November 2005

Online Classroom - November,2005 - Full Issue
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Are Online Simulations Better Than F2F?
Steve Cathers developed a fairly basic online simulation model that he says is better in some ways than those in his face-to-face courses. “I don’t claim to have done anything profound. I kind of threw together a simulation model. I’ve continued to use it, and students rave about it,” he says.

Rubrics, Roles, and Successful Online Discussions
By Janet D. Stemwedel, Ph. D.
Requiring discussion participation is often essential to generate critical mass for online discussions in the first place. Making discussion participation a graded component of the course pushes the students to make high-quality contributions. Many instructors use rubrics, not only to evaluate student participation consistently, but also to communicate expectations clearly to students.

Writing Learning Objectives That Help You Teach and Students Learn (Part 1)
By Patti Shank, Ph.D., CPT
New and even experienced instructors commonly do not spend sufficient time considering the learning objectives for their courses and this lack of consideration often results in a mismatch between course content, activities, and assessments, as well as less-than-optimal learning, frustrated students, and poor evaluations. In online courses, clarity is even more critical because miscommunication is common and students get frustrated and off track more easily.

Overcoming Facelessness in the Online Classroom
When asked about the pros and cons of online learning, most students in Lorretta Dicker's and Svetlana Marzelli's online courses said that they enjoyed the convenience of being able to take a course without having to attend a physical classroom but that they missed the face-to-face interaction of the traditional classroom.