May, 2008

Online Classroom - May, 2008 - Full Issue PDF
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An Effective, Inexpensive Virtual Classroom
The first online course that Henry Barker taught used threaded discussions as the primary means of communication. He didn’t like the level of interaction and decided to search for ways “to make the online experience as much like the seated experience as possible.”

Tips from the Pros: 4 Suggestions for Improving the Online Learning Experience
The following tips from Faye Wiesenberg, associate professor of continuing education at the University of Calgary, can help you provide a better online learning experience for your students.

Managing Conflict in Online Teams
By Richard Dool, D.Mgt
Any instructor using team assignments in online courses has probably experienced conflict within teams in some form. Given the potential conflicts in team assignments and the general disdain by students (60 percent express dislike for team assignments), why do professors persist in using them?

Getting Evaluation Data through Surveys: What to Consider before Getting Started
By Patti Shank, PhD, CPT
Surveys are one of the most common tools for gathering course, program, and instruction evaluation data. Although surveys appear to be easy to design and implement, designing surveys that provide valuable information requires some thought. Surveys developed without this level of consideration tend to be disjointed and provide data that isn’t easy to analyze for needed improvements.

13 Ways to Integrate Blogging into the Web 2.0 Classroom
By Jody Oomen-Early, PhD, CHES, and Sloane Burke, PhD
As university faculty search for more effective ways to engage the global spectrum of populations, subgroups, and individuals of the 21st century, there is a need to explore creative strategies for reaching out and drawing in individuals through new communications channels and technology that will work successfully in today’s dramatically changing high-tech world.

Teaching Online WIth Errol: Effectively Selling Yourself for an Online Teaching Position
By Errol Craig Sull
If you decide to teach a course, whether for the first time or at an additional school, you need to know how to most effectively sell yourself as the person who is just perfect for that school to hire.