I have had the opportunity of using a live lab to help my students with practical applications for their coding problems. At first, I was afraid of the technology, but after I did it for the first time I realize how important it was for them to get the understanding of the homework they had to complete by themselves. I don't know that online school facilitates having study groups when you are hundreds of miles from the students. If anyone knows how that works I would love to know!

This term I was given the task of a course that would be better served if it was presented onsite than online. It has been a challenge to me, as it has taken more initiative on my part to convey more information to the students than what they are getting out of the online lecture and textbooks. I know that I will have to take what I did onsite and convert it so that my students can understand it without me standing overthem to help them through it. This is challenging, but not unobtainable. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have noticed that some students who have all of the work completed and maybe even ahead of the others are sometimes hard to motivate them to participate in a chat or live weblab. They feel that they know enough and don't want to participate. Any ideas?

I feel that the more detail an online course is the better chance that you as the instructor has to add your personability to your course. Instead of the course just being BC100 or whatever it is called, it then becomes Mr. or Mrs. So and So's class. The same passion you have teaching something onsite can be portrayed online when you are able to reach out to your students and meet their educational needs.

Do you have to be a technology whiz in order to be able develop online courses?

Online Students are adults with personal and professional obligations. Sometimes, some of these students ignore the realities of their situation and register for classes that they do not have enough time to participate in.

Class participation in my opinion, is crucial and an integral part to online learning. Many students for various reasons do not attend and/or participate in live chats. Also, many students do not participate on the discussions board (DB), and others submit their individual projects (IP) late.

The materials must be more practical and can be applied to real life.

I am interested in improving the application of exams in the eLearning arena to address the criticisms aimed at rigor in associated programs. What has been yoru experience with various classes, and how would you suggest removing subjectivity from grading, particularly for exams?

Hi Everyone -- I'd sure like to obtain ideas from other learners in this course about whether you think quizzes and exams are an absolutely necessary graded component of an online course. I see the utility of quizzes as self-assessments and ego-boosters, but I facilitate courses in an environment where, for the most part, quizzes and exams are not used at all for assessment of student learning. The emphasis at this particular institution is on "real-world deliverables" through which students demonstrate their learning by applying their ideas about course material to scenarios, cases, and other types of assignment instructions. What are your thoughts and experiences on the use of quizzes and exams in online courses? Thanks in advance for your input, Debra

Do you think it is a benefit to student teaching them how to install programming softwares in an addition to the course contents or leave them on there own to learn how to install the software?

Love this video clip Randy Nelson on Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age http://www.edutopia.org/randy-nelson-school-to-career-video. He says that now he wants to see the proof in portfolios rather than the promise of a resume. By having students create artifacts of their learning, we are helping them develop an ePortfolio to show potential employers.

I provide a lot of options for student to use Web 2.0 tools like Voicethread, Animoto, Voki, Flickr to do their assignments. What have you used?

Who is using mobile devices in their classes? see http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/communication-activities-using-mobile-devices/ for some example activities I used in my course.

I have been exploring MOOCs - which offers an even more dynamic, non-linear means for online and blended learning. Large universities such as MIT and Harvard have been using them. Here are some resources: MOOCs: a massive opportunity for higher education, or digital hype? - http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/aug/08/mooc-coursera-higher-education-investment MOOCs, Learning Points - http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2012/08/26/moocs-learning-points/ How do others see them fitting into the models that were discussed in this unit?

Before problems arise. Know what they may be. Reflect. Cite Advise.

Students must be poistively reinforced to produce original authentic analysis instead of cutting and pasting.

Give students the ways to improve and be positive!

I think intellectual interaction is not represented by a comprehensive final exam; especially not one online that does not include authentic performance. A comprehensive final exam might measure what they can remember until the exam is over but "intellectual INTERACTION"? I disagree.

An Invitation to Student Creativity Focusing on creativity in student assignments has been found to elicit a higher level of concept application with regard to making connections between diverse information and new contexts. Instead of asking a student about his/her previous class experience, some faculty members require a CREATIVE initial post. Here is an example from a class: MOST INSTRUCTORS ASK YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF UPON ENTERING A CLASS…WELL, SINCE I LIKE TO DO THINGS A BIT DIFFERENTLY, I AM GOING TO ASK FOR A VERY UNIQUE “HELLO” FROM YOU! WHAT IS YOUR MISSION STATEMENT? OK…I HEAR YOU OUT THERE…NO I AM NOT NUTS. COMPANIES HAVE MISSION STATEMENTS, SO DO PEOPLE. PLEASE SHARE YOUR SCHOLASTIC/PROFESSIONAL MISSION STATEMENT WITH THE CLASS. (Try to keep it around 50 words) I WILL START… MISSION STATEMENT FOR THE PROFESSOR I am an energetic, innovative and creative professor who seeks the same from her students. I will provide professional, comprehensive, and timely feedback to aid my students in their pursuit of lifelong knowledge and quality-enhancing skills. I seek to facilitate and foster an environment wherein the students are empowered to succeed. Some of you may think that it sounds like a posting for a singles ad, at least at the beginning, but from a faculty standpoint, this assignment does wonders. First issue that comes up: student posts the “normal” intro…hello! Guess what, this student may not READ anything that is posted...ALARMS should sound. On the flip side, the content of the introduction provides an insight into one’s creativity, abilities, and how much energy a student will expend in the class. At what level of Bloom’s taxonomy is s/he functioning? These postings are often quite telling. Other things that can be gained from the postings: grammar, spelling, development of an idea and logical thought, and tendency to COPY other people’s work. It is amazing how many students post an intro that is nearly identical to another. In the past, around 75% of the students who did this would plagiarize their first assignment. What is YOUR MISSION STATEMENT?