SUPPORTING STUDENT IN ONLINE COURSES PRESENTED BY: ANITA CRAWLEY

1 SUPPORTING STUDENT IN ONLINE COURSES PRESENTED BY: ANITA CRAWLEY GENERAL CHAT Welcome to today's event! Please introduce yourself and tell us who you are, where you are joining from, and what you do. We will begin with audio at the top of the hour. Thanks for joining today! Erin Null: Good morning from San Francisco! MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: Hello, I am from Sacramento California S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Hello We are logged in from Las Vegas NM Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Ray Lawson, i am the Director of Online Learning and Educational Technology at McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, IL Anita Crawley: Hi everyone -how about letting us know a little more about your roles at your institutions Anita Crawley: Is everyone ok with me addressing you by first names? MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: yes... Executive Director, Online and Continuing Education Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Hi everyone! S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Three faculty members present Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: @S Williams - in what disciplines do the faculty members teach? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Mu role is Drector of RN-BSN Nursing and yes it is Susan Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Randall Fletcher, Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio- Management Professor MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: yes. I am emerging technologies librarian and also teach an online course (I am in law school) S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Two faculty teach nursing, one criminal justice Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: You may enter additional information here in the General Chat if you didn't get to submit your ideas Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Reply to question three: more student-to-student interaction online Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Thanks, Randall. That's definitely a gap for many students, especially outside of online classes Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: I agree

2 Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Center for Transforming Student Services (CENTSS) http://www.centss.org/ Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Add to the list that services must be user friendly. Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: For those who want a quick definition of the CENTSS "generations" used to describe the level of student services, here is a link: http://www.centss.org/structure.html Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: I use class blog for student-to-student interaction. Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Good idea, Ray. You could encourage them to connect for non-class reasons, too. Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Yes, that's exactly what I do. Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Nice! Please share any examples Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Ray, I might try using a blog. I like that idea! Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: FYE = First Year Experience Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: They use it to bring their own experience into the course as it relates to course content. Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Uof I Springfield Peer Mentoring resources http://online.uis.edu/peermentor/resources.html Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Thanks! Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Thank you Anita! S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Thank you Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Thank you Anita! MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: Thank you Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Link to event description page where you can find evaluation for this workshop: http://wli.wiley.com/pg/event_calendar/view/4014 MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: Thanks... logging off WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES HAVE ONLINE STUDENTS REQUESTED? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Requested tuoring online for stat coourse, inofrmation about other services on the university Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Ways to encourage more interaction among students MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: helpdesk support and faculty support S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Susan Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Library, technical support, online tutorial, online orientation

3 MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: thesis writing tutors WHAT TYPES OF SERVICES DOES YOUR CAMPUS PROVIDE FOR ONLINE STUDENTS? MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: Online tutorials, limited helpdesk, faculty support Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: technical support, Online orientation, Online tutorial library support, registration, course scheduling MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: technical support S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: We have online writing center, Library live log in, help desk, our program has an academic advisor S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: our academic advisor is online for students Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Helpdesk, faculty support, college policies and procedures, library support, writing center. WHERE ARE THE GAPS? MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: advising, online readiness assessment MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: 24/7/365 support MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: readiness assessment Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: proctored testing Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: access to instructor 24/7 WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF INNOVATIVE ONLINE SERVICES? (PLEASE SELECT 2) WHAT WILL MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO USE THOSE SERVICES?

4 S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Know that they are there first. Have to be easy for them to use MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: It easy to use and they understand why they should use the service MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: simple, good interface, relevant information, visual MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: intuitive Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Could you provide a few examples for question three please? Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: time-saving opportunity for students, MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: Promoted by the faculty S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Seem relevant to their needs Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: The survey Tech Host - Kevin Kelly: Randall, a campus example is myrit: https://my.rit.edu/uportal/render.userlayoutrootnode.up Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Yes Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Services relevant to students' needs HOW CAN ONLINE INSTRUCTORS SUPPORT ONLINE STUDENTS? Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Virtual office hours and live chats MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: pointing students to helpful resources S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: We are alos their advisors so use online conferencing software for advising and Skype, MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: previewing content and assignments S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Answer questions and direct them to resources on campus Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: first and formost be available, immediacy, instructor presence Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: Responding to emails within 24 hours S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: We require all faculty in the syllabus to answer emails within 24 hours MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: office hours both virtual and in-person MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: we do some FAQs for generally tech problems HOW CAN ONLINE INSTRUCTORS PROVIDE SUPPORT AND AVOID ADDING TO THEIR WORKLOAD? MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: triage, encourage peer support among cohort members

5 MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: faculty mentors Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Use LMS tracking application Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: set up alert system in the LMS S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: We put out global emails about issues that students have or use the news are on Desire2Learn which ois on the home page of the course for all students Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: automate some of the functions in LMS Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Set up system to monitor student progress in online courses OTHER THAN THE OBVIOUS (EITHER MIA OR NOT SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS), HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN STUDENTS ARE AT RISK OF GETTING BEHIND/FAILING? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Submitting late or watch the log in report and see who hasn Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: When they are asking questions about things that are addressed in the syllabus and the course content. S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: No anaswers to emails MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: confusion between online systems - LMS, Campus Portal, etc. MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: require a virtual meeting with instructor MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: Not conflicting, just confusion between the amount of systems on campus that students need to interact with. Lack of integration of systems. Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: When they don t inquire about failing an assignment or quiz S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: We do assign them a 0 for an assignment and that is the only way we see that they respond WHAT CAN FACULTY DO TO IDENTIFY CONCERNS BEFORE THEY BECOME A PROBLEM? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: When students are not doing assignments or are late we contact students initially. As the course progresses not as much MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: Watch activities statistics in LMS - proactive announcements to students Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Communicate with students on a regular basis. MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: Support from student advisors who work collaboratively with the faculty Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Reminding them about due dates. Randall Fletcher [Dayton, OH]: In some cases it may be best to contact the student via phone or schedule a meeting during office hours.

6 ACADEMIC SUPPORT ANY OTHER EXAMPLES? Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Embedded librarian S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Academic coaching or mentoring ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT ANY OTHER EXAMPLES? Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Technical support WHAT CAN ONLINE INSTRUCTORS DO TO MAKE STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE FOR COMPLETING RELEVANT SELF-SUPPORT SERVICES? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Some are part of the course requiremtn and get points for it Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: provide sef-support services and train students on how to use them. MONICA SHARUM [Sacramento, CA]: make it a requirement Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: Give extra points to encourage students to use them. MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: In blended courses, use some of the face to face time to have students interact with the self support services S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Make alot of contact information available where they can easily see it S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Make alot of contact information available where they can easily see it Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: training, training, training S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Bring the support staff into the online log in time-library tutorial WHAT CAN ONLINE INSTRUCTORS DO TO INTEGRATE PEER SUPPORT IN THE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN OF THE COURSE? Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: include group project, wiki, into the course design S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: In the discssion area of our course we have one posting wheree it is ask your classmates. Students can ask a question and ask for responses from their class MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: cohort based structure to programs WHAT CAN ONLINE INSTRUCTORS DO TO FACILITATE PEER SUPPORT THROUGH ONLINE ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM? MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: tech tutors in regional center lobby's for students who are not in class that night MATT GEHRETT [Fresno, CA]: yes... student workers

7 QUESTIONS? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: In WICHE Spider model what is meant by ethic and legal services? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: How do you balance not babysitting the student and mentoring the student S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: So do we Ray Lawson [Crystal Lake, IL]: The difficulty in implementing some the ideas discussed here is the push back from faculty members. How do you go about having instructors embrace these ideas? S WILLIAMS [Las Vegas, NM]: Which do you think are the top two ideas that faculty resist the most?