Distance Learning Mentoring Group Minutes for March 10 , 2005 - 4 P.M. - 5 : 3 0 P.M. AS 192
In attendance at the DLMG meeting : Keri Sanders, Lorna Peralta, Bob Klassen , Sandra Woien, Julia West, Danene Richardson, Sheila Merritt , and Peggy Johnson.
GUEST ACCESS
Sheila showed the group her terrific online communication courses (COM 110 Interpersonal Communication and COM 263 Intercultural Communication). Contact Sheila and ask for guest permission is you wish to see her course (smerritt@mail.mc.maricopa.edu).
SELECTIVE RELEASE
Sheila found when she started teaching online that her students didn't read but about a third of what she had written. She found herself reiterating in emails to them information that was already posted within the course. Her solution to this problem is to use the selective release feature of WebCT. Most of the course material is available only after the student has read/understood some material.
For example, when a student first logs into the course homepage, there is only one icon visible on the course homepage. It is the Orientation icon. The students clicks on that icon and is directed to read the Syllabus, FAQ section (frequently asked questions), Calendar, Distance Learning Tutorial ( http://dltutorials.mc.maricopa.edu/ ), information on Navigating the Course, Using the Bulletin Board, and Worksheet 0.
Worksheet 0 is a quiz containing 20 questions about the other sections in the Orientation section (syllabus, FAQ, calendar etc.). Students may take it multiple times. Sheila has WebCT set up so that the student cannot see any other course materials until they earn at least 18 points out of the 20 possible on Worksheet 0.
When Sheila chooses the selective release feature, she says the student can only view the rest of the course "after 17" for worksheet 0 which means the student must earn a score of at least 18. If Sheila wanted the student to view the rest of the course after they completed Worksheet 0 and did not care about their score, then she would have selected "not blank" for the selective release criteria.
As part of their orientation assignment, students must also post an introduction on the bulletin board and respond to postings by at least four of their classmates, and send Sheila an email. Sheila gives her students two weeks to complete the orientation (her course is 14 weeks in length and covers 8 modules).
When the student has earned their 18 points (or higher) on Worksheet 0, they now see on the course homepage icons for the Modules, the Semester Project, Gradebook, and Quizzes (in addition to the Syllabus, FAQs etc.).
BULLETIN BOARD
Sheila uses one homepage for multiple sections of a course. She has a different icon for each bulletin board link. She enters the student's section number in the gradebook. Then she uses the selective release feature of WebCT so that the student can only access the bulletin board icon that pertains to their course section number. So if Sheila is teaching 3 sections of the same course, she is running 3 separate bulletin board discussions, but the links to all 3 are on the one course homepage. This makes the number of students participating in the discussion manageable, and Sheila has to only go to one location to view all 3 bulletin boards. Sheila selects "section equals 3607" for the selective release of the bulletin board to students enrolled in section 3607.
VOCABULARY QUIZZES
Sheila's students take review quizzes on the vocabulary. These are open book, no time constraints, and they may retake them as often as they wish within the specified dates.
CALENDAR
Sheila creates the course calendar using the Tables feature of Front Page. This is much easier and quicker than using the WebCT calendar. It is also available for easy editing when the next semester rolls around. The WebCT calendar must be re-created from scratch each semester. In Front Page, select Table from the top toolbar, then Insert. You can specify the width to be 80% of the screen and then the calendar will print better for students (it shouldn't run off the sides of the page).
INFORMATION PAGE
Sheila has a site on her webpage (outside of WebCT, in her homedirs folder), for prospective students. It contains the course syllabus, calendar, and a sample module.
FORMS
Sheila uses forms to make grading asssignments much easier. Prior to this, students wanted to send assignments as attachments and that gives you great exposure to computer viruses. Using forms is much quicker and easier than using WebCT's dropbox. With the dropbox, the student has to download the assignment, type in their answer in Word, upload it, send it, and then the instructor downloads it, corrects it, uploads it and sends it.
When she creates a form, Sheila inputs the subject name (like Assignment One), a box for the student to type in their email address, their name, and a dialogue box under each question for the student to type in their answer.
Then in Outlook, Sheila creates rules for handling these emails (form submissions) when they arrive in her mailbox. She creates a separate folder in Outlook for each assignment (e.g. Assignment One folder). She tells Outlook that when an email arrives with a particular subject (e.g. Assignment One), to move it to the folder entitled "Assignment One" (which she has located inside a folder for COM 110).
When Sheila wants to grade the assignment, she clicks on it, puts in her comments. She manually enters the student's grade into the gradebook for the assignment. She moves the assignment to a "Graded" folder she has created. Then when all students have submitted the assignment, she clicks on the "reply" button to each form she graded and sends them to the students.
This approach has saved an incredible amount of time for Sheila. I've attached a copy of one of Sheila's forms. It is easy to modify for your use. If you have problems, make an appointment to work with her on it.
Click on these links for some forms that Sheila Merritt uses in her course and forwarded for your use .
You'd need to make some modifications for your course, but it is pretty clear which things stay and which need modification. If it isn't, or you need help, Melanie can work with you. Sheila mentioned that this code doesn't tell it to word wrap, so if you use these forms, you might ask Melanie to help you insert that feature, if possible.
Melanie Kroening has developed a helpful resource on using forms. You can access this resource at Forms
GROUP DISCUSSION BOARDS
Melanie reports that there is no way to put groups on separate discussion boards from within WebBoard, but the WebCT bulletin board does allow this. So if you wanted students to work on group projects, you may want to use the WebCT bulletin board rather than WebBoard.
DISCLAIMER
You should include a copy of the Maricopa Community College Disclaimer on your course homepage (and on the first page of other files you post on the web). A notice from our chancellor, Rufus Glasper, indicates the importance of this. Include a link to this site: http://www.maricopa.edu/disclaimer.html
Peg Johnson
johnson@mail.mc.maricopa.edu
phone (480)461-7703