Learning Activities

These are samples of learning activities that can be used in an online course. This is by no means the extent of the types of activities that you will be using as an online instructor. During this course we will discuss many more ideas than we will have time to experience as students in the timeframe that we have available to us.

I do not suggest you use all of these activities in any one course as that may be overwhelming for online students, especially those new to online learning. The reason I have included such a variety of activities is so that you may have an opportunity to experience how these activities work in an online learning environment. Somehow it has never seemed right to me that instructors assign tasks that they themselves have never experienced.

It is important that you, as an online instructor, know exactly what your students will be doing. You must know not only the potential for learning, but also the potential for frustration, that students may experience in online learning. All of this helps you to become a better online teacher. So, with that in mind, these are the learning activities that you will be required to complete in this professional development workshop.

In addition to these activities, you will be required to find at least two new web resources for each Module. These will be due at the end of each Module. The new resources will be emailed to the instructor. I will place all the resources in a database that will be accessible to you at the end of the course.

Readings

The readings for this course will include the text and the web links for each Module. There will be assigned reading for each module in the text.

Reflections on Readings and Discussions

As you read the assigned text and web links, you will need to identify key concepts, ideas, and issues. You should also formulate questions about the information and evaluate the source and content of the information as you read.

This will be the basis for all online discussion. You may choose to enhance your knowledge by further reading and research. Sharing of any additional resources you find in your further reading will be appreciated by all.

One of the goals in any online class is the sharing of knowledge by all so that no one person need find all the information alone. As each participant extends the knowledge base through further research and reading, this knowledge is discussed and evaluated by all so that all learn together. This is how your students will learn in your own online class as well.

Discussion and Participation

Minimum participation is required. The minimum requirements are: four visits to the online course per week, posted answers for each assignment, and three posted responses to classmates for each discussion thread in the module. Minimum means average work.

Here are some guidelines to help you maximize your time and contributions:

• Log in to post your assignment within a timely manner
• Immediately after posting your assignment, check to see if there are other messages.
• Messages that you have not read will be highlighted in the thread.
• If there are new messages, read them at this time.
• Reflect upon what you have read.
• If you respond to a message, please think carefully about what you say and how you say it.
• Proofread your response for clarity before submitting.
• Responses need not be free of grammatical or spelling erros. This is an informal discussion.
• After you have made the minimum responses, return several more times to read more new messages and respond where appropriate.

NOTE: There is a tracking system and I will be monitoring Discussion Board usage that will be taken into account when grading participation. You should login to check the Discussion at least every other day.

IMPORTANT: If a student already has two responses, do not write another. Find a student who has no responses before adding messages for a student who already has responses. No one student should have more than two responses until all students have at least two responses. If only three students have posted assignments and each has two responses, then you must come back the next day to check for more students to whom you may respond.

This is one of many reasons for posting assignments in a timely manner. Discussions can stall when only half the class does their work on time. This is something we will discuss in a future Module.

Individual Learning Journal

Participants are required to keep a weekly journal that outlines the learning process in this course. You should keep your journal entries in Word format. Learning Journals are due no later than noon on the last day of each week.

As you complete each module, you will write a summary of that week's learning process from your journal in a one page paper. You will then copy/paste the one-page journal summary for that week in the body of an email to the instructor.

Proper email Learning Journal format:

• In the email header, include the words Learning Journal, Lesson # and your name.
• In the body of the email also include your name and email address.
• Skip two lines
• Copy/paste your weekly Journal in the body of the email. Please do not send attachments.

NOTE: I will not accept assignments that are not submitted in the proper email format.

1. Complete your Learning Journal for the first week with a brief summary of how you will apply your new knowledge with current instructional strategies. Include at least two new web resources related to the topics covered in this Module.
2. Complete your Learning Journal for the second week. This will be a self-reflection and summary of your participation and contributions to the discussions for this module. Include any questions, suggestions and comments you may have.

This learning activity serves several purposes. First, this will be a log of your progress and activities throughout the course and can serve as a reference in the future. Next, this is a way for me to make sure everyone understands the information and activities covered each week. And finally, the Learning Journal is an effective means by which I can interact with each student individually and provide feedback for specific questions and activities on a weekly basis.

Knowledge Quest

A Knowledge Quest is an independent activity in which the learner chooses one from among several learning activities, all of which relate to online course design. The learner then proceeds to work through the activity over a period of several weeks, locating resources and completing hands-on tasks, while documenting the learning process from beginning to end. The emphasis is on the process equally as much as on the final product.

First you will choose one of the following learning activities:

• design a discussion forum for your online unit, complete with questions for discussions
• design a short orientation for students to Basic Internet Skills for use with your online unit, including a self-checking quiz
• design an interactive game or quiz as an assessment for your online unit
• design a pre-test for your online unit
• design a survey for students to evaluate your online unit

Resources for these learning activities will be available in External Links. You will be required to locate and share further resources for your Knowledge Quest.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Your Knowledge Quest will include the following:

1. Document each session during which you work on your Knowledge Quest with date and activity (i.e. locating resources, outlining design, working on design, testing design, etc.). Write a short narrative on your learning task process and progress for each session. Include your thoughts on the task, ease or difficulty of the task, questions and recommendations for future similar work.
2. List of resources useful to the task that you would recommend to others.
3. Recommendations for effective design strategies (what worked best and what not to do).
4. The URL for the final Learning Activity (quiz, survey, discussion, etc.).

The Knowledge Quests will be due at the end of Module Four.

NOTE: Please make sure your Knowledge Quest project correlates with your online unit content (Capstone Project).

Group Project

The group project will consist of an evaluation of an online course. The criteria for online course evaluation will be discussed during the Module and details for the Learning Activity will be posted at that time.

Capstone Project

The Capstone Project for this course is an online unit design. This will be a single unit in a traditional course that you are currently teaching which you will transfer into an online course unit format. We will work on this in a sequential process throughout the course so that you will not be spending the entire last two weeks of the course designing your unit.

You will be using Blackboard.com free course sites and will include the following:

• Announcements
• Course Information: Unit information, description, objectives, goals, learning activities
• Staff Information
• Course Documents: separate folders for Lecture, Readings, Assignments (Learning Activities)
• Readings and web resources
• Assignments and assessments
• Discussion: topics for discussion set up in separate threads that include open-ended questions to facilitate discussion. [In lieu of setting up discussion threads, a list of discussion topic questions may be included in a separate folder in Course Documents]

The URL for your online unit will be posted in the Discussion Forum no later than Sunday evening at the beginning of the last week of the workshop. During the last week, each participant will visit all of the posted online units.