Designing for Quality Discussions with Participation Guidelines

 

When designing your online course, it important to incorporate clear, consistent guidelines for participation activities. These guidelines might include:

In the short video below, Tracy Schaelen walks you through an example of how to provide guidelines and criteria for online discussions.

Communicating Your Instructor Contact Information

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Online students want to know how and when they can contact you. This information should clearly displayed and placed in a location that students can get to quickly and easily. Your instructor contact information should include:

In the brief video below, Teresa Borden shares her instructor communication information as it is displayed in her online course.

Why Am I Doing This? Making Assessments Meaningful

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It is important for assessments to align with learning objectives in order to reinforce content and lead to educational improvement. The given learning objectives helps the student anticipate what they will be expected to know for assessment.

In the brief video below, Aloha Sargent provides a tour of her online class showing how she uses a course overview page with a brief video to ensure students understand what they will be expected to know by the end of the unit and how they will demonstrate that they have learned.

10 Tips for Creating Effective Instructional Videos

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This post first appeared on Faculty Focus.

Instructor presence is an important component of effective online teaching, and video can help make it happen. Instructional videos have become increasingly easy to create and can turn a good online class into an engaging learning experience. Video humanizes the online experience by letting students know their instructor as a real person, not an abstraction. Good quality webcams are available for less than $100, and there are numerous free and easy-to-use resources for creating and publishing video content so it can be streamed back into our courses.

Staring into a webcam and pressing the record button can be intimidating for some of us–after all, we’re teachers, not TV personalities–but it’s actually easier than you might think. Here are 10 tips that will soon have you broadcasting like a pro.

  1. Forget the headset. If your computer doesn’t have a built-in camera and microphone, buy a webcam that does both. Webcam sound quality is almost as good as a headset’s, and it lets you be “you” without the Mickey Mouse ears.
  2. Keep it short. Students have been raised on YouTube. Try to keep your videos brief. Few students will sit through videos where the instructor drones on and on. If you have a lot to say (and sometimes we do!), chunk up the message. Make a video mini-series with 5-10 minute chapters.
  3. Prepare well and then wing it. Some people like to start out with a script, but this can feel artificial. Sometimes a brief outline taped next to your webcam is all you need to stay on track without sounding like you’re reading from your notes. However, if the video is only five minutes or so, you might just re-record until you get it right—not necessarily “perfect.”
  4. Position the camera above your eyes, so you look slightly up at it. Avoid looking down at the camera. Your audience does not want to look up your nose. If you’re using a laptop, put a stack of books under it so you raise the camera. Position your head to appear at the top third of the screen so the recording includes your face and most of your torso.
  5. Location, location, location. Your work or home office are usually safe choices as a background for the recording. Outdoors can be a nice change. Try putting your back to a neutral wall with the light source in front. Avoid sitting in front of a window, as the glare will make you appear as if you’re in a witness protection program. And this should be obvious but it needs to be said: don’t record with your bed, pajamas, laundry, or bathroom in the background.
  6. Move it out. Don’t always shoot your videos from the same spot. Your audience will tire of seeing the same background. Start with your office, but also consider a quiet place on the campus quad or maybe your kitchen or backyard. Keep the backgrounds neutral but varied. Your audience will appreciate it.
  7. Look right at the camera lens. Looking anywhere else looks weird. Your audience will think you have an avoidance problem.
  8. Cover your screen. Once you get everything ready, consider taping a piece of paper over your computer screen so you’re not distracted by seeing yourself while you record. Remember, you do not need to be perfect! Try not to be overly critical of yourself.
  9. Say “cheese.” Smiling helps everything. Whether you’re recording a webcast of your face or just your voice, smiling makes you look and sound better.
  10. Avoid over doing it. The wacky music, goofy fade-ins, and spinning transitions that come with some video editing software can make home-videos look corny. Leave most of those tools for the professionals (who don’t really use them either).

 

Using Rubrics for Assessments

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A well-constructed assessment is designed to provide learners the opportunity to reach an outcome that is measurable and specific. Assessments will include a descriptive grading criteria that is communicated to learners. A rubric is an indispensable tool used to describe grading criteria and accurately measure learners’ progress towards accomplishment of a specific outcome. Canvas provides a robust, flexible rubric creation tool that can be linked to any assignment created in Canvas.

In the brief video below, Mike Smedshammer takes you on a brief tour of his online class to show you what a rubric looks like in Canvas and explain why he integrates them his assessments.

Developing Clear Instructions for Assessments

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In order to ensure that students are confident that they are completing assignments correctly, it is important that the instructions explain the assignment as clearly as possible. The more precise and clear the instructions, the better students are able to focus their attention on achieving the assessment’s outcome, improving learning and easing anxiety.

In the brief video below, Mike Smedshammer provides a brief tour of one of his online courses that demonstrates the use of clear and effective instructions for an assessment.

Choosing an Effective Homepage in Canvas

In this @ONE Canvas Q&A, you will be introduced to the Canvas Homepage feature and identify effective strategies for choosing one that supports the success of your online students.

Supporting English Language Learners Online

Imagine moving to another country, where few people speak English, where the culture is completely different. Imagine yourself settling in and deciding to take a local online class. You become an online learner in a new country, in a new language, in a new culture, in a new online space. How do you feel? What will you need to succeed?

This is the perspective of your online English Language Learners: your ELLs. Who are they and what do they need? How can you support them in your online class? One word: Scaffolding.

Navigating the Course

First, how do you welcome your students?  How do you deliver directions? What are the norms for your class? From the start it will be helpful to identify the ELLs in your class and in a 1-on-1 communication to acknowledge the language learning piece of their study. Could you create a special Welcome Letter for your ELLs? Could you create a vocabulary list of terms for navigating the course? Could you pair up ELLs in a break-out group? Identifying the challenges up-front and scaffolding the navigation will bring a sense of ease, opening the channels of communication, and giving students the language to identify confusion in course navigation.

Course Content

 Learning in another language is easier and tends to be more successful when the content area is already familiar. So an ELL with an advanced degree in Chemistry might not be fluent in English for your Science course, but they’ll have sufficient background knowledge in the content to be successful. In contrast, if an ELL has no background in your content area you’ll need to scaffold the discipline itself. For an example, in a Composition class your ELLs may have never learned the norms we use for organizing a paragraph around a topic sentence and sticking to a controlling idea. Some cultures go around and around a topic until they get to the point. Other cultures use long flowing sentences that last a whole paragraph. Acknowledging these differences respectfully and scaffolding the mastery of norms for your discipline within this culture is key.

Learning Modalities 

How many learning modalities do you use when you deliver your instruction? The more you can scaffold your content with video clips, audio clips, infographics, outside links, kinesthetic activities, the more successful your ELLs, and all your students, will be.

Time Management

Online learning requires effective time management, especially in another language. State this up-front with your ELLs. How can your they plug in to student support services regularly and how might they work this into their weekly schedule so that their learning is consistently scaffolded?

Online Readiness

Some of your ELLs  might not have the academic background, the personal discipline, the technology access, or the language ability they need to do their best work. How do you prepare for this the first weeks of your class so that all your students have access to effective online learning? How can you scaffold readiness?

Cultural Differences

Some cultures encourage students to be outspoken and argumentative. Others expect students to be passive and agreeable. How can you nudge students to follow the rules of netiquette and also speak up when they need clarification? And how can you be curious about your ELLs as individuals who bring their cultural background as well as their unique personality and learning style to this online space?

Bringing Together The Stakeholders

Who is invested in the success of your ELLs? Do you have ESL online tutoring? Online Basic Skills preparation? Is your Equity team plugged in to your online program? Does the EdTech Department collaborate on ELL-friendly course design? Do ELLs have an online campus voice? How can we bring all these voices to a round-table forum so that we design our programs with ELLs in mind, bringing all our campus resources and content area knowledge together in a shared commitment to excellence? How can we build a strong ELL scaffold together?

Now return to your imaginary new country and your imaginary new online course. How do you feel knowing you have been been acknowledged, warmly welcomed and supported in your learning? What else might you need to do your best work?

Student Info Form: Identify High Opportunity Students in Week 1

As a California community college instructor, you are committed to serving the needs of an extremely diverse student population. Many of the students in your online classes are first-generation college students and from underrepresented minority groups.  These underserved groups are more likely to work full-time and manage complex family responsibilities while completing their college degrees. Being aware of the complex challenges your students are juggling can be difficult, especially in online classes. But this awareness is essential to your ability to support them.

As you design the "Getting Started" area of your online course, consider including a link to a confidential Student Information Form. This is a practice I have used in my own online classes with great success.  The form provides me with data about my students, enabling me to identify those who will benefit most from my high-touch interactions. The concept is simple:

Below is a sample Google Form I have used in my online classes. Feel free to adapt it for your own class! Open the sample form in a new window.

Wisdom Wall

Relationships are key to fostering culturally responsive online teaching practices that support the success of our diverse student population in the California Community College system. This is especially true for Latinx students, whose concept of educación is predicated on such a relationship. Relationships are founded on trust and that can be difficult to establish in an online class, especially when students experience self-doubt about whether they have what it takes to succeed in a college class.

The Wisdom Wall is a practice that helps to reduce student anxiety at the start of an online class and build a foundation of trust upon which meaningful relationships are more likely to develop. Online instructors should take a variety of approaches to ensure students feel welcome at the start of a class and leveraging the power of student voices in this effort is especially powerful. When students hear messages about your class from their peers, they're more likely to be convinced by them. This is why the Wisdom Wall is such a powerful community-building practice. The concept is simple.

Here is an excerpt of one of my past Wisdom Walls (designed with VoiceThread):

Have you used the Wisdom Wall in your online class? Please leave a comment below to share your experiences or tips for modifying this practice. Thanks for sharing.

 

Community Ground Rules

From the first moment a student accesses your course, the tone is set. Your course homepage, syllabus and other "getting started" materials play key roles in the how your students begin to relate to their experience in your online class. Setting an inviting and supportive tone is especially important in supporting the success of our first-generation college students and other underserved groups, who are more likely to feel self-doubt and exhibit engagement apprehension in academic environments. Including a set of Community Ground Rules in your course syllabus is a great way to communicate that your students will be valued participants in a learning community and articulate what that means.

Below is a set of sample Community Ground Rules I have used in my online classes. They are included in my book, Best Practices for Teaching with Emerging Technologies, and I have shared them in the Public Domain, which means you are free to re-use and adapt them in your own class without permission or attribution. Do you have modifications to share? Please share your ideas in a comment at the bottom of the page!

Sample Community Ground Rules

A community is a group of individuals who work together to support a common goal or interest. In this online class, we work together to support the successful achievement of our learning outcomes. In an effort to ensure our community develops, thrives and sustains throughout our time together, the following ground rules will be in effect at all times.

  1. Treat contributions made by other members of the class with respect.
  2. Reach out and help when you see the need. And ask for help when you need it.
  3. Have patience and a sense of humor with technology. There will be hiccups, expect them.
  4. Keep an open mind. If you’re feeling reluctant, that’s ok. Take it one step at a time and look at this as an opportunity to learn something new.
  5. Contribute regularly to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
  6. Respect the diverse opinions and viewpoints of each member of our community. Differences allow us to learn and grow together.
  7. Understand that communications shared through text have a higher likelihood of being misinterpreted than the spoken word. Therefore, when you type a thought or a comment, read it carefully before you submit it. If you question the way it is worded, read it out loud to yourself. If you still question the way it’s phrased, rewrite it.
  8. Contribute regularly to group dialogue, including blog posts and replies. The contributions of each individual play a role in the collective strength and diversity of our community.
  9. Members of our community are restricted to enrolled members of our class, in an effort to maintain a safe, trustworthy discussion environment. [If students will be engaging in interactions in the public web, note those activities here (and in other parts of your course where those activities are explained) to ensure they know who their audience is before they contribute. Learning to share appropriately in the public web is an important component of developing of digital citizenship and it’s your job to ensure students are clear about who has access to their work.]
  10. All image and video content shared within this community will reflect acceptable academic standards. You are expected to use discretion and, if asked, you will be expected to demonstrate how your content supports the theme of our community: “[enter a description of the community’s theme here].”
  11. Any community member has the ability to create a new discussion forum in our course. However, the individual who creates the forum immediately takes on the responsibility of moderating it. This means you have committed to regularly responding to new comments and greeting new members of the forum.
  12. If, at any time, you feel that any of these ground rules have been violated by a member of our community, you are encouraged to bring your concern directly and immediately to [enter your name], our community leader. Clearly identify which ground rule has been violated and include specific evidence of the violation in your email. Your concerns will be addressed promptly with careful consideration in an individualized manner.

These Sample Community Ground Rules by Michelle Pacansky-Brock are shared in the Public Domain and may be re-used and adapted without permission or attribution.

Using the Canvas Scheduler to Arrange Meetings with Your Students

In this @ONE Canvas Q&A, you will learn how to use the handy Canvas Scheduler tool to set up convenient appointment slots on your course calendar that students can sign up for in a click! The scheduler is the perfect solution for arranging times to meet with your students and can be configured across multiple courses our just one. It's a huge time saver and makes scheduling time to meet with your students a breeze.