clayton mitchell final assignment edtech 554 spring 2013

8/13/2019 Clayton Mitchell Final Assignment EdTech 554 Spring 2013

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Clayton Mitchell page 1 of 4Des Moines Iowa

Session Goals

Have faculty self assess technology skill level

Demonstrate good student communicationvia an LMS (Moodle)

Have faculty choose a communication vehi-cle in Moodle

Have faculty communicate with presenter, viachosen vehicle, by the end of the session

Session Outcomes

Have faculty understand the need for goodcommunication with students

Have faculty understand that communicationmust happen differently in blended courses

Have faculty leave session feeling confidentin their ability to communicate with studentsin a blended class

Have the faculty begin to communicate witheach other in order to help build a profes-sional learning community

Session Activities

Take technology self assessment survey

Discuss what the comfort level for the groupis so the instruction can be targeted for hisparticular session

Go over handout on student orientation forblended environments

Discuss what steps each faculty member willtake to better communicate and orient their

students to blended instruction

Technology Training Opportunity for Teacher Professional Development

EdTech 554 Spring 2013Final Project


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SMART goals for this session

The purpose of this training session is to help faculty first assess their technology skill levelwith an LMS (Moodle), and then introduce why student orientation in an LMS is important tothe success of the students. The terminologies of orientation and communication should not beconfused for these sessions. Orientation is the process of helping students understand thewhen, what, where, why, and how of a course. Communication is the process by which the ori-entation occurs.

The session will cover the aspects of student orientation from the hand out. Based on how thefaculty self assess their skill level, the session will target more or less depth covering the spe-cifics of the handout. Student orientation is critical for both the success of the student in ablended environment as well as the effectiveness of the faculty member to teach within such

an environment. One of the core concepts that this session aims to convey, is that using anLMS to mediate communication with students is beneficial in both their engagement with thematerial and the faculty and classmates within the course. This engagement leads to higherorder critical thinking abut the material as well as a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Because faculty teach a broad range of subjects, it is necessary to cover the material as agroup an to allow each faculty member to choose the communication method within the LMSthat best suits their particular comfort level and particular needs.

Planned activities for this session

Have faculty take the LMS self assessment survey

Discuss as a group where the comfort level of the faculty are with technology and/or what skilllevel of the group is.

This is a necessary step because a session that is to complex or to simple for the fac-ulty audience, will result in a misalignment of the material to be covered. It is imperativethat the session target the correct skill level in order for it to be affective.

Cover the material in the handout.

This is where most of the session will occur. The handout is provided as both a road-map for the faculty on what the session will cover as well as a document they can referback to once the session has completed.

Discuss as a group what each faculty member learned and what they plan to implement firstbased on the material covered.

This will help them cement the covered material from the session. It will also allowthem to begin building a professional development network from people they trust.

EdTech 554 Spring 2013Final Pro ect


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Outcomes for this session

The purpose for this session is to provide an overview of why student orientation is so criticalto the success of students in a blended environment. The specific takeaways that this sessionaims to provide for the faculty are:

Gain an understanding of where they are in their knowledge of technology and in particularthe LMS.

Be able to articulate why it is critical that they orient their students in a blended environment.

Understand that communication happens differently online as apposed to face to face class-rooms.

Have the faculty feel confident in their abilities to use the LMS and in particular the communi-cations tools within the LMS to successfully communicate with students.

Have the faculty begin to build a professional learning network comprised of the attendeesform the session.

This is not going to be discussed at great length during the session. There will be op-portunities for discussion to occur the session. At the end of the session it will be men-tioned that they should continue to collaborate with one another. This will provide forthem a support network as well encourage them to continue implementing what theyhave learned.

Session learning measurementsBecause this session will be a half day workshop, there are very specific and attainable waysfor faculty to demonstrate what they have learned. Based on the material covered during thesession, they will choose at least one communication vehicle that they will implement withintheir online course to communicate with students. They will discuss with the group what theirrationale for choosing the tool is any why they believe the tool will meet the needs of their stu-dents. They will then use this tool to communicate with the instructor of the session as theyhave been enrolled as a student within the faculty members course.



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Requirements for attending the session for faculty

To ensure that what the faculty have learned in the session returns with them to their class-room, a followup survey will be given out mid semester. This survey will ask several questionsabout the success of their orientation with their students. It will also as specific questions aboutthe proper selection of their tool of choice. Specifically if they feel that they chose the correcttool for their needs, why or why not. Additional questions will be about the implementation ofadditional tools other than the one chosen and why those have helped student within theircourses.

Followup communication to assess success of implementation of material

At the end of the semester two surveys will be distributed. One to the faculty member askingabout how successful they felt their courses were this semester with the implementation oftheir new knowledge.

A survey will also be distributed to the students asking them how successful they felt their in-structor was:

In clearly communicating their expectations for the students.

How well the instructor orientated them to the course.

The level to which the students felt that the instructor was responsive to their needs.

The timelines of the response form the instructor.

The appropriateness of the communication method chosen by the instructor.

If they felt that this class had better communication with their instructor compared to otherclasses they have taken.

If they felt that their grade benefited from inclusion of the communication.


Handout of the session on student

orientation for blended instruction


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Orienting studentsObjective

The objective for this session is to o!er strategies you can use with your students to help orientthem to online instruction. Below are the specific topics that will be highlighted in thisdocument.

1. Explain why it is important to orient students when teaching. Highlight why this is evenmore critical when using online communication.

2. Help you understand the di!erence between face to face and online mediated courses andcommunication.

3. O!er strategies you can employ with students to help with online communication.

4. Tie the above strategies to tools at your disposal in the LMS.

1. Why is it important to orient students?

When using online instruction in your courses, you have to assume the mantle of not onlythe content expert of your given subject but also, as a technology expert for the tools you havechosen to use. Just like you would not walk into a class the first day and begin the instruction

without first explaining your expectations and the students responsibility for the semester, so toyou cannot simply turn on your online course and expect students to understand what they arerequired to accomplish. This is where you have to help the students understand everything from

where they are required to go, to how they complete the corse successfully. What follows are afew ideas to help you understand what your students need from you.

Begin anything you do online from the perspective of the student. You can make noassumptions about student prior knowledge of systems, processes or procedures. The onlyassumption you can make is that your students know nothing and will need help to navigate thesemester successfully. Below are some questions you can ask yourself (putting you in the studentrole) to help you with this process.

Where do I go?

How do I log in?

What am I seeing when I look at my course?

What skills must I have to be successful?

How do I communicate here?

Where can I see my grades?

Where do I go if I have problems?

What do I need to access this course?

How often will I need to come here?

How do I complete assignments?

How will I be graded?

How will I know when myassignments have been graded?

Etc.

STRATEGIES FOR ORIENTING STUDENTS TO ONLINE INSTRUCTION

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2. Teaching online is not the same as teaching face to face.

As you can see from the previous section, your students need your help. You are the go toperson for your courses. When students have questions you will be the person they will turn to. If

you are unable to help them they will stop asking and become frustrated. You must become the

expert of your courses. This means that not only must you be a content expert, but you must alsobecome an expert of what is required of student within your online courses. This is not to say thatyou must be the expert of all things, but you must have a strong knowledge of what you arerequiring of your students. The following are examples that will highlight to you the di!erentrequirements online instruction places on the instructor.

Food for thought

Online courses are available on a 24/7 basis.

Online courses are designed to allow for the greatest flexibility in time management for thestudents.

You can hold your students more accountable for the work they complete online.

You can see when and what your students are doing within your course.

You can make adjustments to help student success, based on data.

You must draw boundaries for yourself.

You must communicate more with online instruction.

You must communicate within a reasonable timeframe (24 hours).

You must have set channels for communication to happen.

You must demonstrate how to complete each assignment.

When thinking about the previous statements, you can begin to understand that your studentsneed your help for them to be successful in your course.

3. Strategies for orienting students.

What is meant by orientation? In simplest terms it means helping students understandwhat they need to know when they need to know it. The orientation will change depending onthe given task. One thing is certain, your students need your help. Your evaluations are largely

dependent on student satisfaction with your course. When student expectations are not alignedwith your expectations, conflicts and dissatisfaction are likely outcomes. This has nothing to dowith your knowledge of the subject you are teaching. The following are strategies you can employto help your students with your courses

1. Cover the who, what, when, where, and why the first day of class.

Understand that you will probably need to devote the first day of your course to this task.

2. Cover the syllabus including grade distribution in the first class day.


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This sets tone for the course.

3. Log into your course and literally show your students what is looks like. Highlight how youhave your course laid out and where they can find the tools within your course.

4. Create assignments that will help students self orient to your course. Make sure to o!er

points as an incentive for completion. Have the students log in and/or find the required online resources.

Have them find the grade book.

Have them send an email from within the course

Have them post to a forum

Etc.

5. Explain to the students what technology they will need to complete the course.

6. Demonstrate to your students how to complete each assignment before they become

available to the students.When covering this in class it is important to use orienting language that will focus your

students on the task you are covering. Phrases like This is important, You will need toknow this in order to complete the assignment, This will be on the test are examples oforienting phrases. Once students have become better at self orientation these phrases areless necessary but still useful.

7. Demonstrate to your students what you expect to receive depending on the given task.

It is helpful if you have a student account which you can show the process students willneed to go through to complete a task. This is not only helpful in showing the students howto complete a task, but will demonstrate for them what a completed task looks like from

their perspective. Student and instructors do not see things the same way within an onlineenvironment.

8. Explain what your preferred communication channel is and set what you consider to be areasonable response time for communication with your students

A channel may be email, telephone, text, or course forum. Students must know where toreach you, and must understand how quickly they should expect to hear a reply from you.

The student expectations will vary depending on the channel chosen. If you do not clearlystate what you deem to be reasonable, you can cause frustration. An example would betexting. Students may assume that you will respond instantly, if they text you. If you thinkthat 24 hours is reasonable for this channel you must let your students know this.

9. O!er study tips to your students on how they can manage their time and completeassignments.

It is a good idea to have some assignments due in stages. Complete part A by this day andthen do part B to finish. This will help build the types of study habits you expect from yourstudents.


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Moodle tools to help students self orient

Because we teach hybrid courses, (courses that have an online and face to facecomponent) it is possible to orient your students in your courses. This only works if the studentsare there for the time you cover the material. If you have not planned on covering this material

again for students who have missed the session or for student reference, your students may beaware that you expect something from them but still do not know what. It is a good idea tocreate resources that your students can use to help themselves self orient to your course. I will listsome ways in which you can achieve this and align tools within moodle you can use.

1. Lecture Capture - It is a good idea to record your courses so that students have access to thematerial you cover. This is called lecture capture and is a relatively easy process. By doingthis you not only provide a way for students that have missed your courses to have access tothe material you covered but it also provides a resource for students to use as a studyreference.

2. Quizzes - Quizzes are a great way to develop self paced orienting materials that holdstudents accountable. Quizzes can be created to cover your syllabus, course layout, duedates, Etc.

3. Forums - Forums are a good vehicle for peer help. During the semester there is muchmaterial you are responsible for. If you create forums where students can post issues they arehaving di!culties with in the course, and o"er extra credit to students who help within thesefora, the students may get the help they were seeking before you have had a chance to evenknow about the issue. Many hands make light work.

4. Email - This is a quick one to one communication option that is a asynchronous that cansolve many issues that arrive.

5. Lesson - A lesson is a way to present instruction in a given order to students. When you

create lessons you are saying that students must do X before they do Y before they do Z.This is a way to ensure that information is not skipped by the impatient student.

6. Book - A book is a way for you to collect many sources into a single resource. If you had avideo, some text and a picture that you wanted to have your students look at, you couldcompile them into one book rather than three separate links.

7. Page - a page is a web page that you create in your course to provide text material tostudents. Rather than having documents that students download, a page keeps informationbound to the place that it is relevant within the course.

8. URL - a url is just a link to an outside web page. The di"erence is that rather than simplyproviding a link to the page it will display it in relation to your course. This will help keep

your students from not returning to your course once they have navigated away.


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clayton mitchell final assignment edtech 554 spring 2013

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