I would love to hear real examples, what has and has not worked for you?

I still see zero use for this if you know how to manage an online discussion and tools within the LMS.

Maybe this is good for the younger generation, but to be honest for graduate students and those not into technology this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

With the free avail of tools such as Jing, Magisto, etc.. there are many other options where the content can be controlled within the LMS itself.

I have never been a fan of this in the class as anyone can make a fake account and hard to track the actual real student.

The idea of reward seems intertwined with student participation in discussion. They seems to naturally seek a sure fire format as instructed and hover around the idea of affirmation rather than constructive criticism. The ego of some is demonstrated by trying to outperform the others in total verbiage.

I have noticed that setting a clear example of what specifically is expected of a student in terms of the scope of their discussion responses is key to having them stay on target. A simple shopping list for a given topic listing required resources and format considerations go a long way to setting the right tone.

As the online experience is essentially by default primarily asynchronous it is important to humanize the interaction with a sense of common purpose focused around learning the topic as a common goal. The development of an atmosphere of accessibility where students feel that they can count on the instructor as an involved partner in the process of their achieving success in their career seems a nexus. This provides a context for communication where the student trusts that the observations of the instructor about that world beyond are a sort of initiatory process that brings them a step closer to their ultimate post educational goal.

Adobe Connect can be a vehicle for student teacher conferences where a particular technique needs to be reviewed on a step by step basis.

While utilizing social media in an online learning environment can potentially be fraught with peril; I have found Pintrest to be a wonderful social media tool. As a design teacher, being able to collaborate with students on idea/mood boards for projects is extremely beneficial. I am able to show lots of samples and examples, post visual links to resources, and even encourage students to create their own boards. You can also share boards, which allows everyone to contribute, creating wonderful collaboration in my online classes. While my VC offers discussion boards and course galleries… there are some limitations to that for collaborative visual brainstorming. Pintrest is highly user-friendly, highly visual (which is again great for design students) and allows excellent options for what I can present to my students.

Hello Dr. Crews and class, I am excited to be a part of this class. My Program Chair just started a LinkedIn IT group for our IT professors and students. I was surprised at the level of participation within the group by students. They use it to re-connect with classmates with whom they shared past classes and share ideas both academically and professionally. Our classes are all online. I have garnered many insites from their online conversations in the forum. Dr. Paulette Stephens

I have found that even in an online learning environment students will blame their ability to use or access technological resources as the core of their failures or struggles in a course. It may be avoided if a student is provided hardware and software when enrolled as part of their enrollment package versus allowing students to use their existing resources. Of course this may drive up tuition which some would argue would be a worse outcome.

Does anyone find that the ability to access live chat at anytime will sometimes discourage those that would attend in person from attending? It seems that there are times when the students can attend and have no restraints on schedule and still do not attend merely because they want to be able to fast forward through a recording at another time rather than sitting through class and asking questions? How do you avoid such response?

Many students are prone to negativity towards the subject matter, the instructor and their peers if the topics are difficult when studying online. Furthermore, their ability to 'hide' behind a computer screen so-to-speak makes them more likely to lash out online versus when taught in person. I have found that the way to combat this is to reach out to students that present things negatively and respond to peers negatively via phone and force a conversation with them. Typically it is due to their own frustrations about their perceived inadequacy in understanding the subject matter and when pushed to the conversation will own this more than they would when in the online forum where they can hide behind typed impersonal words.

I have found that many students expect to have a lot of information given to them when learning online and so often times they fail to venture out from online methods of data discovery when called upon. In the courses I have taught the students learn much from personal interaction as well as lots of practicing of putting the principles into action. This cannot always be done online. Encouraging the online learner to source information online as well as via other methods has always been a challenge for me as an instructor of an online course where students expect everything to be available online. By managing their expectations of the sourcing process up front and giving them projects that force the student to utilize sources outside of mere online sources, the instructor can avoid any pitfalls of online sourcing in the future. (Of course this is contingent on the type of course taught as there may be courses which information can be completely sourced online.)

Aside from first term, I also teach Algebra online. I found that I was sharing a number of concepts over and over, so I created a webpage that contained a number of downloadable "cheat sheets" which has worked well. I am not sure a blog would be advantageous in a math class, as it is important to have all the elements in one place. I am also unclear as to why we would want to promote students "participating" in a location that will not add to their grade and give us additional work. In my minds eye I could already see students complaining about having to go to a blog when the school requires that they post in the discussion board area. As well, as an adjunct there are already so many expectations of how our time is spent, I am not sure I would have the time to go outside of what I am already doing in my classrooms. Just my thoughts, what do you all think?

Hi All! While I understand the need to utilize social media, as it is prevalent in our society, with first term students there is so much on their plate. Not only are they learning a new LMS (and sometimes how to use a computer), but learning to create a time management system, getting the balance of work, home and school as well as the numerous resources the schools provide these days - I think adding social media may be overwhelming. I also believe that as an adjunct, it is very hard to dedicate that much additional time to keep personal and work separate [on social media] when you are teaching one or two classes for two or three schools. In theory it sounds great, but I am not sure it would work in practice for someone in my situation. What do you all think about first term students using social media, as well as adjuncts who work for more than one school? I look forward to your thoughts. Thanks!

I appreciate that this section shared that a number of online learners are not comfortable using technology. I recall when I first found out that I had students who "never had a computer" and those who never used the internet or Microsoft products I was stunned, however over the years have come to realize this is something that will continue to happen over and over. In my first term class I teach one class a week, which allows me to review the concept for a large portion of the time we share and use the last 20-30 minutes for assignment details and "how to" elements. In week one I share how to save a file and where to upload it, week two how to create formatting, etc. Each week they are taken out to my desktop to share step by step processes, which they can follow by going back to the recording when class ends. I know this has been very helpful for many, however I am thinking about creating these to play in the classroom and always have available. Has anyone done this? If so, did you find it easiest to create in Adobe, JING or some other program? Thanks for your thoughts and insights.

I teach first term students who may or may not, have ever attended college. Some have minimal computer skills, which means added stress learning their way around the classroom while also trying to figure out how to create a document, save and upload it. All this leads to a great deal more time in the classroom and working on assignments than they originally thought. In my first week I share with them the different types of time management tools. I share with them that if they have never used a time management plan, beginning with a calendar is the best method. I suggest the Google Calendar to students as it can be used on your computer, smart phone, etc with minimal set up. I also encourage students [using time management for the first time] to use a blank calendar for one week and write down everything that takes them one hour or more to do. At the end of the week, they will be able to find where they can pull time from to create their own "class schedule". I am also always reinforcing that their time management plan will be unique for each of them and while they can pull ideas from classmates, they must focus on creating a schedule that works for them. For the remainder of week one and throughout the term, I send numerous email reminders about deadlines and reinforce that though they do not need to "be in class" at a specific time, they should create their own class schedule to create a "habit of learning". Finally, I share how when I took my first online course I left everything until the last 3 days of class. This helped me to learn to create a class schedule and work day by day, week by week to ensure my best work was submitted without added stress and frustration. I find many of the students can relate to my 60 hour work week and a family to care for, so sharing personal challenges and how they were overcome helps a great deal with my students creating their time management plans.

Blogging is everywhere, major corporations hire bloggers to buy, try and share knowledge of their products. In the classroom, students can share material, resources and have study groups all online.