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 20, 2009 0
Sometimes, with all these new Internet-based technologies to choose from, it’s easy to forget one of the older, more reliable methods of communicating in real-time with your learners: the telephone.
When we get a group of learners together on the phone, we call that a teleconference. And one of the oldest distance teaching methods involves sending out course materials in the mail or by email attachment and then discussing them over the phone with a group of students. Students can, as well, work on small group projects over the phone, even if they don’t live in the same city. So remember to include the use of the telephone in your course planning.
Oct 12, 2009 2
The latest, greatest technology to catch on in the virtual classroom is real-time, web-based meetings, aka, “web conferencing.” Web conferencing is a neat way to work together when you can’t all be in the same place. But, unlike the asynchronous parts of the virtual classroom, it does require that you all participate at the same time. This creates a challenge for participants in that if you have folks scattered about the world, some of them might have to join the meeting at some pretty strange times of night or day.
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 14, 2009 0
Yahoo Groups is actually a Web-based e-mail list service that happens to offer tools for Chat, File and Database Sharing, Polls, a Calendar with reminders, and Membership management (so you can easily enroll course participants). You also get a choice of three options for monitoring group activity: 1) You may receive an email every time there is new activity in the group, 2) You may receive a summary email of activity once a day, or 3) You may opt to see your group email only when you visit the group’s site.
Best of all, Yahoo Groups is free! Ads? Yes, a few banner ads. But, hey, no big deal. Yahoo’s ads are a bit more conspicuous than those at Google, but customers report they learn fairly quickly to just click past them.
Up next: “Google Groups and Other Google Apps.”
claude
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