Quality Matters in myitlab

Quality Matters in myitlab

(It really does!)

Course Overview and Introduction

Please give me 5 minutes or less to explain to you why I feel that Quality does Matter, especially in myitlab courses.

I promise to share some ideas and suggestions, and to give you access to some resources that will be of direct help to you in facilitating your students learning.

This particular workshop is focused on Course Overview and Introduction, my intention is to create other workshops on other pertinent topics that involve Quality Matters and myitlab.

So, lets get started!1Why?First impressionsHigh ExpectationsTime ManagementLearning Styles

Why is this important?

I could talk about many topics here, but I will limit myself to just 4.

We all know the power of first impressions. I tell my students You can only make a first impression once. Your students will have a lasting memory of what they see first in your myitlab. Make sure it is clear, correct, and consistent.

Be sure to set High expectations for your students, but be companionate and understanding too.

This tool is meant to save both you and your students time. If the organization requirements assessments are well thought out and tested, this will prove to be true.

Remember that each of your students may have different learning styles. Studies show that often time, the instructors learning style is much different than their students. Be sure to allow various options for different learning styles. Consider asking your students to talke a learning styles inventory so they can have the tools to take charge of their own learning. 2Who Am I?Arta SzathmaryProfessor MaST (Math, Science and Technology) Bucks County Community CollegePresident of PA4C (2007/2008)myitlab Faculty Consultant

My name is Arta Szathmary

I am on sabbatical for Fall 2008, my project involves updating my online course to include multimedia and other learning objects.

My husband and I have been married for 37 years, and we have 4 adult children. Next May I will be able to say, we have 4 graduates from PSU. Alex will graduate in May with a major in IST.

The other 3 children are all Married and as of August we have 3 grand children!

I am an Active member of TLT Group and enjoy working with other colleagues in numerous projects. 3

What is myitlab?Web based tool.Mapped to Office 2007 textbooksInteractive training, defensible assessmentGradebook, Communications and multimedia contentCustomizable

What is myitlab.

Think of web application, database, interactive tutorials, online assessments, gradebook, web 2.0

This is owned and published by Prentice Hall.

They have been developing this tool for over 3 years and it maps specifically to their own textbooks.

Instructors have all kinds of objects the can add to the content to make it their own, also prentice hall makes content from many books available to the instructor, not just the adopted one. It is much more than an epack for Blackboard or WebCT. 4Students Lost inside your Course?Are you answering the same questions over and over?Are your students confused?Do you feel an undercurrent of student chatter? Unfamiliar with using a LMS (CMS)?

Do you know what the students should be doing, but they just arent doing it?

Yes, it could be that they are not really devoting the time to learn the system. I can remember back to the days when we all had to teach them about a mouse was click and double click. Solitaire was my training tool of choice, and I assigned them 45 minutes of solitaire before the next class meeting.

Yes, things have changed quite a bit, but they still need to poke around your course. You might consider hiding Easter eggs, Or awarding extra credit. One of my first extra credit assignments is to email the instructor a copy of the grading criteria.

Yes, it is on the course format, yes, they can copy and paste.

Is myitlab a LMS? It depends but it surely is much more than just an assessment tool.

Require them to get familiar with the course, support sites, and context sensitive help EARLY, before they need them.

5Welcome to CIS???Create a folder that contains the basic informationSyllabusCourse FormatWeekly Suggested Outline?? What else???

Create a folder that has the IMPORTANT information for your class. Name it something like Start Here, BEGIN, or Welcome to CISC110.

In that folder place all of those things you would normally hand out on the first day. Save a tree, or let your students kill their own tree if they need it in printed format.

Consider using HTML or PDF format to eliminate any software incompatibilties before they happen

Update the documents as needed throughout the semester, and point the students to the new documents using announcements or email. 6Hints for ??what else??Navigational instructionEasy to understand organizationIntroduction to course and how the student will learnSet expectationsNetiquetteDiscussions, emailStudent ParticipationInstructor feedback and grading

Consider writing a dialog, or perhaps create a table with screen snaphots and description of use of tools. Students can use this as a hand reference throughout the semester.

Take time to explain the learning theory and pedogogy of design, let them know why they are asked to do things, include objectives and rubrics.

Talk about professional behavior in communication tools, dont expect them to know. Set the ground rules.

Let them know when they can expect response from you for both email and grading. 7Hints for ??what else??Self Introduction InstructorAppropriateOnlineStudentsTo the instructorOther class members

Let the students know who you are, where you are, etc. Share with them those facts that will give them confidence in your knowledge, yet makes you approachable. Student-Faculty interaction is key to success.

Require the students to give some type of introduction of themselves to other students. Student-Student interactions are normal in a F2F class, when students work online, they want/need same contact and support.

Dont become the single source of all information for your course. Let the students collaborate and enjoy the course. 8Hints for ??what else??MinimumsTechnology requirementsStudent skillsPrerequisite knowledgeCourse specific informationFAQ hints from previous students

Try to anticipate, and therefore avoid problems.

If the student should have certain pre-requesites , let them know. If there are no pre-requeists be prepared to deal with that too. If there are hardware/software requirements let them know ahead of time, and make sure that the college provides open lab space for out of class work.

It is nice to have a list of FAQ for your course. If you dont already have one, start collecting today. No need to answer the question separately for each student.

One trick is to anonomize the question and then send the question/answer out to everyone.

Question from student:

Response from Instructor:

Student does not feel embarrased asking silly questions, all students learn the answer.

I have found it effective as a last assignment in the course, for students to give hints to the students that follow. Sometimes, this has helped me to findout and eliminate problems or bottlenecks that I did not even know existed. 9SummaryQuality Matters(it really does!)Help your students Help yourself

Opps, I am at the end of my 5 minutes.

Please have fun and enjoy your students10Quality Matters in myitlab

Resources www.qualitymatters.orgwww.myitlab.com www.pa4c.netszathmar@bucks.eduhttp://rogue.bucks.edu/~szathmar/MIL/Quality Matters in myitlab.pptx

Please give me 5 minutes or less to explain to you why I feel that Quality does Matter, especially in myitlab courses.

I promise to share some ideas and suggestions, and to give you access to some resources that will be of direct help to you in facilitating your students learning.

This particular workshop is focused on Course Overview and Introduction, my intention is to create other workshops on other pertinent topics that involve Quality Matters and myitlab.

So, lets get started!11