1. Engaging your synchronous class from a student's perspective Engaging your synchronous class from a student's perspective Sheri Anderson, Faculty Liaison Beth Allred, Instructional Designer Patsy Gonzalez, e-Learning Coordinator

2. Overview  Literature Review  Methods  Results

3. Literature Review

4.  Virtual classroom session design should include techniques for keeping students engaged in the lesson  Focus on interactivity  Inform students of interactivity expectations  Plan and inform academic requirements  Continuously improve interactivity over multiple sessions  Skillfully use technology  Have technical functionality and support (Keegan, et. al., 2005).

5. Facilitating Online Session  Be prepared with resources and activities  Neutralize distractions  Set Ground Rules (e.g. type a “?” in the chat area if you have a question)  Use virtual body language (e.g. emoticons)  Use video for virtual body language (Finkelstein, 2006)

6. Methods

7. Methods  Survey study  Quantitative data  7 item researcher developed questions including demographic information  Convenience sample of researchers’ courses covering 3 semesters  Deploy to 5 sections of Educational courses at UNC-Wilmington  Approximately 140 students received survey electronically  Return rate was approximately 15%

8. Results

9. Demographics  70% of respondents were from the millennial generation (18-30 years old)  30% were from generation X (30-50 years old)

10. Strategies to Focus on Course Content

11. Check-In Strategy

12. Strategies for Types of Student Engagement

13. Impact of Web Camera

14. Student Comments  Without the camera, I wouldn't feel like I was being watched, so I would wander away from class.  When connection had "hiccups" then could read lips and know if there was more information that was missed  Facial expression and gestures communicate a lot when an instructor is speaking.

15. References Finkelstein, J., (2006). Learning in Real Time: Synchronous Teaching and Learning Online. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Keegan, D., Schwenke, E., Fritsch, H., Kenny, G., Kismihók, G., Bíró, M., Gábor, A., Ó’Suilleabháin, G., and Nix, J. (2005). Virtual Classrooms in Educational Provision: Synchronous elearning systems for European institutions. Hagen: FernUniversitaet (ZIFF). Retrieved February 18, 2009 from: http://www.fernuni- hagen.de/ZIFF/synchronous.pdf.

16. Questions Contact Information E-mail – e-learning@uncw.edue-learning@uncw.edu Website – http://www.uncw.edu/oelhttp://www.uncw.edu/oel