WISE Introduction to Online Pedagogy

Instructor: Anne McKinney

Course Description

This instructor-led, three-week online course provides an overview of online learning and teaching and introduces key elements of an online program, including: engaging the online learner and developing a sense of community; creating course documents (learning objectives, syllabi, activities); and course management (time, discussion, group work, assessment).

Participants will participate in asynchronous discussion and an optional synchronous online activity, and engage in collaborative learning activities with their peers. By the end of the workshop, participants will have designed learning objectives and evaluated course syllabi, participated in and designed effective online learning activities, and been exposed to a variety of learning technologies. Students will also experience an online group project by collaborating on the development of an online course activity.

Audience

This course is intended for Library and Information Science (LIS) faculty and students with little or no experience teaching and learning in the online environment. It will provide guidance in the preparation and delivery of course materials as well as practice and experimentation in the online environment.

Any individual affiliated with LIS education who wants to acquire pedagogical understanding and skills to successfully teach courses online is welcome to register.

Prerequisites

None.

Registration

Registration for this course is open to WISE members and those engaged in LIS education. Individuals who are affiliated with WISE member institutions have first priority for registration.

Delivery

The course will be delivered primarily asynchronously, but there are opportunities for synchronous discussion and activities. The course pedagogy is based on principles of collaborative learning and makes use of group participation. Content takes the form of active participation in asynchronous discussion and synchronous chat, direct email, postings of materials, Web resources, and instructor notes. Student participation in discussion forums to comment on the ideas and work of others is a major component of the course. Students will acquire more in-depth information on some topics through links to outside sources.

Workload

This is an intensive course requiring up to 5-7 hours a week. The time commitment will vary depending on the individual's input, needs, and personal study habits. Students are encouraged to log on to the course each day.

Class Procedures

Each week we will begin a new module. At this time, I will release assignments and discussion forums for that module. Releasing parts of the course over time helps to ensure that we are all on the "same page" in (almost) real-time.

I will check Moodle Discussion Forums (aka threaded bulletin boards) each day of the course. These forums will serve as our main form of communication.

Time Zones and Deadlines

All deadlines in this course are set to U.S. Central Standard Time (Chicago Time). It is the responsibility of the student to subtract or add hours to one's own time zone as necessary to ensure that all assignments are submitted on time. Deadlines will be specified for each assignment.

Participation and Personal Experience

In each module you will be expected to participate in discussions relating to the subject material. By fully participating in the
readings, discussions, and small group work, you will not only learn from the content of the session's material but will experience online education from a student's perspective. This will help you to develop your online collaborative skills. When possible, relate your "real world" experiences to the subject matter of the assignment.

To make this course a success, your engagement is critical. The coursework will be heavier at certain points of the week, but as long as you plan accordingly and budget sufficient time as needed, you should have no difficulty meeting the required level of participation.

Length of Posts

Limit most discussion responses to two screens; that's approximately 24 lines per screen. Communication in online education stresses the importance of content and presentation rather than in volume. In this environment, length is not a virtue, and unjustifiable excessive length can be a discourtesy.

Absences

In a normal class if you get too far behind, it is unlikely that you will ever catch up. This is even more true for the online environment. Do not delay in starting the course and be consistently present!

Group Work

A fundamental premise of the effective learning online involves the use of group or team learning. Each learning team usually consists of four or five members. A team of three does not seem to evoke the team process and teams of more than five are difficult to manage in an online environment.

Schedule

Module 1:
Getting Started: Intro to the course and personal introductions, overview of online course design and pedagogy, learning objectives, statement of personal goals.

Module 2:
Assignments & Activities: Designing course syllabi, creating an online course activity via a group project.

TBA: One-hour Live session on integrating synchronous learning into the online classroom, followed by open discussion of synchronous learning and/or other issues for online instructors.

Module 3:
Assessment & Evaluation: Sharing of activities created in groups, analysis of course assessment/evaluation principles, discussion of communication with online students and ways to promote engagement and build community.

Instructor Information

Name: Anne McKinney
Email: amckinn@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 244-2932

Office hours: During class, Tuesday-Friday in the Live Session chat room from 2:00-4:00 p.m. (CST)

Biography: Anne McKinney is the Visiting Coordinator of Instructional Design for the WISE Project and teaches this workshop through the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's LEEP program. Before joining WISE, Anne taught a variety of writing courses (online and on campus) at the University of Illinois at Springfield, where she also served as a Web Editor for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Anne's research and teaching interests include online pedagogy, the effect of global communication on education and the arts, writing for the professional community, creative historical fiction, and Arthurian literature.

Anne received the Master of Arts in English from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 2004 and the Bachelor of Arts in English from Truman State University in 1999.