Preparing and Guiding L earners

1. Wiki Site Preparing and Guiding Learners Veronica Diaz, PhD Associate Director EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, EDUCAUSE

2. Your Redesign Toolbox • Resources • Student Readiness Tools and Resources (wiki page) • Handouts • Planning Guide for Assessing and Addressing Student Readiness • Planning Template and Guide to Prepare for, Identify, and Preempt Student Crisis Points

3. Student Readiness

4. Student Readiness • Supporting the learner • Before the course • During the course • Supporting the faculty member (to be prepared and to support the learner)

5. Support in the blended course? Identify the top 2 areas that students would need help in a blended course ---- http://backnoise.com/?blended

6. Step 1: Clear Communication • http://weblearning.psu.edu/blended-learning-initiative/what_is_blended_learning • http://online.ucf.edu/modalities.php • http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/CollegesandDepartments/Distance/Academics/Admissions/Military/Delivery.aspx • http://sirls.arizona.edu/node/867 • 3-4 options • Use common terminology • If blended definitions vary from course-to-course, let students know • Provide examples to students • Learner readiness assessment strategies

7. Assess… • Skills (reading) • Learning styles or preferences • Work and study habits • Technical requirements (hardware, software, connectivity) • Need and immediacy for course • Feedback preferences • Ability to self-help (when things are difficult) • Attitude toward the nature of learning in a blended environment

8. Readiness Assessment Strategies(see wiki resources) Formal Informal Website Welcome materials FAQs Examples of blended courses (syllabi and sites) Pros/Cons of taking a blended course Student testimonials • eLearning website • Screening surveys • Pre and post enrollment with feedback • Debunking incorrect impressions • Advisor meeting

9. Blended Learning FAQs: http://www.berkeleycollege.edu/academics/blended_courses.htm

10. Students are most successful when they have the following characteristics: • Informed self selection • Responsibility for their own learning • An access plan for taking the course • Know how they learn (metacognition) • Have necessary technical skills • Know how to build a support system • Respond favorably to technological uncertainties

11. What happens when students aren’t ready? ---- http://backnoise.com/?blended

12. Student Readiness Activity DO: 15 MINUTES • Look over the mapping handout • Review the Planning Guide for Assessing and Addressing Student Readiness • ID a few readiness areas and strategies to address them

13. Student Crisis Points

14. What are they? • Moments during your course when students are most likely to need support and assistance • Example: The first time a student logs in to your course web site and cannot locate the URL or remember the username and password? • Identify crisis points in advance, so you can make sure that you have a plan in place to mitigate student problems and avoid frustration

15. How do you identify them? • Review the sequence of learning activities and course modules you have planned • What student skills will be required to be successful • Technological skills • Using course management system (tests, finding materials, email, groups, web 2.0 tools, etc.) • Independent learning skills • Time management • Ability to retain and use course content

16. What are some likely causes of student crisis points? ---- http://backnoise.com/?blended

17. Supporting the Faculty Member (and the student) • Reviewing the phases and potential student crisis points in a course • Technological crisis points • Curriculum-related crisis points

18. Crisis Points: Student/Faculty Support Pre-semester First Day Technology (in and/or out of class) may or may not work as intended. Instructors may spend significantly more time overcoming technological housekeeping and start-up work than anticipated. Learners may feel overwhelmed or confused by the technology requirements or expectations of the course, of which they were unaware at the time they enrolled. Learners may be unaware of the time demands of a blended course, especially if they are teaching the course for the first time. • Learners may have never accessed any course management systems and may not be aware of the helpdesk or other resources. • Instructors may be eager, nervous, or anxious. They prepare for the course by reviewing materials and the system. • Instructors may be teaching in the blended delivery mode for the first time and be planning some spontaneous course design or revision in lieu of advance planning. Handout

19. Crisis Points: Student/Faculty Support Pre-semester First Day Technology (in and/or out of class) may or may not work as intended. Instructors may spend significantly more time overcoming technological housekeeping and start-up work than anticipated. Learners may feel overwhelmed or confused by the technology requirements or expectations of the course, of which they were unaware at the time they enrolled. Learners may be unaware of the time demands of a blended course, especially if they are teaching the course for the first time. • Learners may have never accessed any course management systems and may not be aware of the helpdesk or other resources. • Instructors may be eager, nervous, or anxious. They prepare for the course by reviewing materials and the system. • Instructors may be teaching in the blended delivery mode for the first time and be planning some spontaneous course design or revision in lieu of advance planning.

20. Crisis Points: Student/Faculty Support First Week First Five Weeks Learners may be confused, feel isolated, or start procrastinating. Learners may require and ask for extra support as they become used to online and face-to-face assignments, feedback, and communication. Instructors may be overwhelmed with student communication, are gradually adjusting to flow of their blended course(s), and beginning to anticipate what will work and what needs work in course design. They may implement course revisions mid-stream. • Learners may still be adding and dropping courses and may not have fully committed to the courses. • Instructors get to know the learners and respond to first activities/assignments. • Instructors become aware of who is not accessing course materials, but may be unable to reach those learners.

21. Crisis Points: Student/Faculty Support Second Five Weeks End of Semester Learners may be overwhelmed, withdrawn from course activities, missing assignments. Learners may begin to prepare or anticipate their first final exam, which may be delivered online—possibly a new format for them. Instructors may begin to fatigue of dual (online and face-to-face ‘presence’). • Learners may have anxiety about grades, or overwhelmed by expectations in their courses, which may all be in different delivery formats (online, face-to-face, and blended). • Instructors make sure learners have enough information about progress, analyze course pace and learner progress, and make adjustments as needed. • Instructors may have added or compressed coursework to compensate for unanticipated delays in delivering curriculum earlier in the course.

22. Student Crisis Points Activity DO: 15 MINUTES • Look over the mapping handout • Take a moment to review Planning Template and Guide to Prepare for, Identify, and Preempt Student Crisis Points • Identify 2 areas where your students might be underprepared and what you might do to support them during those parts of the course

23. Wiki Site Supporting Student Success with Course Design Rubrics

24. Thoughts on the Use of Course Design Rubrics? ---- http://backnoise.com/?blended

25. Why a Use a Course Rubric? • Organizational tool • Checklist • Focus on critical course components • Alignment of components

26. Other Considerations • Coherence of the course as a whole: student perspective • Continuous improvement through peer review and professional development for reviewers

27. Quality Assurance & Alignment • 8 general: • Course Overview and Introduction • Learning Objectives • Assessment and Measurement • Resources and Materials • Learner Interaction • Course Technology • Learner Support • ADA Compliance • http://www.qualitymatters.org Alignment of Key Components

28. Course Peer Review Process

29. Course Design Standards • A statement introduces the student to the course and the structure of the student learning • Navigational instructions make the organization of the course easy to understand. • Learning activities foster interaction: • instructor-student • content-student • student-student (if appropriate) • Clear standards are set for instructor response and availability

30. Course Design Standards • Assessment strategies should provide feedback to the student • Grading policy should be transparent and easy for the student to understand • Implemented tools & media should support learning objectives and integrate with texts and lesson assignments • The course acknowledges the importance of ADA compliance

31. Quality Assurance: Other Uses • Internal review processes • Guidelines for blended course development • Checklist for improvement of existing blended courses • Faculty development/training programs • Institutional distance learning policies • An element in professional and other accreditation processes

32. Quality Assurance ResourcesNote: May need to cut and paste some links into browser. • CSU Chico, Rubric for Online Instruction: http://www.csuchico.edu/celt/roi/index.shtml • Illinois Online Network http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/initiatives/qoci/rubric.asp • University of Southern Mississippi Learning Enhancement Center http://www.usm.edu/lec/docs/LEC_Online_course_rev2.pdf • Houston Community College http://online-course-design.pbworks.com/f/Online_Course_Rubric08.pdf • Craven Community College www.cravencc.edu/faculty/cccderubricsp2009.doc

33. Resources • Sloan online and blended learning survey reports: http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/freedownloads • Campus Computing Project: http://www.campuscomputing.net/ • ELI Blended Learning Workshop Guide: http://www.educause.edu/blendedlearning • ELI Blended Learning Focus Session Resource List: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELIFF10res.pdf • ELI Blended Learning Focus Session Recordings: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/Browse/ELIFF10/39333 • UCF Research: http://dl.ucf.edu/research/rite/dl-impact-evaluation/ • Diaz Blended Resources: http://www.delicious.com/drvdiaz/blended

34. Promoting Successful Blended Teaching: Competencies and Skills Source: Lawrence C. Ragan, Paula Bigatel, Janet May, Shannon Kennan, Brian Redmond Penn State University

35. New Skills and Course Design • Facilitating online discussions and small group activities • Developing new forms of student assessment • Scheduling and communication challenges as courses meet online and face-to-face • Learning new technologies • Supporting students to understand their active role in the learning environment

36. Goal: Support the Development of Blended Instructors • What are the skills and competencies necessary for blended teaching success? • At what point in the instructor's career should these competencies be developed?

37. Phase I Process and Results • Used survey to rate skills as “Not Very Important” to “Very Important” • 200+ individuals completed survey • Half had “5+ years of online/blended teaching experience” • Interesting note: No significant difference between respondents according to years of teaching experience • 2:1 Females: male • Cross discipline domains represented

38. Competency Categories Multimedia Technology Administration/Leadership Active Learning Classroom Decorum Policy Enforcement Technological Competence Responsiveness

39. How would you rank these? • Multimedia Technology • Administration/Leadership • Active Learning • Classroom Decorum • Policy Enforcement • Technological Competence • Responsiveness

40. Competencies by Mean • Active Learning • Administration/Leadership • Responsiveness • Multimedia Technology • Classroom Decorum • Technological Competence • Policy Enforcement

41. Competency 1: Active Learning • The instructor encourages students to interact with each other by assigning team tasks and projects, where appropriate. • The instructor includes group/team assignments where appropriate. • The instructor encourages students to share their knowledge and expertise with the learning community. • The instructor encourages students to participate in discussion forums, where appropriate. • The instructor provides opportunities for hands-on practice so that students can apply learned knowledge to the real-world. • The instructor provides additional resources that encourage students to go deeper into the content of the course. • The instructor encourages student-generated content as appropriate. • The instructor facilitates learning activities that help students construct explanations/solutions. • The instructor uses peer assessment in his/her assessment of student work, where appropriate. • The instructor shows respect to students in his/her communications with them.

42. Competency 2: Administration/Leadership • The instructor makes grading visible for student tracking purposes. • The instructor clearly communicates expected student behaviors. • The instructor is proficient in the chosen course management system (CMS). • The instructor adheres to the university's policies regarding the Federal Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). • The instructor integrates the use of technology that is meaningful and relevant to students.

43. Competency 3: Active Teaching • The instructor provides prompt, helpful feedback on assignments and exams that enhances learning. • The instructor provides clear, detailed feedback on assignments and exams that enhances the learning experience. • The instructor shows caring and concern that students are learning the course content. • The instructor helps keep the course participants on task. • The instructor uses appropriate strategies to manage the workload.

44. Competency 4: Multimedia Technology • The instructor uses a variety of multimedia technologies to achieve course objectives. • The instructor uses multimedia technologies that are appropriate for the learning activities.

45. Competency 5: Classroom Decorum • The instructor helps students resolve conflicts that arise in collaborative teamwork. • The instructor resolves conflicts when they arise in teamwork/group assignments. • The instructor can effectively manage the course communications by providing a good model of expected behavior for all course communication.   • The instructor identifies areas of potential conflict within the course.

46. Competency 6: Technological Competence • The instructor is proficient with the technologies used in the blended classroom. • The instructor is confident with the technology used in the course.

47. Competency 7: Policy Enforcement • The instructor monitors students' adherence to policies on plagiarism. • The instructor monitors students' adherence to Academic Integrity policies and procedures.

48. Task Importance Rankings: Top 10 • The instructor shows respect to students in his/her communications with them. • The instructor provides students with clear grading criteria. • The instructor clearly communicates course goals. • The instructor clearly communicates course content. • The instructor shows enthusiasm when interacting with students. • The instructor provides clear, detailed feedback on assignments and exams that enhances the learning experience.

49. Task Importance Rankings: Top 10 • The instructor communicates with students about course changes, reminders of due assignments, relevant additional resources through announcements/emails. • The instructor can effectively manage the course communications by providing a good model of expected behavior for all course communication. • The instructor provides prompt, helpful feedback on assignments and exams that enhances learning. • The instructor clearly communicates expected student behaviors.

50. Faculty ReadinessSource: http://weblearning.psu.edu/resources