EdTech 554 Spring 2013 Final Project

Session Goals

Clayton Mitchell! Des Moines Iowa

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Technology Training Opportunity for Teacher Professional Development

Have faculty self assess technology skill level Demonstrate good student communication via an LMS (Moodle) Have faculty choose a communication vehicle in Moodle Have faculty communicate with presenter, via chosen vehicle, by the end of the session

Session Outcomes

Have faculty understand the need for good communication with students Have faculty understand that communication must happen differently in blended courses Have faculty leave session feeling confident in their ability to communicate with students in a blended class Have the faculty begin to communicate with each other in order to help build a professional learning community

Session Activities

Take technology self assessment survey Discuss what the comfort level for the group is so the instruction can be targeted for his particular session Go over handout on student orientation for blended environments Discuss what steps each faculty member will take to better communicate and orient their students to blended instruction

EdTech 554 Spring 2013 Final Project

SMART goals for this session

Clayton Mitchell! Des Moines Iowa

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The purpose of this training session is to help faculty first assess their technology skill level with an LMS (Moodle), and then introduce why student orientation in an LMS is important to the success of the students. The terminologies of orientation and communication should not be confused for these sessions. Orientation is the process of helping students understand the when, what, where, why, and how of a course. Communication is the process by which the orientation occurs. The session will cover the aspects of student orientation from the hand out. Based on how the faculty self assess their skill level, the session will target more or less depth covering the specifics of the handout. Student orientation is critical for both the success of the student in a blended environment as well as the effectiveness of the faculty member to teach within such an environment. One of the core concepts that this session aims to convey, is that using an LMS to mediate communication with students is beneficial in both their engagement with the material and the faculty and classmates within the course. This engagement leads to higher order critical thinking abut the material as well as a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Because faculty teach a broad range of subjects, it is necessary to cover the material as a group an to allow each faculty member to choose the communication method within the LMS that best suits their particular comfort level and particular needs.

Planned activities for this session

Have faculty take the LMS self assessment survey Discuss as a group where the comfort level of the faculty are with technology and/or what skill level of the group is. This is a necessary step because a session that is to complex or to simple for the faculty audience, will result in a misalignment of the material to be covered. It is imperative that the session target the correct skill level in order for it to be affective. Cover the material in the handout. This is where most of the session will occur. The handout is provided as both a roadmap for the faculty on what the session will cover as well as a document they can refer back to once the session has completed. Discuss as a group what each faculty member learned and what they plan to implement first based on the material covered. This will help them cement the covered material from the session. It will also allow them to begin building a professional development network from people they trust.

EdTech 554 Spring 2013 Final Project

Outcomes for this session

Clayton Mitchell! Des Moines Iowa

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The purpose for this session is to provide an overview of why student orientation is so critical to the success of students in a blended environment. The specific takeaways that this session aims to provide for the faculty are: Gain an understanding of where they are in their knowledge of technology and in particular the LMS. Be able to articulate why it is critical that they orient their students in a blended environment. Understand that communication happens differently online as apposed to face to face classrooms. Have the faculty feel confident in their abilities to use the LMS and in particular the communications tools within the LMS to successfully communicate with students. Have the faculty begin to build a professional learning network comprised of the attendees form the session. This is not going to be discussed at great length during the session. There will be opportunities for discussion to occur the session. At the end of the session it will be mentioned that they should continue to collaborate with one another. This will provide for them a support network as well encourage them to continue implementing what they have learned.

Session learning measurements

Because this session will be a half day workshop, there are very specific and attainable ways for faculty to demonstrate what they have learned. Based on the material covered during the session, they will choose at least one communication vehicle that they will implement within their online course to communicate with students. They will discuss with the group what their rationale for choosing the tool is any why they believe the tool will meet the needs of their students. They will then use this tool to communicate with the instructor of the session as they have been enrolled as a student within the faculty members course.

EdTech 554 Spring 2013 Final Project

Clayton Mitchell! Des Moines Iowa

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Requirements for attending the session for faculty

To ensure that what the faculty have learned in the session returns with them to their classroom, a followup survey will be given out mid semester. This survey will ask several questions about the success of their orientation with their students. It will also as specific questions about the proper selection of their tool of choice. Specifically if they feel that they chose the correct tool for their needs, why or why not. Additional questions will be about the implementation of additional tools other than the one chosen and why those have helped student within their courses.

Followup communication to assess success of implementation of material

At the end of the semester two surveys will be distributed. One to the faculty member asking about how successful they felt their courses were this semester with the implementation of their new knowledge. A survey will also be distributed to the students asking them how successful they felt their instructor was: In clearly communicating their expectations for the students. How well the instructor orientated them to the course. The level to which the students felt that the instructor was responsive to their needs. The timelines of the response form the instructor. The appropriateness of the communication method chosen by the instructor. If they felt that this class had better communication with their instructor compared to other classes they have taken. If they felt that their grade benefited from inclusion of the communication.

Handout of the session on student orientation for blended instruction

STRATEGIES FOR ORIENTING STUDENTS TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION! !

Orienting students
Objective
The objective for this session is to o!er strategies you can use with your students to help orient them to online instruction. Below are the specic topics that will be highlighted in this document.
1. 2. 3. 4.

Explain why it is important to orient students when teaching. Highlight why this is even more critical when using online communication. Help you understand the di!erence between face to face and online mediated courses and communication. O!er strategies you can employ with students to help with online communication. Tie the above strategies to tools at your disposal in the LMS.

1. Why is it important to orient students?

When using online instruction in your courses, you have to assume the mantle of not only the content expert of your given subject but also, as a technology expert for the tools you have chosen to use. Just like you would not walk into a class the rst day and begin the instruction without rst explaining your expectations and the students responsibility for the semester, so to you cannot simply turn on your online course and expect students to understand what they are required to accomplish. This is where you have to help the students understand everything from where they are required to go, to how they complete the corse successfully. What follows are a few ideas to help you understand what your students need from you. Begin anything you do online from the perspective of the student. You can make no assumptions about student prior knowledge of systems, processes or procedures. The only assumption you can make is that your students know nothing and will need help to navigate the semester successfully. Below are some questions you can ask yourself (putting you in the student role) to help you with this process.
Where do I go? How do I log in? What am I seeing when I look at my course? What skills must I have to be successful? How do I communicate here? Where can I see my grades? Where do I go if I have problems? What do I need to access this course? How often will I need to come here? How do I complete assignments? How will I be graded? How will I know when my Etc.

assignments have been graded?

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STRATEGIES FOR ORIENTING STUDENTS TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION!

2. Teaching online is not the same as teaching face to face.

As you can see from the previous section, your students need your help. You are the go to person for your courses. When students have questions you will be the person they will turn to. If you are unable to help them they will stop asking and become frustrated. You must become the expert of your courses. This means that not only must you be a content expert, but you must also become an expert of what is required of student within your online courses. This is not to say that you must be the expert of all things, but you must have a strong knowledge of what you are requiring of your students. The following are examples that will highlight to you the di!erent requirements online instruction places on the instructor.

Food for thought

Online courses are available on a 24/7 basis. Online courses are designed to allow for the greatest exibility in time management for the

students.

You can hold your students more accountable for the work they complete online. You can see when and what your students are doing within your course. You can make adjustments to help student success, based on data. You must draw boundaries for yourself. You must communicate more with online instruction. You must communicate within a reasonable timeframe (24 hours). You must have set channels for communication to happen. You must demonstrate how to complete each assignment.

When thinking about the previous statements, you can begin to understand that your students need your help for them to be successful in your course.

3. Strategies for orienting students.

What is meant by orientation? In simplest terms it means helping students understand what they need to know when they need to know it. The orientation will change depending on the given task. One thing is certain, your students need your help. Your evaluations are largely dependent on student satisfaction with your course. When student expectations are not aligned with your expectations, conicts and dissatisfaction are likely outcomes. This has nothing to do with your knowledge of the subject you are teaching. The following are strategies you can employ to help your students with your courses
1. 2.

Cover the who, what, when, where, and why the rst day of class.
Understand that you will probably need to devote the rst day of your course to this task.

Cover the syllabus including grade distribution in the rst class day.
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STRATEGIES FOR ORIENTING STUDENTS TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION!

This sets tone for the course.

3. 4.

Log into your course and literally show your students what is looks like. Highlight how you have your course laid out and where they can nd the tools within your course. Create assignments that will help students self orient to your course. Make sure to o!er points as an incentive for completion.
Have the students log in and/or nd the required online resources. Have them nd the grade book. Have them send an email from within the course Have them post to a forum Etc.

5. 6.

Explain to the students what technology they will need to complete the course. Demonstrate to your students how to complete each assignment before they become available to the students.
When covering this in class it is important to use orienting language that will focus your

students on the task you are covering. Phrases like This is important, You will need to know this in order to complete the assignment, This will be on the test are examples of orienting phrases. Once students have become better at self orientation these phrases are less necessary but still useful.

7.

Demonstrate to your students what you expect to receive depending on the given task.
It is helpful if you have a student account which you can show the process students will

need to go through to complete a task. This is not only helpful in showing the students how to complete a task, but will demonstrate for them what a completed task looks like from their perspective. Student and instructors do not see things the same way within an online environment.

8.

Explain what your preferred communication channel is and set what you consider to be a reasonable response time for communication with your students
A channel may be email, telephone, text, or course forum. Students must know where to

reach you, and must understand how quickly they should expect to hear a reply from you. The student expectations will vary depending on the channel chosen. If you do not clearly state what you deem to be reasonable, you can cause frustration. An example would be texting. Students may assume that you will respond instantly, if they text you. If you think that 24 hours is reasonable for this channel you must let your students know this.

9.

O!er study tips to your students on how they can manage their time and complete assignments.
It is a good idea to have some assignments due in stages. Complete part A by this day and

then do part B to nish. This will help build the types of study habits you expect from your students.

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STRATEGIES FOR ORIENTING STUDENTS TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION!

Moodle tools to help students self orient

Because we teach hybrid courses, (courses that have an online and face to face component) it is possible to orient your students in your courses. This only works if the students are there for the time you cover the material. If you have not planned on covering this material again for students who have missed the session or for student reference, your students may be aware that you expect something from them but still do not know what. It is a good idea to create resources that your students can use to help themselves self orient to your course. I will list some ways in which you can achieve this and align tools within moodle you can use.
1.

Lecture Capture - It is a good idea to record your courses so that students have access to the material you cover. This is called lecture capture and is a relatively easy process. By doing this you not only provide a way for students that have missed your courses to have access to the material you covered but it also provides a resource for students to use as a study reference. Quizzes - Quizzes are a great way to develop self paced orienting materials that hold students accountable. Quizzes can be created to cover your syllabus, course layout, due dates, Etc. Forums - Forums are a good vehicle for peer help. During the semester there is much material you are responsible for. If you create forums where students can post issues they are having di!culties with in the course, and o"er extra credit to students who help within these fora, the students may get the help they were seeking before you have had a chance to even know about the issue. Many hands make light work. Email - This is a quick one to one communication option that is a asynchronous that can solve many issues that arrive. Lesson - A lesson is a way to present instruction in a given order to students. When you create lessons you are saying that students must do X before they do Y before they do Z. This is a way to ensure that information is not skipped by the impatient student. Book - A book is a way for you to collect many sources into a single resource. If you had a video, some text and a picture that you wanted to have your students look at, you could compile them into one book rather than three separate links. Page - a page is a web page that you create in your course to provide text material to students. Rather than having documents that students download, a page keeps information bound to the place that it is relevant within the course. URL - a url is just a link to an outside web page. The di"erence is that rather than simply providing a link to the page it will display it in relation to your course. This will help keep your students from not returning to your course once they have navigated away.

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