Preparing ITAs to Teach Online

Transcription

1 TESOL ITA Interest Sec/on InterSession Preparing ITAs to Teach Online 3/23/15 Handout hop://linguis/cs.ohio.edu/elip/?page_id=494 Dawn Bikowski, PhD Director, English Language Improvement Program Linguis/cs Department Ohio University Topics Prevalence Online Educa8on Trends in online educa/on When to consider online learning TA roles for online learning What is needed to teach online Preparing ITAs for teaching online Assessment of online classes How common are online classes now? 1 out of 4 students in the US took at least one online course in 2013 (Inside Higher Ed, 2015) Prevalence Online Educa8on Who teaches fully online students? Mainly local public two- or four- year ins/tu/ons (Inside Higher Ed, 2015) (c) D. Bikowski, bikowski@ohio.edu, 2015 Prevalence Online Educa8on How many are interna8onal students? ~1% of the 2.6 million students in fully online programs in fall 2013 (Inside Higher Ed, 2015) 1

2 TESOL ITA Interest Sec/on InterSession 3/23/15 Are all Classes Best for Online Learning? Courses that match the online environment Guiding vs. tradi/onal courses that match F2F Helps students (and teachers!) develop their digital literacy & computer competence Retrieve, analyze, and communicate informa/on Picture Digital Literacy book cover Changing Reali8es of Teaching Changing student expecta/ons about engagement and interac/vity Shorter aoen/on spans Expecta/ons for varied media sources Ability to meet various learning styles (Kessler, Bikowski, & Boggs, 2012) TA Roles in Online Classes Mentors / Online Learning Coaches: 1. Check that students are comple8ng materials AOend to student progress Grade assignments Report grades TA Roles in Online Classes Mentors / Learning Coaches: 2. Communicate and Tie Course Together Communicate with faculty Ini/ate and maintain contact with students Respond to students in a /mely manner Facilitate e- learning and discussion groups What is Needed to Teach Online? 7. COMMUNICATION SKILLS 1. Support from Administra/on 2. Content Knowledge 3. Technical Skills 4. Organiza/on/Delivery/Time Management Skills 5. Problem- Solving Skills 6. Clear expecta/ons and understanding of: TA/teaching du/es US privacy laws 7.?? (c) D. Bikowski, bikowski@ohio.edu,

3 TESOL ITA Interest Sec/on InterSession 1. Comprehensibility 3/23/15 2. Teacher Presence ü Segmentals & Suprasegmentals Intona/on & emo/on; emphasis? Nonverbal communica/on Facial expressions? Pragma/cs and grammar Politeness, explicitness, hedging? Prepared for all modes of communica/on Video, audio, text, combined Increasing Teacher & Social Presence 1. Reveal who you are as a person Your background, stories, humor 2. Get to know your students 3. Ini/ate regular communica/on 4. Use personalized communica/on Including personalized feedback 5. Use a variety of modes of communica/on Virtual office hours Skype, Google Hangouts Telephone The Humanity behind the Technology Building an Online Community Build social presence Start with rapport- building ac/vi/es Break larger groups into smaller groups Create groups inten/onally Make sure students have a shared goal 3. Self- Confidence Virtual poise & ini/a/ve Cross- cultural communica/on skills Ability to handle challenges to authority Polite Interpersonal persistence (c) D. Bikowski, bikowski@ohio.edu, Facilita8ng Online Learning Leading collabora/on & online discussions Monitoring group projects/wri/ng Contribu/ng & asking ques/ons, managing conflict 3

4 TESOL ITA Interest Sec/on InterSession 3/23/15 Preparing ITAs 1. Integrate technology into the course Flipped Classroom VoiceThread Na/ve Accent pronuncia/on soqware Online audio/video recordings Course Management Systems (Blackboard Collaborate) PREPARING ITAs Thanks to: Lara Wallace, PhD Edna Lima Faculty teaching ITAs, Ohio University 2. Students Prepare for Topic Important: Knowing students, knowing content, & building rela/onships with students Video: Voices of Exemplary Online Teachers hops://vialogues.com/vialogues/play/ Students Prepare for Topic hops:// 1. High touch over high tech 2. Be explicit 3. Log in regularly 4. Give personal feedback 2. Students Prepare for Topic Principle 4: Great online courses are defined by teaching, not technology Principle 5: Sense of community and social presence are essen/al to online excellence An absolutely rive/ng online course: Nine principles for excellence in web- based teaching hop:// (c) D. Bikowski,

5 TESOL ITA Interest Sec/on InterSession 3/23/15 Preparing ITAs 3. In- class discussion of quali8es of effec8ve online teaching Evalua/on of online learning experiences they ve had as students, teachers, professionals Opportuni/es & challenges for non- na/ve English speakers ITAs set personal communica/on goals (many apply to both online and F2F teaching) Video tour of online class environment made by instructor (as homework) Preparing ITAs 4. Instructor of the ITA class teaches online Instructor leads discussion Discourse Intona/on Asking and Answering Ques/ons Using visuals effec/vely Assessment of Online Classes Quality Ma\ers Assessment of learner interac/on, feedback, teacher communica/on Evalua8on of Mentors 1. Mentor contacts students regularly and responds to ques/ons in a reasonable length of /me. 2. Mentor is helpful if there is a misunderstanding regarding course materials or assignments. 3. Students would be comfortable having the same mentor in a future course. 4. Students would recommend mentor to other students. 5. Communica/ons from mentor and lead instructor are consistent and clear. (Thomas, 2005, Florida State University) (c) D. Bikowski, bikowski@ohio.edu, 2015 Preparing ITAs 4. Instructor of the ITA class teaches online Skype, Adobe Connect, Google Hangouts Put ITAs in separate labs or from home Vary group dynamics Preparing ITAs 5. ITAs teach online in groups of 3-4 Prac/ce presenta/on with PPT Will do presenta/on in- person later in course Classmates ask ques/ons & give feedback Try with and without video Classmates complete feedback sheets What Strengths ITAs might bring to Online Classes Awareness of needing to think about their speaking during teaching Increased maturity and life experiences Ability to make quick and effec/ve changes as needed: flexible, adaptable, problem- solving Strong content knowledge Strong work ethic 5

6 TESOL ITA Interest Sec/on InterSession 3/23/15 How does Training for Online Teaching Support F2F Teaching? 1. Communica/ve competence 2. Teaching sensi/vity 3. Digital literacy 4. Self- confidence and teaching presence 5. Interac/on in English References Gunawardena, C. (1995). Social presence theory and implica/ons for interac/on and collabora/ve learning in computer conferencing. Interna1onal Journal of Educa1onal Telecommunica1ons, 1(2-3), Henry, J., & Meadows, J.(2008). An absolutely rive/ng online course: Nine principles for excellence in web- based teaching. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 34. Retrieved from hop:// Straumsheim, C. (2015, March). Distance Ed Myths Debunked. Inside Higher Ed. hops:// Thomas, R. C. (2005). Suppor/ng Online Students with Personal Interac/on. Educause Quarterly, 1, hop:// online- students- personal- interac/on Handout hop://linguis/cs.ohio.edu/elip/?page_id=494 Dawn Bikowski, PhD English Language Improvement Program (c) D. Bikowski,