MARCIA'S COURSE

Marcia showed the Powerpoint presentation she has developed for her online INT 280, Business Procedures course.  In this course students learn, among other things, what they need to set up a business, construct a contract, and talk to clients. Students write a business plan for a small business but do it in stages.

Each week students complete a reading assignment in the textbook, post to the bulletin board, take an online quiz and complete a written assignment.

The presentation begins with a list of objectives for the lesson.  She includes a glossary of terms the student needs to know. Students can progress through the Powerpoint presentation at their own pace. They can print the notes that Marcia has developed as a study guide.

Marcia's Powerpoint is rich in graphics. She has gathered stunning artwork of architecture, interior design, and furniture and included it in her presentation. She plans to use Breeze to add voice over narration for her students.

Marcia has made good use of color in her slides. Where there is a lot of text, she uses alternate colors for lines that follow one another. This makes it easier for the reader to follow.

Marcia is skilled at using the animation options of Powerpoint. She likes the "wedge" transition and it adds drama to the presentation. For directions on how to use animations in Powerpoint, go to this URL http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/other/ctl/_ctl_SD/resources/helpdocs/workshops/ppt_hyperanim/index.html

RECOMMENDATIONS

A clear rubric of what you are going to use for grading various assignments is extremely helpful to students.

Bob recommends using the dropbox for student submissions. It has some very handy features, such as preventing students from submitting late assignments or claiming they sent an assignment via email but the instructor did not receive it. You may want to organize student submissions by assignment, so that all of the first paper go in one folder, all of the second paper go in another folder, etc. This makes it easy to know what has been submitted and see what needs to be graded and returned. Make sure you tell students to keep a copy of all the work they submit.

Bob also likes using WebCT email. It is a tool you can pick from the WebCT offerings. It keeps your student emails within WebCT (separate from your MCC email account).

FUTURE DLMG RECOMMENDATIONS

Faculty suggested that participants be required to complete Donna's CIS 236 course before their DLMG semester.

Faculty like incorporating the workshops into the DLMG meetings. It would be good if people who have lots of questions in a workshop save them to the last 15 minutes or so of the workshop so the objectives of the workshop are covered. If the faculty member needs more help, it would be good for them to make an appointment with the workshop presenter for some one-on-one help later.

Include a meeting on ADA compliance and copyright issues.

Warn faculty how much time it takes to develop an online course. Perhaps we should give potential DLMG participants a list of five questions they should ask of someone who has already developed an online course.

Start a blog for DLMG participants who are doing their pilot semester.

Personal Note: I have truly enjoyed working with the faculty in this semester's DLMG. They are an extremely dedicated, conscientious, and hard-working faculty who are determined to create quality online courses. They have been an inspiration!

Peggy Johnson