Social Presence, Learner Supports, Collaboration and Assessment in Online Classes

2012 Survey of Online Learning in the U.S.

Trends in Online Learning

Over 6.7 million students were taking at least one online course during the Fall 2011 term, an increase of 57,000 students over the previous year.

32% of higher education students now take at least one course online.

*2012 Survey of Online Learning in the U.S. Allen & Seaman, 2013

Trends in Online Learning

Trends in Online Learning

Social PresenceKehrwald (2008) defines social presence as “an individual’s ability to demonstrate his/her state of being in a virtual environment and so signals his/her availability for interpersonal transactions.”

Role of faculty changes online Become the facilitator of learning rather

than the “sage on the stage” Must continually monitor and engage

learners in order to help them be successful

Interactions with students should be as frequent as possible with the goal being to engage learners, give encouragement, and provide them specific feedback to help them improve their performance.

Ways to be “present in an online course Welcome email before course begins Weekly messages/videos Office Hours Online

Wimba KSOL Chat Skype Google+ Hangouts

Timely grades and helpful, personal feedback

Online Course Meetings Hold weekly meetings with your course

via internet Wimba Google+ Hangouts Adobe Connect

Effective Instructor Feedback Incorporates student involvement and

individuation Positively Constructive Involves Gentle Guidance Timeliness Future Orientation

*Getzlaf, 2009

ActivityDevelop an email welcoming learners to your course. After composing your email, describe the strategies you used to make the message personable, convey understanding, provide motivation, demonstrate approachability, and establish the leaner-faculty relationship.

Learner Supports

Build a Community of Learning Ice Breaker Discussion Board

Possible Questions Something Interesting/Unique about

yourself What did you WANT to be when you grew

up Good things come in threes (list 3 favorite

websites, three favorite activities and three favorite people)

Assign points in order to get more involvement

“Class Lounge”

General Course Information and Navigation File can include

Frequently asked questions Tips for success in your course Your expectations Any information that is not in the

standard syllabus but is still important to the course

Student Tools and Resources Folder Links to important university resources

IT Help Desk DCE Course Tools Office of Disability Support

Links to web tools or software they may be using

Helpful tutorials

Discussion Boards

Benefits to Using Online Discussion Boards

Builds class community by promoting discussion on course topics

Allows time for in-depth reflection

Facilitates learning by allowing students to view & to respond to the work of others

Develops thinking & writing skills

Allows guest experts to participate in the course by posting information & responding to questions

*Edutopia, 2009

Discussion Boards with a Purpose

Demonstration of Knowledge of Key Concepts

Community Building Reflection Consensus Building Critical Thinking Student Leadership

Question Types Exploratory Challenge Relational Diagnostic Action Cause and Effect Hypothetical

*Davis, 1993

Strategies to Facilitate Online Discussion Boards

Give Students Clear Expectation Assess the quality as well as the quantity of the

students’ online posts. Provide a schedule for students Provide instruction for students to post to

threads Make yourself visible in the discussion Do now allow domination of the discussion

Activity Develop a discussion question relevant to the

course you will be teaching and describe the components of critical thinking that learners will use to answer the discussion questions.

Four Components of Critical Thinking (Brookfield, 1987) Identifying and challenging assumptions Challenging the importance of context Being able to imagine and explore alternatives Having reflective skepticism

Assessment in Online Courses

Types of Assessment End of Semester Paper Weekly Tests or Quizzes Group Projects Case Study Analysis Journals/Blogs Reading Responses Threaded Discussion Participation

Threaded Discussion Participation Allow for a more detailed assessment of

discussion. Are students really getting it?

Students are required to post a certain number of responses

Participation is graded by a rubric

Tests and Quizzes Great if students need to memorize

facts and figures Open book but timed Could use a proctor

Group Projects Moderate class online meetings Wikis Video Presentations

Rubrics Association for the Assessment of Learni

ng in Higher Education Rubrics

Rubrics for assessing social media and technology projects

Questions?