1. From Ad Hoc to Intentional: One Department's Online Journey
Jennie A. Harrop, PhD
Chair, Department of Professional Studies
Director, Portland Writing Center
Carol Hutchinson, DMin
Assistant Professor
Michelle Shelton, MA

2. Jennie’s Story & Ad Hoc Beginnings Dr. Jennie Harrop

3. Our Story:

4. Rapid Growth

5. Department of Professional Studies

6. Carol’s Story From Fear to Confidence and Beyond Dr. Carol Hutchinson
Assistant Professor

7. Transformation from: NEVER AGAIN
Began as an adjunct with an online writing course
Hybrid
Unfamiliar with the format of the course
No knowledge of the Learning Management System
No experience designing courses for an online environment
No training offered
“Never again”
Problems figuring out how to grade papers
Unaware of the gradebook feature and how to use it
Too impersonal

8. Transformation to: I WANT MORE
Now permanent faculty
What changed:
Learning Management System became more agile
I attended workshops offered for faculty
I found a mentor
I dedicated time
I want to:
Become more efficient and adept at preparing instructor videos
Develop guidelines for students to gauge the trustworthiness of websites
Continue to develop my digital fluency

9. What we do:
Provide an online delivery system for cohort programs and GE that fosters community
Only one degree program fully online, as well as face to face, has highest enrollment
Commitment to cohort model and transformational learning
Provide a quality control person
Online cohorts begin with an intensive
All instructors submit syllabi
Mentors online instructors
Rely heavily on adjuncts
Actively seek feedback from students

10. What has worked: Intensives
Online cohorts begin with two days of a face to face session
Preparation for this begins four days before
Introduction to the cohort
Assignments designed to introduce the use of the Learning Management System
Exposure to instructor’s presence and engagement
Fosters community
Cohort contract
Introduction to online group projects and guidelines
Introduction to major concepts of the course
Personal interaction with instructor

11. Useful practices: Forum discussions
Weekly instructor summary of forum discussions
Instructor videos
Online articles
Case studies
Group projects
TED Talks
Video conferences
Individual visual projects
Examples: Concept Mapping using VUE; Professional Posters using

12. My challenges: Time Investment Finding and learning new tools
How to make instructor videos work for all courses
Monitoring websites to make sure links work
Updating video links and movie clips
Staying current with articles
Balancing content/theory with pragmatic concerns
Maintaining presence without micromanaging
Having a life while being accessible to students

13. Michelle’s Journey From Packaged Learning to Creative Engagement
Michelle Shelton, MA
Assistant Professor

14. Packaged learning and delivery
Prior experience with online teaching
Dry, sterile, not creative or engaging
Did not allow for individuality
Relationships with students were not fostered
Worked well for a first-time online instructor
Craved more engagement with students

15. Creative Engagement
How the Department of Professional Studies at George Fox University is different (& distinct)
Work with a basic shell online that can be personalized
Allows for relationships to form between the professor and student as well as peer-to-peer
Adult learning theories
Use of technology to engage students
Support from our department
Support from the larger university (Digital Fluency Initiative)

16. Surprises & Challenges
As we have grown in our online courses, there have been surprises and challenges as a department and from our student’s perspectives.

17. Surprises & Challenges as a Department

18. Online General Education Courses
(Spring)
Online courses
Online sections
Online seats filled
*We are offering 6 new online courses in Spring ‘17 that were not offered Spring ‘16

19. Surprises from students…..
#1 Response: Faculty
Communication, engaged, professional, accessible, knowledgeable, hands-on, helpful
#2 Response: Easy to navigate
FoxTALE
#3 Response: Tie---Flexible/convenient & Interaction with peers/online community

20. A few thoughts from our students….
“I was able to get to know my class and the professor even though we didn’t meet in person.”
“It was more interactive than I thought it would be.”
“The consistency makes it easier for me since I work full-time.”
“It can be labor intensive and fast-paced.”

21. Moving Forward
More general education course offerings (both online and F2F)
The need for qualified adjuncts who can teach fully online courses
A focus on sustainability in GE
Maintaining the rigor and quality of all online courses
Consistent and effective adjunct training & mentoring

22. Conclusion: Your Turn