Troy University
eTROY Colloquium
April 17-18, 2012
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Designing and Delivering Courses That Engage
Learners
Anne Douglas, eTroy Instructional Design
Dr. Mac Adkins, Adjunct Faculty
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Theory
Application at Troy
Tools
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An experience is likely to be engaging if:
You experience some type of challenge.
You must make some decision.
You are allowed to explore.
You are allowed to make mistakes without being
disciplined.
◦ You have fun
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Shone, B.J., Twenty-Five Ways to Keep
Learners Awake and Intrigued,
eLearningPulse.com.
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What are some things in life that you consider
engaging?
◦ Post your ideas at
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/engageonline
◦ Double click anywhere to post a sticky note
◦ After you have posted refresh to see other posts or close
the browser and we will view the results later.
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Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and
Resources for Creating Instruction, Conrad &
Donaldson, 2004.
At one point during this session
we will ask a bonus question
and one person who answers
correctly will win a copy (hard
or electronic) of this book.
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Theory
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A 2010 qualitative study (Heyman) involving
20 distance education experts revealed these
three leading factors in online student
retention:
◦ Student Support and Student Connection with the
Institution.
◦ Quality of Engagement between Faculty and
Students.
◦ Student Self-Discipline.
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Educators should engage students early and
often, using different learning strategies
customized to the class content and the
students’ pre-existing knowledge.
◦ Angelino & Williams
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Learner
Learner
Learner
Learner
to
to
to
to
Faculty
Learner
Content
Interface
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This interaction can take the form of the
instructor delivering information,
encouraging the learner, or providing
feedback. Conversely, this interaction can
include the learner asking the instructor
questions or otherwise communicating with
the instructor regarding course activities.
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The exchange of information and ideas that
occurs among students about the course in
the presence or absence of the instructor.
This type of interaction can take the form of
group projects or group discussion. The
learner-learner interaction can foster learning
through student collaboration and knowledge
sharing.
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The method by which students obtain
information from the course materials. The
content can be in the form of text, audio or
videotape, CD-ROM, computer program,
online communication, etc.
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The actions conducted by a students as they
use the functionality of a learning
management system. The form of the
interface may vary depending on the device
(computer, phone, tablet) that the student is
using.
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Instructivist vs. Constructivist Design
Passive vs. Active
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Authentic activities have real world relevance:
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Authentic activities are ill-defined, requiring students to define
the tasks and sub-tasks needed to complete the activity:
Activities match as nearly as possible the real world tasks of
professionals in practice rather than decontextualized or
classroom based tasks.
Problems inherent in the activities are ill-defined and open to
multiple interpretations rather than easily solved by the
application of existing algorithms. Learners must identify their
own unique tasks and sub-tasks in order to complete the major
task.
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Authentic activities comprise complex tasks to be investigated by
students over a sustained period of time:
Activities are completed in days, weeks and months rather than
minutes or hours. They require significant investment of time
and intellectual resources.
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Authentic activities provide the opportunity for students to
examine the task from different perspectives, using a variety of
resources:
The task affords learners the opportunity to examine the
problem from a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives,
rather than allowing a single perspective that learners must
imitate to be successful. The use of a variety of resources rather
than a limited number of preselected references requires
students to detect relevant from irrelevant information.
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Authentic activities provide the opportunity to collaborate:
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Authentic activities provide the opportunity to reflect:
Collaboration is integral to the task, both within the course and
the real world, rather than achievable by an individual learner.
Activities need to enable learners to make choices and reflect on
their learning both individually and socially.
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Authentic activities are seamlessly integrated with assessment:
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Authentic activities create polished products valuable in their
own right rather than as preparation for something else:
Assessment of activities is seamlessly integrated with the major
task in a manner that reflects real world assessment, rather than
separate artificial assessment removed from the nature of the
task.
Activities culminate in the creation of a whole product rather
than an exercise or sub-step in preparation for something else.
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Authentic activities allow competing solutions and diversity of
outcome:
Activities allow a range and diversity of outcomes open to
multiple solutions of an original nature, rather than a single
correct response obtained by the application of rules and
procedures.
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First Generation – Correspondence Courses
◦ Print based, postal mail
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Second Generation – Multimedia Courses
◦ Print, audio tape, video tape
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Third Generation – Conferencing Courses
◦ Computer based learning, audio/video conferencing
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Forth Generation – Online Courses
◦ Learning management systems
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Fifth Generation? – Mobile Courses
◦ Phone, iPad, other mobile devices
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Learning through reflection
on doing
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How NOT To Engage Your Learners
Anyone?..
..Anyone?
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Starfish
Troy Online - An Introduction to Online Learning
course – first time online students are
concurrently registered
How eTroy Classes Work
Graduate Orientation
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EmergingEdTech.com
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YouTube.com (school or course channel)
TeacherTube.com
EduTube.org
SchoolTube.com
The Khan Academy.org – Over 2700 videos
◦ Monitor the videos your students are watching
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PowerPoint – Only use it if you have power
and a point.
SlideShare.net
Prezi.com – You have got to try this
Voki.com – Use a talking avatar to make your
point
Fotobabble.com – Create talking photos
Zoho.com – Like MS Office but free and online
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GoogleDocs – Group document editing
Wikis Dabbleboard.com – Free online whiteboard
Bubbl.us - Like an online white board
Virtual Worlds – SecondLife
Results of the Wall Wisher activity
◦ http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/engageonline
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Blogger – Google’s blogging tool
WordPress.com – Nice, graphical blogs
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Facebook – if you dare
Room21 – 21st century social learning
Edmodo – Feels like a Facebook just for you
and your students
ePals – For K-12
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Flip the classroom – Discuss now, lecture
later
Wimba
Elluminate
Sonic Foundry
Panopto CourseCast
Echo360
DyKnow Vision
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Polldaddy.com – Are they thinking what
you’re thinking TAKE A POLL NOW
http://poll.fm/3n0r0
SurveyMonkey.com
Doodle.com – Surveying or scheduling
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Funbrain.com
Discovery.com’s Games
National Geographic’s Games
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OER Commons.org
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Open Textbooks
Classroom management tools
Leadership in Education
Science as Inquiry
Art as Inquiry
Harvard University
◦ Open Learning Initiative – View lectures of Harvard
professors for free.
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Top 10 Apps for Teachers
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Quick Voice Recorder
Dropbox
Things for iPad – task manager
Discover – like an encyclopedia
Evernote
Pages for iPad
Numbers for iPad
Google Reader for iPad
Mobile Air Mouse – remote control for white board
Write Pad – handwriting converter
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Course content available when the student is
available – small chunks of time
Student services access at time of need
Live feedback capabilities
Alternate Internet access point –
when the cable modem goes out
Natural student-to-student
medium
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What are the four types of integration
discussed early in this presentation?
Email your answers to mac@troy.edu. I will
randomly draw one person from all correct
responses.
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Angelino & Williams, Strategies to Engage Online
Students and Reduce Attrition Rates, The Journal
of Educators Online, Vol. 4, N0. 2, 2007.
Heyman, E., Overcoming Student Retention Issues
in Higher Education Online Programs. Online
Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Vol.
13, No. 4, 2010.
Herrington & Reeves, Patterns of Engagement in
Authentic Learning Environments, Australian
Journal of Educational Technology, Vol. 19, No. 1,
2003
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Imraon, M., Effectiveness of Mobile Learning in
Distance Education. Turkish Online Journal of
Distance Education. Vol. 8, No. 4, 2007.