Nov 10, 2009 0
Want to fail big time? Want to announce to the world that you plan to teach online, then fall flat on your face? Here’s how.
Want to make sure you don’t stand a change of succeeding with you’re new online course? Try to create it entirely from scratch rather than converting a course that already exists.
Oct 27, 2009 0
This weeks posting is a blatant commercial pitch for an e-book we are very proud of. And, it will definitely help your course participants get ready to learn online.
Learning online is NOT the same as learning in a classroom. Even though many if not most young people know how to surf the Web and hold an instant chat, no one teaches them how to learn online. It’s an art and a craft unto itself.
Besides, fewer and fewer students today are younger than springtime? As a result, your students may not have the computer know-how we take for granted in the young. They may be mothers out of the loop since before their kids were born. They may be retired seniors with plenty of enthusiasm but no keyboard experience. They may be working adults with jobs that don’t involve computers.
Oct 5, 2009 0
Yes, there is. Although asynchronous discussions are perhaps the best form of discussion for learning purposes, a chat is a useful tool for brainstorming, working out logistics, getting to know one another online, or any other purpose that is well served in "real time." In a chat, everyone is online at the same time, firing instant messages back and forth with their keyboards.
Sep 28, 2009 0
Ok. Really. We mentioned all the terrific discussion board options in our previous postings, because they are “technically” the most full-featured and most stable options available. But there are a whole handful of open-source discussion board options that are just fine, especially if all you’re trying to do is teach a course or two. For the good open-source boards available these days, you can easily find an ISP that includes them with your hosting account. Then you may be able to get support for the discussion software from the ISP.
Sep 21, 2009 0
An "online discussion" is a written conversation that unfolds across days, weeks or months.
It’s a kind of group email. It differs from email in that more than two people can easily participate, follow along, build on the "threads" of the conversation, store and retrieve what they’ve said.
Is an online discussion just like email? No. Is it just like a spoken discussion? No. It has its own rules, its own etiquette, its own keys to success. For much more on online discussions and how to lead one that truly encourages learning—without doubling your workload as a teacher—check out the Faculty Web Book we keep touting.
Sep 14, 2009 0
Most people use whatever email client comes with their computer. But there are a few points to consider, if you’re not already committed to a particular email software package.
First, the biggest group of people use Microsoft’s full-featured Outlook or, at least, Outlook Express. It comes as a part of the Microsoft Office Suite and it has all the bells and whistles you could possible want. The danger, of course, is the same as with any Microsoft product that touches the Internet; the “crackers” are out to get Microsoft and they spend thousands of hours writing trojans, worms and viruses specifically targeted at Outlook. So, if you decide to use Outlook, be sure to also install security protection.
Sep 7, 2009 0
The biggest instructor complaint about technology? Too much email from participants! Why does it happen? Because both instructors and learners don’t know how to use email. They use it too much, too unskillfully.
Hot Tip: Yes, there is a skill to email. And we’re going to teach you that skill. In less than a minute, you’ll know how to make email your servant, not your master.
Here’s how:
Read the rest of this entry »
Aug 28, 2009 0
A handsome course Web site is only half the story. Although a Web site gives your students access to information online, it doesn’t really replace or augment your face-to-face teaching. Especially if you also meet regularly with your students in a classroom, all a Web site accomplishes is to save you the trouble of photocopying and handing out paper!
Jul 21, 2009 0
All you really need to keep track of student grades is a simple spreadsheet or even a table inside a word processor. That’s easy. However, most online course developers still face one nagging question: "How can I post grades to the Web and still keep them private?"
The answer is simple.
Jul 14, 2009 1
Sometimes a quiz is overkill. Sometimes all you need is a quick answer from all the participants in your course about a burning
issue or a logistical question.
Field trip on Tuesday? Or Thursday? Got a
handle on the imperfect subjunctive, or do you want one more lesson before the test? Can you view a video on your computer?
Want the answer right away? Use an online poll. Want a polling option that’s both free and easy to use?
Here are several:
FreePolls.Com
offers a free, easy polling platform.
Perseus Software offers a free, easy one-question poll that’s especially fast and can either be linked to or embedded in a web page.
PollCode.Com’s one-question poll tool is even easier to use and can also be embedded in a Web page. PollCode.Com polls include ads, but for $2.00 per poll, you can make your polls ad free.
A more powerful polling tool, but still free, is available from PollDaddy.Com. For $200.00 a year, PollDaddy.Com offers a “Pro” version that includes “Vote Analysis” (Pro account users can see extra reports for their polls such as individual vote report, voter location, and can also detect and remove fraudulent multiple votes from the same IP.).
Well, that’s it for today.
Claude
Next up: “Solving the Gradebook Dilemma.”
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