Distance Learning Mentoring Group
 
Minutes for April  27 , 2006 - 4 P.M.-5:30 P.M. AS192
 
 
In attendance at the DLMG meeting: Sharon Dandorf, Claudia Browning, Nicole Lohrbeer, Mark Bond, Rita Kasapis, and Peggy Johnson. 
 
 Claudia and  Nicole  showed the group their online courses.  They've done an excellent job on development.
 
 
CLAUDIA 'S COURSE
 
The course homepage for Claudia's IBS118 International Marketing Management has four icons on it: Welcome, Exam Review, Lesson Plans, and Group Manager.  Claudia plans to add an instruction bio to the course also.
 
There are 11 Lesson Plans. Claudia plans for the course to run 13 weeks, with the last two to three weeks available for student presentations.
 
Student assignments include internet exercises, case studies, and a marketing plan. Two parts of the marketing plan are completed individually. The other two parts of the plan are done as part of a group. The group selects a region of the world for their marketing plan.
 
Claudia has created notes for students to read that accompany their textbook readings.
 
Students will take online exams. Claudia plans to create the exams using Respondus software. She will then upload them into WebCT for delivery to students.
 
Students are required to post to the Discussion board. The first discussion will be a self-introduction. Other postings may be reflections on textbook readings.
 
 
NICOLE 'S COURSE
 
Nicole's WST/HLR 286 Women and Health online course is nearly complete, as she is scheduled to teaching it the first summer session of 2006.
 
The course homepage has a Begin Here Icon and an Announcements icon. The Begin Here icon takes the student to very attractive Powerpoint presentations that Nicole has authored. She includes voice over (using Breeze software) that provides students the opportunity to hear about content as well as read it. Generally the more senses students use in studying the material, the greater their understanding and retention.
 
The course consists of 15 modules. Each Module consists of three parts: Centering Exercise, Assignment, and Reflection.
 
Nicole used Frontpage software for creating her web pages. She created a table and used it to display the calendar, syllabus, etc. for the course. Frontpage is available to all MCC faculty from the Helpdesk (Technology Support Services, phone 480-461-7217). Nicole has included a number of hyperlinks for student resources which are grouped on the Resources Page.
 
Students begin the course by studying the syllabus and taking a quiz on it. This assures they know the basics of how the course will be conducted.
 
Nicole is using the WebCT email tool so that all emails from/to students are found within the course. They won't clutter up Nicole's MCC email account.
 
Students will post to a discussion board. They begin with an introduction of themselves and their goals for the course.  Students are required to respond to other students' postings also.  
 
A discussion ensued about how to get students to post substantive bulletin board postings. Mark said he has found it to be an effective strategy to provide an example of a high-quality posting in his course. Students understand better what is expected of them.
 
Peggy includes the following in her online biology course:
 

The learning in an online course is greatly enhanced through the exchange of student ideas on the bulletin board. We learn from each other. As President Woodrow Wilson once said, "I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow." Thus the bulletin board (discussion) is an integral part of Bio 100 Online. As such, it counts as part of your grade.

Writing to a bulletin board is different from writing a term paper or an essay question on an exam. As you post messages to the bulletin board, keep the following goals in mind:

1. SUBSTANTIAL. Messages should relate to the subject matter. They should provide information, opinions or questions about biology concepts. Relating the subject matter to personal experience is acceptable as long as the focus remains academic in nature.

2. CONCISE. Messages that are several screens long generally do not receive replies. Effective messages get to the point, are clearly stated, and are limited to one screen.

3. INTERACTIVE. The bulletin board is working best when interaction occurs. A good message explores, explains, or expands on a concept. If classmates reply or object, the message has served its purpose. A focused message that induces replies from fellow students moves the discussion forward and enhances learning.

4. CONTEXT. A good message appears in the context of other similar messages. Reading the bulletin board regularly provides the opportunity to enter the discussion on a regular basis. Otherwise your comments apppear late and out of context.

5. LOGICAL. Educated persons value arguments that are logical. If your message is not a question, it should contain a logical argument. Conclusions should be clearly stated and supported by premises, reasons, evidence, or grounds for belief.

In addition to the above qualities, it is assumed that bulletin board messages are grammatically correct. Ten percent of your course grade is determined by the quality and quantity of your bulletin board messages.

You are expected to post at least one message on each bulletin board. Your posting should be completed by the date shown on the course calendar. This will provide enough time for reading and reflection on the postings before the weekly quiz.

If you are asked to describe an experiment you conducted, include enough details that the reader could duplicate your experiment exactly. Clearly articulate the sequence of activities you performed. Describe your specific results.

You should also post at least one message each week that responds to a posting of a classmate - replying, expanding, etc. on his or her comments by the date indicated on the course calendar.

Quality postings are more than "Good job!" or "I agree with you!" comments. If you agree with a classmate, explain the reasons for this. If you disagree with a classmate (or got results that differ from what he or she posted), describe the situation in enough detail that the reader can understand why you have a particular point of view.

Examples or analogies that expand on a concept are excellent topics for postings. Information that you have learned about the topic (e.g. from something else you have studied, your textbook, the internet, something you've read) lead us toward our goal of being a community of learners.

 

TWO EXAMPLES OF GOOD BULLETIN BOARD POSTINGS:

1. I think that it's interesting that I did the same solutions you did but came out with different results. When I was doing the experiment, I used water from my refrigerator door and briefly wondered if all the chemicals (fluoride, etc.) that the city puts in the water would affect my outcome. After reading your results, it makes me wonder even more if I were to do this experiment using distilled (or a different type of water) if my experiment would come out differently. - A. S.

 

2. My experiment was conducted using cigarettes. I have to start off by saying that if anyone else is a smoker you might have heard the comment that it takes about 7 minutes to smoke a cigarette. That in my case is untrue. I smoked a cigarette every 15 minutes (not a good idea). The first on took 4 minutes and 8 seconds to smoke. After smoking my heart rate was 81 bpm. I figured it would be higher than that because nicotine is a stimulant. I took my pulse every minute there after to see how long it would take to return to normal which is 83 bpm. After 1 minute it was 93 bpm, another minute it was 77 bpm, and another minute it was 83 bpm. This first on took about 3 minutes to return to normal.

The second cigarette was smoked 15 minutes later. It took 2minutes and 50 seconds to smoke. When I was finished my pulse rate was 89 bpm. I didn't notice much of an effect on my heart rate but I was feeling sick. After one minute it was 75 bpm, another minute it was 77 bpm, and another minute it was at 74 bpm. It took about 6 minutes before I saw it at 83 bpm.
The last one was smoked 15 minutes later than the last one. I took 2 minutes and 57 seconds to smoke and after it was done my heart rate was 81 bpm. One minute passed with a heart rate of 74 bpm, one minute later it was at 79 bpm, and another minute later it was 76 bpm. It took about 4 minutes to return.


Each time that I did this the results were never the same. I probably could have let more time elapse between smoking so that my heart rate was at a resting state for longer. I think it also depends on what you are doing while you are smoking that may increase your heart rate. I was sitting. Sometimes I walk around. I can say that it took about 4 hours for the nausea and the headache to go away! - M. G.

 

As in a traditional class, student discussion on the bulletin board is conducted in a respectful, courteous manner. Postings which are inappropriate will be deleted by the instructor and the student warned. If subsequent violations occur, the student may be withdrawn from the course.

 
 
 
 
OUR LAST MEETING 
 
May 4 - Sharon and Rita share their online courses with DLMG
 
 
 
 
Peg Johnson
Faculty Development Consultant
Center for Teaching and Learning
Mesa Community College
1833 W. Southern Avenue
Mesa, Arizona 85202
johnson@mail.mc.maricopa.edu
phone: (480) 461-7703
fax: (480) 461-7857