1 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes to Teaching Online Efficiently Konnie G. Kustron Zenia C. Bahorski Eastern Michigan University 2008 AACE World Conference in Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education, November, 2008

2 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes Teaching online involves more instructional time than teaching in a traditional face-to-face environment. Difficult to provide quick responses to student questions Difficult to provide constructive, timely feedback on assignments Needed: Time saving techniques to support exemplary instructional practices and strategies.

3 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 1. Do it right the first time. Give adequate time to plan and prepare Stick with familiar content Use a storyboard Keep copies of everything

4 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 2. Design flexible units. Make Transition Seamless 7 Units 7 Units 14 Weeks 7 Weeks

5 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 3. Organize your materials. Consider Microsoft’s One Note ®

6 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 4. Safeguard your efforts. External hard disk Online services Carbonite Mozy Computer vendor Advantages: Some implement automatic backups Backups are off of your system in case of hardware or systems crash

7 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 5. Schedule your online time. Have set time to go online each day Acceptable to respond within 24 hours

8 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 6. Personalize comments and s to students. Use student’s name in message body when responding Have students introduce themselves Respond to each with follow-up question “How are you doing?”

9 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 7. Use instant messaging for student questions. Such as: AIM ® or Windows Live™ Used in multiple of ways Be “visible” at specific, pre-set times Be “visible” whenever you are online Some have voice feature

10 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 8. Retain your privacy. Balance personal and professional life Use separate phone number for student calls Online voice messaging alternative: K7.net ™ IM alternative: Make yourself “invisible” while online

11 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 9. Get students “talking” early on. Most successful online classes have strong discussion component Maintain momentum of discussion: Have schedule of questions and corresponding answers to post Time crunch? Have bank of previously drafted questions and answers

12 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 10. Include peer reviews as a component of your class. For students: Feedback on work prior to submission Time to edit and improve final product For instructor: Makes grading easier Final submission is normally of higher quality

13 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 11. Define file conventions for assignments. Define naming of files Can organize same class’ files into one group Define subject line Can use mail filter to sort incoming mail into class folders Define file-types Eliminates issues related to conversion problems

14 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 12. Develop grading templates. Student perspective: Know what to expect of an assignment Instructor perspective: Supports objective grading Increases efficiency Increases time management Allows instructor to focus on important elements of assignments

15 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 13. Make assignments due at the beginning of the week. Students benefit: Gives them the weekend to work on assignments Instructors benefit: Gives them the week to grade and return them before the following weekend

16 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 14. Grade right away. Grade student assignments within 72 hours Students will appreciate attentiveness

17 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 15. Consider macros for grading and . Use macros for common remarks Examples: Microsoft ® Word and TypeItIn

18 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 16. Never accept assignments on paper. Useful to have electronic copies of student papers For example, in Microsoft ® Word, the electronic copy has visible properties: Author’s name, date created, date modified, revision number, total editing time, etc. Have students upload work to course management system or consider Google ™ Docs

19 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 17. Limit the time you spend on grading one assignment. Consider setting a timer Balance time given to each paper Provides a consistent amount of feedback to each student

20 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 18. Have a process on handling plagiarized work. Begin with statement in syllabus Include a link to your organization’s policy Possibly include: A sample of plagiarized work A tutorial of what plagiarism entails A video on plagiarism

21 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 19. Learn the advanced features in Microsoft ® Word. Will help facilitate grading electronic assignments Examples: Track changes Adding balloon comments Comparing two versions Combining multiple documents

22 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 20. Keep current. Stay involved in professional organizations Attend conferences Interface with colleagues Keep an eye out for useful resources (I.e. Jing, Moodle, Scribd, Slideshare) Sign up for newsletters and listservs Sloan-C: TeachOnline2008.blogspot.com

23 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes 21. And, if this is not enough, check these out: AIM ®. (2008). Carbonite. (2008). Directory of Online Learning tools at EZ Macros. (2008). Jing. (2008). K7.net™. (2008). Macro Express ®. (2008). Mozy. (2008). OneNote ®. (2008). us/onenote/default.aspx Scribd. (2008). Slideshare. (2008). TypeItIn. (2008). Windows Live ®. (2008).

24 20 Techniques in 20 Minutes Contact Information… Konnie G. Kustron Zenia C. Bahorski