October 2007

Online Classroom - October, 2007 - Full Issue PDF
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Open-Source Blog Platform Provides Much-Needed Communication Flexibility
When Margaret Anderson, a psychology professor at the State University of New York at Cortland, began teaching online 12 years ago, she used an open-source communication tool to facilitate online discussions. She later moved to WebCT when the college decided to stop supporting the open-source product for security reasons. But WebCT did not provide her with the flexibility she needed, so she found a new open-source communication tool—LiveJournal.

Tips from the Pros: Six Suggestions for Successful Online Learning
Part of being an online educator is teaching students how to conduct themselves in the online classroom. A survey of successful adult online learners provides and excellent resource for this advice.

Trial by Fire: Online Teaching Tips That Work
By Lori Norin, PhD, and Tim Wall
A few years ago, our university started accelerating its distance learning program. Along with courses that televised lectures to area high schools, we began a fledgling online course program that used WebCT classroom teaching software. Along the line, we’ve discovered some techniques that work. If you’re new to the online course experience, especially if you’re considering a hybrid course, here are some tips you might find helpful.

Online Teaching Fundamentals: Media for Online Instruction: Getting Around Typical Obstacles, Part 1
By Patti Shank, PhD, CPT
Media such as photos, audio, video, charts and graphs, collaborative tools, games, and animations can be very powerful tools for instruction (and I’d go so far as to say that they are sometimes essential for good instruction), but they need to be selected with a great deal of thought so that they support instructional goals, don’t cause needless frustration or confusion, and are a wise use of resources.

Teaching Online WIth Errol: Veteran Online Teachers: Regular Retraining Is Important!
By Errol Craig Sull
Much time, effort, and money are devoted by educational institutions to the training of newbie online instructors, and this is as it should be. Unfortunately, once these brand-new, out-of-the-box online instructors are around for a bit, most schools assume they “know the ropes,” and little more is offered them in the way of additional training.