As we narrow in on the 25% completion deadline all of you should have received your textbooks by now. If you have not received your textbook please let me know and we will contact the publisher to see where it is at in the shipping process.
Now is about the time that you are likely thinking about assignments for the courses you are developing. I would like to encourage you to create rubrics for any assignments that you develop.
A rubric is a scoring guide that seeks to evaluate a student's performance based on the sum of a full range of criteria rather than a single numerical score. Many experts believe that rubrics improve students' end products and therefore increase learning. Here is a link to several articles that describe what rubrics are and uses a "chocolate chip cookie" to help give an example. Being as chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorites, I thought this article was a good one to pass along :-)
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods-and-management/rubrics/4522.html
Additionally, a couple of weeks ago Kelly Schmidt sent out this link as a great tool that helps create grading rubrics: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
The website offers specific examples for assignments in a variety of disciplines and also helps you design original rubrics based on the course and assignment type.
Happy Developing!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
May 12, 2008
Good Morning Developers,
You are all starting to get your developments underway and your textbooks should be arriving soon! At this time you are likely thinking about what new and exciting things you can bring into your developments. Might I suggest blogging as an option for a new way to integrate technology into online learning! Here is the link to the Wikipedia site that explains blogging very thoroughly:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
More and more instructors have been working blogs into their online courses and I would like to suggest an article from Online Classroom that talks about 13 ways to integrate blogging into the Web 2.0 classroom. Remember, to log into Online Classroom by going to www.magnapubs.com/licenses/suscribe.html Enter your individual email address and password as well as the other required information. Enter the following Voucher Code and PIN number where prompted:
You are all starting to get your developments underway and your textbooks should be arriving soon! At this time you are likely thinking about what new and exciting things you can bring into your developments. Might I suggest blogging as an option for a new way to integrate technology into online learning! Here is the link to the Wikipedia site that explains blogging very thoroughly:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog
More and more instructors have been working blogs into their online courses and I would like to suggest an article from Online Classroom that talks about 13 ways to integrate blogging into the Web 2.0 classroom. Remember, to log into Online Classroom by going to www.magnapubs.com/licenses/suscribe.html Enter your individual email address and password as well as the other required information. Enter the following Voucher Code and PIN number where prompted:
- Voucher Code: MSB
- PIN: 1010
Lastly, here is a link to the Top 100 Education Blogs that might be of interest to you: http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs
Happy Blogging!
Just a few housekeeping reminders:
- Your 25% completion date is June 2nd
- Please remember to save any document that you attach to your courses as a Word 97 - 2003 document. Not all students have upgraded their computers so they won't be able to open the file if it is saved in a different format
- If you would like to add audio to your courses but don't feel comfortable recording it yourself, simply send me a script and tell me where to put the audio, and I would be happy to record it for you!
Have a great week!
Monday, May 5, 2008
May 5th, 2008
Happy Cinco De Mayo!
We are now beginning the online development cycle for courses that will be available to be offered for Fall Quarter, 2008. Those of you that are developing this cycle have all developed courses before and feel comfotable with the development process. I would like to take this time just to send out a few reminders about online development to refresh your memories:
We are now beginning the online development cycle for courses that will be available to be offered for Fall Quarter, 2008. Those of you that are developing this cycle have all developed courses before and feel comfotable with the development process. I would like to take this time just to send out a few reminders about online development to refresh your memories:
- Please review the Online Development User's Guide. This guide contains best practices guidelines and provides great web links to give you development ideas.
- It is important to have external links in every unit. Students benefit greatly from being able to go to the web to get additional information on the topic that they are learning in a particular unit.
- A discussion board is required for every unit - even units 6 and 12.
- Have fun with your development! Because all of you have done online development before, really try and stretch yourself to be creative and implement some new ideas. Blogs, group work, and fun outside projects are great ways to keep a course fresh and interesting.
All of you should be getting your textbooks fairly soon. If you don't have your textbook by next week please let me know and I will contact the publisher for you. Additionally, if you have not yet returned your contracts please send them to me ASAP.
And now for an update regarding the popularity of online courses. As Globe University/Minnesota School of Business continues to work on getting more and more classes available through the online medium, I am happy to report that it looks like we are right on track. Here is a link to a press release from April 22 that states that the demand for online learning opportunities is growing by leaps and bounds!
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2008/4/prweb881074.htm
Have a great week!
Monday, April 21, 2008
April 21, 2008
Good Morning!
Our development cycle is winding down and we are down to 2 weeks left before the new courses are opened up for our peer advisers. If you have any concerns about completing your course on time please let me know ASAP. As you wind down on your development, please double check your courses to make sure that there are no spelling errors, that all of the assignments are consistent throughout the course (i.e. points add up in all places, assignments are titled the same in all places, etc.), and that there are external links in every unit. It is important to polish up the courses so that they are professional and error free.
I will be starting the hiring process for the next round of developments next week. Please let me know if you have an interest in working on any of the new developments listed below:
AG420: Commodities, Futures, Options
CJ280: Criminal Justice Exploration
HS400: Sales and Marketing of Fitness Programs
HS405: Online Coaching and Personal Training Skills
KY160: Legal Keyboarding and Transcription
MG450: Derivatives
NS135: Microbiology
NS140: Anatomy and Physiology I
NS150: Anatomy and Physiology II
NT340: Management of Information Technology
OA270: Medical Office Procedures II
SC320: Ethics in Information Technology
SD320: Project Management
XXXX: Political Science
Have a great week!
Our development cycle is winding down and we are down to 2 weeks left before the new courses are opened up for our peer advisers. If you have any concerns about completing your course on time please let me know ASAP. As you wind down on your development, please double check your courses to make sure that there are no spelling errors, that all of the assignments are consistent throughout the course (i.e. points add up in all places, assignments are titled the same in all places, etc.), and that there are external links in every unit. It is important to polish up the courses so that they are professional and error free.
I will be starting the hiring process for the next round of developments next week. Please let me know if you have an interest in working on any of the new developments listed below:
AG420: Commodities, Futures, Options
CJ280: Criminal Justice Exploration
HS400: Sales and Marketing of Fitness Programs
HS405: Online Coaching and Personal Training Skills
KY160: Legal Keyboarding and Transcription
MG450: Derivatives
NS135: Microbiology
NS140: Anatomy and Physiology I
NS150: Anatomy and Physiology II
NT340: Management of Information Technology
OA270: Medical Office Procedures II
SC320: Ethics in Information Technology
SD320: Project Management
XXXX: Political Science
Have a great week!
Monday, April 14, 2008
April 14, 2008
Good Morning Developers!
Today is the 75% completion date for your developments. I will be checking into your courses this week and giving you feedback on your development progress and answering any questions you might have. I also sent out the information about the Peer Advising process this morning via e-mail. Beginning May 5th peer advisors will be able to go into the courses you developed and provide you with constructive suggestions on your course shell.
I included you on the e-mail that I sent to the online instructors regarding peer advising and I would encourage you to take part in the peer advising process for a course you did not develop. It will give you insight into what the peer advisors will be looking for!
On May 11th I will be e-mailing you all of the feedback and at that time will have instructions on how to imcorporate the feedback into your course shell. Here are the questions the peer advisors will be answering:
Today is the 75% completion date for your developments. I will be checking into your courses this week and giving you feedback on your development progress and answering any questions you might have. I also sent out the information about the Peer Advising process this morning via e-mail. Beginning May 5th peer advisors will be able to go into the courses you developed and provide you with constructive suggestions on your course shell.
I included you on the e-mail that I sent to the online instructors regarding peer advising and I would encourage you to take part in the peer advising process for a course you did not develop. It will give you insight into what the peer advisors will be looking for!
On May 11th I will be e-mailing you all of the feedback and at that time will have instructions on how to imcorporate the feedback into your course shell. Here are the questions the peer advisors will be answering:
- Do you feel that the content in the course is written at the appropriate level?
- Is the course split into manageable segments?
- Are visual and auditory stimuli used to motivate students?
- Are appropriate supplementary resources made available as part of the course content?
- Does the use of technology enable critical reflection and analysis of content?
- Do the assignments/activities that require the use of technology clearly explain how technology is to be used by the students?
- Do you believe the instructional strategies employed in the course cause students to be effectively engaged with the course content?
- Do you bleieve the expectations defining or explaining required levels of student participation are clear?
- Do you believe there is a deliberate attempt to create a learning community through the following methods: Discussions, E-mail, Chat Rooms, Videoconferencing, Group Projects, or other collaborative activities?
- Do you believe the assessments/assignments in the course are aligned with the stated objectives/learning outcomes?
Monday, April 7, 2008
April 7, 2008
Good Morning!
Please remember that your 75% completion date is next Monday. I will be going into your courses at that time to check for completion and answer any questions you might have.
I would like to blog today on the importance of discussion boards. There has been a lot of research on the importance of building a learning community through threaded discussion boards. One of the main components for building a successful online course is to create an effective system for student interaction. This can be done through learning groups, team work, and threaded discussion boards. To accomplish a high level of interaction and overcome the isolation of online learning we need to have an engaging a thoughtful discussion board in every unit. Please take a look at the discussion boards you have developed for your courses. Not only should they engage the students in the course material, but they should allow the students to think beyond what they have read or learned in other places, and should allow the students to be able to interact respectfully with each other.
I have had people ask me if there should be a discussion board in the last unit of the course. The argument is that because it is the last unit of the course that students no longer need the learning community because the course is over. I strongly feel that it is important to finish a quarter in a manner that enables students to integrate and summarize course material at more complex levels and to increase retention of learning for application in later course work or living. Therefore, your discussion question should encourage students to recall what they have learned through the duration of the quarter and to comment on other students posts.
I look forward to seeing your progress in your courses next week!
Amy
Please remember that your 75% completion date is next Monday. I will be going into your courses at that time to check for completion and answer any questions you might have.
I would like to blog today on the importance of discussion boards. There has been a lot of research on the importance of building a learning community through threaded discussion boards. One of the main components for building a successful online course is to create an effective system for student interaction. This can be done through learning groups, team work, and threaded discussion boards. To accomplish a high level of interaction and overcome the isolation of online learning we need to have an engaging a thoughtful discussion board in every unit. Please take a look at the discussion boards you have developed for your courses. Not only should they engage the students in the course material, but they should allow the students to think beyond what they have read or learned in other places, and should allow the students to be able to interact respectfully with each other.
I have had people ask me if there should be a discussion board in the last unit of the course. The argument is that because it is the last unit of the course that students no longer need the learning community because the course is over. I strongly feel that it is important to finish a quarter in a manner that enables students to integrate and summarize course material at more complex levels and to increase retention of learning for application in later course work or living. Therefore, your discussion question should encourage students to recall what they have learned through the duration of the quarter and to comment on other students posts.
I look forward to seeing your progress in your courses next week!
Amy
April 1, 2008
Happy April!
This past week I received a question from an instructor wondering why it was so important to keep consistency in our courses. I told this instructor that course to course consistency is very important because with the amount of students who take courses at GU/MSB, it is important that the level of education they receive is consistent. We differ from a traditional university in that we are a career college and have guaraanteed to various career licensing agencies that students will meet specific outcomes in our courses. The majority of our instructors have not made a career out of teaching and often times still work full time in their area of specialty. They teach at a career college so that they can give back to the career field that they love and we have built the backbone of our college on the real world experience they bring into the classroom, it is invaluable to the students. However, as an accredited and licensed career college institution we need to make sure that the students are reaching specific outcomes that we have guaranteed to licensing agencies. Additionally, in the online world it can be quite complicated and time consuming to develop a course (as you all know!). Therefore, we have guaranteed quality when we use consistent course shells from quarter to quarter.
As a developer of online coursework what you will develop will be used over and over again in courses for many years to come. We appreciate the effort you put into your course development and I know that the future instructors of your course appreciate the thought, creativity, and time that you put into your course.
Have a great week!
This past week I received a question from an instructor wondering why it was so important to keep consistency in our courses. I told this instructor that course to course consistency is very important because with the amount of students who take courses at GU/MSB, it is important that the level of education they receive is consistent. We differ from a traditional university in that we are a career college and have guaraanteed to various career licensing agencies that students will meet specific outcomes in our courses. The majority of our instructors have not made a career out of teaching and often times still work full time in their area of specialty. They teach at a career college so that they can give back to the career field that they love and we have built the backbone of our college on the real world experience they bring into the classroom, it is invaluable to the students. However, as an accredited and licensed career college institution we need to make sure that the students are reaching specific outcomes that we have guaranteed to licensing agencies. Additionally, in the online world it can be quite complicated and time consuming to develop a course (as you all know!). Therefore, we have guaranteed quality when we use consistent course shells from quarter to quarter.
As a developer of online coursework what you will develop will be used over and over again in courses for many years to come. We appreciate the effort you put into your course development and I know that the future instructors of your course appreciate the thought, creativity, and time that you put into your course.
Have a great week!