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Online Video Resources for Faculty

Introduction

Videos can help enhance the classroom learning experience, and there are plenty of sites and organizations providing videos that can benefit the overall course. This article presents some video resources that faculty can explore for use in their classrooms. These video resources are not all targeted to students in higher learning, but a majority of them offer compelling videos with topics, issues, and lessons that UMUC students might find helpful.

The online video resources mentioned here are just a sampling of the sites available to instructors. I have used videos from these sites to enhance my classes as an adjunct at UMUC and at other institutions because of their ease of accessibility to students and their relevancy to the topics that I am covering in classes. The sites include videos ranging from tutorials to stimulating documentaries to video-on-demand channels dedicated specifically to higher learning.

Lynda.com

A popular software training site, Lynda.com has grown from a supplemental site that supported book lessons to a full-fledged online tutorial Web site. The subjects covered include Web and Interactive, Video, Photography, Programming/Developer, Design, Business, Audio, 3D / 2D Animation, and even some documentaries.

With content from hundreds of authors, this site offers tutorial videos for just about anything that you would do on a computer. While the site requires paid membership, one feature that I really appreciate is that the introductory videoswhich are often about the overview of a software program, its updates, or an introduction to certain topicsare free to watch in segments, with most no longer than seven minutes.These free videos can easily be shared by URL or e-mail directly from the video portal. You will need to review these free videos to determine if they are appropriate for your class.

Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED)

Devoted to ideas worth spreading, the TED site offers an ever-growing collection of thought-provoking speakers, covering almost every subject imaginable. The videos can be filtered by subject matter, language, TED events, and length (between 3 and 18 minutes), to name a few options. I have found that students really enjoy these videos, and they often lead to great discussions and help students to begin thinking critically about a topic.

While there is an option to register, TED remains a free video resource that is open to the public. The videos can also be easily shared via various share links in the site.

PBS Frontline

A portal for PBSs popular documentary programs, the Frontline series produces many thought-provoking documentaries that are relevant to current issues. The Frontline portal has an archive of all the programs it has produced and aired, which cover a range of topics including social issues, criminal justice, the environment, government, and technology. I often send my students to the Frontline series to watch various video segments. The videos can be shared by e-mail or through the sites embedding options.

PBS offers an online archive all of its programs through its Web site.

Howcast

Howcast is a personal favorite of mine, simply because it is one of those how-to video portals that not only shows the viewer (sometimes in great detail) how to do something, but also because it is a video resource where the videos are produced by anyone who has a solution on how to do whatever it is that they want to produce. In other words, it is essentially by the viewers, for the viewers.

Howcast videos cover topics on just about anything you can possibly imagine. There is even a Howcast on how to make a Howcast video. Howcast videos have a certain level of production quality and are selected by the team that runs the site. The Howcast team also creates videos from its studios as well. Howcast videos can be shared by e-mail or by using the sites embed options.

Vimeo

Vimeo prides itself on high-quality video created and uploaded by users. Often thought of among my students as YouTubes competitor, Vimeo offers an alternative video outlet, including its own Video School that offers tutorials on a variety of topics related to creating videos. It also includes various categories , from which one can select amongst thousands of videos ranging from Arts to Education/DIY to Music and Sports.

Vimeo also offers thousands of Channels, created and maintained by users. The videos presented on Vimeo can be shared or embedded.

Open Culture

Open Culture is dedicated to the best free cultural educational media on the web and has quickly become one of my favorite repositories of free videos. In keeping with the open university concept, this site is dedicated to providing free courses, audio books, movies, textbooks, and lessonsall of which respect copyright rules. You will not find any videos that infringe on the rights of copyright holders.

In the Free Movies section of this site (under Essentials), you can find 450 videos in the categories of Comedy and Drama; Noir, Thriller, Horror and Hitchcock; Westerns John Wayne; Silent Films; Documentaries; Animations, and a listing of additional free movie sites. It is important to note that some of these videos link to external sites that house the videos, and depending on the site on which they are hosted, you may or may not be able to simply share the video by e-mail or embed code. In this case, you would have to copy and paste the URL of the video link into your classroom to allow students to view it.

YouTube

When it comes to online video, YouTube is probably the first place we find ourselves searching. As the leader in on-demand streaming video, YouTube has set the precedent in delivering online videos. While most of us can agree that YouTube videos deliver a variety of quality, both in terms of content and production value, what makes YouTube highly popular is its for the users, by the users concept.

YouTube users can create their own channels, similar to Vimeo, to which one can subscribe and receive notifications when a new video appears on that channel. You can easily search within a channel by using the Search Channel function located on a channels main page. YouTube has millions of channels. While most of the channels do not provide much in terms of educational content, two channels that do have instructional substance are highlighted below:

National Public Radio (NPR) Channel
This channel provides short videos in the form of slideshows and animations of stories that are covered in some of the NPR radio programs. There are also full-motion videos of lectures and speeches that are given by prominent speakers or on-location footage filmed as part of an NPR story.

The Open University (OU) Channel
The Open University channel provides videos that are related to courses at this UK-based institution. They are also free to use, share, and embed for others. The videos in this channel include lectures, presentations by OU students, OU student testimonials, and highlight reels. You will need to search through the videos to find something that pertains to the subject matter you are teaching.

As members of the UMUC academic community, it is also important to note one additional channel:

UMUC Information and Library Services Channel
This channel includes a series of videos on how to find or acquire various types of library resources, citation styles, and other skills necessary for coursework at UMUC. These, and many additional videos, are also available on the UMUC Information Library Services Web page.

Summary

The video resources listed here comprise only a handful of the vast number of videos that can be found in the Internet. I encourage you to carefully review and evaluate any video that you may be interested in using as an assigned or supplemental classroom resource for its appropriateness in subject, production quality, and general viewability before actually introducing it to students. The videos in the sites mentioned here can also greatly benefit you as a faculty member, helping you learn about something new or even just keeping you current with the latest technology.

The references to the various online video resources mentioned in this article should not be taken as an endorsement of any particular tool, technology, or company. If you are thinking of integrating any of these online videos into your course, check with your academic administrator for suitability.

Creating Transcripts for Your Instructional Media

Introduction

Many tools are available today that allow faculty to create their own instructional media objects, such as audio and video clips, podcasts, screencasts, multimedia presentations, and more. The use of these materials can help make a class more interactive and engaging for the learner. But what if your students cannot access the media object you created and posted to the classroom? This article examines some reasons why students may be unable to access your media objects, discusses how to make your media objects accessible through the use of transcripts, and identifies some tools you can use to help create transcripts that you can post alongside your media objects.

Inaccessible Media

Many faculty have been using free and low-cost tools to create small, yet decent, multimedia enhancements for their classrooms. These quick, low-risk solutions let faculty produce custom touches that can enhance the course materials and provide a different way for students to learn the subject matter. Once an instructional media object has been created, it is often just a matter of posting it to the appropriate place in the classroom and providing students with instructions on how to use it. However, consider the following student situations that may arise:

Once an instructional media object has been created, it is often a simple matter of posting it to the appropriate place in the classroom and providing students with instructions on how to use the object. However, consider the following student situations that may arise:

Hearing or visual impairment
Lack of computer speakers
Hardware/Software issues
Slow Internet connection
Computer setup and usage cannot access media controls
Different learning styles
Speakers of different languages

Any number of students could be facing one or more of these situations. For those students who do have issues with accessing an instructional media object, an alternate solution is needed.

Transcripts

Transcripts are good complements for media objects for several reasons:

They allow for multimodal learning. Students who learn better by reading a document than by watching videos or listening to audio can make use of a text-only version of the instructional content.
If learners cannot access a media object for any reason, the transcript can serve as an accessible text equivalent.
Some students whose native language is not the same as the speakers may better understand unfamiliar words or phrases in a media object if they can also see how those words or phrases are written.
If the audio quality of the media object is poor or its volume is not loud enough, students may have difficulty understanding it and can listen to the audio while referring to the transcript as a supplement.
Text transcripts generally load faster than media objects and can easily be printed and quickly scanned by the reader for the needed informationwhich can be particularly useful for later review/study and/or when working offline.

For your own instructional media, it is a good idea to create a transcript during the production process. The transcript should include the title or name of the media object and contain as accurate a representation of the audio as possible. Appropriately chunked paragraphs will make the text easier to read. You can then post both the media object and the transcript in the classroom at the same time.

Keep in mind that you are not expected to create transcripts for others media, such as YouTube videos or iTunesU podcasts. The Office of Disability Services can coordinate transcripts for these external items as requested by students.

Dictation Tools

The easiest way to create a transcript is by preparing a script ahead of time, from which you can read when you produce your media object. The script itself can then become the transcript that you post along with the media object. This important step is often forgotten in the interest of saving time so that the media object can be created as quickly as possible.

If you do not already have a prepared script or do not have time to type one yourself, the free dictation tools listed below may be able to assist you in creating transcripts for your instructional media on the fly. Computer-based tools allow you to dictate directly into word processing files and other documents that convert your voice to text. You can save these files and then upload them to the classroom. Mobile dictation apps allow you to dictate to various services, such as text messages, notes stored on the device, and e-mail that you can send to yourself and retrieve on a computer (and then save to a document that can be uploaded into the classroom). You may also be able to upload the file to a DropBox account. Please be aware of possible dictation time limits before utilizing one of these tools.

When using dictation tools, you may be able to generate better quality voice transcriptions by speaking into a headset microphone. Best Practices for High-Quality Audio outlines several other tips that will come in handy while you are dictating with these tools. Most of the tools will require you to train the software to some degree to understand your voice; be prepared to make at least a few corrections/edits to the text output.

e-Speaking For Windows XP (also functions in Vista and Windows7); allows users to control their computers with their voice and to dictate text to a word processing file, which can be saved and posted to the classroom. Visit the e-Speaking demo page for more details.
Windows Speech Recognition This voice-recognition tool is built into the operating systems of Windows Vista and Windows 7 and allows users to dictate text into a document. Microsofts Sounds and Speech pages provide detailed information on how to get started and use the tool effectively.
Dragon Dictation Mobile voice-recognition app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices; allows users to dictate to text messages, e-mails, personal notes, and more.
FlexT9 Mobile app for Android devices; utilizes Dragon Dictation voice-recognition software (as well as other input modalities) to dictate messages to e-mail and elsewhere. Note: The free trial has ended, and the app now costs $4.99.
Vlingo Mobile app for Android, iOS, Blackberry, and some Windows devices; voice-powered virtual assistant provides option for users to dictate e-mail and text messages.
Evernote Mobile app for Android, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows 7 devices; for Android 4.0 and above (plus a few other Android devices), has integrated speech-to-text transcription that stores the original recording with the text note; files are saved in your Evernote account and can also be accessed from a computer.

Note: This article mentions a few examples of dictation tools; many more are available. These references should not be taken as an endorsement of any particular tool, technology, or company. If you are thinking of implementing any of these tools, please review the developer pages to determine whether the tool is compatible with your system and meets your needs.

Closing

Media objects can help enhance student learning and help students become more engaged with the subject matter. If a media object cannot be used by a student, a transcript may help provide the missing link and still allow the student to access the instructional content. If you need to create a full transcript on the fly and dont have the ability to type one from scratch, you can use a variety of dictation tools to have your voice converted to a text format that can be saved and shared with your students in the online classroom.

Engaging Students in Online Classes with Multimedia

Introduction

How do we as instructors project ourselves as real people to our students in online classes? How can we clarify concepts and assignments beyond using written text? How can we help students engage with course material, one another, and usthe instructors? Building community in an online course where students cannot hear or see one another or their instructors can be a challenge. Best practices for online teaching point to a myriad of text-based questions and activities instructors can use to help students feel comfortable participating in a learning community; however, I wanted to see if using audio and/or video helped further students sense of community in the online classroom. This article provides highlights from an eight-week study of how some UMUC undergraduate writing and communications instructors are using multimedia in their online classes and presents recommendations for faculty who are interested in learning how to use multimedia in their own online courses.

Background

I have been teaching writing and communication courses face-to-face and online at UMUC since 2004. From my first online course, I found myself wanting to build community in my online classes that mimicked my face-to-face classes. In an effort to strengthen relationships in my online courses, I held chat sessions two times a week for students to ask questions, for me to clarify concepts, and for students and myself to get to know one another. By engaging in informal chats, I noticed an increase in student conference responses. I noted that those students who routinely entered in classroom chats would work together well in online groups, and these students asked me more questions than students who did not participate in chats. Even with the chats, I felt as though something were missing from my online courses.

When a student had a particular question about a concept that would take quite a bit of time to explain, I would call the student to clarify assignments and key concepts. I wanted to find a way to record and copy my clarification of assignments for all students to hear. A year after I was hired, a colleague showed me how to create narrated PowerPoint slides and upload them into my online classrooms. My students loved the lectures. Student comments ranged from stating that they enjoyed hearing my voice to claiming that the lectures helped them rethink assignments and better understand course topics.

Encouraged by student feedback and responses, I sought to find other faculty who were using multimedia in their online classes. I took any Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) course that provided information about integrating technology. At the 2008 Summer Institute (a two-and-a-half-day conference offered by CTL for UMUC faculty), we were taught how to use Wimba, a suite of tools available to all UMUC faculty that allows instructors to create audio and video lectures in addition to holding synchronous online meetings with students with audio and video capabilities. We were taught how to use the tools and then met in small groups to brainstorm possible uses for audio and video in the online class. Instructors created narrated syllabi, audio conferences, video chats, and embedded links to supplemental materials. The possible uses for audio and video as educational supplements seemed limited only by the imagination of the instructor.

Multimedia Technology Study

In response to UMUCs call for faculty research proposals in the spring 2010, I wrote a proposal seeking permission to study how technology is used in UMUC undergraduate writing and communications online classes. Specifically, I sought to understand:

Who is using technology?
Why and how is technology being used?
What are the issues/barriers with technology use?
How can we support champions of technology?
How do we encourage others who want to use technology?

With permission from the Office of Evaluation and Assessment, I spent eight weeks interviewing and surveying undergraduate faculty and students in writing and communication courses.

In fall 2010, I created and collected results of a faculty survey using Zoomerang. Five hundred and nine writing and communication faculty membersdrawn from the lists of faculty rostered into the WRTG and COMM faculty community classrooms in WebTychowere e-mailed a link to the survey with a greeting and invitation from me to complete the survey. The survey sought to obtain general information regarding faculty use of and interest in integrating multimedia technologies into their online courses. Questions included what type of technology the participant uses in the classroom, the purpose for using technology in the classroom, any barriers to using technology in the classroom, and future interest in using technology in the classroom. Faculty were also asked to share any comments or views about the use of multimedia technology in online courses.

In addition to the survey, I phone-interviewed approximately 30 instructors (who used multimedia in their online classes) and students (who completed classes in which multimedia was used). I also observed 10 online classes (with permission from the instructors) in which multimedia was used. I sought to understand faculty and student opinions on the effectiveness of the multimedia technology. Specifically, I sought to understand if multimedia use in online classes affects instructor-to-student interaction, student-to-student and student-to-instructor interaction, and student interaction with course content.

Study Findings

Faculty Feedback

During the 30 days the survey link was active, 98 completed surveys were collected. Results of the faculty survey and faculty interviews show that a majority of survey participants and interviewees believe that the use of multimedia in the online classroom improves faculty-to-student interaction and student-to-student interaction. Surveyed faculty agreed that the use of multimedia advances student engagement with key course concepts and material. Of equal importance is the significant finding that all faculty interviewed and surveyed who use multimedia technology in the classroom have grounded their use of technology in an effort to connect with students and improve students understanding of course material. Of the 98 instructors who responded to the survey:

80% stated that audio/video technology use is relevant to their classroom
70% agreed that technology helps students understand course content
68% agreed that multimedia technology helps students engage with their instructor
49% believed that the use of multimedia helps students engage with other students in the class

Some faculty strongly argued for the use of multimedia in the classroom. One participant stated, Today instruction and media should be synonyms. Another faculty member commented, I think, deployed intelligently, and in a way that does not overwhelm or detract from the rest of the classroom experience or material, tech resources are invaluable ways of presenting material in alternate modalities, or in ways not possible with traditional classroom resources. The comments from faculty may coincide with how comfortable they felt with integrating technology. Faculty seem to believe that the use of multimedia in the online class can help students engage with course material, faculty, and classmates; at the same time, however, faculty hold various opinions on how to effectively integrate multimedia technologies into the online classroom to achieve this enhanced engagement.

During the faculty interviews and online classroom observations, I found faculty using multimedia in the classroom to:

Provide orientation to the course;
Hold ice-breaking community-building exercises;
Deliver class announcements;
Provide lecture material;
Provide feedback to students (assignments and comments);
Hold office hours and synchronous class meeting times for question-and-answer sessions;
Clarify assignments; and
Encourage student-to-student interaction and discussion of course material.

Faculty mentioned numerous multimedia tools used in their online classes. Instructors use presentation technology such as narrated PowerPoint files, Prezi presentations, and private YouTube videos to create instructional lectures to further explain course content to students. They embed links to materials such as Google Docs and wikis for students to work in small groups to create assignments and to discuss course material. In addition, many use multimedia synchronous technologies such as ooVoo, Skype, Wimba, and Adobe Connect to meet with students to hold office hours, conduct question-and-answer sessions, and discuss course material. A communications faculty member who has been using Adobe Connect since 2006 describes the synchronous meetings as: the missing link to online education. My students have commented that our sessions are even better than live face-to-face courses because they can go back and review sessions.

Faculty reported an increased student perception of instructor presence when using multimedia in the online classroom. For example, one writing instructor stated that students have commented that his use of Skype to hold office hours in addition to his use of MP3 audio files to provide feedback on assignments makes them feel connected to him as a teacher. Students noted that the class feels like a face-to-face class when they can see him online; as one student stated, I feel as though you are here giving me personalized feedback.A faculty member who uses audio and video multimedia in his writing classes to provide an overview of the weeks assignments, feedback on assignments, and lecture material noted seeing a trend in higher student engagement both in the class and with him: Students e-mail me more often since I started using audio in the classroom. Multimedia use has made my classes more interesting and engaging, with students having more interest in the course and building stronger rapport with me as a teacher.

Many faculty interviewed embed YouTube videos in addition to asking their students to post links to relevant videos to encourage student-to-student interaction. One faculty member reports, Students tend to participate more with one another when they see a video in the conference. They will respond with more depth to each others comments about a video than just text-based prompts. A writing adjunct faculty member noted similar experiences: When I post videos, students are engaged with one another. They want to react to one anothers comments about videos.

Many of the faculty indicated that they began using technology after seeing a colleagues use of multimedia in an online class. One instructor stated, I went to a faculty meeting for Education Principles (EDCP) where a few faculty members gave a presentation and provided examples of tools they use to teach the class. The same faculty member went on to say, a lot of the tools I learned from someone else. For example, I tried using Jing after seeing [name withheld] use it in her class. I am looking for different things to incorporate into my class. A faculty member who teaches a speech class explained that a course chair helped her integrate YouTube videos into her online class. Additionally, a writing instructor stated that he began using audio files to provide comments to student papers after he saw an example of an audio response posted by his academic director three years ago.

Some faculty commented that UMUC events such as the Summer Institute and CTL workshops motivated them to begin using multimedia in their own online classrooms. For example, a writing faculty member stated, I took a CTL course, and the instructor linked a video to a brief Shakespeare performance. It was a revelation to me. I have always read Shakespeare, but when you see it, it is a fuller, deeper experience. A communications instructor remarked, The Summer (Leadership) Institute inspired me. I saw how we could create audio messages and embed them into our WebTycho class.

Student Feedback

Interviewees were asked to provide feedback and any information about how the instructor used multimedia to connect with the students. Many of the interviewees stated that they felt a connection to the instructor because of the use of technology in the class. For example, one student remarked, After a while, it felt like you knew the instructor and helped when problems arose to contact him more freely. I have taken online classes for 10 years, and I feel like I know Professor [name withheld] better than any other professor due to our chat sessions, his video lectures, and our e-mail and WebTycho correspondence. Another student stated, The videos made me feel like I was in a real classroom listening to the professor. I feel like she cared how I performed in the class.

Students noted that the use of multimedia furthered student interaction with the faculty member as well as with classmates. For example, one interviewee stated, I feel like he cared about the students and me. Another interviewee commented, The only time I felt connected to my classmates or my professor was during the online speech class where the professor used video and Skype. I feel as though I have never had interaction with the professor in my online courses in the past.

Students were asked whether the instructors use of multimedia helped facilitate student-to-student interaction or helped the student feel comfortable contributing to the online class. One student stated that multimedia usage enabled him to meet with classmates to work on a group presentation. He said, In one class we used Skype to meet with our instructor and classmates. I could meet with my group even though I was literally halfway around the world. We selected a time each week and met using Skype to discuss our group project.

One interviewed student relayed how the use of technology personalized the class for her. She noted, Online classes as a whole are impersonal; there is no interaction. This same student continued:

In an online class using video conferencing I could see my classmates and my professor. I got to know everyone in the class, and it made me want to log in to see the class. I learned more in the class with video than any other class I have taken at UMUC because I really got to know my classmates and my professor.

In short, students indicated that multimedia in online courses was beneficial to them.

Recommendations

Faculty are using a variety of multimedia in countless ways in their online classes. The rationale for beginning multimedia use varies from inspiration from colleagues to the desire to improve faculty evaluations to the desire to create community in the online classroom. Student interviews and class observations pointed to student satisfaction and even excitement with the use of multimedia in the online classroom. Students cite a perceived sense of faculty caring and a sense of connection with faculty who use multimedia in the online classroom.

UMUC offers a wealth of information for those faculty who are interested in integrating multimedia into their online courses. The Center for Support of Instruction (CSI) as well as CTL provide numerous articles, tutorials, and online classes for faculty to learn how to use multimedia audio and/or video. In addition, the Effective Writing Center (EWC) is a great place to begin integrating multimedia into online courses. The EWC has a library of close to 50 interactive tutorials that instructors can add to an online class by merely entering the URL for the lecture. The tutorials include presentations on APA and MLA, how to write a thesis statement, and numerous interactive tutorials on grammar and document design. The EWC also offers online advisers who will provide a one-week multimedia conference to help guide students through any assignment an instructor creates.

Many of the interviewed faculty learned how to integrate multimedia technologies by trial and error. Many faculty are unaware of the technical support available through departments such as CSI and CTL, which employ experts of multimedia technology. In addition, faculty who are interested in using technology can use the faculty 999 online classrooms to connect with champions of technology use in the online environment. I encourage faculty who are interested in learning about multimedia technology to visit the following Web sites:

Sloan-C Online Workshops:

http://sloanconsortium.org/workshops/2012schedule

DE Oracle Tech Skills/Software (UMUC Center for Support of Instruction):

http://deoracle.org/tech-skills-software/

UMUC Center for Teaching and Learning:

http://www.umuc.edu/ctl/upload/CTL-Workshop-Schedule-2012.pdf

UMUC Effective Writing Center:

An Overview of Robert Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

Background on Gagns Conditions of Learning Theory

The Conditions of Learning theory is familiar to those who study and work in the fields of educational psychology and instructional design. Developed by Robert M. Gagn (19162002) and described in his book Conditions of Learning, originally published in 1965, the theory includes the Gagn Assumption, the idea that different types of learning exist, and each requires a different type of instruction or instructional condition to promote the various desired learning outcomes.

Gagn identified five types of learning, with each requiring a different type of instruction:

Verbal information
Intellectual skills
Cognitive strategies
Motor skills
Attitude

His theory also described a hierarchy of eight conditions of learning, either internal or external:

Signal learning: the learner makes a general response to a signal
Stimulus-response learning: the learner makes a precise response to a signal
Chaining: the connection of a set of individual stimulus and responses in a sequence
Verbal association: the learner makes associations using verbal connections
Discrimination learning: the learner makes different responses to different stimuli that are somewhat alike
Concept learning: the learner develops the ability to make a generalized response based on a class of stimuli
Rule learning: a rule is a chain of concepts linked to a demonstrated behavior
Problem solving: the learner discovers a combination of previously learned rules and applies them to solve a novel situation

In addition to the five types of learning and the eight conditions of learning (about which you may learn more through many sources), Gagn also identified nine instructional events and corresponding internal cognitive processes, which can be grouped into three phases (Gagn Briggs, 1974). The instructional events do not produce or guarantee learning but instead support the internal process of the student within the learning environment. These nine events and parallel internal mental processes are listed below; suggestions for potentially incorporating the learning events into UMUC courses are also noted:

Phase One: Preparing for Learning

1. Gaining attention (stimuli activate receptors)

Application: Possible means for gaining attention are audio, video, animation, storytelling, demonstrations, problem solving, examples that highlight the topics importance or the course materials relevance and timeliness, or posing stimulating questions or thoughts to arouse curiosity and heighten motivation to learn about the course subject. Media should generally be short, concise, and engaging in order to maintain students attention.

2. Stating the objective (creates level of expectation for learning)

Application: It is important for students to know what they will have the opportunity to learn, either within the course or within a unit/lesson, although some educators recommend not disclosing every detailed objective at the start of the course or lesson so as not to give away the plot and remove every possibility of surprise. Be aware that instructors or course designers may define objectives more formally for themselves but choose to rephrase them more casually for students. Bullet points may be an easy, forthright, and traditional way to state course objectives, but you may, in addition to any bullets, also wish to think of fresh alternativeseither in content or in formatfor restating or reframing the objectives that might help define the roadmap. Are there new ways to describe the objectives or perhaps to give a visual reinforcement of the terrain the course will cover? Might a short narrative or example say the same thing as bullets but in a new way? Are there activities or exercises to provide opportunities for students to discover objectives and how the course will benefit them? Might there even be an opportunity for students to frame personal learning outcomes based on the course subject and description but which are not already stated in the objectives?

3. Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval and activation of short-term memory)

Application: Prior learning may consist of experiences outside the classroom, another course, or even previous material from your own course.What tools or methods can you use to help students connect what they have previously learned or experienced with the materials in your course? Are there exercises, short assignments, discussion questions, surveys/polls, etc., that might assist students in the process of connecting knowledge and experience?Some educators like to have students use concept or mind maps to represent graphically what they are learning and how it relates to other knowledge and experience. The goal is assisting students to build upon a framework of prior knowledge or to bridge any possible gaps between where they have been and where they are now (and potentially will be moving in the future after the course).

Phase Two: Acquisition and Performance

4. Presenting the stimulus (selective perception of content)

Application: How do you wish to present your content: text, audio, video, PPT, guest speakers, case studies, simulations, games, etc.? How interpersonally or technologically interactive is it (or should it be)? Are there other voices you can recruit or perspectives you can employ to assist in relaying the content? Are there new technologies and media you might use to present text in new modes or to break outside the bounds of the text medium itself and appeal to different learning styles or modes of instruction? Is the material in appropriate and meaningful chunks to facilitate learning and retention and avoid overload?

5. Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding for storage in long-term memory)

Application: How can you provide opportunities for students to apply what they have learned and test their skills while you also guide them as they build their abilities and confidence? Perhaps a simulation of one type or another, examples, case studies, visual aids, mnemonics, analogies, an exercise, writing assignment, or set of discussion questionsall with opportunities for feedback from the instructorwould help clarify questions and strengthen students grip on the content.

6. Eliciting performance (responds to questions to enhance encoding and verification)

Application: What interactive exercises, simulations, case studies, demonstrations, read-and-respond discussions, quizzes/tests, or projects provide opportunities for students to practice new skills, apply and display knowledge, and give evidence of what they have learned? Can students demonstrate that they are getting and holding on to the content, that they are further along an educational path now than when they began the course?

7. Providing feedback (reinforcement and assessment of correct performance)

Application: Feedback may be part of the process of eliciting performance, but whether it is rolled into that event or follows immediately afterward, you may wish to think of the ways in which you deliver feedback, whether via an interactive instrument, discussion, written comments, audio/video (individually or group), or through face-to-face or online live chats. Whenever possible, be specific, respond in a timely manner, and provide guidance; dont just tell students that they are doing or have done a good job.

Phase Three: Transfer of Learning

8. Assessing performance (retrieval and reinforcement of content as final evaluation)

Application: Assessment may occur via many forms, including papers, exams, presentations, projects, or any other appropriate means for determining the breadth and depth of what students have learned. It is desirable to include feedback on any of these assessment mechanisms for both correct and incorrect answers. For correct answers, it is helpful to provide additional resources or information to help increase retention and improve the learning process; for incorrect answers, consider providing not only the correct answer but also an explanation of why it is correct and some resources for strengthening skills or knowledge in that area.

9. Enhancing retention and transfer to other contexts (review and generalization of learned skill to new situation)

Application: Toward the end of the course, either before or after performance assessment, it is helpful to highlight and review important material, review course objectives and whether they were achieved, highlight various applications for what has been learned, and, in general, assist students in reviewing the ground that they have traveled over the duration of the course.

It is not necessary to use every single instructional event in all instances or to use them in this exact order. For example, some educators prefer to make assessment the final step. Some events may be combined (e.g., presenting content may also incorporate providing learning guidance, eliciting performance, and providing feedback). Each instructor should determine what best suits the subject, course format, course goals, needs and capabilities of the students, his or her own personal style, and technological capacities.

One interesting study (Martin, Klein, Sullivan, 2007), in examining various instructional models, investigated the effects that different instructional elements have when they are combined systematically and when one or more elements is removed. After taking a pretest, college students were divided into six groups and then provided with one of six versions of a Web-based computer literacy course. Each version had a combination of these elements: objectives, information, examples, practice with feedback, and review. The six course versions were:

Full program (all five elements)
Program without objectives
Program without examples
Program without practice
Program without review
Lean program (information only)

At the end of each version, the students completed a posttest. Those students who had practice with feedback scored significantly higher than the students who did not have that element in their course. The former also had more positive attitudes in response to a dozen questions about the course and their experiences than did the latter.

The study results indicate that within Gagns scheme of instructional events, events 5 through 7those allowing for students to apply their knowledge, test their skills, and receive feedback based upon their performance (i.e., incorporating practice with feedback)may be pivotal for learners success.

Conclusion

Gagn has had his critics who charge that his nine instructional events are outdated and overly general, lead to boring instruction, are too behaviorist in nature, and are lacking in scientific support. Many educators, though, do recognize some value in considering and thinking through the steps and incorporatingand adaptingthem as appropriate to their circumstances.

You may, likewise, wish to consider these nine elements to determine how you might apply them in your courses to enhance the educational environment and support student growth and achievement.

References

Gagn, R. M., Briggs, L. J. (1974). The principles of instructional design (1st ed.). New York, NY: Holt.

Martin, F., Klein, J. D., Sullivan, H. (2007, July). The impact of instructional elements in computer-based instruction. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 623-636. Retrieved from http://www.florencemartin.net/site08/research/Martin_The%20impact%20of%20instructional%20elements%20in%20computer-based%20instruction_July2007.pdf

Related Resources

Clark, D. (2012, January 14). Robert Gagns nine steps of instruction. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/%7Edonclark/hrd/learning/id/nine_step_id.html

Conditions of learning (Robert Gagn). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/conditions-learning.html

Goldman, J. (2009, January 29). Using Gagns 9 events of learning in e-learning [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://minutebio.com/blog/2009/01/29/using-gagnes-9-events-of-learning-in-e-learning/

Hanley, M. (2009, June 25). Gagn and the events of instruction: Discovering instructional design 19 [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://michaelhanley.ie/elearningcurve/gagne-and-events-of-instruction-discovering-instructional-design-19/2009/06/25/

Ho, W. (n.d.). Gagn conditions of learning. Retrieved from http://www.personal.psu.edu/wxh139/gagne.htm

Karrer, T. (2006, September 25). Is Gagn relevant for elearning courseware design? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2006/09/is-gagne-relevant-for-elearning.html

Kineo Group. (n.d.). Tip 43: A shot of theory Gagnes 9 events. Retrieved from http://kineo.com/elearning-tips/tip-43-a-shot-of-theory-gagnes-9-events.html

Kruse, K. (2008, January). Gagns nine events of instruction: An introduction. Retrieved from http://www.utsweb.net/Instructional%20Design%20Resources/GagneStyle.pdf

Specht, P. (2008). Robert Gagn: About me. Retrieved from http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/spechtp/575/learningtheorist.html

Tucker, C. (2011, August 2). Questioning Gagn and Blooms relevance [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://christytucker.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/questioning-gagne-and-blooms-relevance/

Werner, T. (2007, May 17). Whatever you do, dont drop practice [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://web.archive.org/web/20090610034856/http:/brandon-hall.com/tomwerner/?p=43

Technology Management (TMAN)

Environmental Management

Technology Management (TMAN)

Note: You may use these images on your own web pages. Simply right-click on an image and save it to your computer.

Project Management (PMAN)

Environmental Management

Project Management (PMAN)

Note: You may use these images on your own web pages. Simply right-click on an image and save it to your computer.

Homeland Security Management(HSMN)

Environmental Management

Homeland Security Management(HSMN)

Note: You may use these images on your own web pages. Simply right-click on an image and save it to your computer.

Emergency Management (EMAN)

Environmental Management

Emergency Management (EMAN)

Note: You may use these images on your own web pages. Simply right-click on an image and save it to your computer.

Creating Community in Online Classrooms

Introduction

Humans are social animals; as social animals, we learn best when we feel we are part of a learning community. Researchers such as Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon (2004), Burkhard (2007), Cheng and Vassileva (2006), Gronek (2005), and Tinto (2003) describe some methods in which this concept is utilized. Students apply to universities whose learning communities they want to join based, in part, on both the physical setting and student body profile, and colleges have historically formed their learning communities through their selective admissions processes. By contrast, UMUC prides itself on being an open university with a student body that spans a wide range of ages, races, socio-economic standings, and a number of other distinguishing characteristics. In addition, with so many classes online that have little or no face-to-face interaction, forming community at our institution is one step removed from that of traditional universities. It is a challenge to unite as diverse a group of learners as we have at UMUC and for everyone to thrive, but it is also an opportunity to see how well we can grow and learn together in the 21st century. This article discusses various approaches I have taken to help build community online with a diverse student body and the results of those methods.

Background

I began teaching online for UMUC in fall 2001 as a new adventure. I found that some students excelled online while others faded away. I used e-mail to reach out to students who were falling behind. Most of the time, it did not workand that was frustrating.

It was clear from comments made by students both in the online classroom and in private e-mails to me that they had little connection with their classmates and the university as a whole during their time at UMUCand essentially none after they left.

Based on my own undergraduate peer-mentoring experience (I had been part of a institution-wide program that reached out to students to help increase retention of under-represented groups), I wondered whether we would be able to increase connections at UMUC by allowing students to reach out to each other in a less formal manner and whether we could form online communities as a way to connect the members of our diverse student body to each other and to the university.

Early Online Community Building Work and Challenges

Various studies (for example, Braxton, et al. (2004), Likins (1991), and Tinto (1993)) have shown that college student retention rates increase with increased identity with the college due to a sense of community among classmates and professors. Using the results of these studies, I began emphasizing conversations between students and also students making connections between concepts learned in the classroom and their everyday lives as part of forming community in my own online classrooms. The connections and relevant conversations between studentsincluding providing different perspectives and gentle clarifications and corrections of each others inputswere all part of classroom discussions that typically amounted to about 20% of their overall grade. Students actively participated in helping each other learn in these discussions, as evidenced by both the quality and quantity of conference posts. (In my present Air Quality Management class, for example, one weekly conference had over 280 posts, with the majority of those posts adding to the conversation on the topics read and the video presentations viewed that week.)

At the same time, it became clear, too, that forming community outside individual classrooms was also needed, and so I was thrilled to become a part of UMUCs outreach to students with the creation of the Environmental Management Club in 2005. In this online club space, students can continue to form community outside their individual classrooms, and UMUC alumni can come back to discuss new careers they have startedthus allowing current and former students to form connections with each other.

For almost a decade now, I have attempted to build community in my online classrooms through active discussions in which I help students think critically about issues and encourage them to make connections and share experiences that are related to the concepts we cover in each course. I have done this for courses in education, physical science, behavioral science, and environmental management. In some classes, the students have shared a great deal, allowing their fellow classmatesas well as myselfto bond with them and learn from them.

But efforts to create community do not always succeed with every student. Some students just do not want to share, and others have issues with delving deeper into concepts and topics. There are also some students who just post quickly and then run off to other things in lifewhich does happen with those students who work full time and/or have several other responsibilities on a daily basis. Overcoming these issues requires an extensive amount of intervention on the instructors part so that a sense of community amongst all (or most) of the class members can be created. Although these same issues are present to some extent at other institutions, most of them do not face the same challenge as we do at UMUC in uniting such a diverse group of learners.

A New Approach

A few years ago, I became even more interested in building community online as a result of my neighborhood work to help people change towards more sustainable behaviors. Social science research, studying a range of behaviors from hand-washing to energy conservation to recycling, indicates that the dominant factors in changing peoples behaviors are associated with a sense of belonging in society. Consequently, I increased my efforts to facilitate a sense of belonging among my students by providing a safe place where they could share and talk without any interference from me.

BEHS 365 Individuals, Society, and Environmental Sustainability, the course in which I tried this new approach, is an interdisciplinary course examining the state of our environment, how we got here, what behavioral changes we need to move toward sustainability, and the role of individuals and society in that movement. There are no prerequisites, and students come from a wide range of backgrounds. Social science evidence, such as that noted by Guerin, et al. (2001), Nigbur, et al. (2005), Valle, et al. (2005), Price (2008), and Welte (2010), shows that human beings are most likely to change when they feel that their community is changing with thema concept I particularly wanted to capitalize on as we discussed recycling and sustainability behavior changes throughout the course.

To help the learning process, I tapped into the resources that students could provide for each other in such an interdisciplinary class by creating a separate Who are we? conference in the classroom. The purpose of this conference was not to give, find, or evaluate answers but rather to share relevant personal stories and thoughts. Participation in this conference accounted for a small portion of the students grades. There were no right or wrong answers to grade in this conference, which was challenging for me, given my scientific background of having correct answers regarding the occurrence (or not) of specific reactions and the question of how to quantify the resultant data.

The conference rules were as follows:

There are no right or wrong answers, but please share genuinely.

I read, but will not respond unless there is something inappropriate in that conference.
Postings need to be done on time, with the first posting done at about 40% of the course completion and the following posts due each of the weeks after the first posting.
For completing the six requirements below on time, students obtain 100% for 3% of their final grade:
1. First, provide a bit of your background by telling us a story that you think is relevant to the themes in this class.
2. Respond to at least two other students stories.
3. Respond to all students who have responded to your story.
4. Tell us the most dominant phrase you associate with this class.
5. Hypothesize on what you think is the largest barrier to your own change.
6. Environmental change requires a we mentality. Who do you think the we consists of in environmental change?

I conducted this Who are we? conference exercise for a 13-week class in spring 2011 and for a 12-week class in summer 2011. Both classes produced similar results. When compared to classrooms without the conference, I observed the following results in the experimental classes:

Students posted more frequently: There were 2030% more postings each week when averaged over all the students in the class.
Postings in the non-graded conference (Water Cooler) were almost doubled.
The topics in the final assessment tended to be more creative and have greater depth.

I tried this same exercise in my 8-week class in fall 2011. With the 8-week format, students were rushing their input into the Who are we? conference as one more thing they needed to do in a short timeframe. Comparing students comments in this conference and all the other classroom assessments in both the 12- and 13-week formats versus the 8-week format indicates that reflective conferences work best with longer terms. However, I continue to use the interactive discussions in all of my classrooms to tie the concepts we are discussing in class to our everyday lives and our communities because it helps students question, share, discuss, and learn from each other as a community of lifelong learners.

Summary

Forming community in online classrooms can help enhance the learning environment, resulting in both higher quality and a greater quantity of postings in conferences and better quality final assessments. The difficulty in forming community online is in creating an engaging classroom that encourages students to come back frequently and share. By creating a safe place in the online classroom where students can make emotional connections with each other, learning has the potential to improve.

References

Braxton, J. M., Hirschy, A. S., McClendon, S. A. (2004). Toward understanding and reducing college student departure. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 30(3). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Burkhard, B. (2007, May). Creating a virtual student community at the University of Maryland [University College]. Perspectives Online, 45(5). Retrieved from http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2007/0705/0705tea1.cfm

Cheng, R.,Vassileva, J.(2006, September). Design and evaluation of an adaptive incentive mechanism for sustained educational online communities. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction,16(3), 321-348.

Gronek, E. K. H. (2005). Virtual student organizations: Building community in online degree programs. Distance Learning, 2(4), 15-17. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

Guerin, D., Crete, J., Mercier, J. (2001, June). A multilevel analysis of the determinants of recycling behavior in the European countries. Social Science Research, 30(2), 195-218. Retrieved from ScienceDirect.

Likins, J.M. (1991). Research refutes a myth: Commuter students do want to be involved. NASPA Journal, 29, 68-74.

Nigbur, D., Lyons, E. Uzzell, D., Leach, R. (2005). The Surrey Scholar Research Project in Waste Recycling, 2003-2004. Full Report to Guildford Borough Council.

Price, M. (2008). Changing behaviors by degrees. American Psychological Association, 39(3), 48. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/03/planet.html

Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Valle, P.O.D., Rebelo, E., Reis, E., Menezes, J. (2005, May). Combining behavioral theories to predict recycling involvement. Environment and Behavior, 37(3), 364-396. Retrieved from Psychology: A SAGE Full-Text Collection.

Welte, T.H.L., Anastasio, P.A. (2010). To conserve or not to conserve: Is status the question? Environment and Behavior, 42(6), 845-863. Retrieved from Psychology: A SAGE Full-Text Collection.

Related Resources

LaPadula, M. (2003). A comprehensive look at online student support services for distance learners.The American Journal of Distance Education, 17(2), 119-128.

Oskamp, S. (2000). Psychological contributions to achieving an ecologically sustainable future for humanity. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 373-390.

Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89-125.

Use MS Word's Track Changes Tools

Here are two views of several simple markups of the same document: view A is in Word 2000 and view B is in Word 2003. There are a few differences in appearance, but the functions are basically identical. Below the images are introductory instructions for using Track Changes.

A. Edits Using MS Word 2000

In the Word 2000 Track Changes markup, text added with Track Changes ON shows up within the original text, in a selected or default color (green here), and deleted text is shown in strikeout mode, again within the original text. Inserted comments are highlighted and available to view by mousing over the highlighted text or in a split pane by selecting to View/Comments. For all edits done with Track Changes on, a vertical line is inserted in the margin as an alert.

B. Edits Using MS Word 2003

In the Word 2003 Track Changes markup, text added with Track Changes ON also shows up within the original text, in a selected or default color (underlined and red here), but deleted text is actually removed from view with a marginal note of explanation. Inserted comments are highlighted but the comment text is placed in the margin. It is also available in the View/Comments pane. For all edits done with Track Changes on, a vertical line is inserted in the margin as an alert.

For purposes of marking up a paper, Track Changes is a versatile tool that by default

displays any text you type in a standard color underlined, or in a format you define
(in Word 2000-2002) displays any text you delete in strikeout format, leaving it visible but lined-through , or (in Word 2003) actually deletes text but indicates the deletion in a bubble in the margin
places a vertical line on the margin to draw attention to either insertions and deletions made within a line

Thus, anything you insert or delete is clearly distinguishable. Once Track Changes is ON (button selected), it is not necessary to select any further tools. Simply type for insertions or select text and press the delete key to indicate your suggestion for deleting text.

If you wish, you can combine Highlighting and/or Comments along with Track Changes to draw extra attention to and then comment on a problematic or excellent part of a students paper.

To turn on Track Changes,

depress the Track Changes button on the Reviewing toolbar or
select Tools--Track Changes--Highlight Changes--Track Changes While Editing

You can customize how your tracked changes appear (e.g., the color of text you insert) via Tools--Options--Track Changes tab.

The Reviewing toolbar has icons that allow you to review all changes consecutively and to accept or reject individual changes, if those commands are needed.

The basics of Track Changes can be learned quite quickly just by experimenting on a disposable file. Its always a good idea (until you feel confident in using this tool) to keep an original clean copy of the document file.

Good information on managing Track Changes or other editing tools is available in Words HELP menus, or go to

support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;326528 (info for Word 2000)
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=305216product=wd2002 (info for Word 2002)