical to those used in the classroom but the average grade for online students in significantly less and more students fail because of poor performance or little or no performance.  

4.  This only my 2nd online course and I think it would have been an advantage to have taken it before I started teaching online.  Both for quality course development and for know more about the multitude of tools available that can enhance the delivery and student interaction.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-178</link>

                <dc:creator>jdunlap</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:35:55 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-178</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I would ditto you response to question 4.  Training on Angel does not make you a good online instructor.  Not knocking it.  It is necessary to know how to navigate and use the system but this course really helps to understand the best approaches to online teach as well as the multitude of tools available to enhance delivery and interaction.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-177</link>

                <dc:creator>jdunlap</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:28:31 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-177</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Mike,
I think that much of the theory is also necessary particularly for faculty that have not experience online course as a teacher or a student.  Experiencing the use of the various tools is also necessary if we are ever going to use it.  The theory gives us an understanding of the whys and the wherefors but the tools are the how.  I have tried just reading about them but quickly got frustrated when I tried to use them without the guidance and experience of the hands on.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-176</link>

                <dc:creator>jdunlap</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:18:41 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-176</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[The Adobe Connect really sounds interesting.  I have thus far only used asychronous both in WebCT and Angel and I find it to be rather dry as a teacher and I am sure the students feel the same.  I have tried this quarter to stay on top of emails and assignments from students and giving them more detailed feedback even to the point of talking with them on the phone.  I have found that most respond much better and seem more excited about the course content.  I think that some form of sychronous method could help even farther.  I still feel that a lot is missing compared to what happens in the classroom as far as student-teacher and student-student interaction.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-175</link>

                <dc:creator>jdunlap</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:11:01 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-175</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Ditto that!  They have been very helpful.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-174</link>

                <dc:creator>dmiller</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:06:57 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-174</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[#1.  I utlized Web CT and Angel about the same way.  I upload the syllabus instead of printing it out and if I have any hand-outs or homework handouts, I upload those as well.  Back when I first started at Rhodes, a wise man by the name of John Fallon told me that if I post the homework on the calendar on Web CT, the students don't have an excuse for not knowing what is going on in class.  The example this wise man told me about was a student that calls and can't come to class and wants you to call them back and tell them what they missed and what the homework is.  You try calling them back and they are not home and they don't have an answering machine.  Now it's on your back to keep calling the student to let them know what they missed.  Otherwise, the student will say I called you and you didn't call me back.  I now nip this whole scenario in the you know what by posting what we covered on the calendar.  After class I make it a habit of posting what the homework is and what we are going to do the next class.  (It's a little different in computer classes than other traditional classes in the fact that I try to go to the pace of the class.  If they absorb the hands-on material slowly, we go slowly.  If the class is on top of it all and we go quickly, then we cover more material each day.  Thus I don't post the whole course on the calendar ahead of time.)  I also use it for the gradebook.  I have to say the gradebook in Angel works a lot better.  Each time I hand back a graded assignment or exam, I encourage the students to check on Angel to make sure I have posted the proper grade as I can make mistakes too and may have transposed their exam in an 89 instead of a 98.  Of course, some students never look and others always check.  This is the first quarter that I put an exam on Angel and of course, that was the day the Angel server decided to crash.  However, a co-worker told me that he uses Angel every quarter for 6 quizzes and it has never gone down in a middle of his quiz and he loves using it.  I don't have a lot of written quizes vs hands-on, but I intend to put them all on Angel.  It not only makes it easier to grade, etc, but it makes it easier to share with our adjuncts as well.  

#2.  As far as synchronous vs. asynchronous learning, I like the combination of the two.  I received my Masters from OSU-Lima.  Most of our instructors were from the main campus.  We had several on-line classes.  For a few of those classes, we had to log on to our computers at 6:00 on a Tuesday night.  The professor had several questions that she would ask and we all took turns responding to her question and commenting on everyone else's comments.  We actually enjoyed it - it was a long distance interaction that  brought us together.  Of course at the end of the discussion we were always talking about food and what was for supper, etc. so we also formed a friendship.  Like Tim stated, the interactions were rich.  Of course we had reading to do and reports to create during the week at our leisure, but this one hour was required.  I can see uses for both synchronous vs. asynchronous.  

#3.  I leave it to my rubrics and assessments to see how successful a course or assignment is.  I do think that you have to be on top of an online class more so than a F2F for the fact you have to be available to answer questions and facilitate conversations.

#4.  There are many instructors and adjunct instructors that teach an on-line course but have never been an on-line student.  I think Angel and this course should be a requirement before starting.  I am hoping that Mike will leave this course up on my Angel, as I feel he has posted a lot of good articles and references that I will revert back to using in the future.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-173</link>

                <dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:21:01 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-173</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I'm of the same mind as you on this one, Andria.  I like Mike's idea of kicking off the class with some synchronous chat and then carrying on the bulk of the communication asynchronously.   But I like the idea of synchronous online office hours or of Skype availability for a predetermined hour or two each week.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-172</link>

                <dc:creator>Tim Littell</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:03:35 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-172</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[You've posed a number of thought provoking questions, Andrea.  In regards to #2, synchronous vs asynchronous teaching, I, too, like the notion of a balance of the two, but I suspect synchronous opportunities will continue to be challenging to sustain in a distance format since one of the primary appeals to students (and faculty, perhaps?) is the ability to work on their own schedule.  However, this also provide ample opportunity to 1) put off the work and 2) perhaps more significantly, feel disconnected to the classroom.  I've had the opportunity to teach at an online university that has weekly 1-hour synchronous seminars.  These formats "feel" very different than the asynchronous conversation that goes on all week in the discussion board.  Since many students log on 15 minutes or so before the seminar begins, the "chat" format facilitates conversations among the students (and the faculty member) that are warm and supportive.  In many ways, it mimics the "space between" the traditional classroom lecture (before class starts, during a break, and after class).  When teaching in this format, I found the interactions to be very rich and that it gave students opportunities to talk about challenging concepts in a very productive way.

As for a teacher having has online learning experience, I don't know that I could ever endorse it as a requirement, but my experience as an online student certain helped me be sensitive to what I should be doing for my students.  Perhaps the only real requirement for online teaching is to be willing to embrace technological possibilities and have a mindset of working beyond traditional hours.  After having taking this class, I think our Rhodes State online faculty should be required to take both the Angel training from Lyn, but also, more importantly, this course.

Tim]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-171</link>

                <dc:creator>aliles</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:25:03 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-171</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[John and Mike: 
I definitely agree that asynchronous gives you the flexibility that you are essentially looking for in an online course! I mean, really for the most part, isnt that what students are seeking by taking a class online. they want and need to be able to fit the class into their own "personal' schedules and life events! I do also agree though that having a couple of synchronous chats could be beneficial as well, like for "kicking off the class" and establishing a "game plan" and maybe at the end for "wrap up". I do like the idea though of the bulk of the course being conducted asynchronously for the flexibiltiy to all. Another idea could be offering a synchronous chat to anyone interested for open discussion and ?/answer session at some point in the course to help students who need it to redirect themselves or clear up confusion.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-170</link>

                <dc:creator>Michael Edwards</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:29:10 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-170</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Asynchronous is obviously more flexible and for many teachers will be the default. However in certain contexts synchronous can be really powerful.

Tools like DimDim and Adobe Connect might unlock some of the usefulness of synchronous. You can present, draw a white board, split participants up into groups, video and audio chat, and more "real classroom" type stuff.

It also depends on what kind of class you're teaching and how you want to go about delivering material.

I think it might be nice to have a synchronous session early on to foster a sense of community, then have one or two activities later to tie things together or do some other sort of presenting and sharing.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-169</link>

                <dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:25:15 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-169</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[The more I read about asynchronous vs. synchronous, I think I'm more in favor of asynchronous.  I like the idea of focusing on the course content than the social aspect, especially the online social aspect.  Synchronous seems more touchy-feely, which I'm not sure I want to promote, unless I am there "in" the room, so to speak.  I liked synchronous with Skype because it still had some feeling of structure.  I don't think I want chat rooms.  I don't know.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-168</link>

                <dc:creator>John</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:48:02 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-168</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[Andrea, Nice resource you posted on the Wiki for week four regarding the national standards for quality online teaching.  That is a very handy resource--such a simple layout with easy to read and understand checklists for quality.  I bet Mike could even use some of these checklists, such as checklist B, for people to take an online readiness pre-test before signing up to take this course.]]></description>
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				<title>Comments on: Week 4 Discussion Prompts: </title>
				<link>http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-167</link>

                <dc:creator>Michael Edwards</dc:creator>
				<pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:18:01 +0000</pubDate>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://blogs.rhodesstate.edu/teachingonline/2010/02/03/week-4-discussion-prompts/#comment-167</guid>
                <description><![CDATA[I hope to make this class even more practical. I get worried that it's too theoretical; But at the same time the theory can sometimes give people the "big picture" they need to see what tools will help them the most or what approach will be most effective.

I will definitely be taking some of your suggestions (and others) to make this course easier, to provide more on-the-stop support, and to include "wrapping-it-all-together" summaries to help us piece things together.]]></description>
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