Teaching Online: Tips and Tricks Part 2
Developing content for online classes can be a daunting, time-consuming task. This second part of Tips and Tricks will look at ways to save time and resources for faculty in developing their content for online courses while increasing student participation and learning.
A significant portion of any instructor’s time is dedicated to creating content for their class. As discussed in the previous newsletter, simply transferring face-to-face materials to online delivery mode is not pedagogically sound. Online courses must be developed appropriately to the medium, taking advantage of opportunities to improve the learning experience. The CITT helps instructors explore innovative, cutting-edge teaching practice, and then build and maintain their online courses. We work with faculty to improve students’ educational outcomes while enabling you to utilize your time as a faculty member in the most effective and creative ways.
Creative Commons – There are plenty of repositories containing images, sounds, videos, and even Flash applications that can be used in websites, software, or online classes. Using materials like these can greatly enrich a course and save valuable time and resources. Many files found on websites such as YouTube, Flickr, and blip.tv are licensed under Creative Commons. However, you must ask for permission to use any media that you find anywhere on or off the web, or make sure that it is covered under Fair Use for Teachers policies (for more information see Fair Use for Teachers).To view other popular Creative Commons sites, visit the Resources section at the end of this article or do a Google search for “Creative Commons” for more information.
Social Networks – Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace give your students additional opportunities to become acquainted as well as promote communication and collaboration. Social networks are also increasingly being used for other educational benefits such as connecting with experts in various fields. Links to several social networks are listed below under Resources.
Microblogging – Twitter, Pownce and Plurk are popular social and information networking tools that are also being used in educational settings. Along the same lines as social networks, Twitter can be used to connect faculty at UF or anywhere in the world. It can also be used to help faculty and students stay up to date with events in their respective field. Messages are short, with a maximum of 140 characters, making it easier to keep updated on activities and findings. Since experts all over the world are using Twitter, you will probably learn of current events in your field before the mainstream media has a chance to publish a report.
Peer Review – The Peer Review feature found in the E-learning discussion tool allows students to evaluate each other’s work. Simply assign students to small groups, provide a rubric to use and they can start reviewing each others’ work. You can even have your students grade group projects and written work this way, although this is not natively supported in E-learning. The process of peer review provides students with more experience and a deeper understanding of the material while you will have more time to work on your next online class!
Resources
Creative Commons:
Find CC-licensed content:
- Google Advanced Search:
On the “Advanced Search” page, click “Date, usage rights, numeric range, and more” - Yahoo Creative Commons Search
- Creative Commons: Search
Social Networks:
Microblogging:
Peer Review:
Peer Review, (CITT’s Tech Toolbox)
Related Articles
Tags: Teaching Online
« Back to August - October 2008
Posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008.