COH Online Teaching Blog

How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Student Engagement

2010-03-03T00:11:16Z

This is an interesting article in how Twitter is being put to good use in livening up large-lecture classes.

http://mashable.com/2010/03/01/twitter-classroom/

U. releases Kindle pilot data - The Daily Princetonian

2010-02-26T00:27:58Z

Interesting article about the use of Kindles in the classroom. ASU was a partner institution in this pilot program.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/02/22/25262/

Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education

2010-02-12T22:24:52Z

This is likely a trend that I expect will continue...

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/North-Carolina-State-U-Gives/21238/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

Arizona Daily Wildcat - Virtual classroom caters to all abilities

2010-02-11T19:15:53Z

http://wildcat.arizona.edu/news/virtual-classroom-caters-to-all-abilities-1.1125071

This article in today's AZ Daily Wildcat discusses the use of Elluminate, and features a member of our fall Online Teaching Working Group Series, Dr. Dolores Rivas Bahti.

Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education

2010-02-11T19:02:49Z

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Class-Produces-Parody-of-The/21169/

At the web page above, a class project in the form of a movie, offers a fun perspective on some of the issues surrounding the use of technology in the classroom. While any instructor serious about offering courses in either a hybrid or fully online format should be well beyond this stage of technological know-how, it is still a good reminder of the importance for instructors to constantly ask the question - "To what the purpose does this technology serve?"

Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education

2010-02-04T23:19:12Z

The contents of this article - whether putting movies and copyrighted videos posted to a password-protected course site fall outside of Educational fair use - could have wide-ramifications for online teaching.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/UCLA-Pulls-Videos-From-Course/21013/

Prezi - A Very Cool Tool!

2010-02-04T21:16:11Z

Thanks to my friend, Bruce Cameron over at the Learning Technology Center, I am playing with a very cool presentation technology tool called Prezi. Instead of wasting time explaining it, go the the site for a quick demonstration. The site is www.prezi.com. It is free, but make sure when you sign up, to select the Student/Teacher License and you will gain higher access. Have fun!!!!

Some Ideas for Podcasting

2010-01-20T21:46:33Z

I recently listened to a presentation called Producing Great Podcast. The presenter was Jonathan Finkelstein. He has written a book called Learning in Real Time and produces a podcast on iTunes called Real Time Minute. Also check out some of the websites he is associated with: 1) learninginrealtime.com and 2) LTGreenRoom.org.

I want to share with you 10 of the ways he suggest you can podcast in your course.

1)   Introduce yourself or clarify an assignment or task
2)   Feature an expert
3)   Summarize a discussion
4)   Question/Answer session
5)   Core Content (your lecture)
6)   Guide your students through a process or exercise
7)   Get outside by taking students on field trip, tour or interviewing people at a conference
8)   Quick Tip Series
9)   How To Modules
10) Get your students involved by having them create a recording

I liked his definition of a podcast:

If you have something to say, a way to record it simply and inexpensively and have a way for people to find the recording on a regular basis, you may have a Podcast!

First Day of Classes

2010-01-13T15:08:24Z

Timely short piece from Faculty Focus today, the first day of classes at the UA. "Making the Most of the First Day of Class" offers answers to three questions. Mary C. Clement, an associate professor of education at Berry College, shares her thoughts on the importance of establishing expectations for a semester of learning.

What should an instructor try to accomplish during the first day of class?
What effect can a good first day have on the rest of the semester?
Some instructors do not use all of the time available for the first day of class. Do you recommend taking the full class period for the first meeting? Why or why not?

How do you think these Clement's suggestions might translate to a fully online course?

7 Tips for a Positive Online Learning Experience

2010-01-05T15:04:52Z

Dec. 28th's Faculty Focus shared "tips to ensure your students have a positive online learning experience." Here are the tips - follow the link to read the short statements for each tip.

1. Personal introductions.
2. Constant presence in the classroom.
3. Timely response to all student postings and assignments.
4. Be clear in all "housekeeping" aspects.
5. Give assignment feedback that is positive and that helps the student improve.
6. Share tips, ideas, information, and personal perspectives to make the students feel more comfortable.
7. Above all, be enthusiastic, friendly, and motivated.

Can learning how to teach online make professors better teachers in the classroom?

2009-12-07T20:10:02Z

The following article from Inside Higher Ed makes a number of interesting points about teaching online vs. teaching in the traditional classroom, and identifies some of the likely outcomes from teaching online.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/12/07/online

The comments attached to the article are also a worthy read, and provide more opportunities for reflection of teaching. What should the UA (and the College of Humanities in particular) do, if anything, to strengthen online and traditional instruction?

Sharing & Online Course Development

2009-12-04T00:32:57Z

As a follow up to yesterdays' discussion about who owns your online course and Juliana's post last week about sharing lesson plans, David Wiley has a great post today on his blog about who owns K-12 in Utah. He was encouraging K-12 instructors in Utah to share their lesson plans on the web using Creative Commons licenses.

Teachers were interested in sharing, but they didn't feel comfortable sharing formally because the didn't know who owned their lesson plans. So he went to the State Superintendent's office and got them to formally draft a rule that specifically states Utah K-12 teachers can share in this manner. I don't know if this allow means they can sell their lesson plans as the NYT story Juliana linked to talked about. The entire post makes a good story and is worth reading.

Lesson plans: to sell or to share?

2009-11-26T03:40:04Z

Has anyone read the article on intellectual property and lesson plans published by the NY Times? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/education/15plans.html. Interesting to discuss who owns the rights to it... But shouldn't instructors be sharing them as opposed to selling them???

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

Twitter in the Classroom

2009-11-23T16:40:07Z

Related to examples of using techs in the classroom is an entry that I posted to my blog this morning about using Twitter in the classroom. Some interesting examples, as well as touching on pros and cons. See "Twitter in the Classroom."

Teaching with Blog Technology

2009-11-22T17:14:45Z

Over the past four years, I have employed blogs for a number of curricular purposes. Some of my most successful attempts involved using blogs as a site for student journals and for student discussion. Part of what I like about blogs is that they can be designed as a very student-centered assignment. Students have the authority to name their blog, choose a template, post a picture, etc. Essentially, I see it as their online space for the course. I have experimented with students sharing and collaborating in blog spaces, which works fairly well, but I like using blogs best as individual journals in the writing classroom. Blogs also afford the opportunity for students to engage with an audience beyond the classroom or beyond the walls of the university. Recently, as I have become more interested in service-learning pedagogies, I have begun to see blogs as a useful technology for connecting community and academy. Another nice feature of blogs is that you can choose to make them private, viewable to only persons you approve, or you could make them entirely public.

Blogs versus paper journal:

Instructor doesn't have to drag stacks of notebooks home. Students can post any time and nearly anywhere with an internet connection. There are options for collaboration with a more public audience beyond the instructor.

Blogs versus discussion board:

The possibilities for posting pictures, movies, videos, and linking to other websites are, I believe, enhanced in the blog realm. Again, there are options for an outside-of-the-classroom audience. I like to create a system where students have individual blogs for journals and they join one class blog for discussion; this balances student-centered space with collaborative space.

Another reason I like blogs: They are easy to create and easy to update. It literally takes 5 minutes to create a blog (maybe 15 minutes to walk your entire class through the process). My favorite blog creation sites are Blogger and WordPress. Both are user-friendly and free! I would be happy to share assignments and blog creation instructions I have used in my courses, if you are interested. Or, if you'd like to schedule a meeting for us to chat about the potential for using blogs in your classroom, just let me know. ajholmes@email.arizona.edu