Internet Teaching: Oxymoron or Cutting Edge Pedagogy

Worth Wellerwellerw@ipfw.edu

Worth Weller

Commonly heard…

• If it is not face to face, it’s just a correspondence course

• Why should we make things so convenient for students?

• Students need community

• It’s too easy to cheat in Internet classes

Worth Weller

Commonly heard…

• The internet’s a dangerous place – you can’t make students do things there

• Internet courses are more time consuming

• They’re too impersonal – students feel disconnected

from their profs– can’t mentor our students

• Technology is a problem• Departmental concerns

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• If it is not face to face, it’s just a correspondence course

• Teacher presence in the course– Weekly E-mail guidance; M-F responses– Monitored discussions– a/v Reusable Learning Objects– Chat– Frequent and timely assessment– Podcasting or similar audio files

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• Why should we make things so convenient for students?

• Why not – this is the information age (24x7)– Students already find the Internet useful and fun; it’s their

post postmodern text• YouTube debates• FaceBook, MySpace explosion• James Sosnoski

– Our role as educators• New set of critical reading and thinking skills• Teaches students how to find and use information wisely

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• Students need community• Research doesn’t support this

– Some students do, older students often don’t– Easy to build anyhow

• Group projects• Chat• Peer review• Student presentations• Biographical sketches• Class lounge • Threaded discussions (graded and/or extra credit)• On-line office hours

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• It’s too easy to cheat in Internet classes• It’s easy to cheat in any class

– Frequent, small assignments that break out the larger assignments

– Threaded Discussions– Proctored tests– Databanks, random order, time release quizzes and tests

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• Internet courses are more time consuming• This may be true

– Students can be surprised and overwhelmed• Start semester with course orientation tasks• Provide weekly guidance by e-mail, and chat or “live” conferencing• “Chunk” information

– Prepare curriculum in summer and winter breaks • use semester time for mentoring and assessment

– Classroom organization: • RLO’s and indexed web resources• Group e-mail and class management discussions• Library assistance

– IPFW acknowledges the issue with a $500 stipend.

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• They’re too impersonal/can’t mentor• Simply not true

– Weekly e-mail guidance and M-F responses– chat sessions

• Whole class• One to one chat sessions (conferences)

– a/v RLO’s– Discussion participation– Podcasting and similar audio contact– Voice assessments (pdf files)

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• Technology is a problem• Technology is not a problem, it’s a solution

– If band width is a problem for a student, they can use a campus computer lab

– One day live orientation– RLO’s for common browser and navigation issues– Classroom enhancement

• Blogs• Wikis• Web pages• YouTube

Worth Weller

Strategies…

• Department level concerns• Performance assessment

– Class evaluations• Electronic• Cross curriculum committees• Dual evaluations

• Recruitment/tenure, intellectual property• Filling/gutting sections

– Rolling registrations– Strict caps– Growth area (demographics)

Worth Weller

Resources

• Student perspective (with bibliography)• Student Testimonials• Open Source

Classroom Management and Teaching Tools• University of Wisconsin Extension• Windows Media Encoder• Survey Monkey

Worth Weller

Windows Media Encoder

Free Download

Worth Weller

Open Source Class Management and Teaching Tools

Blogs – teaching notes and student learning diaries Wikis – class delivery and student projects

Worth Weller

Worth Weller