Iain Robertson's List: online course develop f11

• Principle 1: Good Practice Encourages Student-Faculty Contact
• developing guidelines for student-instructor interactions
• types of  communication
• clear standards for instructors' timeline

• Principle 2: Good Practice Encourages Cooperation Among Students

    

  Lesson for online instruction:  Well-designed discussion assignments facilitate meaningful cooperation among students.
• • Learners should be required to participate (and their  grade should depend on participation).
   
  • Discussion groups should remain small.
   
  • Discussions should be focused on a task.
   
  • Tasks should always result in a product.
   
  • Tasks should engage learners in the content.
   
  • Learners should receive feedback on their discussions.
   
  • Evaluation should be based on the quality of postings  (and not the length or number).
   
  • Instructors should post expectations for discussions.
• • small groups with feedback and rubric

• Principle 3: Good Practice Encourages Active Learning

    

  Lesson for online instruction:  Students should present course projects.
• motivated to perform at a higher level. Students also learn a great deal from seeing and discussing their peers' work.
• • elluminate for 'f2f'
• After all students had responded, the case presenter updated and reposted his or her solution, including new insights or conclusions gained from classmates

• Principle 4: Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback

    

  Lesson for online instruction:  Instructors need to provide two types of feedback: information feedback and acknowledgment feedback
• Information feedback provides information or evaluation, such as an answer to a question, or an assignment grade and comments. Acknowledgement feedback confirms that some event has occurred.
• • consider a spreadsheet or tool in bb
• instructors can still give prompt feedback on discussion assignments by responding to the class as a whole instead of to each individual student
• Neglecting acknowledgement feedback in online courses is common, because such feedback involves purposeful effor

• Principle 5: Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task

    

  Lesson for online instruction:  Online courses need deadlines.
• However, regularly-distributed deadlines encourage students to spend time on tasks and help students with busy schedules avoid procrastination. They also provide a context for regular contact with the instructor and peers.

• Principle 6: Good Practice Communicates High Expectations

    

  Lesson for online instruction:  Challenging tasks, sample cases, and praise for quality work communicate high expectations.
• challenging assignments
• This case-based approach involved real-world problems with authentic data gathered from real-world situations
• provide examples or models for students to follow, along with comments explaining why the examples are good.
• One example was an exemplary posting while the other two were examples of what not to do, highlighting trends from the past that she wanted students to avoid.
• Finally, publicly praising exemplary work communicates high expectations. Instructors do this by calling attention to insightful or well-presented student postings.

• Principle 7: Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning

    

  Lesson for online instruction:  Allowing students to choose project topics incorporates diverse views into online courses.
• Instructors can provide guidelines to help students select topics relevant to the course while still allowing students to share their unique perspectives.

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• Much of what passes for an “online course” these days could more accurately be described as the electronic version of class hand-out
• Online Course Design Pitfall #1: Upload your course materials, then call it a day.
• Think about how you can re-author your materials so that they leverage Web resources and computer applications
• Online Course Design Pitfall #2: Let the course management system drive your thinking.
• Online Course Design Pitfall #3: Insist on being the “sage on the stage.”
• The Web enables interdisciplinary links, associations, relationships, and openness
• Online Course Design Pitfall #4: Expect your students to consume knowledge rather than create it.
• In an online course, this could mean peppering your online content with quick test-your-comprehension questions or developing exercises that ask students to generate data, capture and upload photos of evidence, research connections to real-world conditions, or create explanatory slideshows.
• Ignore the ways students learn from each other.
• Consider creating wiki spaces in which groups of students can work together. Include assignments that require students to share ideas and resources, present topics to each other, and critique each other’s work. Use online communication tools and collaborative spaces to foster a class-wide web of supportive contact rather than settling into multiple parallel channels between you and each student.

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• Assessments should reveal how well students have learned what we want them to learn while instruction ensures that they learn it.
• ssments should reveal how well students have learned what we want them to learn while instruction ensures that they learn it. For this to occur,
• • Learning objectives: What do I want students to know how to do when they leave this course?
   
  • Assessments: What kinds of tasks will reveal whether students have achieved the learning objectives I have identified?
   
  • Instructional strategies: What kinds of activities in and out of class will reinforce my learning objectives and prepare students for assessments?
• can undermine both student motivation and learning
• summarize
• compare and contrast two
• paraphrase
• find or identif
• test, monitor, judge, or critique
• research projects
• plans
• make, build, design

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• Of particular concern is the possibility that teaching online courses may sentence instructors to become the slaves of their course e-mail, threaded discussions, or chats.

• It showed that the instructor’s department had not properly prepared him to design an online course and it sent the message to would-be online instructors that teaching online was onerous and unrewarding.

    

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• Instead of piling on the assignments that instructors must grade and making irrational promises to answer all posts, the instructor must design a course with one thought in mind: less is more.
• First, not just any instructor should be asked to design and teach an online course
• faculty should attend workshops that focus on successful online teaching
• with the mantra of less is more in mind, another guiding principle should be: Don’t transfer a residence course—transform it.
• someone developing an online course needs to go from being the center of attention to being someone on the sideline
• • not sure if i agree with this comment as it could stifle the environment
• have a good textbook
• an online course needs structure
• Mandating posts and replies engenders discussion.
• In all of my online courses, I have a message board titled “Orientation,” and I tell students to post questions about the course there and I’ll answer them.
• avoid irrational promises such as vowing to respond to all posts in a given period.

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• educators should  design activities that address their modes of learning in order to provide  significant experiences for each class participant.
• students are no longer totally  dependent on faculty for knowledge. As faculty are beginning to teach  online,  learning is becoming more collaborative, contextual and  active
• faculty must be willing to  release control of learning to the students.
• paying more attention to the instructional design of their courses. As  a result, the quality, quantity, and patterns of communication students  practice during learning are improved.
• Learning contracts connect  educational needs to individual student needs and are useful when there  is diversity in learner needs and interests in a clas
• Learning contracts help the educator and learner share  the responsibility for learning.
• deeper involvement of the learner  in the learning activities which they themselves have been involved in  planning
• learning contract provides  more functional and validated evidence of the learning outcomes
• . The  contract also provides a means for the learner to receive continuous  feedback regarding progress toward accomplishing learning objectives.
• Sample learning contracts can be placed on a web  page for the student to use as examples, and students can be encouraged  to brainstorm ideas for learning contracts with their online peers as  well as negotiate the final contract with the instructor through utilizing  email or online conferencing
• lectures  are most effective  when used in combination with  other instructional strategies. 
• Lecture notes can be placed on a web page for the  learner to review. Notes can be put together in a packet and either downloaded  from the Internet or sent via snail mail. Lectures can also be presented  via audio or video over the Internet
• Short lectures provide enough information to serve as a  basis for further reading, research, or other learning  activities.
• Discussion is the instructional  strategy most favored by adult learners because it is interactive and  encourages active, participatory learning
• mailing lists (listservs) which  focus on particular topics and online conferencing programs. Both of  these options utilize asynchronous communication. Synchronous (real time)  communication can be offered
• Self-directed learning is  learning initiated and directed by the learner and can include self-paced,  independent, and individualized learning as well as self-instruction
• Students can visit libraries, museums and  various institutes world-wide, talk to professionals, access recent research,  and read   newspapers and peer reviewed scholarly  journals  online. Students can write collaboratively with peers and even publish  written and multimedia products on web pages.
• A mentor serves as a guide rather than a provider  of knowledge and serves the function of introducing students to the new  world, interpreting it for them, and helping them to learn what they  need to know to function in it
• • this might be an interesting approach like Couros
• Weekly or even daily journals and communications  can be sent between mentor and student via e-mail, providing an ongoing "dialogue
• In small groups learners  can discuss content, share ideas, and solve problems. They present their  own ideas as well as consider ideas put forth by others.
• The  discussion group
• ourages interaction in small groups. Here the focus  is on developing learners' decision-making skills as well as on teaching  specific concepts and principles
• • very much a pbl approach
• his  format encourages learners to think logically, communicate ideas, and  apply steps in a decision-making process.
• • wsib poc
• This promotes an understanding of other people's  positions and their attitudes as well as the procedures that might be used  for diagnosing and solving problems.
• Role playing can be used to simulate  real-life group work situations and can help learners gain a fuller understanding  of a problem or situation.
• Most instructional games reflect typical real-life situations. The rules,  procedures, and objectives of the game should be clear and concise.
• • but there can still be such issues. design and maintenance are key
• Online projects give students  an opportunity to pursue their special interests and can be done individually  or within groups.
• Many times an individual  project is only critiqued by the facilitator, but by sharing individual  projects with other participants, the learner has the opportunity to  obtain more diverse viewpoints and feedback.
• simulations, role playing, case studies, problem solving  exercises, group collaborative work, debates, small group discussion,  and brainstorming
• Collaborative  learning  is the process of getting two or more students to work together to learn
• Collaborative  learning can be more effective than interpersonal competitive and individualistic  efforts in promoting cognitive development, self-esteem, and positive  student-student relationships.
• The case study is a teaching  strategy which requires learners to draw upon their past experiences,  is participatory and has action components which are links to future  experience
• The  case report should include facts regarding the problem, the environmental  context, and the characters of the people involved in the case. It should  be factual, but also contain the opinions and views of the people involved
• The moderator  guides the discussion and the audience raises and discusses issues, make  comments, offers information, or asks questions of the resource person(s)  and each other. There are two variations of the forum: the panel and  the symposium.
• symposium is  a series of presentations given by two to five people different aspects  of the same theme or closely related themes

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• Journaling
• Audio Recordings (Includes Podcasting)
• Blogging
• • Case Briefs
   
  • Case Studies & Case-Based Instruction
• Literature Review
• • Multimedia Presentation (Video and Film)
   
  • Oral Reports
• • Peer Editing / Review
• Presentations
• Document Analysis
• Role Playing
• Webquest
• Hypothetical Situations
• Interviews

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• 79 percent of our test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16 percent read word-by-word. (Update: a newer study found that users read email newsletters even more abruptly than they read websites.)
• • highlighted keywords (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others) 
  • meaningful sub-headings (not "clever" ones) 
  • bulleted lists 
  • one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph) 
  • the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion 
  • half the word count (or less) than conventional writing 

  • Great recap: Concise, brief and flowing
• Credibility can be increased by high-quality graphics, good writing, and use of outbound hypertext links. Links to other sites show that the authors have done their homework and are not afraid to let readers visit other sites.
• detested "marketese
• measured usability was dramatically higher for the concise version (58% better) and for the scannable version (47% better)
• with about half the word count as the control condition
• using the same text as the control condition in a layout that facilitated scanning

  • Like this approach with unit checklist
• using neutral rather than subjective, boastful, or exaggerated language
• concise, scannable, and objective

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• On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.
• Among other things, the authors found that the Back button is now only the 3rd most-used feature on the Web.
• Clicking hypertext links remains the most-used feature, but clicking buttons (on the page) has now overtaken Back to become the second-most used feature.
• (17%) that lasted less than 4 seconds.
• (4%) that lasted more than 10 minutes.
• spend only 4.4 seconds more for each additional 100 words.
• On an average visit, users read half the information only on those pages with 111 words or less.

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• The first two paragraphs must state the most important information.
• Start subheads, paragraphs, and bullet points with information-carrying words that users will notice when scanning down the left side of your content in the final stem of their F-behavior. They'll read the third word on a line much less often than the first two words.

• Newsletters Websites   Push  Pull   News  Research   Relationship  Fulfillment
• subscribe and unsubscribe processes, as well as receiving and opening newsletters.
• how people read (or, mainly, scan) email inboxes and newsletter content.
• including testing with mobile devices and exploring the impact of tone-of-voice in newsletter content.
• • sketchy comment if they are trying to campare and put forth as a lit review
• we asked users to log in to their own email accounts, and the number of new or unread messages is now 300% higher than it was just 4 years ago.
• This doesn't change the old guidelines regarding the importance of using clear "from" and "subject" lines to ensure your messages attract attention; in fact, busier inboxes simply make these guidelines even more important
• users now pay more attention to message previews.
• focus on high-value content at the start of a message,
• So, the main explanation for the improved performance is probably that websites are indeed getting better at designing to attract newsletter subscribers
• Email newsletters are a better way to stay in touch with customers than updates posted on social networks like Facebook or Twitte
• A newsletter goes into the inbox and sits there
• turn to these services primarily to keep in touch with friends
• Newsletters are under your control design-wise and hold much more information.
• But you should also make sur
• e to send out the newsletter announcing, say, sales or new products before tweeting such news
• People often check email on mobile devices during quick breaks when they want to allocate time only to high-priority messages.
• Users are often rushed when processing email, and watching videos takes time
• It's important to clearly describe the video in words. Also, carefully pick a preview image that communicates the video's nature instead of simply showing the first frame. Finally, state the video's duration.

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• they plow text rather than scan it, and they miss page elements due to a narrower field of view.
• people with lower literacy can read, but they have difficulties doing so.
• can't understand a text by glancing at it. They must read word for word and often spend considerable time trying to understand multi-syllabic words
• Their only other choice is to completely skip over large amounts of information, which they often do when things become too complicated.
• satisfice -- accept something as "good enough"
• In addition, having to scroll breaks lower-literacy users' visual concentration because they can't use scanning to find the place they left off.
• Finally, search creates problems for lower-literacy users for two reasons. First, they often have difficulty spelling the query terms. Second, they have difficulty processing search results, which typically show weird, out-of-context snippets of text. As a result, lower-literacy users often simply pick the first hit on the list, even if it's not the most appropriate for their needs.

  • Great point with respect to research searches
• use text aimed at a 6th grade reading level on the homepage, important category pages, and landing pages. On other pages, use text geared to an 8th grade reading level.
• Prioritize information
• Avoid text that moves or changes
• Streamline the page design
• Simplify navigation
• Optimize search
• 43% of the U.S. population has low literacy
• 30% of Web users have low literacy
• Long experience shows that improving usability for users with disabilities typically increases usability for non-disabled users as well

  • UID principles
• At the same time, the improvements for lower-literacy users did not come at the expense of higher-literacy users
• People capable of understanding complex information nonetheless preferred more straightforward health information.

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• "I would be reluctant to go back to the site. If I had a choice to write about something else, then I would write about something else." Another journalist described what he'd do when he could not find any of the facts he needed for his story: "Better not to write it than to get it wrong. I might avoid the subject altogether."

• • On the Web, users are engaged and want to go places and get things done. The Web is an active medium. 
  • While watching TV, viewers want to be entertained. They are in relaxation mode and vegging out; they don't want to make choices. TV is a passive medium. 
• The first 3 words have no information-carrying content
• The headline lacks keywords
• The words "tall traveler's curse" are insufficiently specific to tell users what the story is about.
• The Web rewards comprehensive coverage that's more specific than print content.
• On the Web, such content often feels like filler; it slows down users and stands in the way of their getting to the point
• • Well this is an intyeresting statement. Not sure how or why he would make this point
• We should accept that the Web is too fast-paced for big-picture learning. No problem; we have other media, and each has its strengths. At the same time, the Web is perfect for narrow, just-in-time learning of information nuggets

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• Instead, their eyes go directly to more actionable content, such as product features, bulleted lists, or hypertext links.

• Users spend 51 seconds reading the average newslette
• newsletters lost 19% of potential subscribers due to usability difficulties in their subscription processes and designs

• Email is one of a website's most powerful tools for strengthening customer service and increasing user confidence and trust
• messages must be designed for optimal usability.� They must have a user interface that both works in a crowded inbox and accounts for most people's typically hectic approach to reading mail
• A striking conclusion from the studies is that processing email is stressful. Users frequently told us that they were too busy to deal with certain email messages, and that they considered any fluff in messages a waste of time
• • Avoid being mistaken for spam. Email must survive users' ruthless pruning of inbox messages. 
  • Be a customer service ambassador. Email should enhance a company's reputation for customer service and increase users' confidence in their dealings with the company. 
  • Prevent customers from calling in.

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• Students know how to use a discussion board; they'll make it work
• clear expectations and guidelines.
• You'll need to facilitate the discussion with well-crafted questions and, perhaps, with posts of your own.
• The discussion board can be an optional supplement to the course in addition to the regular workload
• Asynchronous online discussions provide more reflection time and a potentially less stressful opportunity for introverted students to share their thoughts.
• Consider face-to-face encounters or online icebreakers.
• • Off topic discussions about favorite free time activities du jour or "getting to know you" posts listing x number of adjectives to describe yourself will start to build a relationship between the students. 
• Consider a separate section for outside discussion
• • Must be at least x number of sentences
   
  • Can’t simply be a question – must include background and explanation
   
  • No “I agree” or “+1” posts – explain why you agree
   
  • Provide an example of a "good" post (from previous student – if you have permission from the student – or one of your own)
• Your choice of traditional composition guidelines or acronyms, abbreviations, and smiley faces will depend on your goals and purposes
• Inter-post referencing guide 
   
  • Full quote of post or pertinent section of a post
   
  • Refer to post number
• • Establish requirements for respectful and helpful attitudes in interactions
   
  • If relating stories about yourself or people you know (depends on subject matter), be mindful of protecting the anonymity of others
• • Craft questions that invite reflection, not a single, factual answer.
   
  • In a topic header or introductory question, provide enough information to help your students think through either deep and focused answers or broad and synthesizing answers
• Ask opinion questions.  Encourage your students to explain/support their opinions thoroughly
• Include a goal with each discussion question, e.g. "generate as many reasons as possible," "generate counter-arguments," or "generate rebuttals."  (Note:  these prompts typically work well for students with high familiarity with the topic, but may overload students without much prior familiarity.
• Elaborated questions
• Clarification
• Probing assumptions
• Examples
• Viewpoint
• Implications
• Encourage students to reply to each other’s questions
• When you do answer a question, remind the student(s) of a class discussion, indicate a selection in a text, or point out a website that provides relevant information
• • Establish an FAQ section for questions about participation expectations.
   
  • Consider establishing a separate section for questions about course admin
• If a discussion stagnates, you may need to plant another question or begin a new thread
• Nip any friction in the bud.  Remind them of your courtesy expectations
• But do consider that if a post goes more than 24 hours without a reply, everyone may move on
• • Use the discussion board as a source for in-class lecture/discussion topics.  Mine the discussion for intriguing topics and for concepts that aren't clear.
   
  • Make participation in online discussion a part of the students' grade. 
   
  • Consider replacing some assignments in your syllabus in order to account for time spent in on-line discussion.
• For assessment purposes, number of posts or comments is a typical measure for participation because it is easy to quantify.  However, reading and reflection may contribute just as much to student learning in online discussions.  Those students that focus on posting messages to meet a requirement, rather than reading messages, lose the benefit of shared knowledge building through the online discussion.
• Any excessive and unconstructive negativity should be addressed immediately. 
• If discussing touchy subjects and students feel hesitant to share an opinion or are in any way uncomfortable – you could recommend to them to sit on a post.  Type it out and wait (an hour?  a day?).  Come back to it, read it again, and see if you want to post, modify, or delete. 
• If you notice that a post receives no replies (especially if you know it is a quiet student or one that is otherwise sticking his/her neck out a bit), you may wish to reply yourself after you’ve given time to other students first. 

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