“It’s How You Use It” Promoting Interaction in the Online Environment Daniel H. Becker, Adam trent York University

Improving Online Teaching and Learning Faculty-Wide Deconstruct a success model based on 3 types of interaction: o Student-Instructor o Student-Content o Student-Student Description of elements of this success model

What Will You Take Away? Concrete Examples o Based on a course run this year. How to incrementally improve online teaching and learning A clear understanding of elements of a quality online course

What Course? Faculty of Education 3 rd Year Science Education Fully Online 15 Students 10 Female/5 Male

Major Assessments Annotated Lesson Plan (10%) o Due: October 18, 2015 Demonstration Lesson (10%) o Due: November 1, 2015 Annotated Unit Plan (10%) o Due: December 6, 2015 Assessment Plan (15%) o Due: February 28, 2016 Microteaching and Reflection (15%) o Due: March 27, 2016 Weekly Activities (40%) o Due: ongoing

Major Assessments Lesson Plan 10 Minute Lesson Video o (YouTube) Applicable Handout o (following an exemplar) Post for Peer Feedback Unit Plan 30 Minute Lesson Video o (YouTube) Applicable Handout Peer Feedback

Schedule – Weekly Cycle Readings/videos with Notes Short Quizzes on Readings Short Private Responses to Open ended Questions (250 words) 1 Wiki Creation Discussion Forums o Sometimes more than 1

Interaction: Student-Content Weekly Readings/Videos Mandatory engagement in content o Weekly Activities o Success on quiz o Participation in Discussion Schedule clearly articulated at beginning of the course.

Interaction: Student-Student Peer Feedback on Major Assignments Weekly Discussions where students interact with with each other over topics Instructor sets tone and gives implicit examples of how to interact. Instructor sets pace Lets conversation take place without being over bearing

Interaction: Student-Instructor Many opportunities for feedback Privately o Weekly quizzes o Short answer responses o Graded Assignments o Whole Class o Discussion area o Periodic Instructor class announcements/videos

What Was Missing? Course News/Announcements could have been used more than twice monthly No use of the calendar function o Calendar is very powerful when used with the announcements

Design Considerations Clearly structured and complete prior to start of the course Obvious and steady pace Get students using the tech that they will need to use for their assignments ASAP. Make conversations mandatory and regular

Design Considerations Vary readings/videos Provide many opportunities for students to receive feedback from other students and the instructor Balance collaboration with individual efforts Build in choice to assessments.

The Role of the Instructor

Bonus Tip One Free Pass