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Resource Bank
The CourseCheck Resource Bank
was created to provide foundational information and examples of how
you can incorporate each Principle of Good Practice into your
teaching practice. While many of these ideas and resources can apply
to any teaching and learning situation, the emphasis of this Resource
Bank is on applying the Principles to web-based courses. While there
are unique challenges to engaging students at a distance, there are
also great benefits. We hope these web-based resources can be easily
adopted into your distance courses. We’ll be updating the Bank
as time goes on.
Jump To:
Principle 1:
Encourage Contact Between Student and Faculty
The role technology can play:
Computer-mediated communication provides efficient, open, and
reflective communication between faculty and students. Examples of
asynchronous and synchronous online approaches that can be effective
in applying this principle are email, listservs, chat rooms, blogs,
bulletin boards, or videoconferencing. Contacting students about
their comfort level with required technologies and course
expectations sets a positive tone about your dedication to student
success.
OVERVIEW of the Principle:
Info, Strategies, and Examples
-
Interactive course syllabi can be constructed to students are
immediately aware of course design, learning expectations, assessment
methodology, and the level of technology utilization expected.
EXAMPLE Interactive syllabi in a variety of disciplines.
-
Build relationships with students early through chats, listservs,
photos, & videos to communicate issues about critical success
items such as technology requirements, accessing library resources,
course expectations, and student performance.
EXAMPLE An example of clear tech expectations @ Wright State University.
IDEA: Share library resource info by directly linking to your own institution’s
library resources and link to OhioLINK’s student help page.
EXAMPLE
: Wright State has created
a very helpful page for distance students
that includes library support and more. If your institution has such
a resource, link to it in your syllabus.
-
BLOG!! Deepen trust through authentic communication.
RESOURCE:
Wikipedia on 'What is a blog?'
RESOURCE: OLN’s
BlogMania.
EXAMPLE : Check out Laura Little @ Marietta College’s BLOG.
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email shansen@oln.org.
Principle 2:
Develop Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students
The role technology can play: Computer-mediated
communication facilitates group interactions, problem solving, and
building communities. Technology enables the establishment of online
study groups and collaborative work projects. Use synchronous student
chats as well as audio/video conferencing. Email and blogs can
successfully enable student communication and cooperation.
OVERVIEW of the principle:
Info, strategies, and examples
-
Use a variety of techniques and reinforce students’ ability to
collaborate effectively. Determining how effectively students are
developing skills in cooperation and teamwork, providing them helpful
formative feedback, and eventually assigning group and individual
grades are challenging and important success issues for those
teaching courses online.
RESOURCE:
Here’s a list of 44 benefits of collaborative learning.
EXAMPLE
: Bill Peltz provides screen shots and descriptions of
strategies used for student collaboration.
RESOURCE:
Here’s a
rubric to assess effective student collaboration.
RESOURCE:
Kent State University’s “Faculty and Future Faculty
Learning Community” developed
a great rubric resource. In it are rubrics to assess student
participation and interaction, team preparedness, evaluation group
work, and how well each member collaborated and participated within
the team.
RESOURCE:
Expect students to collectively enforce
good netiquette.
EXAMPLE: Have students
take a pledge to develop their group skills. Several times during
the course,
have them assess their growth.
RESOURCE:
Instructors and students at Ohio State were asked what advice they
would give to those who use electronic class discussions.
Here’s the advice they gave.
- Establish student learning communities.
EXAMPLE: The
Learning
Communities Office @ University of Cincinnati
explains how learning communities can enrich learning and provides helpful
resources.
EXAMPLE
:
Evergreen College has become a national center
of information about student learning communities.
-
Utilize blogs to strengthen student communication and cooperation.
RESOURCE:
Wikipedia on
what is a blog?
RESOURCE:
OLN’s
BlogMania
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email shansen@oln.org.
Principle 3:
Use Active Learning Techniques
The role technology can play: Technology enables online,
inquiry-based approaches to learning. Significant ways to enable active learning
include having students utilize databases and reference tools; use organizers
such as concept maps, and bookmarks; access expertise around the world with email;
establish mentor and partner relationships; use case studies; and engage in eService
learning.
OVERVIEW of the principle:
Info, strategies, and examples
- Integrate active learning techniques.
RESOURCE:
What is
active learning
?
EXAMPLE : Helpful tips for active learning
in online classes.
EXAMPLE : Explore the IDDE Database for active learning applications
(takes a moment to load).
EXAMPLE : Active learning teaching tips @ Cleveland
State University that can be easily adapted to the online environment.
EXAMPLE : Problems presented in a variety of disciplines.
EXAMPLE
:
Two problems (physics and political science)
and each faculty member ’s teaching notes, assessment
comments, student learning goals, and more.
-
Use student e-portfolios and engage students in selecting
appropriate artifacts to showcase their learning and performance.
RESOURCE: Learn about the
Open
Source Portfolio Initiative.
-
Utilize graphic organizers and concept mapping.
EXAMPLE
: Here’s very good information about
graphic organizers.
RESOURCE: A good explanation of concept mapping.
RESOURCE: Download this amazing free concept mapping software and browse through concept
maps worldwide.
-
Uitlize virtual laboratories!
RESOURCE: Check out the lab simulations created
at Canegie Mellon University.
-
Involve students in E Service.
RESOURCE: Here’s an EDUCAUSE Good Ideas article about experiential learning (Adobe PDF).
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email shansen@oln.org.
Principle 4:
Give Prompt Feedback
The role technology can play
: Computer-mediated communication provides considerable avenues for
prompt and reflective feedback. Students expect immediate responses
to their inquiries. Accuracy about your office hours and turn around
time is critical. Provide tools for students to critique their work,
even prior to submitting it to you. Post rubrics for assessment, and
post previous assignments and tests with scores and explanations.
OVERVIEW of the principle:
Info, strategies, and examples
RESOURCE:
AAHE’s
9 Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning.
-
Provide expected turn around time for assignments and assessments.
- Provide student self assessment opportunities.
-
IDEA:
Post previous, similar test responses and answers 24 hours after
giving a test. Then, have students write how well they believe they
did.
-
Use rubrics and templates so students understand and stretch toward
expectations.
EXAMPLE : Rubrics provide an immediate reference point for student self assessment.
Here’s a critical thinking rubric.
EXAMPLE
: Rubric for assessing
how interactive your courses are
with ideas for additional ways to provide feedback.
- POST PREVIOUS TESTS and include remarks, suggestions, and grade given.
EXAMPLE : This thorough resource from Assessing Learning in Australian Universities
has a short presentation (click to download presentation in the left navigation
bar) with 34 strategies for effective online
assessments.
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email shansen@oln.org.
Principle 5:
Emphasize Time on Task
The role technology can play:
Technology provides new opportunities for creating new forms of
mediated environments, which provide structure and engage the
student. Any way to keep students stimulated to spend the necessary
time to learn and reach course goals will help. Activities such as
simulations, games, modeling, problem-solving, case studies,
self-reflection, critiquing peers’ comments and thoughts
engaging for students as they learn.
OVERVIEW of the principle:
Info, strategies, and examples
-
Help students understand what it takes to succeed on online courses.
EXAMPLE : Here’s a brief survey to help potential elearners determine if they
have time for taking a distance course.
EXAMPLE : Time management resources
collected by OLN.
-
Interactivity among students can keep students engaged and on task.
IDEA:
Check in with students (calling works, too) – if they
haven’t logged on, participated, or kept up… set up
automatic reminders for yourself.
-
Use learning technologies that inspire students to be engaged and
remain on task longer.
EXAMPLE
:
From the Humanities Department @ Miami University.
EXAMPLE : An online biology course with animations
from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence website @ Carnegie Mellon University.
RESOURCE:
Review the Teaching and Learning with Technology
(TLT) ideas for this Principle:
IDEA:
Create content rich modules that students can take at their
preferred time, and at their preferred pace. In this way, some
students can better devote the necessary time to master required
concepts.
EXAMPLE : Here is a module about ancient Eqypt that can
be utilized in many courses, by many people, created by faculty and others at
Carnegie Mellon University and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. It is housed
at the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence website @ Carnegie Mellon University.
-
Be sure distance students can access necessary resources.
EXAMPLE : The Early Childhood Program @ University of Cincinnati
provided easy access to research resources for their distance students (ignore
request for a login and password - access if public).
-
Provide case study approaches to real situations and distance
students may be inspired to delve deeper into your course material.
EXAMPLE: A nursing case from Columbus State Community
College.
RESOURCE: How to create science cases
and many more resources from the National Center for Case Study Teaching
in Science.
EXAMPLE: SUNY Buffalo has compiled
a wonderful listing of discipline-related case studies.
-
Require students to self-assess and reflect on their progress using
course portfolios.
EXAMPLE:
A students' portfolio from Lorain County Community College.
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email shansen@oln.org.
Principle 6:
Communicate High Expectations
The role technology can play :
Computer-mediated environments offer instructors a variety of
avenues for demonstrating and conveying high expectations. Post your
expectations and all information you can about assessments for the
course. Post previous assessments. Use rubrics that explain how to
achieve at high levels. Have students establish class best practices
for online work.
OVERVIEW of the principle:
Info, strategies, and examples
-
Write clear, measurable course and learning objectives.
EXAMPLE
: Comprehensive info
on creating learning objectives.
EXAMPLE : Developing course objectives.
EXAMPLE : Writing learning objectives based on Bloom’s
taxonomy.
-
Request and utilize feedback from students about your course.
EXAMPLE : Here’s a simple end-of-course student
evaluation from Grinnell College.
EXAMPLE : Use the excellent Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG).
- Expect your students to comply with copyright laws.
EXAMPLE : Here’s a very good tutorial on copyright issues.
- Use Rubrics to clarify high expectations.
EXAMPLE
: This resource from Illinois On Line describes
benefits of rubrics, and how to create, use and evaluate whether a
rubric is effective.
-
Assess your own effectiveness periodically about making improvements.
EXAMPLE: Very thoughtful, excellent resource from the Gallery of Teaching and Learning, funded by the Carnegie Foundation.
- Learn more about Critical Thinking Skills and support students’ practical
application of reasoning and other related skills. Here’s a web tutorial to learn more.
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email shansen@oln.org.
Principle 7:
Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
The role technology can play:
Technology provides the means for instructors to build multiple
pathways to learning within the same course by allowing content and
discussion to be provided in multiple ways. Understand your students
and attempt to address a variety of preferences. Support your
students’ knowledge of their unique learning characteristics
and preferences. Use graphics, photos, music, self-paced assignments,
font types, sizes, and colors – use concept mapping, variety of
presentation software, video/audio learning, accept multiple ways
students can demonstrate learning/competence via online
presentations.
OVERVIEW of the principle:
Info, strategies, and examples
-
Assess student learning and your teaching styles. Share what you
learned!
RESOURCE:
Here’s a list of resources on
learning styles,
multiple intelligences and technology
created by eduscape.
EXAMPLE: Grasha teaching styles inventory
and a nice article about teaching styles).
RESOURCE: Here are several additional inventories.
- Create assignments that meet a variety of learning preferences.
EXAMPLE: Technology enhanced Learning and Research at The Ohio State
University met visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic
learners' needs in
teaching about Darwin's life.
-
Explore Multiple Intelligences theory and integrate these principles.
RESOURCE: A brief description of the Multiple intelligences.
EXAMPLE: The College of Business @ University of Cincinnati redesigned its
curriculum utilizing emotional intelligence principles. Here's
an overview of UC's efforts.
RESOURCE: Resources and research from the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in
Organizations housed @ Rutgers, Case Western Reserve University.
-
Understand learner differences and adapt assignments, resources and
expectations to support the diversity of learners in your course.
RESOURCE: Here's an excellent and comprehensive
diversity in higher ed
website.
RESOURCE: Tips for teaching in diverse
classrooms from OLN.
RESOURCE: Info on adult learners and implications for technology.
RESOURCE:
Executive Summary from an Article,
Tech
Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age
(American Association of University Women, 2000). Geared toward K12,
but a foundation of knowledge for teaching women.
RESOURCE: The Third Shift: Women Learning Online (American
Association of University Women, 2001), a report that outlines expectations of
women today (family, work, education) and how online learning factors in (summary).
RESOURCE: VIDEOS: Real Connections: Making Distance Learning
Accessible to Everyone.
RESOURCE:
A distance learning course
that consists of 14 electronic mail messages that can be used for
gaining information on how to meet the academic accommodation needs
of postsecondary students with disabilities.
EXAMPLE : Test yourself for hidden biases with these resources provided at Tolerance.Org,
a web project of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
To suggest resources to ADD to this bank, or to report broken links,
please email
shansen@oln.org.
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