1. Real-Time Engagement Is Where It’s At ! Dr. Michael E. Scheuermann Associate Vice-President Instructional Technology Support Information Resources and Technology Drexel University Philadelphia, USA April 7, 2009

2. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Abstract "Anytime-Anywhere" is a marketing phrase to entice students to consider taking online courses. Unfortunately, that very phrase also eliminates the opportunity for online course facilitators to include mandatory (or even optional) synchronous course elements and strategies in their teaching and learning initiatives. This highly-interactive session will focus on group interaction relative to synchronous course element strategies, successes, challenges, and failures. Attendees will leave the session more fully informed on what inclusion of synchronous elements in their online courses can bring to their teaching and learning initiatives and course offerings. They will have seen many actual student responses to their experiences in participating in real-time course activities, what they liked, how it enhanced their learning, and the overall experience.

3. Michael E. Scheuermann, Ph.D. Adjunct Faculty Member  Engineering Management  College of Business  School of Education Online Graduate Course Facilitator 2000 – Present  Blackboard Vista 8  Wimba Classroom Course Elements Associate Vice President  Instructional Technology Support ITS OLTATICST

4. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Synchronous Chat in Online Courses What faculty, and others, typically have to say about synchronous elements “The Myths”

5. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Myth #1 “Anytime – Anywhere” is the way that online learning needs to be!

6. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Myth #2 “I will never be able to get my students together for any synchronous online chat sessions!”

7. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Myth #3 “My students will either think it is impossible to do chat sessions – or – they will not find any value in them anyway.”

8. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Myth #4 “By the way - conducting online chat sessions will be too much work for me!”

9. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Student-Directed Chat Sessions Skeletal set of topics to cover during the online chat – linked to the reading assignments Students determine the direction of the chat session Instructor role: – alternate topics (aligned with assigned readings) – heighten student engagement – energize the conversation – redirect / correct ~ only when necessary

10. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Four scheduled sessions per term Two in the 1 st half-of-term and two in the 2 nd half 7:30pm-9:00pm or 7:00pm-8:30pm (Eastern) 7-10 participants per session (optimal) <13 students1 chat night 14-20 students2 chat nights 21-30 students3 chat nights Synchronous Chat

11. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Synchronous Chat (cont.) Students are randomly-assigned to the chat nights (based on enrollment) Students can switch chat nights – session-by-session, or, across the term Students make “the switch” – Contact course colleagues and make the switch – Students advise the instructor of the switch – Builds learning community! – Diminishes instructor administrative role!

12. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Synchronous Chat in Online Courses Qualitative Data from the Students

13. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Do Students Want Me to Eliminate Mandatory Chat Sessions?

14. Question Posed to Students “Should I eliminate these chat sessions in future offerings of this course and make them completely asynchronous?”

15. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Student Responses – Winter 2008 “NO !! Please do not eliminate these on-line chat sessions. This is a great way to garner everyone's thoughts, comments, opinions, expertise and examples of how principles in this course are applied in real world situations. I look forward to these sessions.” “No, I like the chats. It makes me feel like I am in a more interactive environment, like I am in a classroom setting rather than 100% online.” “No, keep these chats, they are very beneficial to the class and learning experience. They bring a personal feel to this virtual class.”

16. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Student Responses – Spring 2008 “I think you should keep it as is, because it allows direct interaction between classmates and it makes it feel like a class room atmosphere.” “No, do not eliminate. This is good, it makes people a little bit more accountable to this class, and you can hear people answer to questions. It kept me up to date with the reading knowing that I needed to do this chat.” “NO, I believe that the chat will continue to improve and provides an interesting, classroom type medium, to improve the interaction with students. Perhaps some student-to-student chatting should be considered.”

17. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Student Responses – Summer 2008 “I think you should keep the chats. Being able to associate a voice with a response also helps to assume the personality of the individual. Because we don't meet face-to-face, this voice-contact is important.” “No, the chats really made me feel closer to my classmates and made the on-line class more ‘real.’ Hearing the opinions of others helped increase my knowledge of each of the subjects.” “No. You should keep it. I think the interaction that we have in these chats is a valuable addition to the takeaways that we receive in this class. It's a chance for us to get together and actively probe one another on some topics. You can't get the level and pace of interactive participation in the asynchronous threads.”

18. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Student Responses – To Eliminate OCs “I would prefer not to do the chats. I like being able to do the course when I want to and not have to log in at any specific time.” [Winter 2008] “I think making it asynchronous would really help as I choose online classes for their flexibility. but i did enjoy the chat sessions but I would miss it but I did have difficulties in keeping this time clear of my schedule.” [Spring 2008] “Although I find these Chat Sessions very interesting, I think it should be eliminated because there may be some students in different time zones. In addition, Drexel E-learning did not inform applicants that there will by synchronous chats. So there is some disconnect there. It would have been helpful to have adequate information.” [Summer 2008]

19. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Quantitative Overview of Student Responses Winter 2007-08Spring 2007-08Summer 2007-08 16/22 Positive 73%24/29 Positive 83%10/12 Positive 83%

20. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Synchronous Chat in Online Courses Qualitative Data from Faculty

21. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. What Value Did Faculty Find in Using Wimba Classroom ?

22. Question Posed to Faculty “How have you utilized Wimba Classroom elements in your online teaching, and, what has that meant to you and your students?”

23. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Faculty Feedback (1) “I don’t know how innovative it is, but I use Wimba classroom to hold virtual office hours for our students who are in Sacramento. They log in, turn their webcam on and we talk as if we are in the same room.”

24. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Faculty Feedback (2) “Yes... I have used it several times in all my courses this term. The students appreciate the live atmosphere yet in the comfort of their dorm, apartment, etc. I have used voice-over PPT and asked the students to listen to the lecture over a two day period. I thought they would like this method better than the time-constricted Live Class room. They did not. They preferred the Wimba class.”

25. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Faculty Feedback (3) “Wimba Classroom continues to enhance my graduate courses in toxicology as a method by which individuals can chat with me in real- time during our weekly 'ToxCHAT' sessions. I have found that if I offer these sessions as 'voluntary', student participation is still good. I've done this now for two terms [4 sections] and have found that individuals who find it helpful will use it...[numbers vary but 1/3 to 1/2 of the class utilize it regularly]. I think this is an interesting example of offering flexibility and watching students respond depending upon their individuals needs, schedules, and interest in further discussion about the course materials.”

26. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Faculty Feedback (4) “Mike, I have been using Wimba on a Weekly basis. My students are enjoying a lot. Some nice features that I like is the capability of uploading a PPT presentation, and then using my tablet to make marks on the presentation, and/or write my math equations. Also, I am starting to use the polling feature. That gets my students excited. And it seems as though they interact even more after the each polling. It is kind spicing up the presentation a bit more. Another important feature that I like is the sharing stuff. I can show my desktop, and walk the students through a series of computations using a financial calculator. I have a program in my computer that simulates a financial calculator's operations. With that said, I was not only able to teach my students how to set the financial calculator up, but also carry out time value of money (TVM) computations, bond valuation, and advanced problems in capital budgeting and M&A as well.”

27. Getting Started w/ Chat Conduct “online office hours” – Solicit student feedback Should OCs be regular parts of the class? Try some optional Chat sessions – Extra credit opportunity, perhaps? Introduce a few mandatory sessions – Regulate the number of participants – Solicit student feedback Should the # of OCs be increased? Constantly monitor student feedback

28. Getting Started w/ Chat (cont.) Make-up credit Prep for mid term / final test and/or papers Student “group work” Guest speakers, e.g., “Ask a Librarian” Mandatory ~ at a low level, initially Provide instant feedback Appeal to various learning styles Focus on best practices

29. Current Grading Scheme ORGB-631 My workload?

30. Current Grading Scheme EGMT-581 My workload?

31. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Online Chats and Cyber Office Hours: Everything but the Office “…educators should consider including interactive components that utilize both synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated communication when designing web-based courses” (p. 114). Lavooy and Newlin, University of Central Florida, International Journal on E-Learning: Corporate, Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1, 2008

32. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Online Chats and Cyber Office Hours: Everything but the Office (2) “Certainly, as these results suggest, students will avail themselves of the opportunity to meet with an instructor and fellow cyber-students when afforded a synchronous environment” (p. 114). Lavooy and Newlin, University of Central Florida, International Journal on E-Learning: Corporate, Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1, 2008

33. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Online Chats and Cyber Office Hours: Everything but the Office (3) “Shouldn’t we as instructors, make use of all available tools that serve to benefit the student in web-based, web-enhanced, and traditional, live courses? As we continue to evaluate course components, we can better address the needs of students, thereby increasing the chance of success” (p. 115). Lavooy and Newlin, University of Central Florida, International Journal on E-Learning: Corporate, Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education Vol. 7, No. 1, 2008

34. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. 1.Anytime – Anywhere” is the way that online learning needs to be! The Myths

35. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. 1.Anytime – Anywhere” is the way that online learning needs to be! 2.“I will never be able to get my students together for any synchronous online chat sessions!” The Myths

36. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. 1.Anytime – Anywhere” is the way that online learning needs to be! 2.“I will never be able to get my students together for any synchronous online chat sessions!” 3.“My students will either think it is impossible to do chat sessions – or – they will not find any value in them anyway.” The Myths

37. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. 1.Anytime – Anywhere” is the way that online learning needs to be! 2.“I will never be able to get my students together for any synchronous online chat sessions!” 3.“My students will either think it is impossible to do chat sessions – or – they will not find any value in them anyway.” 4.“By the way - conducting online chat sessions will be too much work for me!” The Myths

38. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. The Myths 1.Anytime – Anywhere” is the way that online learning needs to be! 2.“I will never be able to get my students together for any synchronous online chat sessions!” 3.“My students will either think it is impossible to do chat sessions – or – they will not find any value in them anyway.” 4.“By the way - conducting online chat sessions will be too much work for me!”

39. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. YOUR Insights What other approaches do you take with Chat in your courses?

40. mes27@drexel.ed u Questions ?

41. Real-Time Engagement Is Where It’s At ! Dr. Michael E. Scheuermann Associate Vice-President Instructional Technology Support Information Resources and Technology Drexel University Philadelphia, USA April 7, 2009

42. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Threaded Discussions

43. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Threaded Discussions 10 topics each week, + – 1 “open” topic, 1 “Water Cooler” topic – 1 “Report LMS Problems” topic Requirements: – Read all of the topics – Post in four of your choosing – Make 4 “original” posts by 11pm Tuesday EST – Read your colleagues’ posts – Make 4 “response” posts by 11pm Thursday EST – Participate in (at least) 8 different topics

44. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Threaded Discussions (cont.) What constitutes “a post”? 1.A few salient sentences on the topic (consult the Syllabus ~ rubric) 2.Encourage the participation of others 3.Defend your position 4.Dispute others’ positions with which you do disagree 5.Link posts to course / text content 6.Cite sources whenever possible

45. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. What Does This Approach Accomplish? Heightens student-student interaction / builds learning community Students: – read the available topics – post to four topics that interest them most – read posts of colleagues – make response posts in four other topics participate in at least 8 different topics each week – spread the work across the week no “wait-for-the-one-deadline” procrastination “Water Cooler” / “Report Problems” / FAQs Students can author their own topics in the “Open” topic

46. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. TD – Grading Rubric 100% of available points – Read all of the topics in a given week – Post a salient, original comment in four of them – Read 80% of the postings of your colleagues – Post a salient response to four of them in four different topic areas 75% of available points – doing the above, but – making original and response (O&R) posts in only 6-7 topics, or, – making posts of mediocre quality in the required number, or, – reading 60% of your colleagues’ postings 50% of available points – doing the above, but – making (O&R) posts (good quality & meaning) in 4-5 topics, or, – making posts of lesser quality in the required number, or, – reading 40% of your colleagues’ postings 25% of available points – doing the above, but – making (O&R) posts (good quality & meaning) in 2-3 topics, or, – making posts of little quality in the required number, or, – reading 20% of your colleagues’ postings 0 points - not participating at all that particular week

47. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. Student-Authored Discussion Topics Courses is “seeded” with multiple topics for each week – Each week also includes space for topics that students author (the “Open” topics) – Participation in those additional topics counts the same as the instructor-authored ones Student-authored topics this term could become permanent topics in subsequent terms

48. Copyright 2009 Michael E. Scheuermann, All Rights Reserved. YOUR Insights What other unique approaches do YOU take with Discussions in your courses?