Having worked for several online institutions over the years, I have seen various forms of classroom set up. Some are more static media and text intensive. While others focus more on interactive content. As an instructor I appreciate the ease in which text based content can be modified and updated as needed, however deliver of multimedia content is hard to update and can significantly out of date within a year. Especially when teaching software based courses where the program interface might be completely different each year. Has anyone found that schools are reluctant to update multimedia content on a quick turnaround?

"Technology is only a tool in learning and should never direct the process" Although wonderful in theory often it does. Many students involved in on line learning are buisy people and look at on line as a fast way to " get it done" on their time and sadly technology does become the director.

I find the term " structural integrity" to be vague and open to interpitation Any thoughts?

I like the idea of hybrid learning because, as both a high school and college teacher I am very aware of the attention span of young people today. They are constantly being innondated with technology and media from all sides. Have many learning choices allows for students to engage on a more indepth level and allows different types of learners to have a better understanding.

Hello, I am being directed to develop an online AS degree for my school. We have chosen an LMS and they will provide some training for online teaching, as well as pursuing this certification. Can anyone else recommend some good books to use to buff up my online teaching pedagogy? Thanks!

Storyboarding is an efficient way to improve the e-Learning development process for your entire team. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

The syllabus is typically your students’ first real introduction to your course, greeting them with the pertinent details regarding what to expect from the course, and what the course might expect from them. It can set the tone for the entire semester,therefore, if you create a poor syllabus who will it impact your course?

In the online instructional environment, the discussion questions, posts, and responses are the lifeblood of the course. Why is it so challenging to increase participation?

What is the big difference in online versus traditional education?

I try to audit posts daily to accomplish two things. One, to keep the conversation on point and proper.Two, to correct false assumptions/conclusion on a timely basis before the thread becomes too misleading to the participants!

What are good sources for animation clips?

I work in a music production school. Some of our courses require that the student must perform tasks on Audio equipment that the normal musician would not have laying around requiring them to come to the campus. I think this is a great thing but it still limits the "distance learning" model in my mind. I have thought of contracting out to studios in different regions to help accommodate the distance learner and or having a remote truck that would tour certain regions for the assessments. This seems like it could become a costly venture. Has anyone dealt with this situation?

I would like to hear some experiences of live audio interaction. I like the live audio but It feels a bit stale to me especially when you have multiple students communicating. Any thoughts?

In reference to question 10 of the quiz for section 1. I believe that online education cannot be as effective as on-site for career education. It is an effective tool but the student needs to have access to the "tools of the trade" which are not always readily available.

I have never taught online yet, but I have taken many a class, and the ones where the information links have changed are the most frustrating. How would you go about keeping those links updated.

Hi There, So my question is how can a course be built to challenge everyone? If a class is too remedial will this not challenge the students that have this experience and possibly bore them? While I agree that classes need to be made for everyone to use, how can an online class be interesting to an experienced student and a new online student? Thoughts? Thanks, kelly

In an online course I always have Live Chat times that are one hour, Office Hours where students can meet me, and I tell students they can call me anytime between 9am-9pm. While I offer all these times, I often only receive 1 or 2 students who attend or contact me. How do you reach the students that never contact you, but maybe need to? I find that even calling, emailing everyone doesn't work either. I want to make sure that I am available, but at the same time, I want to make sure students will utilize these opportunities if they need it. Should I just assume that if they don't contact, they are fine? Thanks, Kelly

Would you allow guest speakers or guest Professors to run critiques in your classroom? Do you think students would benefit from this? Why or why not? Thanks in advance!

Do all courses need to be revised after time? Why or why not? Thanks!

When I lived in Chandler, Ariz., I was blessed to have found Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe. The owners schedule writing workshops throughout the year. Not only did I meet fellow aspiring authors, I met published authors who would share writing tips and tricks such as the importance of using an outline, whether you write fiction or nonfiction. Writer's conferences and workshops are good places to meet editors, literary agents, publishers, and other writers. You can take a class or two and improve your writing skills in no time, and the contacts you make are invaluable to your career.