Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Of Distance Education
Before we start
 Who has taught on-line?
 Who uses the web in a traditional class?
 What are the biggest positives to
teaching an online course?
 What are the biggest negatives?
Interesting Facts
 Last year, almost 3.5 million college students
nationwide were taking at least one online
course representing nearly 20% of all U.S.
higher education students.
 In Ohio, almost 50,000 students were taking at
least one online course representing nearly
11% of all publicly educated Ohio
undergraduate students.
Why the
Increase in
Students in Distance
Classes?
Increase in Students in
Distance Classes
Attributed to
enrollment growth,
shrinking public funding for higher
education
student demand
need to improve access for non-traditional
students.
What are the
Types of
Distance Learning
Classes?
Types of Distance Courses
 Totally online courses
 Hybrid (or blended) courses where
students meet part of the time with a
faculty member and part time on their
own using the web as a resource
 Web-enhanced courses where faculty
make use of the web for the posting of
documents and online discussions
What are sound
Pedagogical
Components
of distance classes?
Pedagogical Components
 Best Practices for Online Education
 Pedagogy for Online Education
 Designing Online Content
 Providing Feedback to Online Students
 Active Learning
 Student Collaboration
Best Practices for Online
Education
 Implementing the Seven Principles:
Technology as Lever

Follow-up on Chickering’s Seven Principles
 Distance Education, Guidelines for Good
Practice

14 standards based on a survey of DL
practitioners
Good practice in
undergraduate education:
1. Encourages contacts between students and
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
faculty.
Develops reciprocity and cooperation among
students.
Uses active learning techniques.
Gives prompt feedback.
Emphasizes time on task.
Communicates high expectations.
Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.
(Chickering, 1987)
Guidelines for Best Practice
 Faculty must retain academic control
 Faculty must be prepared to meet the
special requirements of teaching at a
distance
 Course design should be shaped to the
potentials of the medium
 Students must fully understand course
requirements and be prepared to
succeed
Guidelines (Continued)
 Close personal interaction must be
maintained


In real time (synchronously)
In virtual time (asynchronously)
 Class size should be set through
normal faculty channels
 Courses should cover all material
 Experimentation with a broad variety of
subjects should be encouraged
Guidelines (Continued)
 Equivalent Research opportunities must
be provided
 Student assessment should be
comparable
 Equivalent advisement opportunities
must be offered
 Faculty should retain creative control
over use and re-use of materials
Guidelines (Continued)
 Full undergraduate degree programs
should include same-time same-place
coursework
 Evaluation of distance coursework
should be undertaken at all levels
American Federation of Teachers, 2000
What are the
Course Design
Components
of distance classes?
Course Design Components
 Course Management System/ Authoring
Platform
 Course Content
 Electronic Tools
 Assessment Methods
What is a
Course Management
System?
Course Management System/
Authoring Platform
Course Management Systems provide an
environment in which students may work on
course materials within a curriculum. These
environments provide tracking and data
collection capabilities of registered users.
Examples
 WebCT & Blackboard (they have
merged) (http://www.blackboard.com)
 Ecollege
(http://www.ecollege.com/index.learn)
 Angel (http://www.angellearning.com/)
 Moodle (http://moodle.org/)
 D2L (http://http://www.desire2learn.com/)
How do instructors
choose appropriate
software packages?
Software Choices
 Course Management System chosen at
College level
 Additional Software chosen by
department or instructor




MyMathLab
WileyPlus
Mathzone
Webassign, etc.
First Criteria
 Compatibility with MAC and PC
 Browser check (Auto or manual)

IE7, IE8 or both
 Software Check



Adobe Flash Player
Java
other
User Friendly
 For You



Content management
File control
Multiple sections
 For Your Students



Easy to navigate?
Online tutorial?
Install Wizard?
How Much Support for You
and Your Students
 Video Lectures
 PowerPoint®
 Online Textbook (ebook)
 Online Homework
 Online Discussion
 Instructor-Student Communication
Each Package has Strengths
and Weaknesses
 I use MyMathLab
 Cynthia Young College Algebra
(WileyPlus)


Plain language (talks to students)
“Go Tutorials”
 Enhanced Web Assign


“only” an Online HW management system
supports every major publisher
What are the
Types of Course
Content used in
Distance Learning
Classes?
Course Content
 Can be textbook specific or stand-alone
 Consult courseware support site for
training materials
What are the
Types of Tools used in
Distance Learning
Classes?
Electronic Tools
•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Audioconferencing
Blogging
Chatrooms
Digital drop box
Electronic bulletin board
Electronic mail
Fax
Instant messaging
Interactive video
Vodcasting
Wiki
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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iPod
Listserv
Newsgroup
Print (textbooks, etc.)
Software tutorials
Telecourse
Telephone
Threaded discussion
Videoconferencing
Webcams
You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/
What are the Types of
Assessment Methods
Used in
Distance Learning
Classes?
Let’s try a live
Webcam
Using Windows
Live Messenger
Assessment Methods
 Traditional (in the classroom)
 Online
 Proctored


In Institution’s Testing Center
By arrangement with proctor (faculty
member or supervisor)
Using Technology to Assess
 Create your own tests
with MicroSoft ClassServer
 Computer Generated Tests (example:
Coursecompass.com)
 Turning Points™ (instructor can ask any
question, get a response from the audience
then immediately display results in a
PowerPoint presentation! After data has been
collected from the audience, data can be
downloaded into Excel Word for further
analysis, trend recognition and reporting.)
How can you prepare
to be a successful
Distance Learning
Teacher?
Prepare to Teach Online
Successfully!
 Find a mentor
 Have a trusted colleague review your
materials
 Enroll in an online course or participate
in online training
Internet Resources
A website for TI-83 & Ti-84 Graphing Calculators:
http://mathbits.com/MathBits/TISection/Openpage.htm#General
A website for math "notes”: http://purplemath.com/
A website for Conics:
http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/jbconics.htm
Print your own Graph Paper (rectanglar, polar,
logarithmic):
http://www.mathematicshelpcentral.com/graph_paper.htm
A website for Derivatives: http://distlearn.amatyc.org
Math Type is a product for including mathematics notation in
documents: http://www.dessci.com/en/products/mathtype/?t
Internet Resources

Get a TI Calculator emulator:
http://www.mtsu.edu/~smcdanie/CSS_Site/VisualAlgebra/Vis
ual_Dev_algebra2.htm

That one has lots of good help menus for
Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and has the virtual
TI as a download.
Math GV: http://www.mathgv.com/
This is a free grapher. Have your students
use this to create graphs to copy and paste
into Word documents
Free Resource on the Internet
 A free graphing utility
http://www.padowan.dk/graph/
 A resource for math teachers
 http://www.mathbits.com/

 Texas Instruments ready-made lessons

http://www.timath.com/
 Video tutorials for algebra to calculus

http://www.hippocampus.org/
Questions?
Contact Information
Mary Beth Orrange
orrange@ecc.edu
Nancy J. Sattler
nsattler@terra.edu
Vera Hy-Hynevman
huhynev@sunysuffolk.edu
Sharing Session
 Homework
 Projects
 Course material delivery
 Office hours
 Communication
 Class Participation
 Books
 All the other things that go in a math
course