The Online Instructor

Digital Literacy Skills for Faculty and Students

2009-11-03T11:26:00.001-06:00

Register, mark your calendars and join us online for another Live, Desktop Presentation! It will be conducted in Wimba, an online collaboration and presentation tool.

Thursday, November 12 Noon – 1 p.m.
Digital Literacy Skills for Faculty and Students
Co-presented by Valerie Shapko, Sr. Instructional Design Specialist and Tracey Mac Gowan, Instructional Design Specialist, College of Professional Education

Being digitally literate encompasses much more than just technology. This type of literacy requires the skills to take in, crunch, seek, find and create with technology in thoughtful and discerning ways. The digital landscape is changing the way students connect socially and professionally, seek out and use content, read, explore, write and understand their world. What do these changes mean for how we teach and who we are as teachers? What benefits and challenges do instructors face as they enter the rich and often overwhelming world of digital tools, global connectivity and a planet’s worth of information just a mouse-click away? How does an instructor make informed choices for using digital tools for teaching and learning? How can instructors use technology to accomplish their course learning objectives and help students become more mindful, discerning and literate regarding the digital landscape? Join us as we explore these issues and possible solutions.

To attend, you must Register. The registration deadline is Tuesday, November 10 at 11:45 p.m. If you register, you will be sent your log-in information prior to the event.

Please visit http://www.twu.edu/de/development.asp for more details on other upcoming professional development opportunities.

15th Annual Sloan-C Conference, Andrew Keen

2009-11-02T14:10:00.000-06:00

Last week I traveled to the 15th Annual Sloan-C Conference in sunny Orlando, Florida. It was a great conference with plenty of sessions to choose from. The only drawback was that the sessions were about 35 minutes long, so the presenters were racing to get through their information with little time for any real discussion; seemed to me to be somewhat like speed-dating.
The theme for me was faculty development for the online environment. It was very interesting to put side-by-side what we here in Distance Education at Texas Woman’s University are doing compared to the other institutions. Without prejudice, I believe we are much further along in our delivery of faculty development programs and service we are able to offer our faculty.
I was most intrigued by the Thursday morning breakfast speaker Andrew Keen. Keen, a British Entrepreneur who has dabbled in and around Silicon Valley, has become a mouthpiece for the concerns of Web 2.0 and the negative effects on our culture and authority. An interesting analogy was painted of the rise of the Internet and the 1960’s rise of the Hippie culture and a mistrust of one’s government ideology. I almost felt I was in the presence of the Ralph Nader of the Internet; the scary thing is I couldn’t really argue any of his points. The broad highway of the Internet does have a ditch on most sides and we are the ones that need to monitor this landscape of all edges and no center.
If you want to know more about Andrew Keen check out his Blog and Web Site at http://andrewkeen.typepad.com/ajkeenspeaking/bio.html.

Texas Blackboard Users Group is next week!

2009-10-06T10:51:00.004-05:00

It's not too late to register! Head to Nacogdoches for the 2009 Texas Blackboard Users Group conference October 14 - 16. This year's theme is "The Best of the Old; The Best of the New."

Preconference sessions are on the 14 at Stephen F. Austin State University and are $60 each. That price includes a box lunch. These workshops have a limited registration and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The main conference is at the Hotel Fredonia and the registration is $250. That includes:
1. Vendor reception on Wednesday evening
2. All Break-out sessions on Thursday and Friday
3. Keynote presentations
4. Breakfast on Thursday and Friday
5. Lunch on Thursday and Friday6. Party on Thursday evening

For more information on speakers, the program and to register, go to the TBUG website.

It will be a great time!

The Power of a Healthy Woman Symposium

2009-09-11T17:00:00.004-05:00

September 19, 2009 8:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Texas Woman's University MCL Building Auditorium Denton, Texas
Register Online
Information About the Symposium

Symposium Overview
The purpose of this symposium is to increase knowledge of health risks among women over the age of 18. The intent is to raise early awareness among young women for disease prevention and health promotion. The speakers will provide valuable tools, specific to women, that ease incorporating daily wellness strategies in the areas of healthy eating, stress management, and financial health.

Who Should Attend
Women over the age of 18

Registration Fee
Registration fee will be $15 per person until September 10, 2009. After this date, the registration fee will be $20. Registration deadline is September 16, 2009. On-site registration will be accepted on a space available basis only.

Contact Us
If you have questions, contact Texas Woman's University Office of Lifelong Learning at 940.898.3408 or email lifelonginfo@twu.edu

A review from the Online Educator Symposium

2009-09-08T15:59:00.002-05:00

If you couldn’t attend the Online Educator Symposium on August 27, you missed 34 presenters with some awesome information for the online learning environment. Dr. Stankey kicked it off with some animated opening remarks to inspire us, and for the next seven hours faculty, staff and students presented in workshops what has been successful for them in the online classroom to enhance the online learning experience. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Ron Carriveau from University of North Texas fed us some food for thought on assessment and measurement to use in the classroom that was effective and amazingly easy to understand.

I led a workshop on how to navigate through the murky waters of utilizing sights and sounds in the choppy sea of Blackboard. I thought I would re-cap some of the information that seemed to be important to the attendees of the presentation.

First, consider the goal of the lesson or concept that you feel would be improved upon by using a visual or audio file. Non-text items can go a long way to improve upon the text you provide, but one size does not fit all – there are many reasons a picture or diagram will have more impact than a video. Once you have decided on a delivery mode, let’s look at how to get the most bang for the buck.

Images appear larger on the monitor than in real life! Somewhat like your side-view mirror in the car, images on the computer monitor seem to supersize when we insert them into an application. Even though you can resize them with the sizing handles in many applications, this does not make the file size smaller, and we are many times placing a large file where we could easily get the same performance with a fraction of the file size. Use a simple photo editor that is already on your computer such as Paint, or you can use the tools in PowerPoint to reduce the file size and make opening the files easier and faster for your students.

Audio files are usually not a problem if they were produced on your computer to begin with or if you are linking to an external site where the files reside. Most audio files are compressed to play on the computer and use technology that does not require an extended download time. If you have a file that was not created on a computer and needs to be converted to a user-friendly format, there are many audio convertor programs available to use on the Internet, and I can help you decide on one that is right for you.

Video is where most folks get into trouble with large files and uploading and downloading issues. Or the other common issue is in not knowing how to find material to use that is acceptable and meets copyright compliance. With the ever expanding reach of the Internet, I am constantly amazed at the resources that are freely available for users to use free or link to. Sites like YouTube, TeacherTube and TeachersDomain are great sites for educational resources, free for anyone to link to for extra material. Video solutions are many but still confusing for the majority of the population. Video production from the desktop has come a long way with free applications like Jing, a tool that allows you to narrate screen captures from your desktop and post to a free account for your students.

We are always happy to help explore possible solutions to your audio/visual questions. Please email or call our office for more information.

Fall 2009 DE Faculty Development Opportunities

2009-09-02T16:08:00.002-05:00

Welcome back Distance Education Faculty! We hope you enjoyed your summer and are ready for another semester. Below is information about our development offerings for the fall. Please take a few minutes to read this information and mark your calendars to join us online for another round of Live, Desktop Presentations! These will be conducted in Wimba, an online collaboration and presentation tool. Registration information and more details about each presentation will be coming soon!

PowerPoint’s Place in the Online Course
September 18 / 10 a.m.

Testing for the Online Course
October 12 / 11 a.m.

Digital Literacy Skills for Faculty and Students
November 12 / 12 p.m.

Critical Thinking Activities
December 9 / 1 p.m.

Check out the DE Faculty Development Webpage for more information about these and other events!

Third Annual Online Educator Symposium

2009-08-03T14:02:00.001-05:00

Thursday, August 27, 2009
Denton, Dallas (Parkland) & Houston!
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Schedule of Events
Register for the Third Annual Online Educator Symposium

Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Ron Carriveau, Assessment and Measurement Specialist for the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment, and Redesign at UNT. His presentation will be given in Denton and videoconferenced to Dallas and Houston.

Along with Dr. Carriveau's presentation, this year’s OES is going to be a collaborative showcase of all of TWU’s extraordinary online courses and the people that make them happen!

Why should you attend? The OES is...

an excellent opportunity to learn more about teaching online.
a prime venue to learn about distance education initiatives at TWU.
a great way to network and reconnect with colleagues.
one more way to get in some professional development.

What can you do now?
Register for the Third Annual Online Educator Symposium

Third Annual Online Educator Symposium

2009-06-23T16:57:00.002-05:00

Thursday, August 27, 2009
Denton, Dallas (Parkland) & Houston

Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Ron Carriveau*, Assessment and Measurement Specialist for the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment, and Redesign at UNT. His presentation will be given in Denton and videoconferenced to Dallas and Houston.

We also want to invite you to submit a presentation proposal for the concurrent sessions. If your proposal is accepted, you’ll have the opportunity to present on your own campus face-to-face, to all three sites at once through videoconferencing or online using synchronous presentation technology! This year’s OES is going to be a collaborative showcase of all TWU’s extraordinary online courses and the people that make them happen! Hurry – the proposal deadline is July 1!

For more information and to submit a proposal, please visit http://www.twu.edu/de/special-events.asp

* Tentative

Call for Proposals for the 2009 TBUG Conference

2009-06-23T16:27:00.004-05:00

2009 Texas Blackboard Users Group
October 14-16, 2009 in historic Nacogdoches, TX

The annual T-BUG conference is a unique opportunity for Blackboard users to discover, discuss, learn, and share best practices in using the Blackboard learning management system. This year’s conference theme is “The Best of the Old, The Best of the New” and will encourage attendees to explore and utilize the very best of proven pedagogy and technologies and the very best of innovative pedagogy and technologies.

We encourage you to participate in the conference as a break-out session presenter! All break-out sessions will be 50 minutes long, including 15 minutes for questions and answers. Presentations should be designed to encourage audience interaction. Breakout sessions are organized along these tracks:

Teaching and Learning
Professional Development
Support
Administration

If you are interested in presenting, please visit www.t-bug.org/Proposals.html for more information and a submission form.

Mini Reading Club Invite: The Courage to Teach, by Parker J. Palmer

2009-06-09T16:31:00.004-05:00

I know that all of us are unbelievably busy! Between work and home life, there is often little time to relax and reflect. However, I believe that taking some time to rejuvenate your intellect is a beneficial task! And, one of the things that never fails to motivate me is a good book.

I'd like to invite anyone interested to read The Courage to Teach along with me. Last year, a friend loaned me a copy of Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (also by Palmer), and I found it to be a timely and appropriate recommendation. Palmer is very good at explaining and providing examples of how to connect our internal lives with our professional lives. Through this process of connection, I think that we all become more complete and conscious individuals on a daily basis, and this can manifest itself as more self-confidence and engagement with our profession.

So, please join me over the next few weeks in examining some of the more interesting and relevant ideas that I find in this text! Comments are welcome and encouraged!

Useful Online Links to Help in Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom or Online

2009-03-20T09:12:00.000-06:00

With the ever changing Internet and the availability of information, images, audio, and video it is hard to determine sometimes what can be considered fair use for educational purposes. I have looked at several helpful sites that Stephany Compton sent me and wanted to pass them along to you.
The first website is the KOCE Classroom from PBS at http://www.koce.org/classroom/copyright.htm. A clean site that is very simple to navigate to just the right area you want to find. The KOCE site has streaming videos as well as PDF downloads of guidelines for teachers and checklists for different copyright scenarios. They also have a copyright Quiz to test your knowledge. See how well you do! http://www.koce.org/classroom/pdfs/copyrtQuiz.pdf.
The next website is from Baruch College and has a great interactive flash guide to using copyrighted media for your course: http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/copyright/.
The interactive guide will cover the use of audio, images, and video in your courses. It has complete information on how to obtain permission for copyrighted items and how to use copyrighted items in a F2F or online course. The interactive guide comes complete with a robust set of tools that include a brief copyright history, common faculty scenarios, and resources for supplemental materials, reference guides and helpful links to assist you as you learn more about copyright issues.

Houston DE Faculty - Online Pedagogical Techniques workshop

2008-12-18T14:29:00.002-06:00

Houston Faculty who are teaching online this spring...

Register today for this face-to-face workshop at the TWU Houston campus!

Online Pedagogical Techniques
Thursday, January 15
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
IHSH 4115

Session Objectives:
1. Increase skills for utilizing Blackboard for teaching and learning
2. Increase skills for managing and moderating Discussion Boards (DBs), providing feedback, and promoting communication with students and instructor
3. Be able to manage tests, pools, and solve common problems associated with tests and assignments
4. Increase skills for basic course design, build and management
5. Promotion of good practices for communication and feedback.

Have questions? Contact Valerie Shapko.

Space is limited! Register today!

Trainings for TWU Distance Education Adjuncts and TAs

2008-12-16T16:21:00.002-06:00

TWU adjuncts and TAs who teach online,

Prepare for the spring semester with these face-to-face trainings.
The Blackboard and Blackboard Advanced trainings have two sessions to choose from. For more information, or to register, please click here.

Teaching and Learning with Blackboard
Friday, January 16, 2009
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
ASB 211

Teaching and Learning with Blackboard Advanced
Friday, January 16, 2009
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
ASB 105

Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0
Friday, January 16, 2009
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
STOD 308

Teaching and Learning with Blackboard
Saturday, January 17, 2009
8:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
ASB 211

Teaching and Learning with Blackboard Advanced
Saturday, January 17, 2009
8:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
ASB 105

Space is limited! Register today!

How to stay informed of upcoming, DE Faculty events

2008-12-12T11:38:00.003-06:00

· Email from Distance Education – Don’t ignore these emails that come from Distance Education! They really do contain important announcements about upcoming workshops and development opportunities. Please make sure these emails are not going to your junk-mail/spam folder.

· DE Faculty Website - http://www.twu.edu/de/faculty.asp. Bookmark this page and check it periodically for upcoming events, new resources and professional development opportunities.

· The Online Instructor Blog - http://theonlineinstructor.blogspot.com/. This blog is designed just for DE Faculty at TWU! The posts will be not only about upcoming events but also helpful tips and tricks on how to make your online class even better than it already is! You can subscribe to it, so that anytime a new post is made, you are notified.

· TWU Calendar of Events - http://www.twu.edu/cal_default.asp. This is a University-wide resource that lists events from a variety of departments. Distance Education posts all of its workshops and events here, so be sure to check it periodically.

· Look for the Logo - All of our emails and any print pieces we send out will have our Distance Education logo:

23 Things for Learning - Post #6

2008-11-20T15:00:00.006-06:00

#12 thing Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a copyright license that allows us to choose to share intellectual property. By acknowledging the original authors, they have given permission for you to share. Watch a short video on CC here:
http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/wannaworktogether/wannaworktogether.mov
One place for good information about what's going on with the Creative Commons is Lawrence Lessig's blog. Lawrence Lessig is one of the Creative Commons developers and a Stanford University professor."

Search Creative Commons http://search.creativecommons.org/. This search will help you find photos, music, text, books, educational material, and more that is free to share or build upon utilizing Creative Commons enabled search services at Google, Yahoo!, and Flickr. Find some content that you would like to post on your blog. Create a blog post with your find. Be sure and include the correct CC Marker on the post (the same attribution that is on the original materials.)

#13 thing Take a look at an online productivity word processing tool

One major benefit to web-based applications is that they eliminate the need to worry about different software versions or file types as you email documents or move from PC to PC. Another bonus is that they easily accommodate collaboration by allowing multiple users to edit the same file (with versioning) and provide users the ability to easily save and convert documents as multiple file types (including HTML and pdf). And, you can even use many of these tools, such as Zoho Writer and Google Docs to author and publish posts to your blog.

It’s this type of integration with other Web 2.0 tools that also makes web-based apps so appealing. For this thing, you are asked to take a look at a web-based word processing tool called Zoho Writer, create a simple document and then document your discoveries in your blog. If you are up to the challenge, you might even export your document as an HTML file or publish it through Zoho to your blog. With Zoho and web-based applications, the possibilities are endless.

Create a free account for yourself in Zoho Writer
Watch a tutorial

Video found at WeShow

Explore the site and create a test document or two.
Try out Zoho Writer’s features and create a blog post about your discoveries.
If you’re up for the challenge, try using Zoho’s publish options to post to your blog.

#14 Take a look at LibraryThing and catalog some of your favorite books.

Are you a booklover or cataloger at heart? Do you enjoy finding lost and forgotten gems on the shelf to read? Then LibraryThing may be just the tool for you. Developed for booklovers, this online tool not only allows you to easily create an online catalog of your own, it also connects you to other people who have similar libraries and reading tastes. Add a book to your catalog by just entering the title or connect with other users through your similar reading tastes. There are lots of ways to use LibraryThing. You can even view your books on a virtual shelf, add a widget to display titles that are in your catalog (see sidebar for sample), or install a LT Search box on your blog.

Students could create a LibraryThing catalog of your classroom library. This is also a great way to teach organization skills, sorting, cataloging, etc. You can have the students decide how to best organize those materials. Have your school teacher-librarian help explain why libraries catalog using the Dewey System. Create alternative systems and see how they work. This assignment can work at all grade levels; just create your lesson around the skill and ‘big idea’ level you’d like to work with. This lesson could also be used with CD titles. [In the old days, we used records for this assignment!]

Take a look around LibraryThing http://www.librarything.com/tour/ and create an account. http://www.librarything.com/
Add a least 5 books to your library.
Blog about your findings and be sure to link to your LibraryThing catalog. How popular were your books?

Managing Online Burnout: Tips #7-10

2008-11-13T22:42:00.004-06:00

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
Confucius

Below you will find some final tips for managing online burnout. Now that we are nearing the end of the semester, some of you may be already experiencing some of the symptoms I mentioned on Monday! Please feel free to add any other tips that might help faculty, staff, and administrators:

Tip #7: Take a break.
Back away from your monitor and do something that does not require use of your computer. Rest your eyes. Take a walk. File some papers. As hard as it may be, try to keep your weekends to yourself and to your family and/or friends. Otherwise, that feeling of “24/7” will begin to overwhelm you. You may also consider applying for faculty leave or taking a summer off if possible.

Tip #8: Use the resources available to help you.
More and more administrators are becoming aware of the time and effort it takes to produce a quality online course. If your plate is full, and you just never seem to find the time to concentrate on course development or skill building, talk to your Chair or Department Coordinator. He/she may be able to juggle your work load to accommodate for this request since quality course development benefits everyone involved. At the very least, work with one of our outstanding TWU instructional designers to help assist you with course development.

Tip #9: As Thoreau once wrote, “Simplify, simplify, simplify!”
Start by clarifying your job responsibilities and (if applicable) tenure requirements. Like all service-oriented professionals, we have a tendency to feel guilty about saying “no.” Because of this, we often have too much on our plate. Determining how much of those portions come from external demands and expectations and how much we put there ourselves is a critical step in reducing and eliminating burnout. In my case, I knew that I could not remain a program coordinator, teach two online classes (over 20), advise 12 doctoral and Masters students writing dissertations and theses, generate my own research and publications, run a community grant-funded program, and be a mom and a wife. My work units as junior faculty had climbed to 23! I had to pare down.

Tip #10: Don’t try to do everything at once.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by technology because it evolves at lightening speed. You may be feeling like you’re “constantly running” to stay up with the current trends. Keeping abreast of what is going on in E-learning is important, but don’t try to do more than you can handle. Often times, your students may not be ready, either. So take it one step at a time. Try incorporating a new tool once per semester (or year) and/or focus on quality of your design and instruction. Sometimes even the simplest of online courses (text-based) can be more effective than an online classroom that is “uber-tooled,” and chaotic.

To read more about conquering professional burn-out, link to some of the helpful resources below:

Understanding and Preventing Teacher Burn-out (Wood & McCarthy, 2002). http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-1/burnout.htm

Can’t Get No Satisfaction. (Senior, 2006).
http://nymag.com/news/features/24757/

Job Burn-out: Understand the symptoms and take action. (Mayoclinic.com, n.d.)
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/burnout/WL00062

More Strategies for Managing Online Burn-Out: Tips 4-6

2008-11-12T20:49:00.005-06:00

Tip #4: Collaborate!
Form a learning community with your fellow faculty and friends (even if it’s a small group), and meet at least once a month to dialog about your experiences, best practices, and E-learning literature. TWU has an Emerging Technology learning community that you may wish to join. It’s amazing what this hour can do for your spirit! Social support is essential for burn-out prevention. Working together, across disciplines, can reduce feelings of isolation and can even lead to vita-enhancing projects.

For example, two years ago, I was asked to lead a learning community focusing on E-learning. Aside from the social aspects of the activity, five of us from the group explored asynchronous audio communication, implemented it in our online classrooms, and facilitated a study which led to a recent publication in the Journal of Learning and Teaching Online at http://jolt.merlot.org/vol14no3/oomen-early_0908.htm

Increasing interaction and collaboration may sound like "more work," but it actually can help you manage and even ease the load of grading, planning, creating--and even research! As your students interact and dialog using Web 2.0 tools, you don't have to keep downloading and printing out formal assignments. You can blend the informal with the formal. As you see and hear their responses, you are better able to asses whether they are really "getting it." Collaborating with peers, across disciplines, can also stimulate creative teaching strategies, increase your social support, and even help with course development. Form a learning community with your fellow faculty and friends (even if it’s a small group), and meet at least once a month to dialogue about your experiences, best practices, and E-learning literature. It’s amazing what this hour can do for your spirit! Social support is essential for burn-out prevention. Working together, across disciplines, can reduce feelings of isolation and can even lead to vita-enhancing projects.

Tip #5: Establish boundaries but keep your social presence.
To reduce the “24/7” feeling some of us experience, inform your students of days and times that you will be available for office hours (live) either in person, online chat or by phone. Also, consider asynchronous mechanisms of communication, such as a Q&A board that you check twice a week. .

Tip #6: Include informal, non graded assignments to stimulate discussion and increase learning comprehension.
This can also reduce the amount of grading required of the instructor, but allows the students to stay connected to the content. Self quizzes, online games (speak to one of our TWU instructional designers), web tutorials (ex: breast health quiz at http://www.komen.org), online chats, wikis, online scavenger hunts, digital story telling, and blogs are just a few tools used for informal application.

Managing Online Burnout: Tips 2-3

2008-11-11T09:16:00.012-06:00

As we continue our discussion of reducing burnout and reviving your online courseroom, consider tips 2 & 3 below. Please post your own ideas and experiences as well!

Tip #2: Try using some Web 2.0 tools!
If you want to reach a variety of learning styles, Web 2.0 technology is the way to go. There are a number of free and easy tools available at your fingertips and take less than 5 minutes to learn. While TWU provides a number of these tools through Learning Objects (included in every Blackboard online course shell), there are also number of innovative tools available on the internet. Some, by category, are listed below:

*Blogging: Try Blogger.com; Wordpress.com; Vox.com, and/or Blogspot.com

*Audio/Mp3 recorders (for leaving audio messages): Find a multiple of audio recorders for your computer (free) at http://www.freedownloadcenter.com (or http://www.Audacity.com (allows you to edit your audio files)

*Vodcasts: Include digital video in your online classroom to enhance your online discussions! Search ItunesU at http://www.itunes.com, Youtube (http://www.youtube.com), or Discovery Streaming
(http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm) for videos to share with
your students

*Wikis: Try out http://www.pbwiki.com or http://www.wikispaces.com. Or, try the wiki tool that is available to TWU faculty and staff through Blackboard.

*Social Networking: Are you familiar with Myspace or Facebook? Now you can establish your own “social network” that allows students from your class as well as others to stay in touch using Web 2.0 technology. For example, I have established a social network for all 3 sections of our Community Health class for students in Health Studies. All three sections are taught by 3 different instructors, but we meet on our Community Health Ning site to share video, blogs, photos, and dialog. To explore this in more detail, visit http://www.ning.com

Document Sharing: Allows students to peer review and share documents online. Try Google docs at http://www.google.com

Phone chats or webcasting: Try http://www.freeconference.com, http://www.Skype.com, http://www.centra.com, or http://www.Elluminate.com. Want to try out a webcast with your students? Contact your college's instructional designer for more information.

Podcasts: There thousands of helpful, free audio podcasts available for students to download on disciplines ranging from Anthropology to Zoology. Visit iTunes U (http://www.itunes.com),Podcastalley (http://www.podcastalley.com),and/or Yahoo podcasts (http://podcasts.yahoo.com).

Second Life: Take your class to the "4th Dimension" of learning through virtual simulation by touring the Second Life universe at http://www.Secondlife.com (TWU hosted a portion of the Annual Student Creative Arts and Research Symposium through this medium last year). Educators around the world are finding Second Life to be a powerful teaching tool.

Tip #3: Create a more “affective,” diverse environment.
As learning theory supports, the affective domain is just as important as the cognitive or psycho-motor. What rattles the soul can often stimulate the brain! This is true for online learning as well. Add in some “affective” type questions or assignments that allow for a range of answers and perspectives. Consider adding in some opinion-related questions, discussion topics, or field activities that allow students to share their own experiences. Avoid posing discussion questions that initiate only one possible answer. The students’ responses will grow stale if you don’t incite a diverse range of discussion topics. Students will feel less inclined and less enthused about logging in over time. This also gives the student a "voice" beyond what the textbook authors or experts in the field have to say.

To inject some “affective” interaction and rev up the discussion, try posting audio messages to the class as well as to individuals. This can be done by using a simple computer headset with microphone from Best Buy, Walmart, or Target, and your computer (or phone or voice recorder). Or, try some asynchronous and synchronous forms of group audio discussion by visiting Yack Pack (http://www.yackpack.com) or Voice thread (http://www.voicethread.com).

Want more tips? Tune in tomorrow for tips 4&5!

Burn-out and Online Instruction: Ten Tips to Revive Your Online Course and Yourself

2008-11-10T10:44:00.015-06:00

By Jody Oomen-Early, Ph.D., M.S, CHES

Feeling tired, drained and unmotivated when it comes to online instruction? The malaise you are experiencing might be a symptom of something I’ve deemed, “Online Burn-out.” This burnout can happen to any of us, no matter how many (or few) online courses we’ve taught or developed. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to remedy this condition, and hence the purpose of this blog. Over the next five days, I’ll share with you my own experience with “Online Burnout” and tips for reviving your class and yourself! I hope to also generate some discussion with all of you about your own experiences and insight.

How I "hit a wall" and bounced back

I’ve been teaching since 1991, and teaching online since 2001. E-learning has always been an incredible journey and “new frontier” for me; its invigorating and evolving—which is why I love it. I’ve always felt a certain sense of excitement when discussing E-learning philosophies, pedagogy, or instructional strategies with others, and creating active, energetic online classrooms. Applying technology to health education has offered me a unique path to walk in my field. So, it was disheartening for me to “ hit a wall” this past year when it came to my online instruction.

I don’t really know how or when it started. Things just started to feel really monotonous. I was tired. I couldn’t seem to get rid of that “always on” feeling, and I wasn’t exhibiting much enthusiasm with my online students. Pretty soon, I was “going through the motions” and not feeling much “E-motion” at all. It wasn’t long before this "virus" had spread to my students. My apathy was matched by my students’ lackluster discussion posts.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and I’ve learned that if you’re not careful, your discussion board (and your teaching performance) can slip into a coma. Without the energy and active facilitation of a motivated and engaged online instructor, a virtual classroom can become nothing more than a hitching post of vague responses posted by tired students who just want to “get it done” and log in just enough to get the assignments submitted. This was the complete opposite of the wellspring of constructivist dialogue and critical think that I had always envisioned for my online students. Hence, I began to realize I was suffering from some form of professional and online burnout and needed a remedy—for both me and my students’ sake.

Burnout is not recognized in the DSM-IV, so how do you treat it?

Unlike conditions such as depression or post traumatic stress, burnout is far less discussed. Perhaps this is because in our “achievement-oriented” society, no one wants to appear that they are giving less than their all? It’s not a condition described in the DSM-IV, so how do you treat it?

My first step toward reducing my burnout was attending the Sloan-C’s International Emerging Technologies Applications for Online Learning in Carefree, AZ. It re-lit my fire for online instruction and got me integrating some free and easy Web 2.0 tools, which really energized my online classroom and improved my dialogue and interaction with my students. It also inspired some research projects currently underway.

One of the biggest complaints about E-learning from both online instructors and students is that the online experience can seem impersonal or isolating. Over the years, I have heard from many faculty and students that online learning lacks the “affective” appeal that many face to face courses provide. I know for me, this was a factor that largely contributed to the burnout I was feeling. When I became “reconnected,” it was easy to get my students—and myself—engaged.

So what can advice can I offer you? Over the next 5 days, I’ll be offer ten tips that might help you re-energize your online classes and yourself. Please feel free to post your own ideas and experiences as well!

Tip #1: Expand your horizons

Try attending a conference, webinar, or workshop relating to E-learning. Delve into an E-learning journal or newsletter that can help you strengthen your online teaching skills, help you save time or better manage your workload, and spark ideas to apply to your own online courserooms.

E-learning Conferences, Workshops, and Webinars

While time is short for all of us, a conference on E-learning or even a simple 1-hour workshop or webcast can do wonders to spark your interest and motivation for online learning. Some of the most popular E-learning conferences include:

*Educause: One of the most preeminent associations relating to higher education and technology. Find out more about their annual conference by going to: http://www.educause.edu/

*The Sloan-C Annual Conference (in the Fall) and their Emerging
Technologies International Symposium (in the Spring). Find more information at http://www.sloan-c.org/

*E-learn 2009: An international conference sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Computers in Education (AACE). Learn more by visiting: http://www.aace.org/

*E-learning 2009: Sponsored by the Instructional Technology Council, this annual conference includes pre-conference workshops, keynote speakers, vendors exhibiting the latest e-learning technologies and services, and nearly 60 one-hour concurrent sessions. http://www.itcnetwork.org/

*3rd Annual Texas Educational Technology Research Symposium (in Austin in
Feb. 09): A venue for educational technology researchers and higher educational
professionals to share their expertise and research relating to E-learning. Find out
more at: http://www.tcea.org/convention/Symposium/Pages/default.aspx

*12th Annual Texas Distance Learning Association Conference (Corpus Christi, April 6th-9th): Includes pre-conference workshops, keynote speakers, vendors, and break-out sessions exhibiting the latest e-learning technologies and research for educators, administrators, and instructional designers.

Out of travel funds? Try a webinar!

*The Sloan-C, USDLA, and Magna Publications sponsor online webinars(synchronous and asynchronous) relating to E-learning and instruction. Visit http://www.magnapubs.com/, http://www.usdla.org/, or http://www.sloan-c.org/ to view a list of scheduled pod, vod, and webcasts. TWU has special rates relating to its membership with these organizations, and the Office of Lifelong Learning has offered several of these throughout the year. If you find one that interests you, email Dr. Keith Restine or Dr. Lynda Murphy to see if the presentation might be made available to TWU faculty and staff.

*TWU’s Online Teaching Symposium (TWU, Denton): The Office of Lifelong Learning and many of your fellow TWU faculty and staff facilitate this annual event (held during Faculty Development Week in the Fall) to help administrators, faculty, and staff learn more about E-learning and share best practices in the field.

Read all about it!

Keep current with the latest technologies, strategies, and
research by subscribing to one or some of the leading journals in the field or by
visiting open-source websites (such as Sloan-C) that publish on best practices.

Some popular journals relating to E-learning include:

*International Journal of E-Learning (IJEL)
*Journal of Online Learning and Teaching (JOLT)
*Online Classroom
*Innovate
*Academic Leader
*American Journal of Distance Education (AJDE)
*Journal of Technology and Teacher Education (JTATE)
*The Internet and Higher Education
*Journal of Interactive Learning Research
* Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE)
*E-learning-It Blog (http://elearning-it.blogspot.com/)
*The Online Instructor (TWU’s blog)

It's easy to justify our reluctance to attend continuing education opportunities related to E-learning, especially when technology may not seem directly related to our personal research interests or primary professional responsibilities. Time, of course, is always our most limited resource. However, taking even 10 minutes to look over a monthly periodical or "tune in" for a desktop, lunchtime webinar could be just what we need to restock our energy stores and find a better way to create, manage, and faciliate our online classrooms. This is a vital step to overcoming "Online Burnout" and why I have positioned it as my first tip.

I look forward to sharing more with you throughout the week. Please feel free to post your own suggestions as well as add to my list of conferences, webinars, and E-learning literature.

Making your online class accessible

2008-10-28T07:06:00.001-06:00

After attending the Texas BlackBoard Users Group (T-Bug) conference last week, I came back with lots of new grey matter fodder. But, the one that sticks out in my mind as an action item was the break-out panel on “Suggestions for Accessibility for Visually Impaired Students”. I have always promoted accessibility for any online material throughout my training career and felt I was rather concise and thorough about my information. Well, I found out that I was close but still had a lot to learn about some of the common uses of online tools that make web pages and Course Management Systems less than user friendly. I have l listed below the notes I gleaned from the panel:

• On images and animations give a detailed “alt” text to give a meaningful description for the reader. To illustrate: think of describing the item over the telephone to a friend.
• When the item is complex use a long description “alt” text page.
• Make hyperlink text that is specific to where the link is going instead of “click here”.
• Convert all PDF files where the text is seen as an image so the screen reader can translate the information. Scan PDF’s as text and not images.
• Don’t use frames within web pages.
• When using video make sure to have a transcript available and to have a note on what kind of player will be needed to play the media source. This will help the individual to know what player is needed and how to use the player.
• Scripting languages that are not supported by readers will need an alternative site to provide the information.
• Use "strong" and "em" tags instead of Bold and Italic when creating your web pages.
• Try to use tabs to navigate your site instead of mouse clicks.
• Do not use color as the singular indicator of different types of information.
The panel also played a typical web page through a screen reader named JAWS. It was the most confusing thing I had ever heard. Imagine looking at the source code for any web page and then hearing R2D2 on speed reading aloud to you! It definitely caught my attention and made me plan a trip to my university’s disability support services office to learn more on how to help our impaired students with their online learning courses.

Resources:

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI):
http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Histosoft validation software:
http://www.hisoftware.com/access/newvindex.html

U.S. General Services Administration IT access for Persons with Disabilities
http://www.gsa.gov/cita

Markup Validation Service
http://validator.w3.org

Texas Woman’s University Disability Services Support:
http://www.twu.edu/dss/

23 Things for Learning - Post #5

2008-10-24T13:06:00.004-05:00

# 11 thing - Let's Wiki

A wiki is a webpage that multiple people can edit. An example you may have heard of is Wikipedia: information may be added by its readers in a collaborative format. Another wiki is Project Gutenberg, the collection of free book texts. Many people collaborate to bring non-copyrighted material to Project Gutenberg. Here are a few more samples:

Anatowiki http://anatowiki.wetpaint.com/?t=anon
Welker’s Wikinomics http://welkerswikinomics.wetpaint.com/
Salute to Seuss http://salutetoseuss.wikispaces.com/
LearningLatinAmerica http://learninglatinamerica.wikispaces.com/
El Mundo Tarvin http://misstarvin.wetpaint.com/
Human Physiology http://physiwiki.wetpaint.com/
TWU ID http://twuid.pbwiki.com/

Wikis can be set up for personal reasons, too, including family genealogy projects, group vacation planning, and more. A wiki can support nearly any collaborative effort that requires updating a document or information.

Set up a wiki.

(Estimated time to complete: approximately 60-70 minutes)

There are several wikis you can use that are free and web-based. We’re going to use PBWiki, so go to http://pbwiki.com/.

Click on Create a Wiki (green button).

Fill out the form and click on the Create My Wiki button.
Follow instructions for checking email and confirming.
After confirming, keep your wiki “public” and then agree to the terms and follow the instructions for setup. (Scroll past the $$ wikis down to click No Thanks, just take me to my wiki).

You will go to a page that says: Welcome to PBwiki 2.0! Click on the EDIT tab.

Highlight everything in the window and delete it. Now you can start fresh.

Type in a question. It could be something like What are the barriers to student retention? or What is your favorite restaurant? or something like that. Just type a question.

Click the save button at the bottom of the entry.

To the right, click Create New Page.

Name the page My New Page, skip the choices, and then click on Create New Page.
On the new page, type your own answer to the question on your homepage, and click save.

Feel free to fiddle with the settings or create other pages. When you are done, click on the name of your wiki at the top left.
You must give someone access to your wiki to make it available for editing. If you are asked by someone else to grant access to your wiki, you’ll need the requester’s email address (the one they used to sign up for PB Wiki). You give them access in Settings, (located at far right of wiki page). Then it’s just like editing your own page.

There are some great videos on how to use pbwiki here: http://pbwiki.com/content/supportcenter

Blog it. This has been a very abbreviated introduction to wikis, but in your blog entry, be sure to share your thoughts on the process for setting up the wiki, whether or not you like it, whether or not you might find it useful. You might go back (above) and check out some of the example wikis shared. Be sure to include your wiki URL.

TBUG is on!

2008-10-16T15:37:00.003-05:00

The 2008 Texas Blackboard Users Group is about to be underway! Preconference sessions were held today at Houston Community College. The main conference officially kicks off tonight at the the vendor reception at 5:30. There will be appetizers and drawings for door prizes.

Representatives from Blackboard will give a presentation tomorrow at breakfast, then we will have a day full of sessions led by fellow Blackboard users (several of them from TWU!!!). Then, tomorrow night is the Night in the Bayou dinner party! The conference concludes on Saturday. You can check out the official schedule at http://www.t-bug.org.

If you are on your way, travel safely and get ready for a great conference!

Follow-up Materials from the Adjunct Webinars

2008-10-14T16:45:00.003-05:00

The Division of Academic Affairs offered two webinars that provided an opportunity to learn more about supporting adjuncts at TWU.

Training and Supporting Online Adjuncts: Practical Ideas
Featuring Dr. Kimberly Hardy, Dean of Instruction and Student Success for the Open Campus at Florida Community College at Jacksonville
Delivered by Magna Publications, Inc.
Thursday, September 25, 2008

Webinar Summary

Creating an online mentoring program
Helping adjuncts with development and preparation of courses
Meeting adjunct needs for technical support and assistance
Developing robust communication and information tools and forums
Creating adjunct tutorials
Building a community of learners among online adjuncts
Connecting offsite adjuncts to the campus
Establishing professional development opportunities

** If you were unable to attend the live webinar and would like to receive a copy of the handout, please contact the Office of Lifelong Learning at 8-1-3409.

Supporting Adjunct Faculty Online
Featuring Richard E. Lyons, Senior Consultant for Faculty Development Associates and Helen M. Burnstad, Director Emeritus of Staff and Organizational Development at Johnson County Community College (JCCC)Delivered by Academic Impressions
Thursday, October 2, 2008

Webinar Summary

Strategies for implementing a plan to support adjunct faculty
An appreciation of the advantages of online support for adjunct faculty
Strategies for development of online tools for supporting adjunct faculty

**Handouts from both of these webinars can be obtained by calling the Office of Lifelong Learning at 940-898-3409.

2008-10-06T21:45:00.001-05:00

I’m excited to be blogging this week on The Online Instructor. Today, I’d like to hopefully clear up some confusion regarding the designation of a degree program as distance education. I think that most faculty at TWU understand that a DE course is defined as one in which over 50% of the instruction is delivered electronically. Similarly, a DE degree program is one in which a majority of the courses are designated as distance education. However, before academic units can declare and begin to advertise all or part of their programs as DE, they must gain University—and possibly other—approvals, even if TWU already has degree authority to offer the program on campus. Please note the last part of that sentence. Just because the program is approved to be offered on campus doesn’t mean that the program can be offered electronically without approval.

This process is detailed in the TWU Policies and Procedures Manual at https://portal.twu.edu/policies/executive/distance_learning_policies_and_procedures.htm (login required). The requesting department must prepare a proposal and submit it to the Office of Lifelong Learning. This proposal will outline the need for the online program as well as describe student and faculty preparation and support services, the anticipated course rotation, and the requested budget. The proposal will be reviewed by the Office of Lifelong Learning, the Graduate Dean or the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies as appropriate, a representative of the TWU Curriculum Committee, and the Distance Education Advisory Committee. Finally the proposal will be submitted to the Provost.

If a partial degree is being proposed, the Provost’s approval is the final step. If the proposal is to create a full bachelor’s or master’s degree program, the Provost must submit the proposal to the TWU Board of Regents for final approval. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) are then notified of their decision. DE doctoral programs, upon approval by the Regents, must actually be reviewed and approved by the THECB. Again, this process is required even if the University already has degree authority. The THECB has a nice chart on their website detailing the requirements of full programs. It can be accessed at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/reports/PDF/1053.PDF.

If you or your unit is considering the offering of a DE program, please feel free to contact me in the Office of Lifelong Learning at 940/898-3409. I’ll be glad to go over the process and to set up a timeline for gaining the approvals. Since the Regents and the THECB only meet on certain dates during the year, it is important to start as soon as possible before the anticipated start date of the program.

Tests, Video, and Music Databases

2008-10-03T10:12:00.004-05:00

Learning Express Library - Provides aids for College Prep Tests (such as GRE), Math aids, and Grammar/Writing skills, including some e-books. Each student sets up their own account and remains in the system for a year.

"Learning Express Library is a comprehensive, interactive online learning platform of practice tests and tutorial course series designed to help students and adult learners succeed. There is immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and an individualized analysis of results."

Consumer Health Complete - Contains video and animation, short clips, and excellent quick viewing segments that can be used supplemental to discussion/lecture. Students may also find items to add to presentations.

"It is the single most comprehensive resource for consumer-oriented health content designed to support patients' information needs and foster an overall understanding of health-related topics. CHC covers all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine. This full-text database covers topics such as aging, cancer, diabetes, drugs & alcohol, fitness, nutrition & dietetics, children's health, men & women's health, etc."

Classical Music Library - Add music to your class or to your day by using this database.

"Classical Music Library is the world's largest multi-label database of Classical music recordings for listening and learning in libraries. The award-winning Classical Music Library's growing collection of 50,000-plus tracks for listening and searching is supplemented by extensive reference materials.

Classical Music Library includes recordings of music written from the earliest times (eg Gregorian Chant) to the present, including many contemporary composers. Repertoire ranges from vocal and choral music, to chamber, orchestral, solo instrumental, and opera."