|
Improve Student
Access to Multimedia Materials |
- 24 hour x 7 days a week
- World wide
- Asynchronous communication with email or web discussion groups
- Quick turnaround for access to new and timely materials
- Course syllabus
- Interactive learning materials
- Quizes, models, simulations, data sets
- Lecture notes
- Assignments
- Quizes, previous exams, problem sets, answers
- Collaborative threaded discussions
- Handouts
- Research
- Links to course-related resources
- Images, sound clips, movie clips
- Simluations (Java, QTVR)
- Printed material
- Word, Excel, or Powerpoint files
- Photographs or other scannable materials
- Online .GIF or .JPG files
- Stills from video tapes or other video sources
- Sounds
- Movies
|
|
Advantages and
Disadvantages |
Advantages
- Easy to update to meet needs of changing subject matter;
makes information available instantly
- Provides easy access to a vast array of educational resources
- Effective way to reach remote learners and connect them in a
virtual course
- Combines advantages of other kinds of media (images, animations,
sounds, video); can be a provider of
content
- Appeals to students' visual and interactive learning modes
- Helps teach students real-world skills
- handling large
volumes of information
- identifying relevant information for problem
at hand
- developing research skills
- analyzing and evaluating
information
- thinking critically
- writing
- working collaboratively
- Requires minimal technical skills
Disadvantages
- Lack of access for all students if equipment/connections not
available or network/server down
- Technical difficulties and complexity associated with
telecommunications hardware and software
- Workload may increase dramatically due to answering questions,
providing feedback, updating links, and moderating discussions online
- Does not work effectively for large amounts of multimedia
- Computer competency of students may not be high enough
- May promote excessive reliance on the web for resource materials
|
|
Asking the Right Questions |
Key Questions
- What source material is available?
- What tools are needed and available?
- What resources are available for designing web pages?
- What experience/expertise is required?
- What are the course/lesson objectives?
- What assessment tools will be used?
- How will intellectual property be protected?
- Who will develop and maintain?
- Who will edit for accuracy and currency?
- Who will check links and update?
- Who will provide expected asynchronous interactivity (email) with students?
What Are the Alternatives for Constructing Course Pages
- Write your own
- Get help from the Web
Development Team
- Use Web Course in a Box
- Hire student worker
- Appoint secretary or administrative assistant develop & maintain
- Divide and conquer as a team effort
Are You Ready for the Shifting Roles of Online Instructor? from (Owston,
1997)
- From deliverers of instruction to being creators of learning
experiences for students and academic guide
- From didactic (teacher-centered) to project-based, inquiry-based,
or problem-based (student-centered) approach
- Instructor as online discussion leader, organizer of
online activities, and feedback-giver on assignments
|
Key Factors
Related to
Success
of Online
Courses |
- Providing for faculty ownership of course
- Ensuring that the process/technology does not dictate all outcomes
and water-down content
- Providing appropriate support and assistance to overcome
logistical/technical barriers (Getting Help)
|
|
Suggested
References |
Electronic lists
Books
- Hiltz, Starr Roxanne, The Virtual Classroom, Ablex
Publishing, Norwood NJ, 1994.
- McKeachie, Wilbert J., Teaching Tips, 1994. Chapter 19:
Teaching in the Age of Electronic Information.
- Rogers, Everett, Diffusion of Innovations, 1983.
Web References
|
![[LOGO] Setting Up A Course Website](setting.gif)
