Shelly Ives

The new evaluation methods I have really taken away from this is the Question Tools... Three clear points, three muddy points.  I was thinking they would make a great discussion board posting to count towards attendance. 

I definitely like the idea of the one-minute papers and muddiest point papers.  I plan to incorporate this to help drive my lecture and offer students additional materials for their learning. 

One thing I have learned is that we need to convert or Syllabus to be more dynamic.  Currently, it is flat and students need to download it to print if they wish to refer to it.  I will have to look into ways we can make it more like an ebook. 

We already have an institutional template that we use.  I have also tried incorporating the same types of assignments from course to course to allow students to build a repertoire of study tools to utilize for their certification exam they will need to pass upon completion of the program. 

Attrition Management is one I worry about often.  Especially if a student feels alienated, and I am unaware they feel that way until it too late.  Sometimes they do not participate openly in a synchronous environment, but asynchronously they do great.  How do we judge then?

One thing I found surprising was to place more emphasis on asynchronous discussions than on synchronous to teach critical course content. I felt like I needed more synchronous to teach more, but I am comforted that my asynchronous discussions are so important.   The other thing is preparing the student in advance for synchronous discussions.  I feel that our synchronous sessions are always rushed by trying to finish the lecture for them.  I will discuss with my teaching peers how we can fit this into our model. 

The thing I thought was most interesting was a general discussion forum for topics not related to the course.  I will definitely be talking with my department on how and if we want to incorporate such a thing.  

Honestly, most of this content was already known to me since I have been using multiple platforms to deliver online content.  It was nice to see it organized in this way to remind me the importance of each item.  The thing I struggle with the most at the beginning of a term is since I usually have first-time students is helping them with the technology component of the course.  Everyone has different types of technology and often I need to help students individually to find a way that works for them.  Sometimes I have to provide students with multiple learning… >>>

The biggest takeaway I got from this module is when preparing materials, keep in mind that an instructor doesn't need to reinvent the wheel.  This is a big deal for me as I get ideas and often can get carried away with wanting to do new things and change things. 

I learned that is is super important to make sure your text is understood as intended as body language will not be able to help a student determin your meaning.  Also to make sure to accept feedback and make the learning environment safe for everyone.