Putting your Course on the Web

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Putting your Course on the Web
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Types of Web Courses

• Web Presence
• Very basic
• Geared towards marketing
• Web-enhanced
• Distributes course material
• Alleviates administrative burden

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Types of Web Courses

• Web-Centric
• Significant use of the web to deliver content
• Supports communication between students
• Communication hub is moved to web
• Geographic/gathering strategies
• Web Course
• Primary communication medium is the web
• Physical contact is not involved
• Geographically separated students

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Different methods for moving to a web course

• E-mail and word-processing
• Add c.v. and syllabus to department web site
• Create own presence on the web
• Link to other sites
• Personalize page with pictures

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Different methods for moving to a web course

• Enhance your web presence
• Lecture notes
• Handouts
• Sample questions
• Use courseware to deliver material
• Blackboard
• WebCT
• Enhance with animations, simulations, video,etc

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Prepare yourself

• Determine type of web course/level
• Select method for delivering your content
• Learn about web-based teaching
• Become familiar with the software
• Create a course site, UserID and Password

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Prepare your materials

• Gather course materials
• Handouts
• Syllabus
• Overheads
• Lecture notes
• Discussion topics, etc
• Create measurable course objectives
• Digitize materials as necessary
• Accommodate various learners

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Use a book/course materials that are supported by
the web

• Weave materials into your course
• Book web sites have
• Tutorials
• Assignments
• Audio/video
• PowerPoint
• Book web sites are dynamically updated

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Determine how to deliver materials

• Determine which materials to put online and which
  to hand out in class
• Prepare materials for the web
• Do not add irrelevant materials to your site

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Build a course skeleton

• Build an organization within your site
• Use folders to group items
• Clearly label folders
• Create subfolders as necessary

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Add staff information

• Enter information about yourself
• Add information for teaching assistants or guest
  speakers

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Fill in the content

• Add content to your folders
• Provide a short description for each item
• Start out small and slowly add to the site
• Maintain a copy of materials on a local computer

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Incorporate the technology into other course
components

• Enter an entry in the discussion board
• Who they are
• Why they took the course
• What they expect to gain
• "Online Community"
• Add a new topic to the discussion board each week
• Add external web sites for virtual field trips

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Create an introductory announcement

• Post an introductory message

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Tips for making your course work

• Initial Class Meeting
• Syllabus
• Calendar
• Log on instructions
• Explain how course will work
• Have students log on
• Demonstrate how to accomplish various tasks
• Recommend video taping the session

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Tips for making your course work

• Online Communication
• At least weekly, send out or place an
  announcement
• Respond to e-mail promptly
• Have students e-mail every two weeks with their
  progress
• Have students participate in class discussions
• Monitoring student activity

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Tips for making your course work

• Diverse Instructional Material
• Video
• PowerPoint
• Lecture notes
• Links to Book web sites
• Online Course Evaluations

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Online Conferences

• Require Participation
• Set aside a portion of the grade for
  participation
• X number of posts per topic
• Grade on quality
• Make the activity interesting
• Don't settle for opinions
• Have students support opinions with data

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Online Conferences

• Structure the activity
• Require a hand-in assignment
• Something that summarizes the discussion
• Provide feedback on desired product

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Bibliography

• Blackboard. (1999). 10 Easy Steps to taking your
  Course Online.
• Boettcher, J. (Oct 1999). Another Look at the
  Tower of WWWebble. Syllabus.
• Child. J. (16 Jul 1999). How to put courses on
  the Web.
• Cooper, L. (March 2000). Online Course Tips for
  making them work. T.H.E. Journal.
• Klemm, W. (1999). Eight ways to get students more
  engaged in online conferences.