Step One: Setting Technology Goals

Ask:

1. What do I want technology to do for ME?

2. What do I want technology to do for MY STUDENTS?

3. Are these different? How can I bring them into line?

Goals for my online class:

1. Develop a fluid online forum for:

a) Teaching new information

b) Engaging students in critical thinking

c) Effective and respectful discussions

d) A fun, creative, and safe learning environment

e) Effective reinforcing and correcting feedback that would help students improve

their work as the semester progressed

Challenges of a solely online format:

a) Every single thing that is to be communicated has be either fixed via audio/video

recording or typed into the format later

i) This means that, if not carefully planned in advance, a class can quickly become

bogged down in text that students then have to work through

Solution

Start early!

- Build the class weeks before launch, so that there is time to refine and revisit.

- Invite (impose on?) friends and colleagues to road test aspects of the course and

give feedback that can then be incorporated.

Goals for my hybrid (traditional) class:

1. Relate to my students in an online forum that can:

a. Make the course and my instruction feel accessible 24/7

b. Create a forum that belongs to the students only, a safe (and stigma-free) space

c. Encourage supplemental reading/enrichment work

d. Allow students to feel more in control of their learning

e. Locate all course documents and information in one easy-to-access place

Challenges of supplemental course website:

a) Not all students may want to use it (especially ASP students who feel stigmatized or forced to participate in the program)

Solution

Integrate the online materials into the live classroom!

1) Refer to the website or course page whenever appropriate

2) Refer students to course page when they ask or e-mail questions that can be

answered by the course page (i.e. "May I have an extra copy of fill-in-the-blank

document?")

3) Incorporate course page into class by sourcing material live (i.e. running

streaming video directly from course page, when appropriate)