Faculty who have considered teaching a course online are encouraged to explore the information provided below. Lifelong Learning and Ohio University Online can make the transition from a traditional classroom to online a is simple oone using the resources provided here.
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Your virtual classroom is housed in Blackboard. Lecture notes, course materials, and lessons are stored electronically. Students submit assignments through Blackboard. Assignments are retrieved and graded in Blackboard and grades can optionally be stored in Blackboard's grade book. Your Blackboard classroom will be set up similar to the way you currently lecture. There are many opportunities for you to interact with your students and you can optionally facilitate interaction among your students as they share ideas and work together on group projects. Interactive lessons, self-assessment quizzes, and multimedia come together seamlessly to engage students.
Term Based- OU Online offers term based courses that follow the regular quarter. Winter Intersession and Summer Sessions classes also follow the academic calendar. These courses are taught much the same way that you teach in a traditional classroom.
Self Paced- Independent and Distance Learning offers self paced courses. Students can begin a course at any time during the school year. They will work at their own pace during a 5 month period and may turn in assignments at any time. You will have students working at different points in the course, so materials will be static and remain the same for everyone.
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Teaching a course in Blackboard is very simple. We do not expect you to be able to design a Web page nor even to be a sophisticated user of the World Wide Web. Your commitment of time to the project is very important. If you have some experience with Web-page design, or some ideas about what you want to include in a Web-based course, we’d welcome your input as we begin the development process.
What students expect from an online instructor
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- Options for exams are: Proctored online, proctored paper, unproctored online, unproctored paper, or no exam.
- Lecture notes, PowerPoints, additional reading material, additional websites, audio and movie clips can be loaded into Blackboard for students to view. (Screen shot)
- OU Online staff will upload course material into Blackboard for you, or you can do this yourself if you feel comfortable.
- Students reply to each other on the online message board. Allows for classroom discussion. (Screen shot)
- Schedule a live chat where students can log on simultaneously and chat to each other in real time.(Screen shot)
- All assignments are stored in Blackboard for you to retrieve, grade, and return comments to students. (Screen shot)
- Assignments can be linked directly into Blackboard's gradebook. (Screen shot)
- Course materials can be saved and reloaded from quarter to quarter. They are easily editable if changes need to be made.
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Contact the Director of Administrative Support for instructions on the online course development approval process.
After you have received departmental approval you will meet with an Instructional Designer.
▪ Let us know how you currently teach (lecture, PowerPoint, group projects, discussions, activities).
▪ Gather a sample of the types of assignments and assessments you have.
▪ Consider breaking your materials down into units or lessons. We recommend about 10 units/lessons.
▪ Think of any multi media you'd like to try (video, audio, images and pictures).
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Create deadlines for assignments and deduct points for each day late. Otherwise students will wait and turn in all of their assignments in the last few days before finals.
Have a weekly assignment of some type to keep students on task and ensure that they log into Blackboard on a regular basis.
Create self-assessment quizzes to give your students an idea of where they should be in the course.
If a students asks a question regarding the course, email the entire class with the question and your response. These can also be posted in the "Announcements" section. More than one student will often have the same question. Re-evaluate the syllabus to be sure any questions that arrise are fully covered.
Facilitate interaction between students so they can compare ideas and their own work against that of other students. Open a discussion forum, even if it is not graded or required, for students who would like to communicate with their classmates.
Students dislike having their work returned as hardcopies. Provide as much information in electronic format as possible. Type comments rather than handwriting on hard copies. Students can not ask you what something says in person when they can not read your handwriting.
Do not make students print whole chapters of their reading material. Make up packets to buy or alternate a text book purchase. Some students do not have personal access to a printer and must pay for each sheet of paper used.
Provide feedback on each assignment. This is the interaction students expect in an online course to make up for the lack of personal class room experience. Become involved with the students by replying to emails and answering their questions thoroughly and in a timely manner.
Do not penalize students for ISP disconnections or power failure during tests. Even if a test is taken from a campus lab on a high speed connection, network errors can and have occurred. Proctors can confirm if a disconnection actually occurs during a test.
Make assignments due in the late evening rather than afternoon or early evening. Students also prefer Saturdays or Sundays for due dates because many of them hold jobs while attending school.
Do not assign points for each thread posted on a discussion forum. (Such as- You must reply to 5 postings this week for your 10 points.) Students feel cheated when their classmates post items with no thought involved, or repeating other people’s answers for the sake of posting something.
Return feedback before the next assignment is due and post all grades before finals. Provide an assessment rubric for assignments so the students will know how they will be graded.
Join our on-going discussion with other online faculty members. Let us know what has worked well for you, some advice for new faculty, or tips and suggestions. New online faculty are invited to post questions or ask for recommendations.
Requires a Faculty Oak ID and Password. Upon first log-in you will need to click Register and agree to the "Terms of Use".
A mock Blackboard site is available for preview. Not all functions are available. Working links include the course menu on the left side and the gradebook (from the control panel). View Blackboard preview.
Blackboard allows you to create a temporary sample course. You can explore the features and upload materials to get your feet wet. This is only a temporary course and students can not enroll into it.
Visit the CITL website for further Blackboard assistance.
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