Managing Online Instruction

YOUR ROLE AS INSTRUCTOR

Online learning requires new and different roles for students and instructors. The nature of the medium lends itself to student input with the faculty member present but taking a less intrusive role. In this medium, primary focus is on the students' learning and the instructor is facilitator rather than director.

The medium

requires a great deal of advanced planning but is a flexible and dynamic environment allowing for last minute changes relies on the presence of the instructor who provides structure and monitors the flow of the course activities

COMMUNICATIONS WITH STUDENTS

E-mail (individual and group) Individual: best used when the information needs to be privately conveyed identify in your syllabus how you will use e-mail and how you expect students to use it indicate in syllabus how often you will check your e-mail and what students may expect in terms of response time Group: set up a group e-mail for the entire class for announcements provide this for members of the class to use or indicate its existence and ask students to contact you if they would like an announcement sent to all. (You can then determine appropriateness of use.) set up small group e-mail lists if you have students doing collaborative work

Discussion forums Discussion forums are an important and dynamic way of supporting class discussions and collaborative group work. However, these dialogues, like e-mail, can become unruly and less effective if they are not set up and moderated in an efficient manner. Subjects of forums: Content-related with specific questions. Content-related with ongoing open dialogue. Collaborative work group process. "Help" and Resource exchange can provide an efficient way for students to help each other with a variety of concerns, such as confusion over an assignment or the time frame for completing a task. In a larger section, the instructor might require that students consult with each other on course mechanics BEFORE they e-mail the instructor. This not only helps to control the amount of e-mail, it also helps students build community, develop their resourcefulness as a group and take responsibility for their learning. Unstructured social interaction or an "Electronic Lounge" where students can discuss matters not necessarily related to the curriculum. This should be managed for and by them for the purposes of socializing. Management of forums: Set the stage for the discussion by identifying the purpose of the forum and the rules under which it will operate. The instructions you provide need to be more detailed for the first forum as this means of conversing will be new for many students. For example you might tell students the following about their responses: "You will need to post a minimum of two responses to the WELCOME forum within the first seven days of the course. The first response should serve as an introduction to you and should include why you are enrolled in this course. Then within the week, you will need to continue to check the postings of others in the forum and respond to at least one of them, in terms of any aspect of their introduction." Be clear with students about the basis that will be used to determine the awarding of any grades or points associated with participation in the forum. "Participation in this forum carries 5 points toward total Unit I grade." Model interactive participation and reward it in your students. Notice who is and is not participating. Encourage all students to join in. Ask other students to do the same. Add meaning to the discussion by "weaving" responses together or summarizing or making an observation about the nature and direction of the responses. NOTE: Ratio of student-to-faculty comments and participation is generally between 10:1 and 2:1. Less "faculty" and more "student" seems to relate to success of the course. For other information on moderating a forum, consult Learning Networks by Harasim, which is available through the LeCroy Center. Chat rooms:  These "live" sessions can be very useful but should be established only after consulting with students regarding their availability. Most faculty find that students enroll in online courses because they like and need the flexibility. However, small group or private online appointments can be successful.

FILE AND RECORD MANAGEMENT

Managing the files associated with your electronic classroom can be an exasperating or pleasant experience. The area of file management is probably the most frequent problem that faculty have the first semester they teach online. As you prepare for your course, you will need to learn about the options you have for keeping track of student and course files in some organized manner. This will involve not only identifying the structure of your filing system but also the naming conventions you want students to use for work that is submitted. For help with this task, please consult with Joan Parent. She will provide you with some information and suggestions as well as put you in touch with other faculty who do this well!

Student record and feedback. Plan both the manner and timing for providing feedback for students. You may wish to post grades by assigned passwords in a common area or handle these through e-mail. Please be sensitive to the student's right to privacy.

COPYRIGHT, PERMISSIONS, ETC.

Be sure that anything that you post on your website classroom meets the guidelines for copyright, fair use, etc. In addition, if you are using links to other sites, you should request permission to do so. This is a courtesy and generally you will get a very positive response! For additional information consult:

Teaching at a Distance with the Merging Technologies, Tom Cyrs 

Am I a Crook? (teleconference tape), Feb 1998

Both of the above are available through LeCroy.

If you have any questions about securing permission or determining whether or not you are in violation of copyright laws, please ask the Associate Dean, Joan, or your programmer for assistance.

MISS MANNERS

The online environment is a wonderful medium. However, it does require that users learn some new communication techniques as well as "Netiquette". It is well worth your effort to provide students with a link to this information and include it in an early assignment , part of the orientation process or the opening discussion forum. Some related Web sites are http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/index.html.

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