Virtually Indistinguishable: Keeping
Course integrity while changing to an online
format
Jenny C. Wells, Ph.D. and Drue E. Narkon, Ph.D.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
College of Education
Department of Special Education
Hybrid Distance Program
• Laulima asynchronous course website
• Blackboard Collaborate synchronous classes
• Two face-to-face Saturday sessions at the
University of Hawaii at Manoa each semester
– Day is split between their
two content courses
Laulima Course Website
Course Home Page
Blackboard Collaborate Classroom
What is a Course with Integrity?
What do you think is important in the design
and delivery of your courses?
Potential Pitfalls
• Organization and Planning Issues
• Communication
• Relationships
– Student to Student
– Student to Faculty
• Instructional Design
• Delivery of Instruction
Organization and Planning Issues
Student Experience
• Online classes are new to
me “lots of uncertainty”
• “Takes lots of time and
energy to understand
what’s expected”
• Difficulty understanding the
organization or how to find
things on the course
website
Faculty Experience
• Time
– Lots of “upfront” time
– Time spent differently
• Bombarded with emails if
site isn’t well organized
• Finding “how to translate”
activities and instruction
for online format is not
intuitive
“I NEED HELP!”
Organization and Planning
What Works!
• Start course development EARLY!
• Translate from traditional to online
– Bravely explore tools & find technical mentors
• Individualize course syllabus for online
delivery
• Resist making changes to course schedule
Teach website organization
• Provide clear demonstration of course website
– Organization of content, use of tools, assignments
– Archive and upload to course website
Organize and Post All Assignments
by Due Dates
Communication
Student Experience
• Varies based on personal
characteristics
– Need for frequent
reassurance
• Constantly email/call
– Insecure about contacting
professor
• Never contact you
– Effective, appropriate
communicators
• Desire quick responses
• Microphone avoidance
Faculty Experience
• Getting the same questions
multiple times
• Not knowing a problem
exists in student’s
experience
• Frustration with time
required to handle student
communications
• Looking for an effective
system to keep everyone in
the know
Communication
What Works!
• Encourage and provide a forum for questions
and interaction
Communication
What Works!
• Communicate responses to entire group
– Announcements with email notice/Group Emails
– Verbal annoucements in synchronous class
• Record and post each class in Course website
• Direct students where to look to find answers
– Teach them to fish, don’t give them a fish
• Create study groups/buddy pairs
• Provide detailed feedback on assignments
• Know how to retrieve microphone in class
sessions
Relationships
Student Experience
Faculty Experience
• Miss direct interaction with
others
• You don’t recognize your
students when you meet
them on the street!
• Not my job!
• How can I build a
relationship when I don’t
spend any time with them
• Relationship building
requires effort and has to
be planned for
– Students and Professor
• Or Not!
• Want to “know” classmates
and Professor
Relationships
What Works!
• Provide opportunity for students to get to
know you and their classmates
• Have students participate in forming study
groups and peer partners but ensure everyone
is included
• Use tools to have students share products and
questions with each other
• Have small group synchronous meetings in
addition to whole class sessions
SPED 603 – Student Information
Type your information in one of the spaces provided. Examples of “settings” include FSC, resource, inclusion or
other. If you are not in a school setting, specify your area of specialization/interest.
Name: Jenny Wells
Island: Oahu
School: College of
Education, SPED
Faculty,
Severe/Autism
Setting:
Phone #: 808-383-2342
Skypename: drjenny
Name:James Walls
Island: Lanai
School: Lanai High &
Elementary
Setting: Gen-Ed (High
School)
Phone #: 808-649-0186
Skypename: jfwallsiv
Name: Marissa Bartels
Island: Oahu
School: College of Ed.
(SPED)
Setting: Severe/Autism
Phone #: 808-258-3955
Skypename: m.k.bartels
Name: Cathryn Masuda
Island: Oahu
School: UH Manoa SPED,
Severe/Autism concentration
Setting: In-home behavior consultant
(Autism)
Phone #: 808-778-7055
Skypename: cat.masuda
Insert small photo
here:
Name: Erin Yoshioka
Island: Oahu
School: Niu Valley Middle
Setting: FSC
Phone #: 808-284-2381
Skypename: erin.yoshioka1
Name: Kim Yamakawa
Island: Oahu
School: UH Manoa, SPED
Setting: Severe/Autism
Phone #: 808-542-7017
Skypename: kimyama17
Getting to Know Each Other
Instructional Design
Student Experience
Faculty Experience
• Accessing information
provided
• Some desire to move ahead
at own pace
• Expectations of Faculty
expertise in all technology
• Want flexibility in what I do
and when I do it
• Mindreading of students
required
• Insecure about student self
pacing
• Using release dates for
content/assignments causes
negative student reaction
• “How to I replicate the
instruction, modeling, and
guided practice I provided
in face-to-face classes”
Provide EXPLICIT instructions for everything!
• Provide all supporting information with all assignments
– Sample completed projects
– Grading rubrics
– Written instructions, guidelines for completing assignments
successfully
Instructional Design - What Works!
• Have a consistent layout
• Discussions/Forums need to have a relevant
purpose
– Sharing completed work (pictures of visual
aids produced)
– Sharing application of course material to
their setting
• Use a variety of content and media
depending on what would help students “Get
It”
Use Others or Create Your Own
Redundancy of information
SPED642 Schedule
Fall 2012
Course Textbook: Educational Research Fundamentals for the Consumer, 6th Edition
Week Readings/Activities to be completed
Assignments
of
by the due date assigned
Collaborate Virtual Class Meeting
8//20 Review Laulima Course site and come
prepared with your questions about the
syllabus, assignments, etc.
Collaborate Virtual Class Meeting
8/27 Chapter 1 (course textbook )
Review “What is a Scholarly Journal
Article?” in Week 1 Resources
Due
Dates
8/21
8/28
Provide Tutorials in Course Website
Instructional Delivery
Student Experience
• I don’t understand it just by
reading it
• Positive response to having
information provided via
video or multi media
Faculty Experience
• Will I ever get “good” at
online teaching
• “What make a video!”
• “I’ve put all the instructions
in the course website in
multiple places, isn’t that
enough!”
Instructional Delivery
• Practice using the technology BEFORE class
begins
• Explain what students need to read/do before
ATTEMPTING each assignment IN the
assignment instructions
• Acknowledge your technology limitations and
seek the help you need
• It becomes more FUN over time!