Resources: FYI
For Your Information from the ITRC
Below is an archive of articles that have been posted in the weekly ITRC Faculty Bulletins. We hope you find them useful.
The ACT Model for Integrating Online Instructional Tools
The Analyze, Create and Teach (ACT) model provides a rapid process for developing courses with WebCT. The model provides a series of decision-making activities that guide the selection of a course template to fit with the level of online involvement. The level of online involvement represents the amount of time and the types of activities that will be completed online. A Web course site may be a small component of a conventional course, a fully online course, or something in between. Find out more about the ACT Model and how you may begin integrating online instructional approaches into your current teaching strategies. We strongly encourage instructors to contact the ITRC to assist them in their planning and implementation of the ACT model.
- posted February 7, 2003
Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever
Since the Seven Principles of Good Practice were created in 1987, new communication and information technologies have become major resources for teaching and learning in higher education. If the power of the new technologies is to be fully realized, they should be employed in ways consistent with the Seven Principles. In Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever, find out how to use computers, video, and telecommunications technologies to advance the Seven Principles in an appropriate manner.
- posted January 31, 2003
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT)
MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments. The resources in MERLOT include:
- links to thousands of learning materials
- sample assignments, which show how the materials could be used in the classroom
- evaluations of the learning materials by other individual users and panels of faculty
- links to people with common interests in a discipline and in teaching and learning
- posted January 24, 2003
Predictors of Performance in the Virtual Classroom
The ability of instructors to identify at-risk cyber-students quickly is critical because the usual cues associated with student anxiety, inattentiveness or apathy are not present in the online classroom, In the article "Predictors of Performance in the Virtual Classroom", Alvin Y. Wang and Michael H. Newlin describe several strategies whereby online instructors can take advantage of the technologically rich learning environment of the Internet in helping their students. Effective use of these strategies can also help reduce attrition rates in Web-based courses.
- posted January 17, 2003
The Impact of computer-based testing on student attitudes and behavior
Giving more tests is often cited as a means of promoting greater student success. This approach, however, has traditionally necessitated a sacrifice of class time. In the article "The Impact of Computer-Based Testing on Student Attitudes and Behavior", Darrell L. Butler reports on the success of a proctored, computer-based testing (PCBT) facility used to overcome this dilemma at Ball State University. While students who used the PCBT lab performed better on tests and expressed positive attitudes about their grades, surveys indicated that students tended to share information about exam questions and answers with other classmates who had not yet taken the exam. Butler concludes that the PCBT facility remains a viable option, and he suggests ways to encourage student honesty in this format.
- posted January 10, 2003
Designing for Learning: The Pursuit of Well-Structured Content
In designing an online course, a course with online components, or a course that includes digital resources, an instructor makes a host of decisions about the goals and framework, as well as identifying and selecting content. While there are many hierarchies of content types, the simplest paradigm of content has three levels: (1) core concepts and principles, (2) well-structured problems with known solutions and (3) less- structured, complex problems without known solutions. In a recent Syllabus article entitled "Designing for Learning: The Pursuit of Well-Structured Content", Judith Boettcher elaborates on the importance of well structured content in the online environment.
- posted January 3, 2003
Transforming Course Management Systems into Effective Learning Environments
WebCT, the course management system used at ISU, has been embraced by hundreds of faculty and instructors to enhance and facilitate student learning. Campuses across the country and around the world are being transformed in a similar fashion. The recent article, "Transforming Course Management Systems into Effective Learning Environments", by Carmean and Haefner (EDUCAUSE Review) explains how the combination of learning principles and web-based course management tools can result in a learning environment that is simply greater than the sum of its parts.
- posted 23 December, 2002
New Procedure for Adding Students to your WebCT Course
ISU has implemented a new procedure for automatically adding students to your WebCT course. Instructors are responsible for ensuring that this procedure is completed correctly. WebCT courses are password protected. In order for students to access your WebCT course, they must be added to your course roster. Detailed instructions for "Adding Students to your WebCT Course" are available. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ITRC immediately at (208)282-5880 or itrc@isu.edu.
- posted 16 December, 2002
Teaching as Inquiry, Experimentation, and Reflection
As the fall semester winds down you may begin to have an opportunity to reflect on what has worked well in the classroom and what hasn't this semester. Based on your reflections, you may want to consider altering portions of your spring courses. This very short article, "Teaching as Inquiry, Experimentation, and Reflection", provides a nice guideline for designing, implementing and assessing your teaching plan.
- posted 9 December, 2002
Effective use of Graphics on the Web
We all know that many of the concepts that we teach our students may be reinforced with good, supporting graphics. However, if you are not familiar with the development of graphics for the online environment, your web page images maybe more of an annoyance than a benefit. The ITRC workshop "Creating Graphics for the Internet with Photoshop" will assist you in creating outstanding visual materials for your web site!
- posted 18 November, 2002
Effective combination of in-class and online teaching strategies
Adopting web-based approaches to teaching does not necessarily mean you need to leave the classroom behind. In fact, research shows that many students benefit from a blending of traditional classroom teaching with innovative, online learning activities. Faculty are finding that they can actually reduce seat time and increase student learning! Find out more about "hybrid courses" in the article Inside Outside, Upside Downside: Strategies for Connecting Online and Face-to-Face Instruction in Hybrid Courses written by Peter Sands at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
- posted November 11, 2002
Getting the Most out of PowerPoint
We've all seen them. The tacky, gaudy, distracting PowerPoint presentations that leave you wondering what the talk was all about. To avoid falling into the same trap, we recommend reading the article brief Getting the Most Out of Power Point. This article presents some good tips on how to effectively use PowerPoint presentations in the classroom.
- posted November 4, 2002
Copyright, Fair Use and the Online Environment
Confused about how the online environment affects decisions about fair use? The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act, recently passed by the Senate, will demand a full reconsideration of the ability to use existing copyright-protected materials in distance education. The article New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act summarizes the outcome of the TEACH Act and how it may affect instructors using online course materials.
- posted October 28, 2002
Writing Objective Test Questions
Interested in learning more about how to write challenging multiple choice questions? Then check out Designing Effective Objective Test Questions from the Computer Assisted Assessment Center at Loughborough University.
- posted October 21, 2002