E-mailNinth Sakai Conference, 3 July 2008; Robin Hill
This material is better viewed in the Faculty Presentation Notes of the joint conference call of the Teaching and Learning and End-User Support groups, Jan 2009.
Seven Teaching Scenarios in Sakai
I. Introduction
To help faculty understand the benefits of course websites, our favorite method is attractive real-world examples.
Best Practices? If only we knew.
Educational Theory? Does not resonate.
Tools and Techniques? After their interest is piqued.
For our various course platforms, I offer a one-hour view of seven different teaching scenarios, each named after the desired effect. No particular educational theory grounds this view. We start with the "No-Tech" option, and elevate it to the level of the others.
II: Presentation to Faculty
You're meeting in a classroom, on the regular academic schedule.
Why would you need an online course shell?
Using a series of versions of the same example course, COSC/MATH/PHIL 201001: Qualities of Quantities, and our pilot course platform Sakai, let's consider a variety of answers to that question.
1. You don't.
--> No-Tech
Your class is going fine, you carry on lectures and discussion in the classroom, students are interested in the material, and work is done on paper and on the chalkboard.
Example Shown: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-01, on paper only. Materials and records kept in notebook.
Notes on Pedagogy: We have little reason to believe that learning is carried on more productively over the Internet. We regard the classroom as the primary venue, as is proper and fitting. (Classroom instructors should, of course, take full advantage of a face-to-face setting, fostering interaction, monitoring and measuring student learning, devoting attention to issues as they arise.) In short, you never need an online supplement for its own sake.
2. You want to give students permanent access to the syllabus, or lectures, or summary materials.
--> Cornerstones
You can get an online course for display purposes only, and let students see the syllabus, the critical definitions, your periodic reviews of the material, and even some of your lecture notes, online. You can set up these materials well in advance, and open them at the start of the term, or on a predetermined schedule, or manually, as necessary.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-02, with syllabus, "Representations" lesson, and "Definitions and Notations."
Notes on Pedagogy: Beware distributing all lecture materials online, subverting motivation for class attendance. And refrain from changing the online documents without warning (in spite of the ease of doing so).
3. You want reliable, preserved communication from you to your students throughout the semester, or controlled submission of student work.
--> Paper Trail
You can post announcements prominently in an online course, and also use the e-mail tool provided. Grades can be entered and distributed to students through that venue, as well. Students can submit assignments to the instructor, as files of various formats, stored on the course website for your retrieval, and you can respond through the website.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-03, with Announcements and E-Mail, an Assignment for formal written work, a Dropbox for journal-style activities, and an active Gradebook.
Notes on Pedagogy: Plan the administrative message location (course e-mail or course announcement?), and deliver consistently. Archive old e-mail and announcements, and figure out how to do so before the class starts. Understand the intention and workflow of each communication tool, and explain their roles to your students in simple terms.
4. You want to provide extra materials, including websites, pictures, audio files, and references for further exploration of the subject.
--> Features
An online course can host pages of tangential notes from you, written, audio, and visual, and also makes a convenient place to put links to interesting websites that expand upon the subjects of the course.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-04, with Representations materials, links to ancient numbers systems websites, and "Infinity" materials concerning "Amazing Grace" (text and audio).
Notes on Pedagogy: Use authoritative external websites, of course; organize them into groups and provide annotations. Limit the sizes of media and image files, especially if they are used for required work. Ask students for suggestions and assessments gleaned from their own web surfing. To encourage perusal, work them into classroom discussion, as you would other supplemental readings.
5. You want to increase participation and interaction.
--> Buy-In
To foster more collaboration in and out of the classroom, you can set up discussions in an online course, for students, and you, to share reflections on topics. Online course platforms also provide mechanisms for the definition of groups for collaborative projects, including exchange of documents.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-05, with a Discussion on everyday computation, a Research Project assignment grid, and groups defined for Discussion and Doc Sharing.
Notes on Pedagogy: Cultivate online discussion as an intermediate between talk and writing; it's more contemplative than classroom discussion but less so than formal composition. Ask "intermediate-level" questions with some structure, not open-ended questions; provide example answers. Consider requiring discussion (by factoring it into the grade), with more than one contribution, at different times. Try out collaborative document development with some trivial task, such as a brief introduction or poll, so that your students can practice the procedure.
6. You want better assessment of student learning. For formative assessment, use an online course to give ungraded quizzes, where you can view the results and some statistics, and students can see feedback from you on both correct and incorrect answers. For summative assessments, such as exams that count toward the grade, online courses can score the multiple-choice and other machine-gradable questions.
--> Progress-Tracking
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-06, with "Representations" lesson, links to ancient numbers websites, and ancient numbers self-assessment quiz.
Notes on Pedagogy: Online quizzes, taken outside class, are best used for self-assessment. If the system allows it, grade one question at a time, across all quizzes. Make use of the feedback options to explain common misconceptions and to redirect study. If you give graded exams online, provide a practice exam first. Allow plenty of time to write and revise your exam, and practice with a fictional student.
7. You want to off-load some administrative details, with a TA to do some of the work. Add an assistant in the Teaching Assistant or designer role, for such tasks as entering grades and monitoring discussion. Use the online gradebook to display student grades and current standing.
--> Off-Loading
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-06 (as above); note that Velma Dinkley is a TA.
Notes on Pedagogy: Do not use the online course to keep your students at a distance. Encourage face-to-face discussion of grades. Check records regularly so that you don't inadvertently lose touch with your students' performance.
Notice that many of the pedagogical suggestions correspond to a similar or identical practice in face-to-face teaching. In the design of your online course, let the teaching drive the technology!
Seven Teaching Scenarios in Sakai
I. Introduction
To help faculty understand the benefits of course websites, our favorite method is attractive real-world examples.
Best Practices? If only we knew.
Educational Theory? Does not resonate.
Tools and Techniques? After their interest is piqued.
For our various course platforms, I offer a one-hour view of seven different teaching scenarios, each named after the desired effect. No particular educational theory grounds this view. We start with the "No-Tech" option, and elevate it to the level of the others.
II: Presentation to Faculty
You're meeting in a classroom, on the regular academic schedule.
Why would you need an online course shell?
Using a series of versions of the same example course, COSC/MATH/PHIL 201001: Qualities of Quantities, and our pilot course platform Sakai, let's consider a variety of answers to that question.
1. You don't.
--> No-Tech
Your class is going fine, you carry on lectures and discussion in the classroom, students are interested in the material, and work is done on paper and on the chalkboard.
Example Shown: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-01, on paper only. Materials and records kept in notebook.
Notes on Pedagogy: We have little reason to believe that learning is carried on more productively over the Internet. We regard the classroom as the primary venue, as is proper and fitting. (Classroom instructors should, of course, take full advantage of a face-to-face setting, fostering interaction, monitoring and measuring student learning, devoting attention to issues as they arise.) In short, you never need an online supplement for its own sake.
2. You want to give students permanent access to the syllabus, or lectures, or summary materials.
--> Cornerstones
You can get an online course for display purposes only, and let students see the syllabus, the critical definitions, your periodic reviews of the material, and even some of your lecture notes, online. You can set up these materials well in advance, and open them at the start of the term, or on a predetermined schedule, or manually, as necessary.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-02, with syllabus, "Representations" lesson, and "Definitions and Notations."
Notes on Pedagogy: Beware distributing all lecture materials online, subverting motivation for class attendance. And refrain from changing the online documents without warning (in spite of the ease of doing so).
3. You want reliable, preserved communication from you to your students throughout the semester, or controlled submission of student work.
--> Paper Trail
You can post announcements prominently in an online course, and also use the e-mail tool provided. Grades can be entered and distributed to students through that venue, as well. Students can submit assignments to the instructor, as files of various formats, stored on the course website for your retrieval, and you can respond through the website.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-03, with Announcements and E-Mail, an Assignment for formal written work, a Dropbox for journal-style activities, and an active Gradebook.
Notes on Pedagogy: Plan the administrative message location (course e-mail or course announcement?), and deliver consistently. Archive old e-mail and announcements, and figure out how to do so before the class starts. Understand the intention and workflow of each communication tool, and explain their roles to your students in simple terms.
4. You want to provide extra materials, including websites, pictures, audio files, and references for further exploration of the subject.
--> Features
An online course can host pages of tangential notes from you, written, audio, and visual, and also makes a convenient place to put links to interesting websites that expand upon the subjects of the course.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-04, with Representations materials, links to ancient numbers systems websites, and "Infinity" materials concerning "Amazing Grace" (text and audio).
Notes on Pedagogy: Use authoritative external websites, of course; organize them into groups and provide annotations. Limit the sizes of media and image files, especially if they are used for required work. Ask students for suggestions and assessments gleaned from their own web surfing. To encourage perusal, work them into classroom discussion, as you would other supplemental readings.
5. You want to increase participation and interaction.
--> Buy-In
To foster more collaboration in and out of the classroom, you can set up discussions in an online course, for students, and you, to share reflections on topics. Online course platforms also provide mechanisms for the definition of groups for collaborative projects, including exchange of documents.
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-05, with a Discussion on everyday computation, a Research Project assignment grid, and groups defined for Discussion and Doc Sharing.
Notes on Pedagogy: Cultivate online discussion as an intermediate between talk and writing; it's more contemplative than classroom discussion but less so than formal composition. Ask "intermediate-level" questions with some structure, not open-ended questions; provide example answers. Consider requiring discussion (by factoring it into the grade), with more than one contribution, at different times. Try out collaborative document development with some trivial task, such as a brief introduction or poll, so that your students can practice the procedure.
6. You want better assessment of student learning. For formative assessment, use an online course to give ungraded quizzes, where you can view the results and some statistics, and students can see feedback from you on both correct and incorrect answers. For summative assessments, such as exams that count toward the grade, online courses can score the multiple-choice and other machine-gradable questions.
--> Progress-Tracking
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-06, with "Representations" lesson, links to ancient numbers websites, and ancient numbers self-assessment quiz.
Notes on Pedagogy: Online quizzes, taken outside class, are best used for self-assessment. If the system allows it, grade one question at a time, across all quizzes. Make use of the feedback options to explain common misconceptions and to redirect study. If you give graded exams online, provide a practice exam first. Allow plenty of time to write and revise your exam, and practice with a fictional student.
7. You want to off-load some administrative details, with a TA to do some of the work. Add an assistant in the Teaching Assistant or designer role, for such tasks as entering grades and monitoring discussion. Use the online gradebook to display student grades and current standing.
--> Off-Loading
Example: COSC/MATH/PHIL 2010-06 (as above); note that Velma Dinkley is a TA.
Notes on Pedagogy: Do not use the online course to keep your students at a distance. Encourage face-to-face discussion of grades. Check records regularly so that you don't inadvertently lose touch with your students' performance.
Notice that many of the pedagogical suggestions correspond to a similar or identical practice in face-to-face teaching. In the design of your online course, let the teaching drive the technology!
