Lone Star College-TomballOnline Taskforce

Fall 2017

BEST PRACTICES INONLINE TEACHING

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Myth Fact

So you want to teach online?

C. Jamroz 2017

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Communicating

InteractingGrading

Planning,Designing,&Adapting

Your time

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Table of Contents The Necessaries .................................................................... 5CourseDesign-AnOrganizedCourse........................................................................................5Checklists,AssignmentLists,orToDoLists.............................................................................6Yourrole...................................................................................................................................8

Tools/Resources .................................................................. 10IMAC(InstructionalMediaAssistanceCenter).......................................................................10

SoundStudio................................................................................................................................................................10LearningGlass.............................................................................................................................................................10

Web-basedTools....................................................................................................................11Remind.com.................................................................................................................................................................11InstructionalVideoSites..............................................................................................................................................11MicrosoftOffice365....................................................................................................................................................11Google.........................................................................................................................................................................11Videoinstruction.........................................................................................................................................................11

ScreenCaptureSoftwareForVideoInstruction.......................................................................................................................11

Training/Professional Development .................................... 12ITCP........................................................................................................................................12Lynda.com..............................................................................................................................12MicrosoftOffice365TrainingandCertifications...................................................................12

Tips & Tricks ........................................................................ 13EngagementIdeas..................................................................................................................13SyllabusAdditions..................................................................................................................14TheExtraModule...................................................................................................................14TheClassChat........................................................................................................................14Emailtips................................................................................................................................14LMSSpecificTips....................................................................................................................15

Extra Resources .................................................................. 16Webresources.......................................................................................................................16Books......................................................................................................................................16

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The Necessaries

CourseDesign-AnOrganizedCourse

Thefirststepistoworkbackwards;layouttheplotforwhereyouwantthecoursetogoandendbeforeyoubegin.Decideifyouwanttodesignthecoursemodulesaschapters,topics,weeks,etc.Whilewerecommendweeksastheeasiestmodules,thecourseitselfwilldictatethedesign.Forexample,averycontentdrivencoursemayworkmoreefficientlyastopics. o Tip:creationofmodulesmakesiteasiertomoveyourclassfroma16-weektoa12-week

toan8-weekandbackagain.o Consistencyinthe"look/navigation"ofeachweekcreatespredictabilityandhelpsboth

youandyourstudentsstayorganized.o Labels:Beconsistentwithyourlabels.Ifyouchoosetoorganizeyourcontentinweeks,

youneedtouseweeksfortheentiresemester.

Example 1

Example 2

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o Submodules:Usesubmodulesforcontentthatrepeatsweekly.

Checklists,AssignmentLists,orToDoListsThesearelistsofwhatthestudentsareexpectedtocompleteeachweek.Therearemanyoptionstochoosefrombutstayconsistenteachweek.

o Thesearehelpfultokeepstudentsorganizedo Themoreconsistentyoucanbe,themoresuccessfulyourstudentswillbe

Example 1

Example 2

Experiencedinstructorrecommendation

Earlyinmyonlineteachingcareer,IpostedtwodifferentToDolistsoneweek.Iaskedthestudentstovoteonwhichonetheylikedbetterandmajoritywouldrulefortheformatmovingforward.ThestudentspickedtheoppositelistthanIwouldhavepicked!

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o YoucancreateyourownortakeadvantageoftheChecklistoptioninourLMS.

o SeeyourfriendlycampusinstructionaldesignerforhelpwithLMSchecklists

o Consistencywithduedates

o Whetherthingsaredueweeklyorbi-weekly,beconsistentandcleareachweek/module

Experiencedinstructorrecommendations

IalwayshavemyweeksstartonMondaysat8pm,weeklyquizzesstartingonThursdayat8am,andtheentireweekendingthefollowingMondayat8pm...andthenthenewweekwillstartwhentheoldweekcloses.

Example

IopentheweekonMondaynightsat7pm,andthepreviousweekclosesat12am.Therearetwobenefitstothisschedule.1)Theoverlapprovidesmoreflexibilityandallowsstudentstoreferencethepreviousweekifneeded.2)ThisallowsmetimeonMondaystoverifytheweekisreadytogoliveratherthanworkingonSunday.

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Yourroleo Thinkaboutyourschedule

o IfeverythingisdueSundaynight,thehighestvolumeofemailswillprobablyarriveovertheweekend.

o Beavailableandrespondtoeachstudentinatimelymannero Provideyourcontactinfoandfortechnicalhelpinavarietyofplaces(syllabus,email,

courseannouncement,etc.),aswellasstandardresponsetimesandpreferredcommunicationmethods

o Makeclearhowyou’dliketobeaddressed

o Werecommenda24-hourresponsetimeduringtheweekand48hoursontheweekend.Note:manystudentswilldothebulkoftheirworkontheweekend.

o Setupexpectationsaheadoftimeandbeclear

o IndicatewhetherornotyoucheckemailonSaturdayorifallweekendemailswillbeansweredSundaynight

Contact Information

Instructor’sName:Email:yourname@lonestar.edu(Iwillreplytoallemailswithin24hoursifsentduringtheweekandwithin48hoursifsentontheweekend)Phone:See**onpage15forphone#optionsOfficeHours:Ifyouwouldliketoscheduleeitheraface-to-faceorphoneconference,pleaseemailmesothatwecanscheduleaspecifictimetodiscussanyquestionsyouarehavingaboutthecourseorparticularassignments.Pleaseaddressmeas(insertyourchoicehere)inyourcorrespondenceandconversation.

ImportanttipfromanexpertPost assignment due dates with time due and time zone. Remember, we have students in different parts of the world.

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o Bepresentinthecourse(respondingtodiscussionposts,checkinwithstudents,etc.)

o ConsiderrecordingaMeetYourProfessorvideo/oranintroductoryvideothroughthe

InstructionalMediaAssistanceCenter.Thisallowsstudentstoputafacetoyournameandemails.Aprofessionallyrecordedvideoalsocoveystostudentsthatthisisanexpertcollegecourse.

o ContactMonteDarlandat(281)357-3687ormonte.g.darland@lonestar.edu.o Visithttp://www.lonestar.edu/tomball-mms.htmformoreinformation

Interactwithtwotothreestudentsperweekwithinthediscussionboards.Itisnotrecommendedtorespondtoeverystudenteachweek.Boththestudentandinstructorrolechangesinanonlineenvironmentandstudentsshouldbemoreactivenow.Respondtothreedifferentstudentseachweekuntilallstudentshaveinteractedwiththeinstructor.

Experiencedinstructorrecommendation

Beflexible.Lifehappens,Hurricaneshappen.Systemsshutdown.ThebestthingtodoismakesurethecoursematerialsarealsoaccessiblesomewhereoutsideoftheLMS(forexample,onGoogledocs).Givestudentsasmanywaystoreachyouaspossible.

Experiencedinstructorrecommendation

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Tools/Resources AlloftheseresourcesareavailableontheLoneStarCollege-Tomballcampus.

IMAC(InstructionalMediaAssistanceCenter)o Thisisamulti-purposespacedesignedtostreamlinetraining,support,andproductionof

newmediaandtechnology.Themanagerofmultimediaservicesmaintainsanofficeinthespaceandsuperviseswork-studystudentswhichmeansimmediatetechnologicalhelpisavailable.Afacultyfellowisalsoavailabletoguideinstructorsinintegrationofthetechnology.

o Visithttp://www.lonestar.edu/tomball-mmsformoreinformationo HousedwithinIMACaretheSoundStudioandtheLearningGlass

Sound Studio o LoneStarCollege-Tomballcreatedastudiodesignedspecificallytocapturehighquality

lectureswhichgreatlyincreasesthequalityandstandardofourrecordingsforonlineclasses.Thisstudioprovidesallfaculty,adjunctandfull-time,accesstohigh-qualitylecturecapturerecordingcapabilities.

Learning Glass o TheLearningGlass

(www.learning.glass)technologywillenableinstructorstodeliveralecturewhilesimultaneouslyusingasheetofglasslikeachalkboard.Thetechnologymeansthestudentseestheprofessorwritingintheairastheimageisflippedforthevideoviewer.Modelingiscrucialforlearningbutoftendifficulttoachieveinanonlineenvironment.Studentsaremoreengagedwhenwatchingapersondeliverthelessonratherthanjustavoice.LoneStarCollege-Tomball’sLearningGlassbringsthepersonoutinfrontofthecameraandengagesthelearnersittingathome,work,ortheparkwatchingontheirlaptoporotherdevice.

o InstructionalDesigner,HarlanWilliamso InstructionalTechnologist,TracyBear

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Web-basedTools

Remind.com o Anotherwaytocontactstudents

Instructional Video Sites o AdobeSparkVideo:AdobeSparkVideoisavideostorytellingtool.Thesevideoshave

theabilitytoincludetext,images,pictures,icons,music,andyourvoicetohelpyoudeliveramini-lessonthatstudentswillremember.Studentscancreatetheirownstoriestointroducethemselvestotheirclassmates,toreviewcontentyou’vetaught,ortocreateaproject.

o MicrosoftOfficeMix:OfficeMixisanadd-onfeatureinPowerPoint.Withthistool,youcanrecordandannotateyourPowerPointPresentations.YoucanthenuploadthistoMicrosoftOfficeMix,whichisapartofyour365package,andassignthepresentationasalink.Onceyourstudentshavethelink,youareabletoviewanalyticsonthelesson.

Microsoft Office 365 o AllemployeeshaveaccesstoMicrosoftOffice365forfreeo Remindyourstudentsthattheytoohaveaccess,sonomoreexcusesaboutnothaving

Word!o https://products.office.com/en-us/student/office-in-education

Google Googleisnotjustasearchengine…o Googledocs,Googlesites,Googledrive...allthegoogletoolsarefree!

Video instruction Thisisanintegralpartofonlineteaching.Therearemanyresourcesyoucanusedependingonyourinstructionalneeds.

Screen Capture Software for Video Instruction

o Screencast-o-matico https://screencast-o-matic.com/(Free)o BambooInk(Free) o Ink2Go($20) o SoftChalk(Freedownload-gothroughVTAC)

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Training/Professional Development ITCPITCP,ortheInstructionalTechnologyCertificationProgram,wasspecificallydesignedforcollegeinstructorswhowishtoinfusetechnology-rich,engaginglessons,learningactivities,andteachingmaterialsintotheirclassrooms.Gothroughnine3-hourinstructionalsessionsandonepresentationsession.EmailLatoyaHardmanLewis(Latoya.H.Lewis@lonestar.edu)fordetailsonthenextavailablecohort.

Lynda.comLynda.comisanonlineplatformavailablethroughaLoneStarCollegesubscriptionthatallowsaccesstohigh-qualitysoftware,technology,anddesigninstructionalvideos.https://www.lynda.com/signin/organization

MicrosoftOffice365TrainingandCertificationsLoginwithyourMicrosoftOffice365accountandbecomecertifiedonhowtouseSkypeintheClassroom,OneNote,AccessibilityTools,andmore.https://education.microsoft.com/start/welcome

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Tips & Tricks Learnfromthebest.Sharedideasfromyourfellowinstructors.

EngagementIdeaso Beforeclassbegins,emailstudentswithsomehelpfulinformationtogetthem

started.UsetherosterinmyLoneStartoaccesstheiremailaddresses.Includethefollowing:

o orientationrequiremento timerequirementforcourse

o textbookrequiremento proceduresforthefirstdayofclass.

o MakeavideotointroduceyourselftotheclassliketheAdobeSparkVideoincludedabove.

o Includetechsupportinformationinavarietyofplaceslikeyoursyllabusandinthecourseitself

TechSupport

24/7techsupportthroughLSConline

Email online@lonestar.edu

PhoneNumber 1-866-614-5014

Additionalinfo

http://www.lonestar.edu/everse-at-tomball.htmhttp://www.lonestar.edu/lsc-online/student-support.htm

Engage with students early and often. Students want to feel their instructor is present for them and cares about their success.

Experiencedinstructorrecommendation

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SyllabusAdditionso Consideraddingablurbaboutnetiquette.Asoneofourexperiencedinstructorsays,“An

onlineclassdoesn'tmeanthatrespectisn'texpected.”o AsyllabusquizisausefultooltoencouragestudentstoreadthesyllabusinWeek1.

TheExtraModuleSetupanextramodulecalledHelpfulResourcesorImportantDocumentsandLinkso Includeinfosuchas:

§ AdvisingInformation§ LinkstoLoneStarAcademicCalendars§ LinktoOffice365downloadwebpage

TheClassChato Setupanopendiscussionboardforstudentstouse.Thiscanbeusedforstudentstoask

andanswereachother’squestions.Youcanmonitorthediscussionandinterveneifneeded.

Emailtipso Forwardyourd2lemailtoyourLoneStaremail.o AddyourLoneStaremailtoyourpersonalcellphone.Thisallowsyoutoquicklyrespond

tostudentsevenifitisjusttoletthemknowyougottheemailandwillrespondindetaillater.

o Considerholdingonlineofficehours.

Email your students who are doing well to pay a compliment. We frequently email those who are missing work but forget those who are doing well. Students are often surprised to get a positive email. This may also be helpful in keeping those students move forward as they know their professor is encouraged by their hard work.

Experiencedinstructorrecommendation

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o Eveninganddaytimeifpossible.Thereareavarietyofwaysyoucoulddothisfromweb-basedvideochattoolstosimplyhavingaphonenumberavailable

o **Ifyoudonotwanttogiveoutyourpersonalphonenumber,youcouldsetupaGooglevoicephonenumber

o ToolslikeGoogleHangoutsandMicrosoftTeamsareusefulwaystoconnectwithyourstudents.

o AllstudentshaveaccesstoMicrosoft365forfree.YoucansetuptheTeamandaddyourstudents.

o ForGooglehangouts,thiscouldbeanopportunitytoteachstudentshowtosetupaprofessionalemailaddressandhavethemsignupforagmailaccount.ThisgivesthemaccesstoalltheGoogletoolslikeDrive,Slides,andHangouts

LMSSpecificTipso Emaildirectlyfromthegradebooko UserProgress-Ausefulwaytoseehowoftenyourstudentsareloggingino Formorespecificinformation,chatwithVTACaboutparticularstudentso Saveyourweeklyannouncementsanddiscussionpostingsandreusethemforthenext

course.

Provide video or audio feedback directly in the dropbox.

Experiencedinstructorrecommendation

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Extra Resources Webresourceso 10PrinciplesofEffectiveOnlineTeaching:BestPracticesinDistanceEducation

Bookso TheOnlineTeachingSurvivalGuidebyJudithV.BoettcherandRita-MarieConrad

Special thanks to the following faculty and staff for their invaluable advice and help in compiling this handbook: Sara Bynum, Harold Fisher, Patrick Gilbert, Mary Hood, Margaret Jelinek-Lewis, Latoya Lewis, Pat Lyon, Gloria Maristany, Donielle Miller, Jennifer Richardson, Rachel Smith, and Donna Willingham.