Thursday, April 30, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #28 - Posting a Peer-Reviewed Thread


I just sneezed. Achoo! There, another sneeze. I feel fine, though -- and although my TV is babbling off to my left, it's not stuck on the instant-celebrity "Pandemic Mania" channel - so I'm not being convinced, and coerced, that I'm much sicker than I really am -- actually, I'm feeling fine. OK, what's on my TV? M*A*S*H (remember that, as it will be a trivia question in a future thread).
Talking about feeling fine, I listened to my students this spring when they asked, "Can we post a peer-reviewed assignment thread?" Hmmm. I had heard of this animal, but thought it was only found in the remote wild. I admit, I wasn't hip on allowing students to review and comment on each other's work, in a public class forum, prior to submission to the instructor. There were risks...an aspiring teacher might kindly rip apart others' work. Tears! A passive student might let others take the lead in posting work, and then copy what's been posted, re-format it in their own wrapper, and call it their own. Yet, before I typed, "Thanks for the idea, but no" -- I paused, and decided to allow the request. At first, it was a trial -- and soon, it was a staple. Of course, I have parameters:
  • Students post at their own risk
  • I post a peer-review thread for only one assignment per class
  • The assignment must be divergent, but the format convergent

Peer-reviewed threads have been popular. They're not for everyone, but they don't have to be for everyone... Go ahead, prep your peer gear and go forth without fear!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #27 - Making an End-Of-Course Survey / Soliciting Feedback


There are times in life when feedback is unwelcome. For instance, my golf game. I know its subpar (pun intended), but have no burning desire to be "coached" in the great hopes of earning my tour card. Hey, smacking a plastic Wonderloaf sack full of St. Vinney's re-tread golf balls around the links with friends holds no pretenses of being anything more than a social outing. I don't even keep score, much less replace my divets, but I do abide by clubhouse rules and have the courtesy to move on to the next futile tee box after the approximate dozen strokes that brought me to within sight of the green (not including the standard Mulligan-per-hole).
OK, so when does this instructor want feedback...???
I want, I want, I want...feedback from the students that I've instructed. Good or bad, I want feedback -- I want students to rate my effectiveness as an instructor -- I want students to sing the praises and yell the pitfalls of the syllabus... You might think that an end-of-course survey is an "automatic" with any university. Ironically, it's not a requirement for half of the institutions I work with -- and the places that do require a survey often fail to capture the information I personally want as an instructor.
My survey is 10 questions - with a mix of True/False, Likert Scale and open-ended boxes. I've utilized http://www.freeonlinesurveys.com/ to build my surveys (a screenshot is posted above). The service is easy to use, is free (of cour$e), and provides a postable URL to the created survey. There are more features with the paid version, but the free version will be all that most folks will need to garner core feedback.
Why do a survey? My primary reason for an end-of-course survey is to evaluate the syllabus. The secondary reasons are to assess the classroom (ease of navigation, layout, etc.) and also effectiveness of the instructor. Trust me, I've made several syllabus revisions (improvements) based directly upon survey results.
When should the instructor post the link to the survey? I post the URL to the survey (as a class ANNOUNCEMENT) the second to the last day of the course. In Blackboard, I also click the "Email announcement to all students" box. I allow students 5 days to complete the survey.
I've found that, on average, 50% of students will complete the survey - which I judge to be a solid rate.
Another Thought for the Survey... I've been tossing around the idea of a "Pre-Survey" -- in which I would conduct a brief K-W-L (Know, Want, Learn) activity. I predict that information would assist me in placing emphasis on various discussion questions in addition to seeking and incorporating supportive outside links and resources. This approach would allow the course to be more responsive and dynamic, yet certainly places a greater load upon the instructor and requires rapid turnaround... I'm sure I'll pilot it with a smaller class - and I look forward to sharing my findings in this BLOG.
By the way...I bought my best driver for $2.99 from the local Goodwill - rescued it from the barrel of miscellaneous clubs in the rear of the store. Yet, acquiring clubs in this manner is risky - as how does one distinguish whether a club was originally part of a man's or woman's set? Hmmm...

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #26 - Having Learning Teams Share Their Assignments with the Entire Class


Thinking back 15 years ago to my college days (as a shaggy-haired student) -- I recall a course in which the instructor collected students assignments, copied them into a booklet, and returned them to each student. The class was about goals for speech-language therapy sessions. I think each student was required to 5 goals per specified format. Hey, it took me a while to pencil out my goals - not as easy as one would think... I wondered, "What's everyone doing?" Then after handing in my assignment, the instructor said, "You didn't know this at the time you wrote your goals, but you were really contributing to a larger collection of goals -- I'm going to copy everyone's goals into a booklet for each of you - and that will serve as an outstanding resource tool when you're out on your first job."

The image above is a screenshot from one of my online courses. In the past year, I've began requiring students to post their team assignments for the benefits of others in the class. Note that each team has a unique assignment related to a specific topic. Only ungraded versions are posted - and students are aware at the start of the assignment that their end product will be displayed for all. This approach allows for a greater sharing of knowledge and allows students to depart class with a deeper toolbox of resources.

Friday, April 17, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #25 - Including a Student Generated & Maintained Topical Discussion Thread


My cheese was moved! Believe it or not, I allowed something in my current class that I had never allowed in my 6 years of teaching. No, nothing as daring as student photos... I added a STUDENT TOPICS discussion thread. The thread isn't a CHAT ROOM - found in the online formats of some universities. Instead, it's a professional forum for students to post their own topics of interest -- to initiate discussions on matters tangential to the course and step beyond the prescribed boundaries of the instructor-posted threads. It's empowerment - that's what it is! The thread is present the duration of the course. It's maintained by students. I credit posts and responses to the thread towards course participation. So far, the new discussions have remained aligned with the course - and there isn't a siphoning effect from the traditional threads. There's been no need to govern the thread - to jump in and say, "Hey, no more NCAA tournament Pick 'Em threads!" However, as I finished 398/500 in my tourny pool, perhaps I should have sought the advice of others - or outsourced my picks altogether...hey...isn't my Fantasy Football Draft coming up? Here' an idea for a new thread..."Who would you draft in the first round?"





Saturday, April 11, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #24 - Creating custom videos to help students navigate the online classroom

Online student: 11:33 PM, Saturday Night, logged into the online classroom and pecking at the keyboard - hunting for the elusive Learning Team that you've assigned him to...

"Ugh, if I could have someone show me where to go...that's all I need..."

Never fear, David's here - with a plan that will work and your wallet remains snug in the back pocket of your faded 501s.

Freeware's the online adjunct professor's best friend! (It can be, trust me!). If you don't have CNET's http://www.download.com/ bookmarked, then that's step #1 in this post. Next, there a number of quality FREE, yeah, I said "FREE" simple software programs you'll find at http://www.download.com/ that can make your teaching experiences more efficient and effective. I recently downloaded a free program called CAMSTUDIO that allows me to record a section of my computer screen while narrating with my external microphone. The 40-second video below was recorded with CAMSTUDIO. As CAMSTUDIO's only output modes are AVI and Flash Video, I also downloaded a free program called ANY VIDEO CONVERTER which makes it a snap to trim video clips and then convert them to the less bandwidth hungry MPEG 1 format. This entire 40-second video requires less than 4 MB of space. Granted, I have the quality settings pushed down a bit to save on recording space - but the video certainly is effective in guiding my students to their assigned learning teams on Blackboard 8.


I also uploaded this video to YouTube - I have students access the YouTube link - which I post in the ANNOUNCEMENTS section of my course. I make a unique video for each class - so students are able to view their actual class shell and see their authentic learning teams. I've had more than one student thank me for making these brief video navigation guides. Students who aren't experienced with technology tell me that it was easy to click on the link that took them to the YouTube video. There is a pitfall - as most school browsers will block YouTube. Thus, another suggestion is to post this brief video clip in a GOOGLE docs file and then have the URL connect to it - also works very well. Keep the file small as some students (and my father) still use dial up!

I think the videos also create a context for the classroom - the student hears the instructor's voice and it's a touch more personal than reading text off a monitor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPjGRQw3beA

Thursday, April 9, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #23 - Offering a credit option for a conference

My employment requires me to attend 4-5 out-of-town conferences annually. I laugh when thinking back to a "major" conference I attended about 7 years ago at a 5-star hotel. I was a greenie and brought along a few sport coats slipped over cheap, bent metal hangers (the kind you get when picking up your clothes from the dry cleaners) and protected my off-the-rack threads from the elements by draping them in a black Hefty garbage bag. I was embarrassed when the formal doorman offered to take my luggage to my room - pretending not to notice my sheik suit sack. The first thing I did upon returning home was drive to East Towne Mall to purchase a garment bag. You know, I don't wear sport coats much anymore - I'm now a "vest" guy -- and you don't need a garment bag for vests - just a duffel bag (preferably a black one).

OK, back to conferences...it seems that more and more conferences offer some type of "credit option" -- meaning that you can obtain a college graduate credit for attending the conference and completing a modest paper or project. These credit options are very popular with educators - as most teachers and administrators (at least in Wisconsin) need credits for teaching license renewal or salary lane advancement.

So, who offers these credit options? It varies - public and private colleges. The instructor must be a faculty member with the college/university - and yes, adjunct meets this requirement!

Look around at your area conferences, paying special attention to the events that target educators. Then look for a credit option. If there isn't a credit option, it might be worth contacting the conference chairpersons to weigh their interest in working with you - and a post-secondary institution, to evolve a credit option. I did this - exactly as noted. For nearly a decade, I've regularly attended the Rehabilitation for Wisconsin conference held in Kohler, WI. The event is attended by approximately 400 professionals - of which perhaps 150 are educators. A few years ago, I realized that the conference didn't offer a credit option - hmmm... Opportunity knocked, I developed a credit proposal and shared it with the conference committee. They were thrilled! I developed a syllabus and had it approved by my primary university. A fee arrangement was worked out between the university, conference committee and myself - and it's been a wonderful symbiotic relationship ever since... I take care of everything - registering students, taking payments, making credit option folders, etc. It's totally hassle-free for the conference committee - they just advertise in their mailers and give me a seat at the registration table. I don't miss out on attending the conference sessions as I only operate the "credit" table during registration or at the end of the day. I leave my cell # at the table to make sure I don't miss anyone who wants to talk with me about the credit option. I grade all papers in the evening or during non-work time to prevent supplanting - and again, the credit table is closed during all presentations / sectionals. As I noted, this was a conference that I would attend with or without being involved in the credit option. If it were a conference that I was only attending for the intent of providing the credit option, I would take a vacation day to avoid supplanting. Don't ever place yourself in a situation of putting the credit option ahead of your full-time employment.

To learn more about this credit option, please view the credit option website I created for this offering at http://viterbo.homestead.com/Index.html

In an upcoming post, I'll share the contract template I developed between the instructor and the conference committee.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #22 - The benefits of 2 monitors

For the past year, I've been using a second monitor with my home computer (this photo is taken from my office - the location for which I instruct my online courses -- or, per my wife, "The Man Cave". While initially reluctant to add a companion screen, I now wouldn't want to teach online without it. The benefits of a second monitor are many, including: (A) able to display links within a course on a separate screen versus having them pop-up over my course window, (B) able to have an assignment rubric up on the screen while reading a student's work on the other screen, and (C) able to simultaneously access a course from both the instructor view and a student view (probably the most significant benefit!). Below is an article that I read prior to adding a second monitor - I attest that productivity has increased! My suggestions - make sure the 2nd monitor is approximately as large as the main monitor and that it is also of similar brightness. I initially used an older, less bright monitor as the companion and was bothered by the different contrast levels. A basic second monitor shouldn't cost more than $200.00. If used solely for teaching, it is also an itemized tax deduction.