This session was presented at Madison College's January 2013 Convocation.

1. THE MAKING OF A QUALITY ONLINE
COURSE:
EXAMPLESFROM THE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND
SCIENCES
Karena Curtis, A&S Online Program Coordinator
Jennifer Lewis, CETL Online Teaching Fellow
Madison College Convocation
January 9, 2013

2. A & S GOALS
 All online AA/AS degree
 Goes live by the end of Spring semester
 Would like to increase offerings
 Students take all online from us and then transfer
 Possible Reverse Degree

3. WHERE SHOULD ONLINE CLASSES GO?
A & S IS WELL COVERED…HOWEVER….
 Departments we would like to see add classes:
 History
 Philosophy
 Music
 Art
 World Language
 Performing Arts
 Sciences…specifically, lab sciences

4. TAKING THE PTTO CLASS
 The expectation of faculty taking PTTO
 Next offerings*:
 Spring 2013: January 21 – March 18
 Summer 2013: Session I: May 20 – July
15, Session II: TBD
 Fall 2013: TBD
* All upcoming courses are 8 weeks in length

5. 5 QUALITY COMPONENTS IN ONLINE
TEACHING
1. Community building
2. Providing information in multiple formats
3. Communication
4. Faculty accessibility
5. Outlining Course Expectations

6. COMMUNITY BUILDING
 Humanize the class – make it REAL!
 Improve Engagement with the Content and
Learning
 Promote Student Interactions
 Higher Rates of Success, Student Retention
 Some Ideas to Use:
 Be present in the online classroom (Blogs,
Announcements, Emails, Feedback, etc.)
 Instructor and Student Profiles (Wikis)
 Video Blogs (YouTube, TeacherTube, Vimeo)
 Group Activities and Assignments (wikis, discussions,
projects)

7. EXAMPLE: JENNIFER LEWIS (EARTH SCIENCES)
 General Geology online
 Student profiles at the beginning of the semester
 Detailed instructor profile
 Video blogs to show instructor, introduce topic and
instill enthusiasm about topic
 Small groups to make connections easier
http://bit.ly/Sk8ZLS
JLNielsen@madisoncollege.edu

8. UNIVERSAL DESIGN PRINCIPALS
 Provide Opportunities for All Students to Learn
 Present Content in Multiple Ways (Text, Audio,
Visual)
 Multiple Options to Express Understanding
 Multiple Means of Engagement (Individual v. group)
 Some Ideas to Use:
 Video Lectures (use captioning, too!)
 Student Projects (allow for multiple ways to present)
 Create variety and “pattern” in your courses
www.udlcenter.org

9. EXAMPLE: KARENA CURTIS (MATH)
 Math website evaluation
 Students locate and evaluate website
 Written evaluation shared with group via Wiki
 Clear project expectations
 “How To” videos for the wiki tool
KMCurtis@madisoncollege.edu

10. WIKIS

11. USING WIKIS
 Utilize videos that show students how to use the
tool!
 Wikis In Plain English:
http://bit.ly/UJLc5f

12. CREATING PAGES
Students start here

13. EDIT PAGES OR READING COMMENTS
Students can Edit pages if you want
to create an activity such as Equation
Erasers or Correction Activities
Click here to read student comments!

14. COMMUNICATION
 Pre-course Communication (Welcome Email)
 Course expectations, time commitment, outcomes
 “Push” Communication (Email, telephone, text
messaging, etc.)
 “Pull” Communication (Video blogs, RSS feeds,
podcasts, etc.)
 Some Tools To Use:
 Use a variety of communication tools and strategies
 Social Media (Twitter, Facebook)
 Video Blogs (YouTube, TeacherTube, Vimeo)

15. EXAMPLE: MAUREEN ALLEY (FEATURE WRITING)
 Two Storifies to show how Twitter is used in the
classroom:
 http://storify.com/MaureenAlley/communication
 http://storify.com/MaureenAlley/sharing-information
 In her own words:
http://bit.ly/XMNpS2
MAlley@madisoncollege.edu

16. FACULTY ACCESSIBILITY
 24/7 availability is not possible!
 Response Time (email, phone, text, Skype, etc.)
 24 hours during the week
 48 hours over the weekend
 Include details in syllabus
 Remind students to follow up on non-responses
 Some Tools to Use:
 Email is the college communication tool – use it!
 Phone calls clear lots of questions fast
 Instant Messaging and Texting
 Social Media (Twitter, Facebook)
 Video calls (Skype, Google Hangouts)

17. EXAMPLE: RAMON FIGUEROA (MATH)
 Camtasia and a tablet PC to create videos
 General class-wide videos
 Individual student videos (help on specific
problems)
 Stores videos in libraries for all formats
 http://www.ramonytere.com/techmath/
 GoToMeeting (recordable) for office hours
RFigueroa@madisoncollege.edu

18. COURSE EXPECTATIONS
 Course Note Prior to Enrolling
 Pre-course Communication (Welcome Email)
 Syllabus
 Instructor Reminders (Email, Blogs, Assignments)
 Some Things to Include:
 Time commitment to complete the course
 Level of interaction required
 Quality of performance

19. EXAMPLE: JENNIFER TRACEY (ECONOMICS)
 Student Presentations using VoiceThread
http://bit.ly/13gIQQa
 Grew out of a discussion board assignment related
to the Presidential elections
 Project Expectations include:
 Detailed project description
 Checklist
 Rubric used for grading
 Check it out here: http://slidesha.re/VTsiHY
JTracey@madisoncollege.edu

20. QUESTIONS???
Madison College Ten Best Practices for Online Teaching:
http://bit.ly/Skdy8Z

21. THANKS TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS!
 Jen Tracey, Economics
 Ramon Figueroa, Math
 Maureen Alley,
 KarenaCurtis, Math
 Jennifer Lewis, Sciences