Online Education Committee, Parkland College, IL Heidi Leuszler - Biology Toni Burkhalter - Kinesiology Dave Wilson – Chemistry / Forensics Brett Coup – Distance and Virtual Learning

 Parkland College faculty will host a one-hour webinar focusing challenges unique to online science education as well as issues that all online courses face. Lab topics such as lab kits, critical thinking dry-lab questions, and photo journaling will be discussed. Next, the webinar will investigate the logistics of setting up an interactive and engaging online class with appropriate assessments. And lastly, loopholes the faculty experienced will be touched upon while providing possible remedies. It should provide helpful hints to new online educators as well as more experienced faculty.

 Parkland College  Why online lab classes?  Online lab diversity  Lab kits  Photo journaling  Physics online laboratory activities  Kinesiology lab development  Designing an engaging online course  Loopholes / problems and possible remedies  Discussion

 Founded 1967  delivered vocational-technical and academic instruction to over 210,000 people  54 communities in the district  100 degree and certificate programs designed for career and job placement or for transfer to programs at four-year institutions  approximately 18,000 students enrolled / yr

 Why fully online course?  Delivery system changes to meet student needs  On campus  Telecourse  Accelerated  Learning community  Hybrid or blended  Honors  Fully online  Meet needs of diverse student body  Shrinking budgets (but not quality)  Shrinking lab space, but desire to grow enrollment Labs on campus

 What is a lab?  Most agree:  Hands-on  Student-centered learning  Mimics or teaches process of science  May serve a variety of roles

Expand on lecture material Teach and provide practice for simple laboratory skills and use of scientific equipment Illustrate or demonstrate known phenomena Identify and observe materials (rocks, plants, insects, etc.) Follow established or standardized experimental protocol properly Internship or apprenticeship in science Allow discovery of known phenomena Critically analyze data (graphing, statistics, and forming conclusions) Train and provide practice in experimental design Train and provide practice in scientific method and inquiry Johnstone & Al-Shuaili, 2001, Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004, Ma & Nickerson, 2006, Dickerman, 2000

Expand on lecture material Teach and provide practice for simple laboratory skills and use of scientific equipment Illustrate or demonstrate known phenomena Identify and observe materials (rocks, plants, insects, etc.) Follow established or standardized experimental protocol properly Internship or apprenticeship in science Allow discovery of known phenomena Critically analyze data (graphing, statistics, and forming conclusions) Train and provide practice in experimental design Train and provide practice in scientific method and inquiry Johnstone & Al-Shuaili, 2001, Hofstein & Lunetta, 2004, Ma & Nickerson, 2006, Dickerman, 2000 How can we do these things when students do not meet us in the classroom?!?

 There is no “best practice”; each solution is best for the unique situation and course

Saya, Japan’s First Robot Teacher  Must an instructor be present for a lab to occur? “Yes” (n=40), “No” (n=11), “Sometimes” (n=25)

 Directions  Liability  MSDS sheets  Choice of materials  Explain to students

 What do you expect of the students?  Time on task & devotion  Online Learning Packet  What should the students expect of you?  Availability, online office hours, grading  Assignments should match expectations

 Lab partners are important in the classroom  Peer-peer interaction  Student-teacher interaction  Group work

 Design consistent  Black text on white background  Few pictures  Amazingly clear & extremely concise  Must match kit exactly  Lab summaries up front  Assignment box at end  Many bullets and space  File format

 How will you make the students accountable without overburdening them?  How will you determine if online students are meeting your aims and objectives?  How will you compare delivery modes?  Embedded assessment  Work in progress

 Lab kits  Photo journaling  Physics online laboratory activities  Kinesiology lab development

 Needed physical lab supplies  Students could not obtain own materials  Packed own kits (4 sem)  Few materials  Low professionalism  Managing inventory  Liability  Time and financial constraints  Commercial custom kits

How do we ensure students are doing the labs?  Data collection  Lab Quizzes  Peer interaction/ critiques  Unknowns in kit  Photos- Shutterfly (show)

 “Online sections exclusively use these lab simulations, but I also use them from time to time in my traditional sections. They also work great as make up labs, when students miss a lab and the setup has already been taken down.”  Curtis Shoaf  Parkland College  Associate Professor, Physics

2 Dimensional Momentum

 Human Movement  Exercise Physiology  Supplies needed  HR monitor  Flip camera (video)  Pedometer  Measuring tape  Scale

 Planes  Axis  Joints involved  Muscles involved  Movement

“The questions are, What do they need to know? And Did they learn it? I'm as confident of my online students as I am of my on campus students.” Robert L. Leopard Instructor of Biology, Anatomy and Physiology Monroe Community College