SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 HowtoBuildThrivingg OnlineLearningCommunities SloanͲͲCInternationalConference Sloan onOnlineLearning November11,2011 ReneePfeiferͲLuckett KarenSkibba UniversityofWisconsinͲWhitewater Whoisintheroom? I t ti InstructionalDesigners&Technologists? lD i &T h l i t ? Instructors? Faculty Developers? FacultyDevelopers? Administrators? 1 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 BuildingLearningCommunitiesOnline Learningnetworks • Communitiesoflearnersled byinstructor(s) • Throughonlinenetworks • Workcollaboratively • Share&construct knowledge Canbe: Can be: – Asynchronous= “anytime/anyplace” – Synchronousmeans= “sametime/anyplace” BuildingCommunity Whyisitimportant,particularlyinan Why is it important particularly in an online/blendedcourse 2 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 WhyisitImportanttoBuildCommunity? • Increaseasenseof “weareallinthistogether” (instructorsandstudents) • Reducesocialisolationand alienationinanonlinecourse • Increasemotivation toparticipate • Increaselearningthrough socialinteraction • Minimizedropouts WhenCommunity IsLacking… Iftheseissuesarenot dd d addressed: • Dataon“retentionin onlinecourses” • Averagearound50% • Dataon“studentsuccess” • 20Ͳ50%lessthan faceͲtoͲface 80% 60% 40% 20% Online F2F 0% 3 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 CommonOnlineStudentComplaints: I ddon’t’t ffeell engagedd in i the th material. t i l The Instructor doesn’t answer questions quickly enough. I’m bored with the online course content. I’m confused & uncertain about Instructor expectations. I feel alone and in the company of strangers. strangers BuildCommunitytoMotivate! Studentswill: • Developaricherinterestincourse topics • Engageatapersonallevel • Harnesspeerpressure • Experiencesuccess Instructorwill: • Leverageonlineresourcesthatare notpracticalinafaceͲtoͲface p setting • Energizeyourteaching • Engagewithstudentsona “oneͲonͲone”level • Reduceuncertainty/stress 4 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 WhenCommunity Exists… Students: • Developaricherinterest D l i h i t t incoursetopics • Engageonapersonallevel &linktoexperience • Harnesspeerpressure • Experiencesuccess Instructor: • Engagewithstudentsona “oneͲonͲone”level • Showstudentsthatyoucareby providingfeedbackandsupport • Whenonline,gainsocial presencethattakesplacein faceͲtoͲfaceformat • Energizeyourteaching! WaystoBuild Community“Online” • Use“public”discussions • Providefeedback • Buildtrust • Encouragegroup learning • Makeitpersonal • Makeitsocial 5 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 TechnologiestoHelp BuildCommunity • LearningManagementSystem Ё Discussions Ё NewsItems Ё AssignmentFeedback • Audioandorvideoclips • Podcasting • Synchronouschat • Skype&InstantMessaging(IM) • Blogs • Wikis • DigitalStorytelling • VirtualWorlds • Other? Pointstoconsiderwhen choosingatechnology: 9Doesithelpachieveyour learningobjectives? 9Areyoucomfortableusing it?Areyourstudents? 9Isitsupportedbyyour university? i i ? 9Isiteasyforyourstudents touse?Download?Multiple logins? BeforeDay#1:SettingtheTone • BuildCommunitybeforethe coursestarts– planningiskey! • Sendapersonalnoteorletter toenrolledstudents • Openthecourseabitearly • Createawelcomevideo • Pay“extraattention”tothe first assignments firstassignments • Beconsistentinorganization • Havethefirst20Ͳ25%ofthe course“inthecan” 6 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 Day#1:StartBuildingCommunity Assignment#1: StudentSurvey • Gaugesophistication& comfortlevelwithonline education • Determinephysical distancefromcampus • Uncoverlikes&dislikesof onlinecourses • Determinebest synchronous“chat” times/days Assignment#2: “GettingtoKnowYou” • Includephoto(thisiskey) • Location&personal contactinformationis notrequired • Hobbies/interests • LowͲstakesdiscussion aboutthecoursetopic ThePowerofOnline “Threaded”Discussions • Mostimportantwaytobuildonline community • Everyonecancontribute • Monitorstudentthinkingprocesses andgaugetheirlevelofunderstanding • Createsatangiblerecordthatcanbe reviewed • “Anytime,anywhere”communication • Facilitatesknowledgebuildingby linkingtocoursecontent/concepts • Allowsforsharingofindividualand commonexperiences 7 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 BuildInteractionwithDiscussion •Tietoanobjective •Role of Instructor •RoleofInstructor •Tietoresources (ex=video) •Timeframe •Responselogistics UsingRubrics Whatisit? • Arubricisaprotocolforgrading. A rubric is a protocol for grading. • Itdescribes: —thecriticalcomponents (whatneedstobethere) —thescaleforeachcomponent (howiseachisrated) —Weightofeachcomponent g p Whyuseittobuildcommunity? • Expectationsclearlycommunicated • Studentsaredesperateforfeedback – helpsbuildrapportwithstudents. 8 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 SampleRubricandGrading forD2LDiscussionTopic Renee’sFiveTips… Tobuildapositiveonlinelearningcommunity: 1. Usevarietyoflearningmanagementsystemtools (discussionforum,survey,news,content,profile) 2. Contentshouldbewellorganized 3. Setconsistentdeadlines 4. Communicatefrequently 5. Buildrapportbetweenstudentsandyouthrough pp y g informaldiscussionforums 9 SloanͲCInternationalConference November11,2011 Karen’sFiveTips… Tobuildapositiveonlinelearningcommunityusinglearning management system and other technologies: managementsystemandothertechnologies: 1. Discussionforumsshouldbestructured(initialand responseposts) 2. Don’toverdotechnology(needaclearpurpose) 3. Choosetherighttoolbasedonthelearningobjective 4. Providepersonalfeedbackonassignments(rubrics) Provide personal feedback on assignments (rubrics) 5. Takeadvantageofcoursemanagementsystemtoprovide timelyfeedbackandassesshowitisgoing(survey,quiz feedback,dropboxfeedback,eͲmailtools) Tips?Questions?Comments? ContactInformation: ReneePfeiferͲLuckett Director [email protected] 262Ͳ472Ͳ7795 ReneePL KarenSkibba g p InstructionalDesignSpecialist [email protected] 262Ͳ472Ͳ3244 UniversityofWisconsinͲWhitewater LearningTechnologyCenter http://www.uww.edu/icit/ltc/ 10