Missouri S&T Instructional Design Team

Course Organization & Instructor Presence

eCoP: eLearning Community of Practice

October 9, 2014

Discuss these different ways to organize a course:

List course components on Post Its

Sort Post Its by similarities

Dr. Dan Reardon - Blackboard

Emma Satterfield - Google Site

Online or F2F?

Social Presence and eLearning

Social presence describes the degree to which students feel personally connected to their instructor and peers (Sung and Mayer, 2012).

What are ways to increase instructor presence?

Instructor Presence

Presence = Personality

I need to talk about my syllabus, not myself.

Students don’t care about my hobbies.

I want my students to respect me.

I want to be taught by a human, not a robot.

I hope my professor is approachable.

I want to be able to relate to my professor.

Instructor Expectation Student Expectation

Introductory Videos - Rationale

The instructor’s voice is key.It’s about relationships, not technology.Introductory videos are appropriate for all types of courses.

A Helpful Taxonomy Instructors are encouraged to create the type of

welcome video that aligns best with their teaching style, with their personality, and with the tone of their course.

Dr. Agnes Vojta: Instructor Presence

Course website shows the “Physics 1135 Instructor Team”.

Meet Your Instructor video

Course IntroductionOverview: Why Physics?

Lecture video clip with instructor presence

Note course organization:

Lectures links include PPT, notes, videos and objectives

DemographicsEng. Mgt. 5412: Operations Management Science

49 completed survey

86% male

94% between the ages of 26-35

Post survey on attitudes toward the course components, organization, and blended structure.

DemographicsEng. Mgt. 5412: Operations Management Science

Computer expertise:Novice 6%Intermediate 76%

Number of prior blended courses:0 14%1 63%

What is one aspect of the blended class that you feel is very useful and should NOT be changed?

“The Blackboard content was very well organized. It was easy to see what the in-class materials were, what was additional learning material, and what the out of class assignments were.”

What is one aspect of the blended class that you feel is very useful and should NOT be changed?

“The videos of course. They went over the information very well and it allowed me to go back and forth to skip or repeat content being taught.”

Please share any additional comments you have about this blended course.

“I was very skeptical about the blended course in the beginning, especially since I was rather unfamiliar with the course content. I think the course turned out much better than my original expectations and I believe the online material is an excellent caveat to this course.”

Please share any additional comments you have about this blended course.

“The blended course was absolutely the best course I have had at MS&T to date. I was able to learn a lot more when I had the choice to go at my own pace. The homework given was the perfect amount to keep me focused and reinforce the lessons learned in class.”

Video AnalyticsEng. Mgt. 5412: Operations Management Science

10 Instructor Video Tips

1. Keep it short

2. Write the script

3. Be professional

4. Abide by copyright

5. Ask for help

10 Tips, cont.

6. Avoid dates and codes

7. Speak up

8. Make it accessible

9. Promote the work

10.Encourage response

Tips for Camera Presence

Keep information general enough that it may be reused.

Keep it “current” as long as possible.

Tips for Camera PresenceWear colors

that contrast the background and compliment your skin tone. Many

backgrounds are green screens, so avoid green or shades of green.

Tips for Camera Presence

Remember that most unwanted content may be edited out. No need to

memorize a script. “Ums”, pauses, and

repeats may be cut out, so there is no need to start over.

Tips for Camera Presence

Relax and Smile!

Voice: raise the volume, lower the pace, vary the inflection.

Tips for Camera Presence

Vary the camera angles.Stage the lighting.Minimize background noise.

Conclusion

Intro videos are powerful tools for increasing social presence in blended, online, and distance courses.

Intro videos should include the instructor’s voice, be brief and conversational, and should promote personal connections between instructors and students

+Bag of Tricks and Tips

Items in the Bag

Organization Tips

Instructor Video Tips

Camera Presence Tips

+Please complete the exit slips.

Thanks for attending! Next eCoP: Dec. 2nd.