Mike Oden

Hybrid Schools / Blended Learning Classes are an important part of education in today's society.  These classes offer flexability, unlike traditional schools. 

I have attended a Traditional School and Hybrid Schools / Blended Learning.  The Traditional School was great when I was a teenagers to young adult, but as the years past and I decided to go back to school, the Traditional Classes were NOT an option for me, having a career, wife, child, house, etc. I had to seek other options. Hybrid Schools / Blended Learning Classes gave me the oppotunity to not only go back to school, but it… >>>

It's important to set guidelines for online discussions. The guidelines should be in the course syllabus and presented at the beginning of the course so students know what is expected of them when responding to questions or student comments. It's important that the guidelines are specific, length of responses, content, not repeating what has already been stated, etc.

It's important, as an online teacher, to "Understanding each other's views and values will allow different generations to increase their appreciation of one another. This, in turn, will lead to better communication and collaboration because people are now talking from a sense of appreciation and acknowledgement."

Good communication skills are very important to have and communicating in a classroom is different than communicating in an online class. This section has a lot of great information for communicating with your students and co-workers online.

It's important to make a "Code of Conduct" in your syllabus. You need to set up what the rule are for your online class and what the consequences will be if you break any of those rules. The "Code of Conduct" will also help the students communicate more effectively with each other and with the instructor.

As an instructor, it is important to know what technology tool is best for your class and to choose which tool that everyone can use and not to use too many tools. Using too many technology tools will only cause confusion and it overloads the communication process.

Classroom assessment techniques are an important part of being an online teacher. They are best described by:

• *Some material in this report is adapted from:
 Angelo, T.A. and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers, Second Edition, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
• This resource is adapted from original content by Lee Haugen, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Iowa State University.

"Classroom assessment techniques (CAT) are relatively quick and easy formative evaluation methods that help you check student understanding in “real time”. These formative evaluations provide information that can be used to modify/improve course content, adjust teaching… >>>

When a potential student signs up for a class, they may not be aware of how much work is involved in an online, active learning, class.  It is the responsibility of the instructor to outline this and time management skills, in the course syllabus. There should also be a question and answer area for the students to see the most FAQ's and to be able to ask additional questions about the course and clear up any misunderstanding about the course and the course requirements on the first day of their online class.  Students that are use to the "Traditional Teaching… >>>

"One of the biggest barriers in implementing active teaching techniques is the instructor's attitude."

This statement caught my interest from the start.  I have always found that the instructor's attitude is the most important thing in teaching in any classroom or in implementing new ideas/teaching techniques. I've seen this from both sides and everyone suffers. When an instructor is not willing to try new ideas and techniques everyone suffers and when the students are not being taught with the latest techniques and strategies, the students are not ready for the workforce. 

When going back to school, most students are not… >>>

I noticed in Class EL112, it touched briefly on Chickering and Gamson (1987), "Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education". It didn't go into detail, so I researched the "Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education".  I found each principle is very important.

In this class, i noticed that this class (CL113) touching into what the "Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" are. I find these Principles to be very important for online/undergraduate teaching.

1. encourages contact between student and faculty,
2. develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,
3. encourages active learning,
4. gives prompt feedback,
5. emphasizes time on task,
6. communicates high
… >>>