Win-Win Learning Activities: Adapting F2F to Online Learning May 18, 2005 Molly Baker Teaching/Learning Center Black Hawk College

Plan for Today  Getting Ready  Teaching Online: Let me count the ways!  Shifts in Teaching Approach  Impact on Course Design  What does engagement/interactivity look like in online courses?  Sharing/Q&A

Let Me Count the Ways!  Web-assisted: F2F class w/ syllabus, course handouts in WebCT;  Web-enhanced: F2F w/ above + some use of discussion board lead by instructor and hotlinks  Blended: Less F2F, more learning in WebCT (tutorials, resources linked to assignments, quizzes, discussions)  Online: All or nearly all is online; student’s share respons. through collaborative work

Shifts in Approach  From “How do I teach online?” to “How do I create an online learning experience?”  From “What should I do?” to “What are the students doing?”  From “information/content-centric” to “learner- centric” (flexible, interactive, collaborative, learner control)  From “instructor-led” to “instructor-facilitated” or “coached”

Impact on Course Design  ATM machine first installed in a bank during banking hours; early online “lectures” functioned in “old paradigm” too  79% of Web readers SCAN: “lectures” look very different, prompting active reactions  Online persistence is more about engagement than content, especially if learning the content does not seem essential to the learner  “Teaching” becomes designing and “facilitating” a learning experience, monitoring progress of student performance and making adjustments “on the fly.”

Impact on Course Design  Multiple learning style preferences meet the “engaging” power of technology (audio, video, community, reflective, active learning, exploratory, facts/ideas, structure/free flow)  Access to world-class, interactive resources (art museums, simula- tions, archeology digs…)  Immediate access to online support (regis, advising, 24/7 library…) and feedback  Writing intensive: feedback is critical

What is “engagement?”  Faculty/student interaction  Student/student interaction  Student/content interaction  Balance of each depends on: teaching philosophy (self- paced, paced in synch, collaborative learning?) disciplinary traditions desired learning outcomes of the course student characteristics Instructor preferences

A few examples:  Blog Blog  Class orientation Class orientation  WebQuest WebQuest  “Lectures” w/ built-in interactivity “Lectures” w/ built-in interactivity  Practice Practice  Learning Games Learning Games  Case Studies/Problem-based Learning Case Studies/Problem-based Learning  Simulations Simulations  Exploratory Learning Exploratory Learning  Many others: merlot.orgmerlot.org

Let’s Talk!  What ideas can you share?  What questions do you have?  What concerns do you have?  How can you use interactivity in ways that don’t take over your life?  How do you decide which interactive strategy to use in your courses?