September, 2009

Online Classroom - September, 2009 - Full Issue PDF
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Does It Matter How We Give Our Students Constructive Feedback in a Technology-Mediated Environment?
By Brian E. Harper, PhD, and William Beasley, EdD
Teachers who wish to provide meaningful feedback to which students will actually attend need to focus on two key components: 1) the content of the verbal feedback and 2) the nature of the vehicle(s) used to deliver the feedback.

Tips from the Pros - How to Use Twitter to Improve Engagement
Twitter (www.twitter.com), the popular microblogging tool, has the potential to improve social presence in online courses, according to Joanna C. Dunlap and Partick R. Lowenthal. In an intriguing article in The Journal of Information Systems Education (see reference below), the authors make a strong case for using this tool to encourage informal communication.

Designing a Course with Multiple Entry Points, Diverse Paths
By Rob Kelly
Students come to an online course with different interests, prior knowledge, and preferred learning styles. This is something that Stephen Holland, chair of the English department at Muscatine Community College and online learning and training associate at the Eastern Iowa Community College District, takes into account whenever he creates or seeks to improve an online course.

Online Teaching Fundamentals: Tell Me about It: Using Online Videos to Support Learning
By Patti Shank, PhD, CPT
Not a single week goes by without a colleague or friend sending me a link to an online video that he or she found funny, helpful, or meaningful. Last week, I received a link to a hilarious cat video (www.simonscat.com/flyguy.html) that left me ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing, in netspeak). While funny videos may not be “educational,” they serve to remind us just how powerful video can be for communicating all sorts of messages and for engaging viewers.

How to ‘See’ if Students Comprehend Material in Virtual Classrooms
By Charlene Gore, RHIA, CCS
Listening to students’ body language is an important tool in gauging the comprehension level of the class. In my face-to-face classes, when I would do an exam review, I would watch my student audience for visual signs that they understood what I was explaining to them. I could often tell, with just a glance, if my message was getting through. When I moved to the world of online teaching, I lost this powerful tool.

Teaching Online With Errol: Maximize Your Computer for a Better Teaching Experience—Part 1
By Errol Craig Sull
Well, it’s that time of the year again: my annual assortment of tips, tricks, suggestions, and information to make your online teaching more effective. This has grown to be such a popular column that last year I expanded it to two parts, so look for Part 2 in my October column.