Bolstering the Presence of
Your Course on the Web
A workshop presented by
Scott Kollins, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology scott.kollins@wmich.edu
Paul Yelverton
McGraw Hill Inc.

Emerging issues in the use of webbased teaching methods
Barriers
•Resources
•Training
Pedagogical Issues
•Face-to-face interactions
•What is “attendance”
Necessity of adapting teaching technology
•Broadens boundaries of brick-and-mortar classroom
•Allows unprecedented flexibility/communication

Exploring the range of web-based teaching possibilities
Web-based course delivery can range from basic course home pages which may include the syllabus or other administrative information….

Exploring the range of web-based teaching possibilities
To fully interactive courses that include a range of possibilities for student and instructor interaction via the web...

Exploring the range of web-based teaching possibilities
A sample of the kinds of web-based features that can be incorporated into a course…
•Posting of important class information
•E-mailing assignments and projects among students and the instructor
•Bulletin Board forums for students to discuss class issues
•Online Testing and Quizzing
•Online class management (grading, feedback, database management)
•Interactive Lecture Notes or PowerPoint lecture slides
•Chat rooms

Getting started with your own course web page
Demonstration of PageOut by Paul Yelverton

Using Technology to Add a New
Dimension to Your Course
A workshop presented by
Scott Kollins, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology scott.kollins@wmich.edu
Paul Yelverton
McGraw Hill Inc.

Teaching Technologies
Existing Technologies
•PowerPoint Lecture Presentation
•Use of Electronic Mail
•Use of Web-Based Instructional Tools
Emerging Technologies
•Interactive Instructional Material (for student and teacher)
•Distance Teaching Advances--The Global Classroom

Teaching Technologies--Accessibility
Emerging Existing technology
Producers of instructional materials are incorporating technology into their products…
Santrock, J.W. (2000). Children, 6th Edition . McGraw Hill.
•Textbook
•PowerPoint Slides
•Downloadable Handouts
•Image Banks
•Student Resources

Teaching Technologies--A case study
Implementation Issues
•
Initial development
• Maintenance
• Time involvement
• Student help
Data
•
Usage
•
30,000+ site hits (median #/student: 82.5; 25th percentile: 45; 75th percentile: 223)
• 620 Bulletin Board Hits
•
1689 emails to and from me alone
• 12 scheduled online study sessions plus several others that formed among students
•
Relation between usage and grades
• Correlation between hits and grade was modest but significant (r =
0.328)
•
Still working on other objective indices of instructional success

Teaching Technologies--A case study
Student Feedback and projected changes
• Likes and Dislikes
• “Online assignments and quizzes helped in the learning process…”
• “…I also appreciate the quizzes and web-assignments because I hate classes which are based on test scores alone.”
• “I found it difficult doing web assignments because I don’t own a computer. Next time you should take into consideration that every student might not have access to one.”
• “…it was assumed that we all had time (and wanted to) check the bulletin board every day! That’s not possible.”
•
Changes for subsequent semesters
•
Incorporate feedback
•
Incorporate results from assignments

Teaching Technologies--Issues
Instructors Will Face
Negative impact on the learning experience of the student?
Blurring boundaries (across Universities, courses, topics)?
Students with special needs?
Graduate versus Undergraduate courses?
Large versus small enrollment?