Computer science faculty today face many pressures to integrate collaborative and cooperative learning approaches in courses, increase active participation by students in classes, and increase the participation of under-represented groups in computing. The pressures are many and varied and derive from many sources, such as the emphasis on team work.

Developing online courses take a lot more time than in class courses. One main reason I see when doing both is I know the content in a face to face and have 4 hours to replay it in real time. This can be done at the same time with PowerPoint, lectures, and hand outs. In an online class this must all be converted to a digital format and shared which takes more time and planning.

Many courses run multiple course shells. I know AIU used to have 2 different versions of each course to discourage passing information on, but this is where the TurnItIn feature is a great tool.

While each LMS has different bells and whistles, the same core structure and elements as well as rules apply to each. Which each may vary is where the data will be placed, and the available interaction options.

I am curious if anyone has ideas on how to get students to come to live chats? Are they tools you all use to encourage students to attend?

I have noticed that most students administer lurking (watching, but not engaging in, a discussion) during synchronous chats. What are ways to improve on the drawback? One of my strategies is to include interactive sessions during the chat session. This gives me the opportunity to get participants involved. Your thoughts?

This is a very interesting part of developing an online course because I teach a different online school and I am curious when you are developing a course how to do you keep the modules from getting overwhelming for the students. How do we keep structural integrity and navigational simplicity and keep a balance of how many modules are included in the course?

One of the students’ reflections in software testing course is the need for them to practice real hands on testing. This can be achieved by instructional designers incorporating real life software testing projects (dummy project) into the virtual classroom to enable hands on experience on software testing projects. This strategy will help integrate theory and practice and thus enhance students’ learning outcomes. Your thoughts?

An online student can sign on anywhere, and complete their lesson or test. No one knows if they have someone there helping them with the answers or even have someone else take an exam for them. Knowing this, what can be done in an online environment to lessen the instances of cheating? Jacquie

Hello, I am just starting out teaching mathematics online, but have been teaching mathematics at the university level for almost 5 years. I have been thinking about how to deliver a quality mathematics course online. Most of my experience has been that homework/assessments have been delivered via a platform like WebAssign/MyMathLab while content is delivered via something like Blackboard either using university supplied lectures or the videos on Kahn Academy. I think math is uniquely posed among the sciences for distance education because it doesn't need special equipment or labs. In fact it can be effectively taught using the above items and a 30 dollar graphics tablet. My experience so far is that the above is an effective translation of the classroom setting- lectures and homework. However, most of what I've had to do online is "clean up" consisting of giving access to students who went beyond their due date because of personal problems. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience really delivering a quality course where the students walked a way with a strong understanding of mathematical principles? Brian Stout

We need to be very careful about what media we choose. There are some gray areas about copyrights and what can be used and in what context.

I have used Jing for some of my courses to capture images or videos from my screen in order to share them with my students. It's a very user friendly technology that allows you to take screenshots and mark them up with arrows, pictures captions, or textboxes. Or, you can create videos up to five minutes in length; I make them when I want to record what I see on my screen as I navigate websites or documents, which works great if I want to create a narrated tutorial. Check it out at http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Maybe the students could be given a brief survey at the end of the first week of each course to assess how well they are navigating various components of the course. The instructional designers can use their feedback to make changes in the courses or create specific learning platform navigation tutorials.

Whether it’s online or on-ground both structural integrity and navigation simplicity is essential. The lack of structural integrity in an online environment can create chaos for the online learner. It is therefore incumbent on the instructor to ensure that the course (content) is designed to meet the need of the students, which includes the student ability to learn and apply these new skills. Without some logical sequence in the course materials, students would be unable to grasp the information (during the learning process) that the instructor is trying to convey. As a result, with appropriate structural integrity, the instructor can provide the appropriate student evaluation that is necessary to measure the course outcomes and the quality of the course content. Similarly, navigation simplicity is also essential in guiding the student through different areas of the course content. However, students--even for those who consider themselves “tech savvy”--should receive the appropriate training in the institution platform to ensure that they are familiar with and can locate the necessary course material/information. Inadequate training can lead to frustration for students and instructors who must spend unnecessary time teaching students how to navigate through the course materials.

I believe that your design of an online course should be in a linear approach. I believe that laying out the tasks by week or module is much more effective than trying to get your students to jump around the course. Walter Walter van Poollen 10-10-12

Lecture notes should be based upon what is in the exam. Exams should cover resources required to read by the students. The idea of an exam is to see how well the students are doing in a class and how well the instructor is teaching the concepts of the course material. This does not mean that the lecture notes have the answers for the question in the exam. Walter Walter van Poollen 10-10-12

I feel that chats are the most useful tool in an online class. This is the only time that an instructor can teach. By teaching, the students can learn by hearing the story and have the ability to ask question as they think of them. Walter

Once an online student myself, I believe that structural integrity of a program and navigational simplicity is essential for an active online learner eager to expand their knowledge for a specific topic. As "independent learners", a student should have the option to take the virtual tools and learn at their pace. There should also be an option for students who are less independent learners for a specific course study and prefer facilitation from the instructor. As an online instructor, it is essential that I maintain wide parameters meeting the teaching needs for my students. Having structural integrity and navigational simplicity allows for the student to adapt easier to an online environment and provides an avenue for scholastic success.

Navigational simplicity is very important. I want the students to be thinking about and working with the material rather than having to focus on on where to click. From personal experience having to work hard to figure wher to click gets in the way of thinking about the material. Cognitive dissonance I guess you would call it.

Teaching is a powerful position, and it is the responsibility of the instructor to serve as a role model for the students. I feel teaching is one of the toughest, but most rewarding, professions. It is my responsibility to allow, but aid, students to take responsibility for their own learning and help prepare them for a career in accounting. Student learning is enhanced when the students are actively engaged in the course and perceive the course as relevant to their personal and professional goals. My overall structure of the course depends on the course material and the students in the course. It is my responsibility as an instructor to determine the best delivery method to the students to aid in their understanding of the material and this varies depending on the level of the student, such as graduate vs. undergraduate. I perceive the role of instructors to help students actively engage in their own learning and to critically think about the subject matter before them.