Interaction!

Online Interaction

• Student/Instructor• Student/Student• Student/Self Reflection• Student/Content

Lynch, M. M. (2002). The Online Educator: A Guide to Creating the Virtual Classroom. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

Finding a Balance

High Output – High Quality

Low Output – Low Quality

The Foundation

• Welcome/greeting• Expectations for participation• Timely feedback• Visibility in the course• Availability for questions and clarification• Expectations for support

Student-Student Interaction

• Introducing themselves to their classmates

• Negotiating the content

• Completing assignments

• Student Lounge

Avoids disorientationAllows students to “get to know you”Allows you to connect with students as you would in a traditional classroom

A Warm Welcome to the Course

Student Introductions

Participation

Participation

• Establish Firm Criteria for frequency of engagement• Apply criteria at intervals that students expect (weekly)• “Teach” students the rubric or checklist• Give students a low risk opportunity to adjust to the

requirements• Affirm behavior which meets the requirements

publically (e.g. this is a great example of integrating real world experiences into your post!)

• Expect to address behavior which does not meet requirements privately (in weekly assessment).

A Sample Participation RubricCandidate makes posts to Critical Friends groups and/or Reading Groups four days during each week (.5 point) Candidate posts questions and assignments early in the week, so that the group may respond in a timely manner (.5 point) Candidate posts accurately reflecting reading and/or video materials (.5 point) Candidate builds on the responses of classmates concerning each question and/or critical friends discussion (.5 point) Candidate linked the discussion to professional experiences he or she has had concerning reading circle discussions (.5

point) Candidate was respectful of divergent viewpoints (.5 point) Suggestions made assist the Critical Friends Group in aligning submitted assignments with Assignment Criteria (.5 point) The candidate provides Critical Friends suggestions for revision or improvement (.5 point) Candidate was positive and professional during all interactions with classmates (.5 point) Candidate met all requirements of Weekly Assignment (.5 point)

Students deserve a safe classroom space!

•Assess•Address•Be Visible•Organize•Be Predictable

Setting Expectations

10 Rules of Netiquette• Rule 1: Remember the Human• Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of

behavior online that you follow in real life

• Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace

• Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth

• Rule 5: Make yourself look good online• Rule 6: Share expert knowledge• Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under con

trol• Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy• Rule 9: Don't abuse your power• Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's

mistakes

www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

Quick Feedback=Motivated Online Learners

Timely Feedback

• A maximum of 7 days for assignment feedback• A maximum of 7 days for participation

feedback• Immediate private response to inappropriate

posts• Immediate positive response to posts that

should be seen as “models”

Get Smart!

• Think about outcomes rather than content

• “Chunk” large assignments• Feel good about quality

over quantity• Consider oral presentations

rather than papers• Use groups to provide

critical feedback prior to your review of assignments

Building for persistence and the negotiation of knowledge

• Small, manageable groups (3-4 per group)• Predictable small group discussions– Questions – Reflection on the reading or other course material– Peer assessment of assignments

• Set expectations for your interaction – I will be reading your postings, but will not be participating

until all group members have posted initially. I expect you will have completed your initial posts by midnight on Tuesday of each week per the participation rubric.

Negotiating Content• Reading Groups (3-4 people per group)• Student Driven – Instructor Facilitated• Options

– Students read/research – post 150 word summary and ask open ended questions of each other

– Students read/research– post in a structured manner and ask open ended questions of each other

– Students read/research – post a blended narrative and post open ended questions of each other

– Instructor posts a question – students research/read, respond and ask other open ended questions of each other

– Others?• Key: Assessing Participation and being visible!

Peer Support

• Critical Friends Groups– Multiple group members – one product per member

• Acts as a support group • Proofs papers and provides first tier support for the assignment

• Collaborative Projects– Multiple group members – one product per group

• Assign roles• Build synchronous and asynchronous means of collaboration

for the group• Allow group members to grade each member’s contribution to

the project

Take a Moment

“Chunking” Large Assignments

• Consider requiring only 3-5 pages per assignment

• Focus on Concepts rather than discrete facts

• Consider weekly assessments as formative rather than summative

• “Interact” with the student through comments in their paper– Comment tool in MS Word– Track changes

Interaction with Content

From the Connected Learnerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA

Take a Moment

Being Visible: Sample Schedule•Monday and Tuesday: Review student postings•Wednesday: Response to each group•Thursday: Reaction to any group responses OR new response to groups or individuals•Friday: Group discussion ends•Sunday: Assignment submission

Save yourself!

•Use a virtual office (response time: 24 hours)•Set expectations for email (response time: 48 hours)•Set hours for phone calls (3-5 on Monday and Wednesday)•Use Wimba for weekly clarification meetings (8:00-9:00 PM each Monday)•Create a culture of peer assistance•Be visible in the classroom

You aren’t alone!

• Encourage students to ask each other for help before contacting you

• Give students “study buddies”

• Create a “support” link which outlines university support that will be helpful to students

Take a Moment

Student Self-Reflection

• Post objectives prior to each week’s assignment– Journaling/Blogging/

Video Diary – how am I meeting the objectives of the course?

– Summarizing and posting or emailing – how did the group discussion contribute to meeting the objectives of the course?

Take a Moment

Thank You For Attending!