October 2005

Online Classroom October 2005 full issue PDF
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Time Management for Online Instructors
The time demands of teaching online can be overwhelming, but there are techniques that can greatly reduce the amount of time you need to spend in your online courses without sacrificing quality.

Tips from the Pros: Facilitate Student Collaboration
Interaction among students can be one of the most important sources of learning in an online course. However, if you do not provide ample opportunities to encourage collaboration, many students likely will remain individual learners and will not take advantage of their peers’ knowledge and guidance.

Choosing Appropriate Online Learning Tools
Faculty need to consider learning objectives, learning styles, accessibility, cost, and available technical support when designing distance learning courses, says Laurie Hillstock, manager of distance learning at Clemson University.

5 Common Fears about Teaching Online—Fact vs. Fiction
By Patti Shank, PhD, CPT
One thing new online instructors often have in common, whether they feel pressured to teach online or are more enthusiastic, is a great deal of anxiety. Teaching online involves a set of new technical, administrative, and instructional skills. Many are not thrilled about teaching online unless they feel confident that they can do a good job. And they often have fears that make them feel that doing a good job is going to be difficult, or worse. I often hear these five common fears and misconceptions from new online instructors, and other instructional designers who work with faculty tell me they hear much the same.

Ongoing Student Evaluation Essential to Course Improvement
Student evaluations are an essential source of information on how well an online course is meeting its objectives and can point to ways to improve course design and delivery. To be useful, evaluations should address each of Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation: reactions, learning, transfer, and results, say Doris Owens, assistant director of distance education at Midwestern State University in Texas, and Cheryl Williams, training and education coordinator at Elk Valley Rancheria, a Native American casino in California.

Secondary Teaching Methods Online…Times 3!
By Patrick Durow, PhD
I teach general and special in the secondary teacher education program at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. As the program typically enrolls 30 to 40 undergraduate and graduate students, the special methods courses for students nearing their student teaching in each content area (e.g., science, Spanish, history) are subject to very small enrollments at times. The Education Department also offers a graduate teacher education/service option that may enroll students at remote locations. Combining the dean’s charge to the Education Department to staff the small enrollment courses more economically, to meet the distance learning needs of some of our students, and to continue to provide a quality course experience for all students, the department has chosen the online course offering option.

Study: Changing Virtual Team Membership Improves Participation
Are you having trouble getting virtual team members to contribute equally to team projects? If so, perhaps you should try varying the membership of these teams because, according to a study by Brian Dineen (see reference below), doing so can reduce the issue of social loafing, where team members rely on other group members to do the work for them.