7 Strategies to Make Your Online Teaching Better

Student interest in online learning isn't waning anytime soon.  Some students need the flexibility in time and travel commitment and some students just learn better online.  If you will be teaching online in spring, consider these seven strategies summarized in Inside Higher Ed.

1. Let the technology help you, not hinder you.
   Embed as many tutorials as possible. Start them with an Orientation page, a screencast video (screencast-o-matic.com), or a screenshot with arrows and highlights (use Snipping Tool).
2. Anticipate the difficulties.
   Students will be challenged by the amount of reading and writing in any online course.  They will be distracted by the Internet and lack of accountability from the lack of physical structure.  Build in organized structure (e.g. weekly lessons) and accountability (firm deadlines, group projects, forum discussions, scaffolded lessons, etc.).  Be patient.
3. Incorporate synchronous opportunities.
   Hold Skype office hours, use Google Hangouts, or use Laulima Chat.
4. Give extra feedback.  Then give more.
   Give them detailed and prompt feedback.  Don't forget the "Sandwich Principle" - start with a positive, add helpful comments, and end with a positive.
5. Prove you are not a dog.
   Add your personality and humor in communication, letting them know that you are human, approachable, and ready to help.
6. Provide support for self-regulation.
   Set up a Google Calendar with all due dates and teach them how to receive reminders.  Or send regular announcements through Laulima.
7. Encourage play.
   Don't forget to include fun.  Think about how an exam might be replaced by a service learning project or a field trip.  Use fun tech tools such as Voki or Quizlet.  If you are game, try integrating gamification concepts.

Please contact CELTT if you need assistance with your online teaching or with Laulima.

Happy Holidays!

Those Devices in the Classroom...

Are you frustrated by students looking at their phone, laptop, or into space -- anywhere but at you and your lecture? Although my current focus is largely on online learning, this article in Teaching in Higher Ed brought back memories of being in a classroom of 25 digital natives with 5-inch screens glued to their fingertips.

The author says to use "the invitation" method: Invite your students to take out their devices to participate in online polling or collaboration.  Then on other days you can tell your students that "We aren’t going to be needing laptops or phones today, so you can put them away and get ready for today’s case."  That's clever!

Hope you find The Invitation an interesting, if not useful, read.

Stachowiak, B. (2016). The invitation - Teaching in Higher Ed. Retrieved December 06, 2016, from http://teachinginhighered.com/2016/12/01/the-invitation/

Gamification, Part I

Helen's Note:  This is the first of a two-part summary on Gamification workshops recently held at CELTT.  Gamification is an innovative learning design, defined as “the use of game design elements in a non-game context."  Today's guest blogger Kawehi Sellers is a leader on our campus in implementing gamification strategies to engage students and improve learning, in her online and face-to-face (F2F) courses. Kawehi's F2F students also play games in almost every class. Asked how the attendance rate was, Kawehi said "very high," i.e. almost perfect. 😃

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Get your Game on!

By Kawehi Sellers, Assistant Professor, Hospitality & Tourism Education Program

Remember those games you used to play when you were a kid? You know . . . Operation, Monopoly, PacMan, Clue, Apples to Apples, Chinese Checkers, Trivial Pursuit or Uno? Perhaps I’m dating myself and maybe you’re more of a Minecraft, Clash Royale, Mario Kart or Game of Thrones player. Can we all agree games are fun? Games are rewarding, and I will argue that games have a way of connecting people to someone or something.

So in Summer 2015 when I was asked to research and implement gamification into our HOST 101 (Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism), I was game (pun intended). I used the summer to research the definition of gamification, which I found to refer to the use of game design elements in a non-game context. I embarked on a one-year journey to gamify my class. Full gamification implementation in all of the HOST 101 courses was Fall 2017.

It took awhile to figure out what type of game elements I wanted to use for class considering course content, rigor, student population, classroom configuration and features, and availability of technology. So, in the end I chose to focus on these elements:

• Changed my classroom vocabulary from drab to fab: Gone are tests, quizzes, homework and projects. Hello to missions, brain crushers, brain busters, quests and challenges. 
• I used a leaderboard with student avatars so students could see how they measured up to others (of course, no actual scores or student identities are revealed). 
• Developed in-class games to excite students about the content. A little bit of competition in the class seemed to keep their attention and motivate them. Games included matching games, guessing games, puzzles, crosswords and more.

And finally!

• Prizes and bonus points! These incentives for achievement had little to no bearing on their grade, but they add to the competition and recognize students who come prepared, can communicate in the classroom setting and do well in a game. Prizes ranged from school supplies, to snacks, to bonus points added to their next challenge.

Gamification has been a game-changer for me. Not only have I had a wonderful time teaching my courses, I feel like the students now walk away with a real emotional connection to the class. They spend time in class laughing, connecting with one another, trying to out-do or beat their peers and genuinely have fun, and that’s not a bad thing at all.

To learn more about my gamification journey and techniques for implementation, here is a recent presentation I did for a CELTT workshop.