Web.Edu Agenda 8 for April 11, 2002

Last Updated: 4/11/02
Link back to course Welcome...

Web.Edu Agenda 8
for class on April 11, 2002

Startup
1. Reminder to sign in during the class, using the online signin form on the course web site
2. Reminder about regular online work: conference postings, online weekly course reports. Conference postings should now be using the ListServ - send your posting in an email message to WebEduW02@lists.wayne.edu. Or reply to a message from the ListServ - the reply should go to the same address
3. April 18 class and final on Wpril 25 will be 6 to 7 PM as originally scheduled.
4. Web page on taking online courses. Sections:
  1. Why Think About Taking an Online Course?
  2. Questionnaire: Are You a Good Candidate for Taking an Online Course?
  3. Practical tips for working in an online course
  4. Motivating yourself
5. Two changes made to Exam Questions page
Student Evaluation of Teaching - SET
How online courses feel different
1. Control shifts toward student
  1. Schedule
  2. Amount of discussion, topics of discussion, style of discussion - an unlimited opportunity for discussion
  3. Often more options in assignments as well
2. But also responsibility...
  1. Easier to "drop out," can be less there to pull you back
    1. I have started sending weekly emails, but email addresses change, people can "blow off" email messages, and some do not read email regularly
    2. I also require brief weekly course progress reports from online students
  2. If the Instructor is confusing students, may not be other students to ask the questions
  3. Large blocks of time are more efficient for course work, lead to more satisfaction and reward for the student, but we suspect that many people are initially attracted by a (false) impression that they can "fit it in" and point and click to get that knowledge into their minds
    1. I have thought of assigning people to make a schedule showing when they will work on the course. I haven't done this because I thought it was to controlling, but many faculty have said that they think it is a good idea.
  4. Online courses are not easier that face-to-face - extra work is assigned to compensate for "seat time"
    1. When a crisis comes up at home or work that requires that the course be put aside for awhile, it can be harder to get back, and work piles up more quickly. Should not put course aside 100%
3. Instructor can also not do his/her part - one saying is that the Instructor is "not the 'sage on the stage' but the 'guide on the side'"
  1. Instructor can feel that the assignments are set, the discussion is primed, now I can sit back and let this little machine run by itself - grade assignments, participate in discussion
  2. Doesn't work - Instructor must take a hands-on role if students are to make it through the course
  3. Advice - don't hesitate to push the Instructor if you feel this is going on
  4. Student can feel - mistakenly - that they are "out there" all alone. When all else fails, call the Instructor.
On balance
1. Make no mistake, I am an advocate - I love computers and the Internet, and also - how can I give learners more control over their learning?
2. Works extremely well for many or even most students
  1. Can often preview a course in detail from an earlier semester, or from an advance syllabus for the upcoming semester (not all systems allow this)
  2. Organized, active students love the control and responsibility, will often teach each other
  3. Many students remark that they like the discussion forum - they can always say their piece, and can say it the way they want to - edit, explain, use formatting - give and take is better - can follow up
    1. Easier for students to bring in their own expertise
    2. Usually the online discussion is not graded for content, but I have begun to feel that sometimes so much care is put in and the quality is so high that it deserves credit. I do encourage students to quote the online conference in their paper
  4. Many online course are starting to involve student web pages - most popular assignment ever!
  5. People take Internet courses to brush up on their Internet skills - to have it become commonplace
  6. Many shy people who do not speak up in class find their voices online
  7. Many students who have taken a first online class keep coming back to take more - they take all we offer
  8. Student papers online as course materials
  9. Students come back to the discussion forum after the class is over (not all systems allow this)
3. Can have problems for some students
  1. Those who really didn't have time but thought they could manage anyway
  2. Those who don't "get into" the online discussion
4. Can seem like self study, but is not
  1. Value of a college degree - in readings, but there is more. Higher level of satisfaction with your life, more stable marriage with higher levels of satisfaction, and on and on. Do not sell this short!
  2. What leads to satisfaction with your college career? - see http://www.cll.wayne.edu/web101 - get to know the faculty
  3. What it is - active learning. You must be active in an online course, cannot only show up for class.
    1. Log in to the online discussion on a regular basis
    2. Read the texts and have something to say
    However, you learn better if you are actively learning than if you are learning passively. Online teachers do commonly remark that the students who participate seem to understand the content better and be able to use it better
Coming up
1. Universities and faculty will learn how best to use this new medium.
  1. Making information about online courses more available, including what courses are online, what the course web site is, and how to get started
  2. Better way to identify online students and get information to them
  3. Technical support must be around the clock.
  4. More consistent use of email
  5. Better way to send email to a class, including updating email addresses
2. Present technology will improve
  1. Faster and more reliable Internet access
  2. Easier and more uniform email attachments
  3. Where access is required, will become more transparent
3. New technologies
  1. Internet videophone, multimedia (experiment with sound on the ISP web site)
  2. Talk and data at the same time
  3. Video conferencing
  4. Returning assignments via email to a group instead of one-by-one
  5. Better way to make sure that students are staying involved in the course - the Web Hub is a start.
Reading - questions or comments. My comments. For this week - Chapters 15, "Distance Learning at Work", and 16, "Marketing Your Distance Education"
1. Chapters 15, "Distance Learning at Work"
  1. Pg 245. "Some academics bemoan it" - especially here at Wayne!
  2. Pg 246. An employer that will help you keep up to date is a real benefit in these fast-changing times. Letting you use your work computer to take classes with, even if you have to do it after hours or during lunch, can be a big help. Giving you time off to study is really great.
  3. Pg 247. Sending a group through together (a "cohort") is a good idea that I hadn't heard of before. It always helps to have other people to study with.
2. Chapters 16, "Marketing Your Distance Education"
  1. Pg 250. Wayne has many of these resources for students looking for jobs.
  2. Pg 253. I advise everyone to attend their graduation ceremony. A college degree is a big accomplishment, and you deserve to make a fuss over it. I go to nearly every graduation, because I enjoy seeing our students there.
  3. Pp 255 - 257. This is a good point. If it takes initiative to complete an online course, make that into a selling point for you.

Assignments (from the assignment schedule on the Syllabus - get used to reviewing that)

Final exam is in two weeks. My final grades will be due almost immediately afterwards (I think we will be turning grades in to the University online, or maybe that doesn't start until Fall), so there will be no time for late assignments being counted in the regular course grade (makeup grades only). Aside from the exam, all other work is due by the last regular course the week before, April 18.
Next week is review for Final. We will almost certainly NOT be able to go through all of the questions, so review them ahead of time and ask about the ones you are unsure of.
Reading

3/21

Ch 13:Taking Tests

3/28

Ch 14: You're in Charge

4/4

Ch 15:Learning At Work

4/11

Ch 16: Marketing Online Education

Catch up on your WebBoard postings from the past and continue posting on BlackBoard

Messages for Discussion Forums
Dates	Discussion forum	Weeks	Messages	Contact
1/10 through 2/21	WebBoard	6	14	Link from course web site
2/22 through 3/27	BlackBoard	4	9	blackboard.wayne.edu
3/28 through 4/18	ListServ	3	7	webeduw02@lists.wayne.edu

Is everybody clear on how the ListServ works?

Send a message to "the List" (that email address) and it will be distributed to the class. This ListServ address is WebEduW02@lists.wayne.edu.
Reply to a message from the List and it will also go to the List and be distributed to the class

Weekly course report.
Do "The Email Test". Your message in each case should say whether it is 1, 2 or 3 (see numbers below)
1. Send an email to at least two different people, with me being one of them.
2. Send an email to someone else, with me as a cc
3. Forward an email from someone else to me.
Email addresses: d.r.bowen@wayne.edu, mbabi@hotmail.com, pdpj@att.net, pdpj@att.net, baddog@govital.net

Turning off the lab computers
1. Click the "Start" button (if you computer has a "Windows" key you can press that instead)
2. Point to or click on "Shut Down..."
3. Make sure that "Shut Down" is selected
4. Click the "OK" button or press the <Enter> key
5. Wait until your computer turns off or displays a message that it is now OK to shut down your computer
6. Turn off the computer and monitor using the red key under the tabletop

3/21	Ch 13:Taking Tests
3/28	Ch 14: You're in Charge
4/4	Ch 15:Learning At Work
4/11	Ch 16: Marketing Online Education