March, 2006

Online Classroom - March 2006 - Full Issue PDF
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Tips from the Pros: How to Improve Online Learning
Barry Dahl, vice president of technology and the Virtual Campus at Lake Superior College in Minnesota, offers the following suggestions for what instructors and course designers can do to improve online learning.

Effective Online Instruction for the Rhetorical Criticism Course
By Trudy L. Hanson, EdD
“You’re doing what?” is the response of most of my colleagues when I mention that I’m teaching a graduate seminar in rhetorical criticism online. In an effort to attract more students into our master’s program in communication, we decided to develop online versions of the 18-hour core.

The Challenge of Teaching Across Generations
Instructors need to take steps to make the online classroom a comfortable and supportive learning environment regardless of students’ online learning experience or learning style preferences—a particularly important consideration when teaching students from multiple generations.

Better Multiple-Choice Tests (Assessments, Part 3)
By Patti Shank, PhD, CPT
Multiple-choice tests are commonly used to assess achievement of learning objectives because they can be efficient. Despite their widespread use, they’re often poorly designed. Poorly written multiple-choice tests are equally damaging in classroom-based and online courses, but in online courses learners often have to contend with more challenges, and poor assessments can add insult to injury. In addition, poorly written tests can be more visible to the world when they are placed online.

The 10 Key Rules for Managing Time in Online Teaching
By Errol Craig Sull, M.A.
In my several years of teaching online I have developed a variety of time-management tools that have helped me to stay on top of my classes while making my efforts smoother and easier; hundreds of colleagues I’ve discussed this with over the years also have their favorite ways of managing time. As you can imagine, this collective wisdom includes a multitude of approaches (in fact, nearly 300 so far!), but what I present to you here is what I think are the best of the best. Use one, some, or all of these, and I assure you that you’ll have a much better time teaching online!