1. Training Brick & Mortar Supervisors to Effectively Evaluate Online Courses & Teaching NERCOMP: Education & Technology in Service of the Networked Society 2008 Bonnie Riedinger, ETDL Director, Manchester Community College Copyright Bonnie Riedinger, 2008. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. Best Practices Course Design & Navigation Class Management Technological Issues Resources Community & Social Presence (Pedagogy) Effective Teaching Practices for Web-Enhanced, Hybrid and Online Classes http://www.commnet.edu/academics/webct/docs/Effective_Teaching_Practices_for_Web- enhanced_hybrid_online_classes_1a.pdf

3. Course Design Think genre A book is not a play. A play is not a movie. The movie version may impart much of the same information but the design and delivery are very different. Well done versions of each provide the audience with rewarding reading/viewing experiences. Badly done—remember the movie version of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil ? An online course is not an on-ground course.

4. A Literal Learning Environment When students enter an online course, they are in a place, an environment. Locations in an online course should be set up for different activities just as different areas in a home are designed for different activities, It makes no sense to keep the egg timer in the bathtub or the toilet brush in the fireplace so why should students leave the Week One module to hunt down a rubric lost among two dozen icons scattered on the Home Page? Everything in its place and a place for everything.

5. Course Design: Redundancy But sometimes items belong in more than one place... The kitchen and the bathroom both need running water and sinks. Each bedroom needs a bed and a bureau. What needs to be in each weekly module for the course? Are the assignments, deadlines and rubrics listed in each module or do students have to go scavenging to another “room?”

6. Best Practices Checklist Course Design & Navigation Course should be clearly designed and easy for new students to navigate. Students should know where to begin as soon as they log into the course without the aid of on-ground orientation. This will help students find material, understand deadlines, and organize the way they approach learning. Course design and navigation strategies include: Welcome organizer page Chunking information Clear labels Consistent layout Redundancy Detailed syllabus ADA compliance

7. Best Practices Checklist Class Management Interaction Strategies Use clearly defined spaces for questions for the instructor and off-topic discussions. Use Discussion Board for general course questions to cut down on individual e-mails, preserve record of exchanges and allow all students to see responses to common questions. Facilitate discussions to ensure safe and thoughtful learning environment.

8. Best Practices Checklist Class Management Expectations & Modeling Behavior Although the syllabus is the place to start, be sure expectations are repeated throughout the course. E.g. the netiquette policy is posted in the syllabus and modeled on the discussion board. Some items to include: Netiquette. Late work policy (particularly in cases of technical difficulties). Response time from instructor and method of communication (Discussion forums, e-mail, phone, etc). Instructor should respond to students within 24 hours. Format for discussion board postings—subject headings, dates, deadlines. Rubric for quality and quantity of discussion postings. Very detailed and clear assignments. Instructors do not have in-class opportunities to elaborate on assignments. Instructions may need to be rewritten to include details that would have been covered “in class.”

9. Best Practices Checklist Technological Issues Students may have a wide range of technical literacy. Links to tutorials about WebCT Vista, troubleshooting information, and technical specifications for the course should be included. These elements can help prevent technology meltdowns: Information about Student Orientation Shell. Information about browsers and computer requirements. Available at CTDLC. Help Desk contact information for CTDLC. Technology required specifically for this course. Provide links to free plug-ins when necessary; e.g., link to download for Adobe Reader if students are required to read pdf files. Technical literacy requirements for this course; e.g., students must know how to attach documents to e-mail messages or must be able to produce a PowerPoint presentation. Links to tutorials will help students who do not have good technical skills. Back up plans for technology problems and downtime. Such plans should be announced to students at the beginning of the course.

10. Best Practices Checklist Resources Links and info for campus resources should be included: Library resources Technological Support Counseling Services Tutoring and learning support Academic integrity and plagiarism Web resources for coursework

11. Pedagogy Teaching and Learning are action verbs Community (Interaction) Social Presence (Interaction) Assignment Design Student-centered Learning (Constructivism)

12. Bill Pelz’s Three Principles 1. Let the students do (most of) the work 2. Interactivity is the heart and soul of effective asynchronous learning 3. Strive for presence “(My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy” by Bill Pelz, JALN Vol. 8, Issue 3, June 2004, http://www.sloan- c.org/publications/jaln/v8n3/v8n3_pelz.asp

13. Let the students do (most of) the work Student-led discussions Students find and discuss Web resources Peer Assistance Students grade their own homework Case study analysis “(My) Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy” by Bill Pelz, JALN Vol. 8, Issue 3, June 2004, http://www.sloan- c.org/publications/jaln/v8n3/v8n3_pelz.asp

14. Best Practices Checklist Community & Social Presence Community These strategies can help promote a community of learners : Clear orientation and statement of expectations. Student introductions or bios including photos. Water cooler or student lounge where students can socialize. Use of discussion board to answer general course questions. Active learning assignments, group work, problem-based learning that requires collaboration.

15. Best Practices Checklist Community & Social Presence Social Presence Interaction between instructor and students and between students is how online teaching and learning is defined. Instructors need to be present in the course not just to answer questions, but to establish community and rapport with students just as they would in an on-ground classroom. Presence can be established by allowing the instructor’s own style and personality to shine. Think about ways the instructor’s “in-person” teaching style can be conveyed online. Here are some strategies: A personal welcome written in the instructor’s voice rather than just the policy-speak of the syllabus. A bio including some non-academic information; e.g., hobbies and interests. A photo or iMovie introduction. Audio clips. Daily posts. Prompt (within 24 hours) responses to questions. Modeling expected behavior in discussion boards. Lots of detailed feedback. Open-ended questions.

16. Best Practices Checklist Assignments Provide very detailed, clear instructions Repeat instructions and expectations Use learner focused approach Present material logically Use scaffolded approach Use external resources Consider diverse learning styles, cultural differences, and backgrounds/experience of students Encourage critical thinking, reflection, collaboration, self-directed learning in context of “real world”

17. INSTRUCTIONAL OBSERVATION FORM Faculty Name: Evaluator: Date of Evaluation: Time of Evaluation: Class visited: No. of Students: Was the lesson organized and clearly presented? Describe the level of student interest and participation. Describe the quality of interpersonal relations between the instructor and students. What was particularly effective about the instruction? And, what suggestions would you make concerning how instruction could be improved? Recommended Rating: _________ Satisfactory _________ Adequate, but needs improvement _________Unsatisfactory ___________________________________________________ Evaluator SignatureDate ___________________________________________________ Evaluee SignatureDate ___________________________________________________ Division Director SignatureDate ___________________________________________________ Dean of Academic Affairs SignatureDate

18. Lesson Organization Was the lesson organized and clearly presented?

19. Lesson Organization: What’s wrong with this Home Page?

20. Unsatisfactory Lesson Organization No listing of course name or instructor Cluttered page No navigational aids Cryptic labeling Inconsistent use of assignment tool and content files

21. Lesson Organization : Home Page What could be improved?

22. Example of Adequate Lesson Organization : Home Page (Needs Improvement) Not too cluttered, but no clear navigational structure Use of different icons indicates that materials may not be well organized when students drill down No clear identification as MCC course Although contact information is provided there are no instructions on how communications will occur.

23. Example of Satisfactory Lesson Organization: Home Page Clear labeling of course name and number Clearly labeled icons that guide student navigation Branding of college with MCC logo Clean layout with minimal number of icons

24. Course Organization How could this syllabus be improved ?

25. How does this syllabus illustrate Best Practices in Course Organization?

26. What could be improved on this Discussion Board?

27. Student Engagement Describe the level of student interest and participation.

28. How could this discussion question be improved to increase student engagement and learning?

29. Interpersonal Relations Describe the quality of interpersonal relations between the instructor and students. What areas from the Best Practices we’ve discussed would illustrate the quality of interpersonal relations?

30. Evidence of Effective Teaching What was particularly effective about the instruction? And, what suggestions would you make concerning how instruction could be improved? What are some of the effective online instructional approaches would you look for based on the Best Practices we’ve reviewed?