September 2005

Online Classroom - September 2005 - Full Issue
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Seven Steps for Providing Constructive Online Discussion Feedback Successfully
By Tammy Edwards
We frequently discuss the importance of providing timely feedback that is specific and detailed, but we rarely provide strategies to help deliver disappointing news. Unfortunately, in an online environment constructive feedback is often misinterpreted or disregarded because the student feels a response was short, critical, or lacked the specific direction that was needed. As the director of online learning for North Hennepin Community College,

Tips from the pros - Understanding Student Perceptions of Online Learning
When preparing to teach an online course, consider the following assumptions that many online students make about online learning.

Teaching from the Road
This summer, R. Nicholas Gerlich, associate professor of marketing at West Texas A&M University, took to the road to teach an online marketing course, stopping at WiFi hot spots during his 5,000-mile, five-week trip and providing real-world examples of course concepts.

Improve Efficiency without Sacrificing Quality
A key consideration when designing online courses is whether a given course activity will yield enough benefit to the students to warrant the amount of time and effort expended by the instructor, course designer, and students.

Turning the Tables in Threaded Discussions
Rather than facilitating threaded discussions by asking students open-ended questions, why not have students ask the questions? This is a strategy that Kathryn Ley, associate professor of education at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, tried recently with great success.

Online Learner Types: Implications for Course Design
Student behavior in an online course can vary greatly depending on motivation, maturity, learning styles, technical proficiency, and experience as an online learner. Knowing what to expect from students can have important implications for course design and management.

Tutoring System Provides Various Levels of Help to Meet Individual Learners’ Needs
Different learners come to the online classroom with different levels of knowledge of the subject and different needs. It is up to the course designer and instructor to devise ways to meet the needs of individual learners without impeding the progress of the group.