Redesigning and teaching a blended course

Tanya Joosten, @tjoosten, tanyajoosten.comLearning Technology Center, LTC.uwm.eduDepartment of CommunicationUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Resources

http://professorjoosten.blogspot.com search “blended”

http://slideshare.net/tjoosten

blendedlearning

isgrowing

What is blended?

“Hybrid (blended) courses are courses in which a significant portion of the learning activities have been moved online, and time traditionally spent in the classroom is reduced but not eliminated” (Aycock, Garnham, and Kaleta, March, 2002, para. 1).

Blended learning:1) courses that integrate online with traditional face-to-face class activities in a planned, pedagogically valuable manner; and,2) where a portion (institutionally defined) of face-to-face time is replaced by online activity (Picciano, 2006, p. 97).

What is blended for us?

Blended courses are courses where 20% or more of the traditional face-to-face classroom time is

replaced by online assignments and activities.

Why teach blended?

How to design for blended?

• Ten questions • Online vs. F2F - Integration• Designing learning modules

• Decision rubric for content choices

• Learning objects

Course Content

• Progressive/summative• Before, during, and after• Self evaluation• Peer evaluation• Student evaluation

Course Evaluation

• Rubrics• CATs• Templates • Traditional formats

Assessment Plan

• Synchronous/asynchronous• Establishing voice• Discussion forums• Small groups

Online Learning Community

• Managing expectations• Time management• Technology support

Helping Your Students

• Staying organized• Managing workload• Avoiding course and a half

Course Management

Course Redesign

Transitioning to blended teaching

The 10 questions1. As you think about your course redesign, which of your course objectives might be met more successfully online than in a traditional face-to-face classroom? In consequence, what new learning activities do you think you might introduce into your course?

2. Since you will be reducing “seat time” partially or wholly in your course, you need to identify alternative ways to deliver course content. Think about a specific topic that you usually present to your face-to-face class. How might you make that portion of your course content available online?

3. Traditional testing is not the only way to assess your students’ work in an online environment. What other means of assessing or documenting student learning might you decide to use online?

…see professorjoosten.blogspot.com for the full 10 questions or visit hybrid.uwm.edu

My blended course redesign• Original course design

– Organizational Communication, COM 310– Original Design: Night classes, 3 hours app.

• Course Transformation– Goal: To more effectively use valuable f2f time– Means: Focus on task requirements and medium selection– Experience teaching fully online and fully f2f– New Design: Reduced class time, 55% online, 45% F2F

Sample Module Wednesday Sunday

Week 1 F2F Class-Agenda posted-Reading available online

-Individual project task due

Week 2 Online Class-Discussionpost due

-Discussion responses due

Week 3 -Complete Weekly Quiz prior to class

F2F Class-Targeted discussion from quiz results and discussion forum

-Group project task due

What goes online?• Content delivery– Acquire basic content (lecture and reading)– Assess understanding of basic content (quizzes,

discussion forums, and rubrics)• Summative assessment– Assess achievement of learning objectives for course

(midterm and final exams)• Learning activities– Asynchronous discussions– Collaborative group activities

Content delivery

• What type of delivery is “best”?

• What medium does the task require?

• What technology is available to me?

• What skills do I have?

Lecture formats

Sample text only lecture

Sample audio lecture

What lecture format did you prefer? Why?

• I preferred the standard ppt w/ notes because that was the easiest for me to access from my home computer and was the easiest to print out.

• I chose ppt form as don't need to be online all the time. And I can study the slides whenever i want to. It also has the option of outlines, which helps in studying.

• I can go at my own pace and re-read things I need to, otherwise skim things I don't need certain depth on.

• so you had to listen to the powerpoints and sometimes people just didn’t have the time, but could read them thoroughly and reference them better…we are online classes because we don’t have the time or access to sit through a lecture on a computer. But we could all work reading a really good powerpoint through into our schedules.

Audio introductions

What goes online?• Content Delivery

– Acquire basic content (lecture and reading)

– Assess understanding of basic content (discussion forums, rubrics, and quizzes)

Sample Module Wednesday Sunday

Week 1 F2F Class-Agenda posted-Reading available online

-Individual project task due

Week 2 Online Class-Discussionpost due

-Discussion responses due

Week 3 -Complete Weekly Quiz prior to class

F2F Class-Targeted discussion from quiz results and discussion forum

-Group project task due

Sample quiz stats

What goes face-to-face?Integrate activities that require a rich, f2f communication

– Decreases students’ equivocality and uncertainty about course content• Misconceptions of reading and/or lecture material • Structured discussion on complex constructs

– Allow for instant feedback for understanding• Introductions of new assignments

– Provide opportunity for higher order learning• Case studies, video analysis, simulations, role-playing

– Presentations of group work done outside of class

Address weaknesses in learning

What goes online?• Building Learning Community

– Online discussion questions

– Group experiential learning activities (virtual labs)

• Summative Assessment

– Assess achievement of learning objectives for course (midterm and final exams)

Sample Module Wednesday Sunday

Week 1 F2F Class-Agenda posted-Reading available online

-Individual project task due

Week 2 Online Class-Discussionpost due

-Discussion responses due

Week 3 -Complete Weekly Quiz prior to class

F2F Class-Targeted discussion from quiz results and discussion forum

-Group project task due

Tips

• Course and a Half– Use Backward Design

• Integration– Plan for it!

• Student Support– Manage expectations and encourage contact

Avoiding “Course and a Half”

• Backward Design

– What should students know, understand, and be able

to do?

– What will I accept as evidence of student

understanding and proficiency?

– What activities will allow students to achieve this

utilizing the online and/or the f2f environments?

Plan using backwards designIdentify Desired Results (DO):• Be able to analyze and critique decision

making processes

Acceptable Evidence:• Accurate written application of theory

from the content given a decision making situation in determining what was effective and what was ineffective in the decision making process.

Learning Experience:• Students view video clips from Apollo

13• Students post analysis that integrates

concepts from reading and lecture

Plan an Integration Strategy

Support your students

Blended Learning: Research Perspectives

• Sloan sponsored

• 13 chapters

• Designing and delivering hybrid courses, student interaction and student satisfaction, strategies for training and preparing faculty and other related topics.

• http://www.sloanconsortium.org/node/921

Next Steps: Five issues to address in “perfecting” the blend

• “Course and a half” syndrome

• Re-examining course goals and objectives

• Building presence, enhancing connectivity, and building community

• Community Building

• Managing your time and staying organized

• http://blend12nextquestions.wikispaces.com/

Get it!

Connect w/me

• tjoosten@uwm.edu

• twitter.com/tjoosten

• linkedin.com/in/tjoosten

• facebook.com/tjoosten

• juice.gyoza@gmail.com | google+

• juice gyoza | second life

Any questions??