ED+392

=ED392 Internet Teaching Techniques for Teachers=

[[image:Check3.gif width="24" height="23"]]History
Nadine developed and taught ED392 in 1997 to train Delta instructors to teach online, responding requests from colleagues as to how she had created her online courses. The course pre-dated the use of an LMS at Delta, and many instructors requested help learning basic email and web searching as well as how to create an online environment. The technology used to create a course was the use of Netscape's web editor.

The first part of the course was taught in a computer lab where instructors engaged in learning the technology through completing assignments that modeled the existing pedagogy of the time. The primary text was //[|Building Communities in Cyberspace]// by Palloff and Pratt.The text emphasized the importance of using asynchronous communication tools to create a community of learners who would be actively engaged in the content of the course. Assignments consisted of completing an assignment that discussed the pedagogy of the course using [|LISTSERV software] for large group discussion,and using email for working in pairs or groups.Basic instruction on netiquette, how to design a web page that was attractive but did not overwhelm the students with excessive decoraton, and how to keep the learners safe in cyberspace was also provided, and again, modeled through the use of interactive assignments using communication tools. Instant messaging and MOO/MUDS were explored for their possibilities for synchronous communication.

From Spring 1997 to Winter 1998, 60 instructors enrolled in the course. The course changed in nature as technology changed. When Blackboard was available the course emphasized using an LMS to create a learning community. When the Nadine continued to revise and teach the course regularly until other instructors were able to assume the duties. They revised the course continually as the LMS changed at Delta to Educator and as instructors did no longer needed basic Internet instructions. Nadine continues to teach ED 302 occasionally.

[[image:Check3.gif height="23"]]Overview: Putting the Teaching into Teaching Online
ED392 is designed to help teachers make the transition from the face-to-face to the online classroom. It is not a course on using our Learning Management System, but students will learn how to leverage the features of the LMS to deliver effective, engaging instruction.

Ray's version is built around the Michigan Colleges Virtual Learning [|Collaborative's Course Development Guidelines and Rubric], which applies the principles of effective instructional design to the online classroom. Delta's eLearning Committee recently developed its own Best Practices document (build around Chickering adn Gamson's Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education), which I might use in the next run of the course.

Part One: Introductions
The course begins with an introductory assignment that models community building and gets students exploring the LMS -- sending them from the announcements page to the tasksheet (Educator's lesson planning tool) and then to the course discussion boards.

Part Two: Course Interaction
One of the greatest challenges the online teacher faces is facilitating the kind of community building that takes place in face-to-face classes. In this unit, students explore the teacher’s role in the online classroom, and discuss techniques for building student-teacher and student-student relationships at a distance. We also discuss (and possibly debate) the role of constructivism in the on-line classroom.

Part Three: Course Construction
The remainder of the course focuses on designing instruction for on-line delivery. Under the umbrella of Course Construction we explore a number of topics, including: In addition to designing specific components of your own online course, you’ll also participate in creating a pool of resources, both those of general use to anyone engaged in online teaching as well as of particular relevance to your own discipline.
 * Transitioning from the traditional classroom to the online environment
 * Establishing course outcomes
 * Making effective use of course technologies
 * Addressing accessibility and copyright issues

Part Four: Course Technologies
The course wraps up with final reflections on how technology shapes what we do in the online classroom – and how our choices can transform student learning.