1. “Connecting” distance students Antonella Strambi

2. The Context LANG 2002 & LANG 8002: Second Language Teaching Methodology Approx. 20 students Mix of distance & on-campus students; UG + PG Offered since 2002 in different versions 2 3

3. First steps Students assigned textbook chapters to read - no lecture Written on-line discussion (Bulletin Board style) Drawbacks: Lack of engagement with other students’ responses; superficial engagement with materials; time- consuming to read 3 4

4. Now Each chapter accompanied by on-line lecture –powerpoint slides with voiceover (approx. 50 min.) –also powerpoint slides in handout format face-to-face + online tutorial (Skype) –advantages: student-student engagement, group cohesion, deeper understanding, less time-consuming to assess 4 5

5. What’s missing? Responding to distance students’ needs (e.g. “Exploring the Student Voice in Online Education” project: http://www.uq.edu.au/student-voice- project/):http://www.uq.edu.au/student-voice- project –feeling “connected” with other students, instructors, institution, materials --> social media (FB) –organisation tools: reminders, timed tasks, lectures broken into manageable chunks –engaging materials --> videos (TV-style) 5 6

6. Challenges Time/money: who has the time (and skills) to develop engaging videos? Keep up with FB posts? Where do we draw the line? How far do we want to go? Is video (TV- style) the new means of knowledge transfer? --> implications for research publications? 6 7