Post experience analysis of first wave adopters across disciplines

1
Post experience analysis offirst wave adopters
across disciplines

• Vicki Larabell
• Gerard Jozwiak

2
Background

• Creation of Information Technology Institute
  (ITI)
• Purchase of WebCT
• Oaklands online learning initiative
• RFP process, faculty incentives

3
Online Course offerings

• PS100 Arts Sciences
• AH101 Arts Sciences
• PSY100 Arts Sciences
• CSE125 School of Engineering
• ACC200 SBA
• ECN200 SBA
• MIS200 SBA
• HS201 Health Sciences
• PSY225 Arts Sciences
• Nursing473 School of Nursing

4
Miscellaneous facts

• Average course size 23, Nursing capped at 73
• First online teaching experience for all but one
  faculty
• 9 of ten faculty rated themselves comfortable
  or good with technology

• All 10 faculty Pioneers were tenured professors
• Three out of 10 faculty taught the same course in
  a face-to-face setting
• 8 of ten faculty met with students at least one
  time during semester, 7 met for exams

5
Survey responses

• Interviews and data from 9 of 10 instructors
• Taped conversations provided accurate quotes

6
What kind of preparation was involved in getting
this course ready?

• Learning to navigate WebCT
• Converting documents
• Learning HTML

7
What WebCT tools did you use?
8
What kind of services did you require of the
Institute?

• WebCT Training
• Document Conversion
• SQL/Cold Fusion Programming
• Web Page development
• Quiz setup

9
How would you rate the technical support?

• Ratings were good to excellent
• Suggested larger support staff
• Most courses were from scratch
• E-packs underused

10
Did you have a specific problem with WebCT, and
if so, how did you get it resolved?

• Repetitiveness of tool
• Quiz Tool
• File Conversions

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How would you rate WebCT as a course development
tool?

• Good, although too menu driven
• Too many buttons
• Look forward to improvements

12
If you used the discussion tool,what kind of
experience did you have with it?

• Students had to learn to respond to each other
• Discussion board time consuming
• Helped students shift from the lecturer centric
  mode

13
Did your students do any collaborative work in
your class?

• Some students didnt want to hear opinions of
  anyone but instructor
• Conditioned to lecturer centric model
• Collaboration increased when grade was involved

14
What was the biggest challenge to your students
in the online class?

• Lack of contact
• Coping with new technology
• Keeping up with the work
• Dealing with language obstacles

15
Did you receive any complaints from your students
about the online course?

• First two weeks technical issues
• Most resolved with minor troubleshooting
• Relative anonymity increased complaints

16
Did any of your students drop the course?

• Similar to normal attrition

17
Do you think that your students were prepared to
take an online class?

• Most were 80/20
• Some wanted less work for their money

18
Overall, do you think your students performed as
well in the online class as in a face-to-face?

• Mature students did better than younger
• Smaller class size helped quality
• Some questions about cheating

19
Did you change your teaching style when you
taught online? If so, in what ways?

• Most said yes, however many merely adjusted old
  style
• Reading student work increased workloads

20
How did teaching online differ from teaching face
to face?

• Complete different course rethink
• Increased workload
• Less flexibility
• Expectation of immediate response
• Whole new way of student learning

21
What was the biggest challenge to you in
teaching online?

• Additional preparation
• Lack of body language physical presence
• Lack of immediate feedback as to load/response to
  material

22
Do you remember a situation that really occupied
you for a few days? How did you attempt to
resolve it?

• Mostly technical
• Student led e-mail revolt on quiz issue
• Quality of student work

23
Would you teach another online class? If not,
will you discuss why?

• All were open to idea
• Four of nine still teach online courses
• Some favor hybrid classes
• One unsure because of preparation time

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If so, what would you do differently?

• Instructional design changes
• Decrease assignment and discussions
• More specific questions

25
What do you think are the most important skills
an instructor preparing to teach online needs to
have?

• Good computer skills
• Active thought of pedagogy
• Overcoming tendency to directly translate
  face-to-face

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The Present

• WebCT support staff also adjunct faculty
• Allows in the trenches experience with tool
• Able to devote more resource to problem
  resolution
• Better technical support
• Better vendor contact and response

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Faculty Activity Now

• Oakland University has 36 full online classes
• School of Nursing put their RN to BSN program
  completely online
• Library and Rhetoric in partnership offering
  WebCT modules.
• Over 100 Web supplemented Courses

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Faculty Support Now

• Workshops in WebCT
• Initiation of Certified Instructor program
• Instructional Designer added to staff
• One on One tutoring sessions
• Help desk staff and student support
• Outreach to students and faculty

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Thought for the dayAn ounce of image is worth a
pound of substance