Online The New Frontier
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Civility and
Professionalism
in in the Online
Classroom Issues for Faculty
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In 2009, there were 15.14 million
college students taking classes in F
to F classrooms.
By 2014 , there will be 5.14 million
taking classes F to F.
By 2014, there will be 18.65 million
students taking some classes
online.
By 2014, there will be 3.55 million
college students taking all their
course online.
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Outcomes for this Session
1. This is open dialogue. We learn from each other.
No one institution has all the answers. Do we even have all the
questions?
2. Provide some solutions and resources to create stronger online
environments.
3. Provide some best practices for online faculty.
4. Present actual online examples of behavior/ situations by faculty
and students (positive and negative). How would you react?
5. Would you do something different in your classroom after this
presentation?
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The Computer is Your Classroom
What are the fundamental differences
between a face to face classroom and
online classroom? Are there different
faculty responsibilities?
How can you make your classroom both
High Tech and High Touch?
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The One Click Phenomenon
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GROUNDHOG DAY- over and over again
Are you ready?
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The Role of the On-line Faculty Member
The faculty member is the main driver for success in the online
classroom
He or She:
1. Represents the institution
2. Facilitates learning and critical thinking in the online classroom
3. Sets the tone for all dialogue in the online classroom by
communicating expectations and setting a positive example of
those expectations
4. Manages and monitors all processes in the online classroom
5. Reacts to any behaviors that do not promote learning and/or
enhances the positive educational experience for the students.
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The Core Rules of Netiquette are
excerpted from the book
Netiquette by Virginia Shea. Click
on each rule for elaboration.
Introduction
Rule 1: Remember the Human
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior
online that you follow in real life
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
The Four A’s in Online Teaching
Content Authority
Accessible
Approachable
Accountable
Dr. Paula Shipper, September 2012
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Online Teaching Research
• Heuer and King (2004) identified specific roles that online
instructors can utilize to foster a sense of instructor
presence in their courses:
• Planner emphasizes course management including clarity
of expectations and technology troubleshooting;
• Modeling is used as a guide to model expected behaviors
and interactions;
• Coaching provides student encouragement, motivation,
and support
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Actual Faculty and Student Postings
You will view some best practices and
challenging dialogue and situations from the
online classroom.
These are actual communications/situations.
How would you react?
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Best Practices in Online Teaching
1. Setting the Tone - Expectations- Faculty
Introductions and Welcome ( could be specific
depending on the course )
2. Weekly Introduction and Weekly Wrap - up
3. “Less is Better”- Focus of the course should be on
the student and leaning outcomes, not the faculty. I
limit personal experiences and stories.
4. If I do have experience to share, I let the class
know of the information and insert in Doc Sharing
at a later date in the course.
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Setting the Tone in your Online Classroom
What are the Expectations?
Netiquette
Personal Introduction
Teaching Philosophy
Dear Class:
Welcome to ____Course. This is a course where sensitive information and ideas
will be discussed. Learning takes place when all parties involved engage in
respectful dialogue which includes : sharing , expressing , and challenging points
of view. Please note that all communications in this course are under the
jurisdiction of the Park University Student Code of Conduct and the Acceptable
Use Policy of the Information Technology Policies and Procedure document.
I ask that we respect all posts and ideas from both your professor and classmates.
All posts and course communications will be monitored regularly.
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Actual Faculty Posting
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Actual Faculty Response - Challenging Topic
Student, The issue is a very complex one, as you stated, and it has sparked
emotions from individuals on both sides of the issue. Not only is the main
issue complex, but the fact that a board of multiple individuals are involved
in the decision making process adds an additional layer of complexity. The
board vote forces each member to weigh their own values, the values of the
organization and they must also consider the values of their constituents.
Sounds a little like politics doesn't it? The issue is deep-rooted, based upon
the Boy Scouts founding values and beliefs, their main support network is
usually tied to faith-based organizations (logistically and financially) and they
are facing a great amount of political pressure from both sides of the issue. It
seems very governmental, even though it is a non-governmental
organization. I think that it will be tough for the opposing parties to reach a
compromise because it seems like most people either agree or disagree with
their current policy (BSA). It will be interesting to hear what your peers think
about this issue.
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Student: Actual Classroom Examples
"I know that this assignment is all Bull S___, as I
know you won't read it anyway".
Well, on my assignment comments back to the
student, I indicated that he might very well be
right about the assignment; however, he was
totally wrong about the fact that I wouldn't read
it anyway.
What would you do?
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Student- Actual Example
If some of you got mad because I said the military can kiss my @## then get over
it! The military(Navy) screwed me over BIG time. They didn't do anything to my
spouse who was having an affair with someone aboard the ship in which we had proof
ie: pictures, phone bills and emails. The Navy knew that there was abuse going on in
my household and did nothing about it. My spouse and his mistress used my DL,
SSN and DOB and opened many CC and got cell phones in my name and I knew
nothing about them until after he was kicked out the Navy for going psycho on the
ship.
The Navy allowed him to financially run us in the ground to a debt of over $20K and
did nothing to punish him about anything he did.
Since he was kicked out the Navy in 2002 he has owed the Navy over $8K and they
tried to take my income tax for his debt. I had to get an attorney to fight to get my tax
return back, finally after 2 yrs I was able to get it back after proving that I wasn't the
one that owed the money.
As for having to stop on base when music is playing and face a flag and all that....we
worked from 5am to 1pm on tropical hours so we never were on the base at the times
that this happened.
There ya have it as to my reason of why the military can kiss my @##!
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Actual Student Posting
Real life situation that occurred in my Masters in
Adult Education Program
Surviving an Intruder
Faculty reaction- when to delete
Opportunity for assistance to the student
Do you have other similar examples?
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Faculty Weekly Wrap-up
Dear Class,
As we move onto Week Five, I wanted to express my appreciation for an excellent week of posts.
Some of my thoughts on the learning and engagement this week are :
• Thank- you for your candid and open sharing of many of your life histories and experiences.
• Technology has indeed affected all of us and many of us share a respect for its' power and also
realize the opportunities for negative affects on individuals and groups.
• Thank- you for being so open to learning about high and low context communication. I hope
this will be an added benefit to all of you in your personal and professional endeavors.
• The book, The Alchemist, is a fable that tells the story of finding ones personal purpose and
meaning in life. No matter what stage I am in my life, I have used this book for personal
reflection and introspection.
• It is refreshing to see the amount of support and empathy you have all given to each other.
Having a small class has enabled all to share and learn from each other.
• Learning is a journey and I look forward to each week with you as we explore, question, and
challenge each other with a new topic concerning Adult Development. I look forward to the
last weeks in class together
Dr. Shipper
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Points to Ponder
• Concept of Anonymity in the Online Classroom
• Is there a difference in the Generations:
Generation X, Generation Y( the Millenniums)
Generation Z ( we discussed this at our previous
training ).
• What are the implications for both faculty and
students?
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New York Times- July 5, 2003
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Final Comments and Questions
• What practices do you have in
place to create a civil and
professional online classroom?
• Would you do anything
differently in your classroom after
this presentation?
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The Online
Classroom
The
opportunities
are
Infinite!
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