Extreme Makeover

Michelle Pacansky-Brockmpb@sierracollege.edu

mpbreflections.blogspot.com

Online Course Edition

DePaul University Online Teaching Series

June 25, 2008

Extreme Makeover Details

began teaching online in Fall ‘03

“makeover” began in Fall 2006

gradual, slow

no instructional design or multimedia assistance

creative process

Willem de Kooning, Door to River, 1960.

Extreme Makeover: Online Course Edition

more visual learning opportunities

more sharable, student-generated content

options for students

a greater sense of online community

an increase in instructor presence

I wanted my extreme makeover to result in:

new, visual syllabus (visual learning)

lectures in PDF and podcast form (options, instructor presence)

announcements in audio and text format (options, instructor presence)

integrate student blogs (visual learning, options, sharable student-generated content)

integrate VoiceThreads (visual learning, options, sharable student-generated content)

What I changed...

Extreme Makeover: Online Course Edition

Before...

After!!

Made with “Pages” (Mac only), provided to students in PDF format

How was audio integrated?

pre-written lectures were recorded and turned into a podcast

weekly typed announcements were recorded and posted within each learning unit

Audacity was used for recording audio

Profcast (Mac) was used for recording enhanced podcasts

Did the use of audio announcements (in place of text) increase your sense of

the instructor’s presence?

91% Yes9% No

42 responses; 75%

What students said about audio...

Which version of the lecture did you choose to access?

PDF 45%Podcast 17%Both 37%Neither 1%

77 responses; 65%

What students said about audio...

If you chose to read the PDF version, why?

I couldn’t get the podcast to work 9% Reading suits my learning preference 34% I didn’t want to deal with the podcast 6% I used the PDF and podcast 33% I didn’t access the PDF at all 18%

77 responses; 65%

What students said about audio...

VoiceThreads: options for expression, visual teaching, increase community and instructor presence

“VoiceThread is superior [to the discussion board] for two reasons, one, you can interact with the image while explaining your post and, two, you have the option to talk or write. My preference is speaking. Love those options!”

-Online Student’s Feedback about VoiceThreads compared to

Discussion Boards

http://voicethread.com/share/8863/

Image: Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610.

What Students said about VoiceThread...

http://voicethread.com/share/99673/

“…[h]earing the inflections in a student’s voice is important as it prevents miscommunications and hurt feelings I’ve witnessed on the discussion boards. I am also a full-time online student and after many online classes I can say that hearing my peers’ voices and seeing an image helps create a better classroom community and leads to more collaboration amongst the class. This is important as I feel lack of community is one of the biggest drawbacks to online education.”

-Julie BorninoOnline Art 10 Student, Spring ‘08

86% of the students had never created a blog prior to the class.

Of the 86% that had never created a blog, 86% said the level of difficulty was easy or manageable.

What students said about blogs...

Results of a joint survey between two online classes: Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Art Appreciation and Michelle Macfarlane’s Food Society and the Environment classes.

86% said the blog enhanced their learning

89% said the blog exposed them to different

95% agreed that writing blog posts required critical thinking perspectives

What students said about blogs...

Results of a joint survey between two online classes: Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s Art Appreciation and Michelle Macfarlane’s Food Society and the Environment classes.

“ I really enjoy the blogging because in Blackboard we can’t see our classmates, but in a blog you can view them and read what they say and get to know who you share a class with. You only see their names in discussion boards, so I feel the blogs are much more effective. It makes me want to actually do my work so I can write a blog.”

- Online Art Appreciation Student

Sample Art Appreciation Student Blogs

Students provided permission to share their blogs for this presentation.

Technology Overload?

100% of the students said the overall use of technology used in the class was manageable.

Makeover Advice

focus on the pedagogy, not the technology

become engaged - read educational blogs and listen to podcasts

take it slow, one step at a time