Last updated: 3/6/02

Web.Edu: A Course on Taking Online Courses 
David Bowen, Interdisciplinary Studies Program
Teaching and Learning With e-Technologies
March 7, 2002 / Wayne State University

1. Background
   1. I began teaching online in Winter 1997. Original idea was that there would be minimal differences
      1. Web pages for handouts and lectures
      2. Email with attachments for turning in and returning homework and tests
      3. Normal textbooks
   2. Realized over time that there were major differences for students - still learning abou the differences
      1. Technical problems are the initial focus for both faculty and students
      2. Personal issues are more serious - up to 50% and higher dropout rate - students that simply disappear without withdrawing
      3. Important to understand the strengths and how to exploit them, as well as the weaknesses and how to overcome them
   3. Became convinced that the differences were substantive enough that a one-credit course would be justified. GIS 1600 was approved during 2001 semester for initial offering during Winter 2002.
2. The Course: GIS 1600, Web.Edu: How Internet Courses Work (1 cr)
   1. Format. Eight class meetings (modified during semester) with work on Internet every week. then 100% online with two class meetings and Final at end of semester. Internet work includes:
      1. Weekly Online Course Reports
      2. File Test to check compatibility between each student and the instructor
      3. Email Test to use standard email capabilities
   2. Textbook: Distance Learning for Dummies by Nancy Stevenson, IDG Books, 2000
   3. Topics
      1. WSU-specific issues
      2. Technical or computer-related problems
      3. Freedom and responsibility
      4. What do we need?
3. WSU-specific issues
   1. Definition of online. Online or not online, whereas reality is a continuum. There can even be face-to-face courses for which Internet work is required.
   2. Finding online courses
   3. Signing up for courses without being aware they are online
   4. What do you do after you register for an online course?
   5. Supposed uniform BlackBoard interface for courses does not work that way
      1. Very configurable
      2. Many faculty simply ignore aspects of the interface while leaving them in place
   6. Faculty need to know how to steer students for computer and Internet help
4. Technical or computer-related problems
   1. Internet skills: following a link, filling in and submitting an online form, typing in a URL, making a bookmark.
   2. Attaching files to emails: diversity of email programs, seems mysterious, locating files on hard drive.
   3. File compatibility between different word processors and different versions. Presently the normal case is that there are no problems, but this is a case-by-case situation. The solution is HTML, wider awareness of existing WYSIWYG HTML editors such as Netscape Composer
   4. Some understanding of Internet is good for diagnosing problems and getting help
      1. What is the difference between the Internet, the web, and Internet email?
      2. How to get help during and after service hours
      3. What to do if your Internet connection (web or email) fails in the middle of a transaction
      4. What to do if you can't connect - understanding the stages in establishing a connection. This helps you get more specific help, and sometimes in knowing whom to call for help
5. Freedom and Responsibility
   1. Control shifts towards students
   2. Easy to lose connection and drop out
   3. Active Vs passive
   4. Social construction of knowledge
6. Strengths
   1. Computer conference. When it works well, it is a detailed discussion drawing in diverse experiences and points of view, with interchange to clarify differences.
   2. May work best when course involves everyday life so that students are immersed in topic and motivated by understanding of what is happening right then, right there.
      1. My Time's Harvest and Creativity courses hold the record of about 1,000 messages in the course of a semester for thirteen students plus myself, or 80 messages apiece, on the average. Time's Harvest analyzes social trends, so students have a natural involvement, and many that take Creativity either are involved in creative endeavors or want to become involved. On the other hand, in other courses with fewer messages, the students are not as involved in a day-to-day basis.
7. What do we need? Important to understand and identify the weaknesses of present systems, not to regard them as inherent and inevitable, but as material for problem-solving. Where we can, to suggest solutions.
   1. Computer conference - some good at showing threads of conversation, some good at providing detailed context
   2. Easier submission and return of homework
   3. Video
   4. Being more intrusive
      1. Can send text paging, leave voicemail
      2. Normal to pay attention at beginning to active students, but need a "danger index" - opening weekly email, making reports, posting messages