Activity 4 - One Question Interview

Activity 4- One question Interview

The original work from Activity 4 is posted in the forum Discussion on online teaching techniques. Sorry i forgot to posted it here in my blog.
It was a stress because in the beggining noone answered my question or the teacher was retired.
At least some one answered and here are the registration of both question and teacher's answer, but first a little of her biography.
Kaye Shelton is the Dean of Online Education for Dallas Baptist University, a certified online instructor, teaching online since 1999, and also an online education consultant. Her education includes a B.A.S. in Management of Information Systems, an M.S. in Education emphasizing Online Teaching and Learning and is currently pursuing her PhD in Educational Studies at University of Nebraska. She holds a certification in Online Teaching and Learning and has published and presented on the subject of online education, including a recent book entitled An Administrator's Guide to Online Education. She has presented at numerous conferences and workshops, regarding the creation of an online education program and the best methods for teaching online. She has served as an advisor regarding online education programs for several peer institutions.


"I am convinced that teaching online can be as effective as the traditional classroom. One of my greatest passions is to encourage faculty to begin teaching online thus instilling the confidence they can be successful.", Kaye Shelton.

First the Question:

Dear Professor Kaye Shelton,
My name is Telma and I am a student of Masters in E-Learning Pedagogy at the Open University in Portugal.
I´ve read some of your articles that I found very interesting. During this semester I have this activity proposed by professor Morten Paulsen that is teaching C.U. E-Learning Pedagogical Process- Unit 2 “ finding, studying and sharing materials related to online teaching techniques”, and I have to make a one-question interview. This question should be related to online teaching techniques, teacher workload or online assignments.
Since you are considered to be an expert in these issues, I would like to know your opinion about Distance Learning, and ask you earnestly to answer this question: As an Online Teacher and a researcher in distance education, I would like to know your opinion about planning, creating and managing an online course? How do you avoid teacher´s workload?
Thank you very much,

Telma Jesus

then the answer:
Telma,

I have a list of tips that I share with my faculty to save time when teaching online:

Carefully Develop Online Course Materials – This takes time but is worth it because it saves you from answering many questions during the teaching of the course. Before the class begins, you should move through the course as a student, checking to see if you have all resources necessary for success…such as clear directions for assignment submission, discussion board posting requirements, and articulate quiz/exam directions.


Course Schedule - Create a course schedule with all pertinent information such as when a module opens, the topics covered, reading assignments, other related assignments and when all submissions are due. Encourage your students to print this out and keep it with them at all times so that they are responsible for knowing when their assignments are due.


Write a Welcome Note – Writing a note to the students the first week should cover anything special about your course that you want them to specifically understand. It may be something in the syllabus but this would be a good place for clarification and additional information. At the end of the note, direct students to email you to let you know they read the note.


Syllabus Quiz/Activity – Create an activity that encourages students to carefully read the syllabus such as a quiz for bonus points or a scavenger hunt.


FAQ Discussion - Create a threaded discussion forum for frequently asked questions and post a synopsis of other FAQs from previous semesters – keep course information as surface level as possible. Remind students to post their general course questions in this forum so that others can see your response. Copy and paste replies to these questions from the course syllabus when applicable.


Print Out Student Introductions – The first week, students usually introduce themselves in a threaded discussion. Expand all of their introductions and print this out and keep it by your computer. When you are responding to a student the first few weeks, glance through their introduction and ask a question specific to their posting, such as…how is your son that is playing college baseball? This is a quick way to create community and demonstrate to the student that you care about your students.


Check Email Newest to Oldest – When checking your inbox for student email, go to the newest email instead of the one that came in earliest. Often times, students have sent you a question but a few hours later, they have found their answer and are telling you nevermind!


Use Grading Rubrics – While it takes time to develop your grading rubric, but when used, it becomes instant and customized feedback for the student.


Keep a Response Template – Often times, we give some of the same feedback on assignments. Keep these standard responses in a document handy on your computer so that you can quickly copy and paste in a response and then you can add additional feedback. This is a huge timesaver!


Allow Students to Facilitate Discussions – Allowing students to sometimes facilitate discussions can free up time for grading—especially when it is a week that you have a lot to grade. However, you still want to show some type of presence in the discussion at least once or twice.


Back Up Your Gradebook - Back up your gradebook at least once a month or more if you can. This only takes a few moments and can save you hours and hours if for some reason you lose the original—this can even happen in a courseware management system sometimes…for example, if you accidentally delete the exam topic, it may delete the grades in the gradebook.

Kaye Shelton