ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #34 - The Accidental Risk of Ethnocentric Coursework

Per Wikipedia, Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own.

As a college faculty member, I challenge you to locate your critical perspective spectacles - you know, the pair that was on your desk earlier in your career and now pushed to the far back of the bottom drawer. I doubt we make a conscious decision to create and evolve ethnocentric coursework, yet, are we really making attempts to infuse worldly perspectives into what we teach our students? Is ethnocentric our default setting?

Three years ago, I created a course titled, "Inclusion of Students with Special Needs" - a popular course with numerous "local" examples of best practices in inclusion. After the 10th offering, I opted for a "total overhaul" of the content. Surprisingly, true scrutiny of the offering revealed exclusive, but unintended, ethnocentric design. Students learned inclusion from a Wisconsin lens. To counter this narrow path, I re-tooled the course to include a full unit on global inclusive practices. I allocated much time to literature searches and first-hand discussions with persons beyond my geographic comfort zone.

I recently completed offering this "revised" course - and found that it fostered increased critical perspective discussions from students. The world isn't Wisconsin. I am in the process of reviewing all of my offerings through a critical perspective looking glass.

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #33 - WIZIQ, free online teaching delivery medium worth exploring...

I read the following gospel reading (Mark 6:7-13) today....

Jesus was giving instructions to the apostles and said, "When you enter a house, stay there until you leave."

I have a problem with this one. I remember reading it last year, so I assume it's not a misprint. What other options are there? I came up with the following:

1. "When you enter a house, leave before you leave."

2. "When you enter a house, stay there after you leave."

3. "When you enter a house, leave after you leave."

Since none of these other 3 options seem possible, I must ask why the Bible just didn't simply say: "When you enter a house, stay there."

Religion can be way too complicated sometimes.

OK, enough about my random pondering. When it comes to instructing a purely textual online offering, the complication often lies in the lack of recognizable human context. Simply put, when students see the instructor's face - and view / hear a live presentation, there appears to be a much stronger connection to the instructor than simply reading textual instruction.

I guest instructed a graduate course session via a free online medium called WIZIQ. http://www.wiziq.com/ The service offers a combination format of live video/audio via webcam, whiteboard and running chat area. A video feed of the instructor is continuously displayed in the upper right hand corner of the screen for students to view. With my basic Logitech webcam and external microphone, I was able to engage in a fairly adequate real-time live presentation to students, while also communicating with them in the chat and white board regions.

The obvious drawback is lack of streaming quality. Video and audio were choppy at times - and I'm operating a blazing fast cable pipeline. Students with dial-up connections would feel like they were watching broadcasts from the first lunar landing. In addition, when other students use web cams and speakers, the medium tended to get technical hum and it wasn't always smooth to switch between instructor and student as the featured person up in the right hand corner.

I haven't fully figured out how the free version is funded as the site is free of advertisements, but there is a pay feature with more options and full archiving, although I believe some level of basic archiving is also available in the free version. Archiving is beneficial as it allows students to return and replay the session.

I plan to teach another session via WIZIQ during an upcoming course. I will use it sparingly, at least to start, with only 1 or 2 "live" WIZIQ sessions. Again, I judge the most striking benefit is the face/voice context for the student that instantly personalizes the course. The primary pitfall is that the novice student isn't going to use the video / audio features.

Overall, I'm giving a "thumbs up" endorsement to WIZIQ. It seems well-developed and I judge that it will be continually refined. Give it a try!

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #32 - Is There A Place for Formative Assessment in Online Graduate Instruction?

Whew! Nearly 90 degrees today. I'm unable to tolerate heat like I could when I was younger - but still love to be outdoors when it's blazing... As I was sawing down dead tree limbs, the neighbor kid was polishing his yellow SUV (NOSTALGIA ALERT --- reminded me of the hours I would spend to detail my 1984 Duster - while listening to custom-made mix cassettes - which I recorded directly from the radio). How times have changed... Back to my neighbor - his stereo was pumping out a song that at first was annoying, but soon I found to be catchy. I memorized the lyrics, went in the house - to my cool basement office, searched the music section on Amazon, and downloaded Maino's "All the Above" -- cool. Who says Mr. P. isn't hip?

I've been reflecting much on my teaching style - and expectations. Nearly all of my graduate instruction is built upon summative assessment. That is, tests and other criterion-driven items that are measures of learning. All of this summative evaluation stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth - I want my classes to be increasingly divergent. I don't want students to necessary be programmed to think what I think. Still, the struggle with moving away from summative assessment is the challenge (and need) of assigning points and a letter grade to students' work. (I'm still fleshing-out a plan for assigning credit to non-summative assessments)

Nonetheless, I want to include, or at least balance, my courses with a healthy dose of formative assessment. Assessments become formative when the information is used to adapt teaching and learning to meet student needs. To accomplish this push toward formative assessment, I will:

• Introduce reflection and self-evaluation components to at least two assignments
• Add a "My Weekly Reflection" optional discussion thread and encourage students to candidly reflect on what they learned during the week, how they will apply it, what they found useful, what they found to be irrelevant, and what they [still] don't understand - and why. If the student produces this post, it will automatically be credited the same as a discussion thread response - and the instructor will respond in an anecdotal manner - not to judge, but to also reflect.
• Invite students to discuss their thinking about a question or topic in pairs or small groups, then ask a representative to share the thinking with the larger group
• Include poll questions - allowing students to vote

The biggest benefit of formative assessment is the ability to adjust the instruction to the student. The [summative] "take and bake" approach to online graduate instruction is quick, moderately effective and reliable. However, a formative approach will empower the student to be a reflective thinker - and if they can't find the cheese per your map, they'll find another way to that cheddar prize.

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #31 - Hand-Grading Assignments & Returning Them in a Digital Format

The extended weekend allowed me to catch up on several past-due home projects. I restored the rotting wood pillars on our front porch - although that project was far from predicted as our house was built during the Great Protractor Embargo of 1979 -- hence the house has few right angles. Efforts to hand-miter the framing proved unsuccessful and I had to borrow my neighbor's Craftsman power miter saw in order to complete the project by sunset. The good news is that I now I have the perfect anniversary idea for my wife (our anniversary is June 2). I wonder where I'll put my new miter saw (hint, hint).

In thinking of miter joints, I still prefer to do some things by hand. There's just a certain feel and reward to something that takes elbow grease -- and doing something the way ancestors did it. What's the best part of going to a baseball game at Wrigley Field -- you got it, the vintage hand-turned wood scoreboard... For those of you who answered, "the food" - hmmm. (really?)

For the love of nostalgia, I still hand-grade all student assignments in my college courses. No, I'm not anti-technology. No, my wife is not the heiress to the Pilot Pen Company. No, I don't draw comfort from torturing my printer.

The screenshot above is a page from a hand-graded student assignment. The student's returned paper is a PDF file - and yes, it is hand-graded. It takes a little more time, and costs me a little bit more, but it sets me apart as an instructor - and there are always comments in my student course reviews regarding the appreciation for hand-graded papers.

Maybe this isn't for you - or maybe it is. You could, perhaps, start small and grade only one paper by hand. If you really want to make a contextual connection with your students - I believe that nothing speaks more directly to the student than reading an instructor's handwritten feedback. With all of the "electronic auto-comment" features available today, it is increasingly common for instructors to insert pre-fabricated responses into student papers. When a student sees my chicken scratch, she knows I've taken the time to actually read her paper versus trying to find places to insert rote responses. Trust me, this is important to students!

So, did I convince you? If so, here's what you'll need to do...

Acquire a printer/scanner/copier unit with topload scanner feeder tray. The unit must withstand the rigors of printing all student assignments for your course. I own a HP C7280 and it works fine –

1. Print student papers (yeah, I know this will take ink and paper, but use “fast draft” mode and discount copy paper.
2. Hand-grade papers with purple ink (I like purple – avoid red!)
3. Scan the graded paper and save as a PDF document. I set my resolution at 300 dpi.
4. Return saved file to student

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #30 - Informing a college of courses you are qualified to instruct

The "Free Checks" promotion at my bank has ended. After 7 years of good times - writing checks at will...knowing that when it came time to order replacements they would be free - well, that Laissez-faire period is over. The counter attendant seemed a bit taken back when I presented my check re-order form. "You know we no longer provide free checks," she stated. Hmmm. If I knew that, then why would I ask for free checks? The attendant, who was nice, although blunt, attempted to smooth the waters by informing me that the replacement box of checks would be just $11.99 -- half the price of the actual cost of the checks. I was still getting a deal. I didn't realize how lucky I was...

Talking about being fortunate - make your own luck by crafting a plan to get your name and credentials on the desk of a university faculty department chair. I have attached a screenshot of a list of courses I am qualified to instruct (per my opinion) for a specific university. I included this 1-page, easy-to-read document with my cover letter and professional vita. Here's a quick overview of the steps I've taken in contacting public and private post-secondary institutions in my state:

• Check if the university has an Adjunct Faculty Coordinator. If they do, contact that person by phone and then send him/her your follow-up materials per their submission guidelines. Ask the coordinator what the university's needs are at present -
• Go online and sift thru the course catalog - making a list of courses that you judge you are qualified to instruct. I suggest keeping the list to no more than 20 courses to avoid making it appear that you are simply applying for every course in the booklet. Sure, I can teach Advanced Physics! Don't accept a course that you aren't qualified to teach!
• Assemble an inquiry packet and mail it to the Chair of the target department(s) - the packet should contain (A) cover letter - start by noting the date you spoke with the person, (B) teaching vita, and (C) list of courses you are qualified to teach (screenshot).
• If you have a strong connection with the faculty chair, you might want to also include your sample syllabus - I've found that artifacts have impressed Chairpersons as they quickly identify quality documents.
• Finally, call the Chairperson in ten days if you haven't received a response - be sure to state that you are prepared to start teaching immediately -- and be persistent!
• One final point - tour the university's website - do they use Blackboard or some other online medium? Did they recently add a new department or program?
• OK, one more "final point" - equip yourself with the Certificate of Adjunct Faculty Educators (CAFE) from http://www.socafe.org/ -- and include it with your inquiry packet. Set yourself apart -- set yourself above!

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #29 - Posting "The Best" of Previous Students' Posts to Current Discussion Threads

I paid bills a few days ago. I hate writing checks - and I just learned that the price of a First Class stamp will rise again on Monday...how in the world did that slip my radar? I still have Forever stamps - and what I can't dispatch with those I can surely cover with my envelope of assorted vintage stamps of different denominations. Yeah, I could be a wiseguy and use up my 44 one-cent stamps all on one letter. No, won't do that - I like the Postal folks - and our mail service has been tremendously reliable. I've always thought that a stamp was one of the greatest bargains in America - yet with direct e-payment options, I could save about $40.00 a year in postage - and $40.00 is, well, a pair of black dress Dockers for me from Kohls. So, will I make the jump to e-payments and retire pants with frayed cuffs? No, not any time soon. I like the "nostalgia" of stamps and checks. There's some minute sense of control in that process - and who really looks at a man's pants cuffs anyway?

I've instructed some college courses over twenty times. Unlike my wardrobe, I evolve curriculum, and sure...some elements remain relevant and unchanged - just like the Periodic Table. In the past year, I've started to harvest the "best" discussion thread responses from students and compile them into one aggregate document specific to the corresponding thread. Why do I do this? Every once in a while, a student(s) posts something that is like a bulldozer knocking over a sandcastle! Paradigm shift! Wow - and what a waste to not share that creativity, that insight and knowledge, with others in the present and the future. How's it worked out, David? Great! Just super. I wait until one day after the required date that my current students are required to post their responses to the discussion threads - and then submit the compilation post with the heading, "Perspectives from Previous Students" A few rules for the compilation post:

1. Develop a compilation of 3 "awesome" student posts per thread -- and bump out old posts and allow fresh new posts to take over the top spots.
2. ALWAYS ask students for permission to use their posts in this manner and ALWAYS include the student's name with the post. I did receive permission from the student to use her post with this BLOG entry. Most students will feel it's an honor to have their entry added to the virtual Ring of Honor.
3. Never convey that previous students' posts are "right" -- but do convey that they are "though-provoking" and provide a "unique perspective" on the topic. A current student doesn't want to read about how "super terrific" the other students were when they took the course. Reminds me of Jan Brady Syndrome. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!
4. Finally - check out the screenshot (above) of a post by Marawa regarding how she envisions public school classrooms to be like in the year 2030. The question was for a course emphasizing the inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream classrooms. Her response sizzled my mind - wow!!

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!

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...

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.

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?"

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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

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.

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.

http://www.netlobo.com/dual_monitor_productivity.html

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #21 - Informing Students How To Use Blackboard's Digital Dropbox

This post is specific to using Blackboard - but the concept can be generalized to any online learning system. Be explicit in your directions on how students should submit assignments. Remember, you might have first-time-online students in your class. Additionally, students who are unsure of how to post assignments will (1) ask you to confirm receipt of every item that they post or (2) email you each assignment in addition to submitting it - just to "make sure" that you received it. I have posted a screenshot of the "How to Use the Digital Dropbox" guidelines that I post in the ANNOUNCEMENTS section of the class a week prior to the due date of the first assignment. I've found this approach to work very well!

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #20 - Notifying students when you will and won't be checking the online classroom

Hour for hour, I put more time for an online course than for any other format. I'm also "on call" much more in the online environment than in other teaching environments. Anyone who thinks he/she will begin teaching online and simply monitor the class a few times a week is in for a rude awakening. Yet, regular, brief check-ins work well - and don't need to take up much time. I try to respond daily (in the evening) to at least 2 discussion thread replies - and ALL posts under the ??? COURSE QUESTIONS ??? thread. I also limit myself to 45 minutes in the classroom. Teaching online can be addictive - and not unlike surfing the Internet. Without parameters, one could easily click away 2-3 hours per night in the virtual classroom. Remember, you don't need to respond to every post - or comment on every issue. Be visible, but don't be omnipresent.

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #19 - Making Sure You Can Contact a Student

If you've taught online, you've probably had this happen to you. (A) A student submits an assignment the last day of class - and you are unable to open it with your software, (B) the student assumed they posted their assignment electronically, but due to some technical glitch - it didn't post, or (C) you need the student to revise part of the assignment as the student misread the syllabus. Hey, how about the university email crashing - that's happen to me - more than once!

Some will argue that none of these things should add to the burden of the instructor. Hey, if a student messed up posting the assignment - too bad, so sad. That's not my approach - and I would encourage you to also have a higher level of tolerance for the online learner. Let me clearly state that it's rare that either A, B or C happens -

So, what's your point, David?? My point is to always make it an option for students to provide you with an alternate way to contact them (beyond their student email account) - be it a different email address or cell phone number. I've never had a student balk at this request. I also remind students to check their university email daily during the course - and daily for a week following the course.

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #18 - Making the weekly syllabus page

If you're a student, there are few things more frustrating, and confidence-draining, than a confusing syllabus. As an instructor, be fully aware that students will get creative (and angry) when they don't understand the classwork expectations. Of course, that's if they don't email you relentlessly seeking clarification on your syllabus. I believe that the syllabus is the crux to successful teaching. In the online environment, a poorly constructed syllabus will doom a course and reveal the instructor as incompetent. NEVER MIND THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! For this reason, I devote much time to crafting, and refining, my syllabus. In this post, I have included the typical "Weekly Page" from my standard syllabus. The "Weekly Page" provides a synopsis and road map for that week of the course. The student doesn't need to hunt through the syllabus for information - all he needs to do is have that single page in front of his eyes. By the way, note that I've included a "paper not to exceed 6 pages" statement at the bottom of the page. I've found it necessary to define acceptable length parameters for assignments. First, I believe it is important to teach students to be concise - that's the real world, right? The second part is that you always will have a few students who believe a paper's grade is determined by its length - and just because they have time to write 25 pages doesn't mean I have the time to grade 25 pages - especially when the student with the 6-page paper did an awesome job.

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #17 - Determining the appropriate number of discussion questions

What's the appropriate number of weekly discussion questions to post in an online course? My experiences suggest a minimal of 2 questions and a maximum of 4 questions. I also require the student to post a response to each discussion question that is posted by the instructor. The student is also required to respond to at least 6 other student discussion question responses per week. I have posted a screen shot of a typical discussion question.

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #16 - Using a quiz

Not all online instructional mediums allow for the instructor to create a quiz. However, if you are instructing in Blackboard, you will be able to develop a quiz for your students - and their performance will automatically be recorded in the course gradebook. Included in this post is a screenshot from a quiz I incorporated into a fall course I instructed on Blackboard. What are my thoughts on using a quiz? -- First, I think a quiz can be a tool that encourages students to navigate the various aspects of Blackboard - so for that, it's a good "initiation" device. It also builds success and confidence in the new online learner. Yet, I think one's course shouldn't contain a weekly quiz as to me, there's just not a natural "feel" for using a quiz at the post-secondary level. So, while I endorse the use of a quiz, I also caution the instructor on building what might appear to be an automated classroom. One word of advice - when you create a quiz, be sure to view it from a "student" view screen. When I created my first quiz, it appeared fine in Instructor mode, but it wasn't viewable to my students!

ONLINE ADJUNCT FACULTY TIP #15 - Guidelines for posting announcements

Any online teaching medium will have some type of ANNOUNCEMENT feature. I've established a few rules about posting announcements. First, I never have more than 5 announcements viewable at any time. Once you produce a grocery list of announcements - the students tune out - and information that you felt was important is simply unread. Typically, these are the only types of announcements that I will post, (A) when graded assignments have been returned, (B) when course grades have been updated - and I also direct students to review their grades for accuracy, (C) if the instructor will be gone for 1-2 days -- and the way that students can contact me in an emergency. I recall one time when I went on a 2 day vacation and my students went into panic mode as I wasn't posting the classroom! (D) make students aware of learning team rosters, and (E) to note any correction of an error in the syllabus or global problem with the online classroom. Attached is a screen shot of the ANNOUNCEMENTS page from my current course (I also like to use different colored text for each announcement). Oh, one more thing - make sure to program your Announcements to sunset (if you have a medium such as Blackboard) - if not, be sure to review your announcements weekly and cull any that are no longer relevant. I'm not a fan of the "permanent" announcement - if you want to make your confidentiality post permanent - then put it up for 5 days, give it a 3 day rest, and then bring it back so it's fresh.