Faculty Satisfaction

FACULTY SATISFACTION means that instructors find the online teaching experience personally rewarding and professionally beneficial. Personal factors contributing to faculty satisfaction with the online experience include opportunities to extend interactive learning communities to new populations of students and to conduct and publish research related to online teaching and learning. Institutional factors related to faculty satisfaction include three categories: support, rewards, and institutional study/research. Faculty satisfaction is enhanced when the institution supports faculty members with a robust and well-maintained technical infrastructure, training in online instructional skills, and ongoing technical and administrative assistance. Faculty members also expect to be included in the governance and quality assurance of online programs, especially as these relate to curricular decisions and development of policies of particular importance to the online environment (such as intellectual property, copyright, royalties, collaborative design and delivery). Faculty satisfaction is closely related to an institutional reward system that recognizes the rigor and value of online teaching. Satisfaction increases when workload assignments/assessments reflect the greater time commitment in developing and teaching online courses and when online teaching is valued on par with face-to-face teaching in promotion and tenure decisions. A final institutional factor-crucial to recruiting, retaining, and expanding a dedicated online faculty-is commitment to ongoing study of and enhancement of the online faculty experience.

ePortraits: Self-introductions Develop Faculty Knowledge of Digital Media Creation and Increase Instructor Presence in Online Courses

Author Information
Author(s): 
Kristen Bourgault
Author(s): 
Christopher Neidig
Author(s): 
Jennifer Rafferty
Author(s): 
Frances Rowe
Author(s): 
Daniel Shpak
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
Quinnipiac University
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

Quinnipiac University Online collaborates with faculty members to create professional quality, video-based biographies called ePortraits. ePortraits are directed, filmed and edited by experienced QU Online staff. ePortraits are fun and educational to implement. Faculty learn new skills about digital media creation and they may use their video in any way they wish e.g. personal branding and marketing, tenure portfolio, conference promotion or course self-introduction. Having a personalized introduction of the faculty also helps the online course come alive for the students.

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 

Self-introduction in online courses is a universal standard at Quinnipiac and other institutions because it is considered a best practice.  Faculty make professional and personal information about themselves available online to their students in a number of formats e.g. vitae, written autobiographical sketch, Web site, podcast, and/or video. The problem with the online format is that a significant number of faculty do not have the skills that are needed to create a professional looking self-introduction and are not satisfied with the quality of their online self-introduction. Implementing an ePortrait practice allows us to provide faculty with a quality online self-introduction. Additionally, this practice enhances faculty knowledge of digital media creation and  provides an opportunity for QU Online staff to engage in an enjoyable project with the faculty in a new form of professional development.

The first ePortraits we made were of staff members from our own instructional design team who teach online as adjunct faculty.  We were able to develop a scalable process and come up with examples to show the faculty. We created an invitation to ePortraits and a guide for how to prepare and what to expect such as time commitment. Our goal is to create one ePortrait per online faculty.

In summary, ePortaits is a scalable project that every institution could use to enhance faculty satisfaction and increase instructor presence in online courses. The Faculty ePortrait Guide and Example ePortrait should be helpful for getting started.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

The feedback from Quinnipiac faculty has been positive and shows great appreciation for the project. For example,  “I really appreciate the work that’s gone into this.  Thank you, thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to participate in this creative project!  I can see and appreciate very much how the footage that you shot and the artifacts I provided have been woven in. I’m quite impressed, and I’m very pleased to be a part of this.” – Charles Getchell

Hiltz, Shea, and Kim (2007) found that technical and creative opportunities were leading satisfaction factors for online teaching. In a later survey conducted at Quinnipiac University, 33% of faculty respondents indicated that the creative use of technology was a top motivator for online teaching.

Stodel, Thompson, and MacDonald (2006) found that what learners miss most about face-to-face contact when they are learning online is related to presence.

How does this practice relate to pillars?: 

Prior to starting ePortraits, there was limited support for faculty to create a quality, online self-introduction. We now have a scalable process and adequate support for faculty to create a professional, video-based biography. ePortraits are a valuable and rewarding experience for faculty because they learn new skills about digital media creation and they may use their ePortrait for multiple purposes such as the course self-introduction, tenure portfolio or faculty profile. Additionally, ePortraits provide a personalized introduction of the faculty, which increases instructor presence and satisfaction for students in online courses.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice: 

Video camera, microphone, lighting, teleprompter software, green sheet (green screening is a technique also referred to as color keying that allows the editor to replace the screen with another background image or video), video editing software, and Web space to host the content.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

The ePortraits are being created inexpensively by leveraging the expertise of existing staff along with student interns. The total software and equipment budget was $2,000.00.

References, supporting documents: 

Hiltz, S. R., Shea, P. & Kim, E. (2007). Using Focus Groups to Study ALN Faculty Motivation. Journal of Asynchronous Learner Networks, 11, 1. Retrieved from http://sloanconsortium.org/jaln/v11n1/using-focus-groups-study-aln-faculty-motivation

Stodel, E. J., Thompson, T. L., & MacDonald C. J. (2006). Learners' Perspectives on What is Missing from Online Learning: Interpretations through the Community of Inquiry Framework. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 7, 3. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/325/743

Useful Links: 
Example ePortrait
Faculty ePortrait Guide
Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Frances Rowe
Email this contact: 
frances.rowe@quinnipiac.edu
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Moderation sessions: Establishing shared performance expectations among faculty at a distance

Author Information
Author(s): 
Jeff Grann
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
Capella University
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

To promote quality online learning, administrators need effective practices to engage many faculty in establishing shared performance expectations. A moderation session is a synchronous meeting in which faculty discuss points of consensus and disagreement about their assessment of a student’s work. A facilitator works to identify the basis for faculty judgments and to articulate performance expectations shared by faculty.

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 
Online courses are taught increasingly by instructors who did NOT create the content, discussions, or assignments of the course. This one course-many instructors model has several advantages (such as curricular alignment and consistency), but also introduces new challenges for instructors to deliver the courses. In particular, instructors may not hold the same performance expectations as the faculty that created the course. These differences in performance expectations can undermine the effectiveness of the program’s curriculum as learners receive inconsistent feedback on their performance.  Perceived differences in performance expectations may also undermine faculty sharing of effective teaching practices or discussion of instructional challenges. Unfortunately, few universities address the role of performance expectations explicitly, either through role responsibilities, committee charters, policy, or procedures.
Moderation sessions are a method for improving faculty-based learning outcome assessments by promoting shared performance expectations among faculty. Operationally, a moderation session involves faculty individually assessing a student’s work using a scoring guide and then as a group discussing points of consensus and disagreement. A facilitator asks questions to identify the basis for assessment judgments and to articulate shared performance expectations amongst the faculty. Facilitators may also prompt analysis of the scoring guide language and its concordance with faculty’s performance expectations. Based on findings from a moderation session, faculty may decide to revise course assignments or scoring guides to improve alignment amongst the program’s curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. Inter-rater reliability statistics can also be calculated from these sessions as part of an evaluation of a program’s learning outcome assessment system.
Procedure
Setting up a moderation session: Clear and early communication is key to a successful moderation session. Initial communications about the moderation session should describe your goals, timeline, participation expectations, and the value of high-quality assessments for students' success. Make sure faculty know why they were selected to participate in the session and how their participation is key to the success of the session. Give faculty at least one week to complete the assessment before the scheduled moderation session. Also, ensure that the contact details for the conference call and any web conferencing environments are contained in the meeting invite.
Select an assignment and scoring guide for the moderation session that is relevant and appropriate for many program faculty to assess, such as a course early in the program or a final capstone course. Embedded assignments that directly measure program outcomes are excellent choices for moderation sessions.
You may intentionally select a student’s work to focus the moderation session on particular performance expectations or randomly select a student’s work. In either case, avoid revealing your selection criteria to minimize unintentionally biasing the faculty’s judgments. Make sure to remove all identifying information from the student’s work, including the student’s name, the document’s properties, comments, and any other identifying information.
If using a web conferencing environment, set up a poll question for each scoring guide criterion before the moderation session. The response options should be the performance levels. Make sure each poll is set to hide participant’s responses. The facilitator will reveal the poll results once the polling is complete.
Facilitating a moderation session: Begin the session by welcoming the faculty and reinforcing the goals for the session. Facilitators have found it helpful to describe at a high-level the agenda for the session. An effective practice is to have faculty answer each of the poll questions at the beginning of the meeting so the facilitator can review the poll results and decide which criterion to discuss first. To ensure the discussion is focused effectively on building shared performance expectations, it is recommended to discuss the most discordant criteria first as opposed to moving sequentially through the criteria as listed on the scoring guide. Once poll results are revealed, the facilitator uses observations and questions to identify the basis for faculty judgments, such as “What evidence is there in the student’s work suggesting a ‘distinguished’ level of performance on this criterion?” After working through a few criteria, the facilitator can often simply verbally state the results of the poll question to stimulate appropriate discussion. You may also consider collecting evaluation data at the end of the moderation session using poll questions.

After a moderation session: Thank faculty for participating in the moderation session and seek opportunities to recognize their service through inter-department and university communications. If the web conferencing environment saves poll results, inter-rater reliability statistics can be calculated and communicated to participants for monitoring the quality of outcome assessments over time.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

Since 2007, moderation sessions have been conducted periodically with program faculty in support of direct assessments of learning outcomes in bachelor’s and master’s degree capstone courses. Aggregate faculty survey data findings from these sessions are described below. Faculty participants report moderation sessions to be a productive use of their time (>90%) and enthusiasm to participate in future sessions(>95%). Participants also reported that the sessions are most effective when several roles participate, especially subject matter experts, faculty leadership, curriculum specialists, course developers, and assessment specialists. Most participants reported one hour to be sufficient (76%), with the remaining participants preferring more time and no participant preferring less time.

How does this practice relate to pillars?: 
Moderation sessions promote several of Sloan’s quality pillars, including learning effectiveness, student satisfaction, and faculty satisfaction. While most any assessment practice could claim similar relations, moderation sessions are unique in focusing on promoting faculty satisfaction by engaging faculty with peers to establish shared performance expectations. Moderation sessions give faculty a space to assess a student’ work according to their own performance expectations and evaluate the quality of those judgments quickly via concordance with their peer’s assessments. These sessions support a larger goal of enhancing student learning, which is an important purpose for most faculty. These features of moderation sessions address several of the factors described as being key to promoting internal motivation (Pink, 2009), which can be a challenge for administrators engaging faculty in learning outcome assessment initiatives.

Moderation sessions are also a key step toward developing explicit models of student cognition for learning outcomes that could anchor future assessments and aid in interpreting assessment results (NRC, 2001). While few examples of these models exist in higher education, they promise efficiencies in the development of curriculum and instruction. Moderation sessions support the development of these models by promoting shared performance expectations amongst faculty. Once faculty have explicit and shared performance expectations for learning outcomes, they are better positioned to study and describe a detailed model of learning outcome demonstration and acquisition. In this way, moderation sessions support the Sloan quality pillar of scale by engaging many faculty in building a basis for future curricular and instructional decisions.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice: 
While a moderation session could be conducted in many different ways, a conference call in which all participants can synchronously discuss the student’s work and their assessment is recommended. A web conference environment (such as, Adobe Connect) is also helpful for facilitating the meeting, collecting assessment data with poll questions, and sharing screen images of the student’s submission.
Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

Moderation sessions are relatively inexpensive to conduct depending on the communication technologies available at your institution. Most institutions provide access to web-based conferencing  tools that can be used to facilitate the collection of faculty assessment data, however such tools are not required. Assessment data could be collected from participants via email by a facilitator for aggregation and presentation. The moderation session itself could also be conducted using free web-based conference call technologies, such as Skype, and free online survey technologies. The indirect costs of having faculty and administrators participating in a moderation session (2-3 hours per participant) should also be considered.

References, supporting documents: 
National Research Council (2001). Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment. Pellegrino, J., Chudowsky, N., and Glaser, R., editors. Board on Testing and Assessment, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Science and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Riverhead Press.

Useful Links: 
The LOT Design Process
Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Jeff Grann
Email this contact: 
jgrann@capella.edu
Tags:

Engaging Faculty in the Training Process

Author Information
Author(s): 
Gail Niklason
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
Weber State University
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

Migrating to a new learning management system is a daunting process that many faculty would, if they could, avoid. Given the need to do so, however, we've devised a process that better engages faculty in the new learning management system while allowing them to move through the training process on their own terms.

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 

Faculty enroll in an "Overview" course, conducted in the new system, that allows them to work through 6 modules at their own pace. This overview provides an introduction to the tools and capabilities of the new system while also demonstrating these tools in the course itself. On completion of the Overview Course, faculty are encouraged to migrate content of one course from the old system to the new, with step-by-step guidance. At that point the faculty are invited to register for a 3 hour hands-on training session (offered weekly and one Saturday each month). Participants come to the session with an understanding of the new system, the migration process, and armed with relevant questions that help to guide the training sessions. At the conclusion of the hands-on training session each participant is ready to 'hit the ground running'. Times for drop-in support are advertised broadly so that faculty can work in the faculty lab (away from the distractions of their own offices, but in the vicinity of the instructional design team) either on their own or with guided support.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

To date we've seen evidence manifested in two ways, both anecdotal. First, faculty have come to the hands-on sessions armed with relevant questions. It's clear that they considered the tools, how they can be used, what challenges the transition presents. It makes the training session much more interactive and focused on faculty needs. Second, some faculty have completely bypassed the hands-on training, having gotten the information they needed from the orientation course. We don't want to force training on faculty who don't feel they need it.

How does this practice relate to pillars?: 

Faculty who are more engaged in the training process are more likely satisfied with the change they are training to complete. It allows the trainers to employ principles of adult learning - just in time, relevance, acknowledgement and support of prior experience - in the training program.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice: 

This may seem obvious, but having access to the new learning management system during a transition period (for example, before the contract for the system being replaced has expired and the contract for the new system has begun) is critical. It's not reasonable to expect just a cut-over, so budgeting or otherwise arranging for access to both the outgoing and in coming systems during a transition period (ideally 1 year or longer) is important.

A training classroom/lab is needed.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

Potential costs:
1 - duel product licensing during the transition period. Whether or not either the old or new system is open source can have a huge impact on this cost. This cost would be unique to each institution.

2 - possible additional personnel costs during transition. We have covered this with the addition of hourly, student workers, but estimate it will cost an additional $15,000 for this support.

3 - if a lab is not available, one should be borrowed, rented, or developed. Costs will vary depending on the solution and number of systems made available.

4 - we are going to compensate faculty for the completion of the process, that is, successful move of a course to the new system, following established best practices for online teaching. With that 'check', they will be compensated $250 (per faculty, not per course). It's nominal, but collectively can be a significant budget item.

References, supporting documents: 

We will be doing ongoing assessment of the training process and will document that process and the feedback.

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Gail Niklason
Email this contact: 
gniklason@weber.edu
Effective Practice Contact 2: 
Andrea Jensen
Email contact 2: 
asandry@weber.edu
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Post effective practice by May 23 to be eligible for award

Submitted by janetmoore on May 13, 2011 - 12:04pm

Effective Practices posted by May 23, 2011 will be eligible for awards to be presented at the 4th annual international symposiumin San Jose, California, July 11-13, 2011.

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Google Wave Increases Robust Participation Among Online Students

Collection: 
Student-Generated Content
Author Information
Author(s): 
Josiah Alamu, PhD
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
University of Illinois Springfield
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

Published evidence suggests that online students are unwilling to participate in both synchronous and asynchronous online discussion. To measure ‘social presence’ as an important component of Community of Inquiry model, students’ interaction and participation in the class activities in an online environment is imperative. As a result, we developed an innovative strategy using Google Wave to facilitate synchronous discussion among online students who were enrolled in an intermediate epidemiology course. During the class session, the instructor prepared a set of questions based on the lecture materials for the week. The instructor then called students in turn to address the questions posted during the online class session. Other students were allowed to provide comments based on the initial response. This strategy increased the presence in the classroom and also facilitated social interaction in an online environment. The instructor survey the class at the end of the semester and the following are a select comment from students: "I think it is very beneficial to an online class, so yes, I liked it a lot!" Another student said " I like the Google Wave session. I have taken several online classes and this is the first to use Google Wave...And it seems to be engaging!".

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 

 In spring 2010, I was assigned an online Epidemiology of Infectious and Chronic Disease course to teach. From my past experience and the available literature, it was evident that getting students to participate in online class activities appeared to be a problem. Therefore, I utilized the newly available online technological tool called ‘Google Wave’ to facilitate an online synchronous discussion among students enrolled in this course.

At the begining of semester, each student opened a ‘Google Wave’ account (this was free) and a time was set aside to meet in an online environment. During each online session, the instructor took a roll call and asked students to vote for the continuation of the session. The voting procedures gave students sense of ownership and the impression that the instructor was just there as a moderator. The instructor then posted a set of prepared questions online and called students turn by turn to address each question. The instructor reinforces and praised students when the qualities of their responses were high. For example, the instructor might say “I am very impressed by your responses”. The feedback from the instructor encouraged other students to freely participate in the class discussion.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

At the end of the semester, the instuctor evaluated students participation by the number of blips per student. A blip is a Google Wave window frame, that holds real online information about each student's discussion. The minimum average number of blips per student was five and the maximum number was twenty. Per the graph below, the average number of blips per students peaked a week before the midterm and final examinations. All students who joined the online session contributed at least two blips.

How does this practice relate to pillars?: 

 This practice is related to all the five pillars of Effective Practices:

1. Innovation: I personally believe that using a 'Google Wave' to facilitate an online discussion synchronously is very innovative. It increases the presence in the classroom. It gives students sense of ownership and are not intimidated to participate.

2. Replicability: The strategy is replicable with any technological tools that facilitate real time discussion. In fact, with the demise of 'Google Wave', I am now replicating the method I used for Google Wave with Novell Pulse. I will compare the effectivness of Google Wave with Novel Pulse in fall 2011.

3. Potential impact: Several impact on students learning have been observed. It has increased students participation in online discussion, it has improved students understanding of epidemiologic concepts, it has facilitated social interaction, and forces students to stay on target, and it facilitated easy document sharing.

4.Supporting documentation: Evidence of effectiveness is available on request.

5. Scope: Increased social presence in the class also increased the cognitive presence

Overall, students and the instructor expressed their satisfaction with the use of Google Wave evidenced by the comments of students at the end of the semester. The outcome of this research has been presented at the Sloan-C Annual International Online Conference in Orlando Florida in 2010.

 

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice: 

 The online equipment is the availability of internet access with a standard webrowser.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

 The cost in terms of equipment ranges from $300 for a lap top.

References, supporting documents: 
1.   Garrison DR, Anderson T, and Archer W. Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. http://communityofinquiry.com/files/CogPres_Final.pdf   Accessed on 6/29/2010.
2.   Garrison DR, Anderson T, and Archer W. Critical Inquiry in a text-based environment: computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education 2000;2 (2-3):87 – 105.
3.   Summers JJ, Waigandt A, and Whittaker TA. A comparison of student achievement and satisfaction in an online versus a traditional face-to-face statistics class. Innovative Higher Education 2005;29(3):233-250.
4.   Cohen J. A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measurement 1960;20(1):37 – 46. 
Other Comments: 

Novell bought the copy rights for Google Wave and the beta form of Novell Vibe is out now. I am actually testing the beta with the hope of using it in Fall for my online epidemiology course. It is free right now for a group not more than 20 people. Check out more information about it on vibe.novell.com. 

Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Josiah Alamu, PhD
Email this contact: 
jalam3@uis.edu
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Invitation to Institutional Members to Apply the Quality Scorecard

Submitted by janetmoore on May 2, 2011 - 9:22am

This summer, Dr. Kaye Shelton will work with institutional members who want to use the interactive scorecard. The schedule below will pace administrators through the process with peers from multiple institutions so that each will result in a report that may be used internally or externally. 

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Web 2.0 Selection Criteria: Save Time Choosing an Appropriate Tool

Submitted by bbovard on April 7, 2011 - 7:37pm
 
There is enormous potential for Web 2.0 technologies to help your course satisfy the Sloan-C Five Pillars of Quality Online Education.
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Sloan-C Endorses ‘Quality Scorecard’ for Measuring Quality of Online College Education Programs

Submitted by janetmoore on April 5, 2011 - 9:31am
Self-assessment tool examines 70 quality indicators, offering online educators a standardized view of their program performance
 
NEWBURYPORT, Mass.
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How Continuous Adaptive Learning Can Solve College Readiness

Award Winner: 
2011 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award
Author Information
Author(s): 
Jose Ferreira
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
Knewton
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

Studies show that 25% of high school graduates arrive at college without the core math and verbal skills they need to get through their freshman year. ASU will use Knewton's adaptive education platform to provide homework instruction that targets the unique needs of its incoming students.

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 

As a research university committed to access for a broad cross-section of students, Arizona State University is challenged in gateway math course completion and freshmen persistence by large numbers of students admitted and enrolled without being college-ready in mathematics, a key to university success. Knewton and ASU intend to develop and deploy a Knewton-based customized, fully-adaptable instructional platform designed to improve the university's success rate in developmental learning in math. This platform will be fully integrated with two of the largest college-level math courses taught at ASU, MAT117 (College Algebra, which enrolled 2312 students in 2010) and MAT142 (College Mathematics, with 4,535 enrolled students).

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

In 2010, ASU successfully piloted an adaptive instructional tool in five sections of College Algebra (MAT117), which enrolled approximately 200 students.  These pilot courses improved student course mastery by 10% and met half as often as regular sections.

 

This project enhances and brings to scale the use of an adaptive approach that has improved student performance on math placement tests and in experimental sections of ASU's MAT117 course. The Knewton adaptivity engine that ASU will utilize represents a significant advance. Knewton's instructional engine will provide students with the concepts needed for readiness, and a customized, individualized learning path to achieve that goal. Students retain empowerment, choice and control, but the path from their current state to readiness is clearly defined and delivered in bite-sized "quick wins." Knewton will use the current research on game dynamics and learning to provide a rich, engaging and compelling user experience. Students who are not college-ready in one or more areas will be provided appropriate content remediation that will be self-directed, self-paced, and available in fully online and blended formats utilizing Knewton's adaptive learning platform. Once students have completed the content remediation and demonstrated college-readiness in mathematics, they will move directly into MAT142 or MAT117, which will also be built using the Knewton platform to allow for self-paced adaptive learning. Virtual and on-ground tutoring and other support will be provided. In all courses, the adaptive learning platform will continually assess, remediate, then re-assesses student progress, at an atomic level, for every concept taught in the course. Students will be able to track their effort and performance continuously in the course. ASU will also track proficiency and mastery by each individual student to ensure that students learn the course material more efficiently and effectively relative to the current model.

How does this practice relate to pillars?: 

Access - students can utilize the technology completely online, on their own time and at their own pace.

Faculty Satisfaction - Improved student course mastery, reduce in resources needed. Ability to track proficiency and mastery by each individual student to ensure that students learn the course material more efficiently and effectively relative to the current model.

Learning Effectiveness - customized, individualized learning path for each student. Use of current research on game dynamics and learning to provide a rich, engaging and compelling user experience. Students will be able to track their effort and performance continuously in the course.

Scale - online format for wider adoption. Opening up API so platform can be used by ALL (students and teachers at schools across the country and  even world).

Student Satisfaction - Students retain empowerment, choice and control. Rich, engaging and compelling user experience.

Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice: 

For the end user, just access to an internet connection. For Knewton, we have used internal resources to develop and build out the platform.

Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

For the student, minimial cost. About $100 - less than most textbooks. For Knewton, we have invested millions of dollars over the last couple of years to develop and deploy the platform. This investment is meant to be widespread, as we open up our API for greater access to the platform for ALL.

Useful Links: 
Knewton
Arizona State University
Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Kristy Megna
Email this contact: 
kristy@knewton.com
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Faculty and Student Support System for Blended Courses

Award Winner: 
2011 Sloan-C Effective Practice Award
Collection: 
Student-Generated Content
Author Information
Author(s): 
Zoaib Mirza
Author(s): 
Paul Collins
Institution(s) or Organization(s) Where EP Occurred: 
Adler School of Professional Psychology
Effective Practice Abstract/Summary
Abstract/Summary of Effective Practice: 

Adler School of Professional Psychology has been offering blended courses since Winter 2009. The school was recently relocated and with almost 17% increase in student enrollment, the Leadership Team has taken an initiative to recognize and promote the efforts to create a support system for faculty and students.

Description of the Effective Practice
Description of the Effective Practice: 

Adler Online and the Information Technology department worked in collaboration to build a solid foundation to provide faculty and student support system for blended courses.

Surveys and Interviews

We conducted a student event to talk to students about their experience and expectations from Moodle, current support and instructor experience. We asked students and faculty to complete online surveys, which were created in Survey Monkey.  As a result of weekly reminder for couple of months, 44 faculty and 55 students completed the survey. Their information helped us to take the following actions:

Support and Communication

Information Technology department was already using a Helpdesk support account to support and troubleshoot the school’s technical needs. To use a focal point of contact for hybrid/online students and faculty we decided to create an Adler Online support account. This helped Adler Online to minimize response time and focus to hybrid and online students and faculty. This account became a center point of contact for sending mass communication and providing instructional design and Moodle support. Information Technology and Adler Online agreed on a decision tree to filter and forward issues based on the nature of the problem.

For remote support we are using WebEx, which has drastically improved our support to faculty and students.

For mass communication and timely notifications to faculty, we decided to use MyEmma - after comparing it against Constant Contact and MailChimp. From many MyEmma features, we are currently using listservs, email templates and stationery, and tools to track and email reports.   

Courses in Moodle

We did not have a system in place to know which courses should be copied over for the next semester. The hybrid courses had content created by the instructors, but there was no ownership of the content in place. This led to high volume of support emails from both students and faculty during the semester. We began a process, approved by the Chairs Council, and created a course spreadsheet to identify master course shells and course authors, so that our Moodle administrator had a correct list of courses to copy over. Without the course author’s approval we decided not to incorporate any course changes, and to make sure we copy the correct course shell, we locked the master shell and gave read-only access to faculty and course author for any reference.

We further decided to create an Adler course template to provide consistency to all course. The key attributes were color scheme, course navigation, and standard support resources for library, technical help, and student support.

Technology and Training

Moodle

We did not have an online resource section on our website. Therefore, as a short term solution, Adler Online and Information Technology department decided to used PBworks to collaboratively work together to create a process to identify students and faculty Moodle FAQs, and agreed to use Google Sites to post all the tutorials.

SMART

The Adler School has incorporated the Smart Technology© interactive whiteboard systems as its primary classroom collaboration technology.  We have found the interactive potential of the system to integrate multiple content sources through an intuitive, touch-based platform to have become and engaging and even compelling presentation medium for both our faculty and our students.  Combining this delivery platform with the flexibility of multiple content sources (embedded computer, external laptop, DVD, VHS, and HDMI inputs) as well as web-based has provided our faculty a powerful means to more creatively immerse our students with high-impact content that more actively received by our students.  The touch-based interface, apart from conveying a sense of sophistication, allows our faculty to present more naturally, thus focusing more on the content objectives of the course and less on its delivery.  The ability to capture the collaborative discussions and notes through this system and conveniently post them electronically or send them to students through email messaging extends the value and impact of the learning potential of our classrooms.

Supporting Information for this Effective Practice
Evidence of Effectiveness: 

Support and Communication

Prior to the creation of Adler Online support account, the Director of Adler Online use to receive all the support and course related issues into his inbox. Adler Online support account as the primary departmental email account has helped drastically to receive, monitor, and send messages to faculty and students. 

For mass communication through MyEmma, we created stationeries, email templates, and listserv. To help us evaluate the effectiveness of all communication, we use Response tools in MyEmma to review who opened, clicked, shared, signed-up or opted-out. 

Currently, other departments like Marketing, Admissions, and Finance are in the process to discuss the possibility of using MyEmma for all forms of communications.

For remote training and support, we first used Nefsis, but were not happy with the results. Later, we tried WebEx and so far it has met all our needs. The response has been very positive and the quality of the webinar and providing remote support has been very successful.

Courses in Moodle

The faculty and student surveys about their experience and expectations from Moodle helped Adler Online and IT work together to improve Moodle.

After reviewing the survey, a summary was submitted by the Instructional and Multimedia Consultant:

Faculty

  • They want their course layout to be transferred from one semester to another.
  • They would like a training seminar offered at various times to help them learn Moodle and where to find it.
  • Most professors (over 50%) have used Moodle for less than 2 years with over 20% using it for the first time.
  • The phrase “not intuitive” continues to come up.  There are too many functions on the left side of the screen which makes it hard for them to find what they want.
  • Perhaps on the log in page we could place the minimum hardware/software requirements for Moodle.
  • They want clear layout and everything easily labeled.

Students

  • Collapsible sections.
  • Clean up redundant links, such as multiple grade links or class participant links.
  • Discussion threads are long and are not easy to read.
  • Consistency between classes.  Students would prefer to have all classes set up similarly to make navigating class pages much easier.
  • Consistency between pages.  Many students reported difficulties finding similar links on different pages.
  • We need to clean up the fonts.  Many students didn’t like the different sized fonts.  Some students also think we should use different colored fonts for different classes or links.
  • We need to make links for joining different school organizations more obviously visible.
  • Use different colored links for article, discussion, and assignment postings.
  • We need to figure out a way to make member profiles/email addresses easier to find.  In general, student resources are found to be hard to find.
  • Can we make it so that students can differentiate between read and unread posts in discussion section?

Based on the above suggestions, Adler Online and IT have decided to take the following measures:

  • Upgrade the current Moodle version Premium 1.9 to Joule 1.9.
  • Change the current Moodle layout.
  • Design a sandbox with support resources for faculty and student and apply the same heuristics, course navigation and layout to all on-campus, hybrid and online courses.
  • Create a Master Shell of all courses, so that it we can monitor changes and lock it, and submit a final list to the Moodle Administrator.
  • No course will be made without the course author’s approval.

Faculty and administration though have not been asked to complete a formal survey, but are very happy with these changes.

Technology and Training

Moodle

After successfully using PBworks (wiki) to conduct Adler Online strategic planning for 2011-2014, Adler Online and IT decided to use PBworks for creating Moodle FAQs. These FAQs were submitted by our Moodle Administrator, who troubleshoots Moodle issues.  We realize that we need to create more content, but for now we created content for the following FAQs:

Moodle FAQ – Student

  • How do I post to a forum?
  • How do I attach a document to a forum response?
  • How do I upload an assignment?
  • Why isn’t my class showing up?
  • I forgot my password, how do I change it?
  • Where did my classes go?

Moodle FAQ – Faculty 

  • How do I make my course visible/invisible to students?
  • How do I create a forum?
  • How do I create an assignment?
  • How do I upload a document for students to see?
  • How do I make a web link available for students?
  • How do I grade assignments?
  • How do I communicate with students?
  • My class start date is wrong, how do I fix it?
  • My class has too many weeks, how do I fix it?
  • How do I move items?
  • How do I manage forum discussions?
  • I forgot my password, how do I change it?
  • There are broken items in my course; I can’t open them or view them. What do I do?

These FAQs were added to Google Sites and added to all courses in Moodle. Currently, we do not have a landing page on the Adler School website to create content, therefore the short term solution decided by IT, Adler Online, Library, and Center for Learning and Teaching was to use Google Sites. 

Workshops and training for on-campus and faculty and students have not been finalized, but the following list has been submitted, which has been reviewed by Adler Online, IT, Library and the Center for Learning and Teaching:

Moodle

  • Moodle Introduction
  • Moodle Announcements: Effective ways to create and manage announcements
  • Moodle Discussions: Effective ways to create and manage discussions
  • Moodle Groups: Effective ways to create and manage groups
  • Moodle Assignments: Effective ways to create and manage assignments
  • Moodle Gradebook: Effective ways to create and manage Gradebook
  • Moodle Quizzes: Effective ways to create and manage quizzes
  • Adding resources in Moodle: Course content, videos and links

Suggestion to be conducted by Adler Online 

Library

  • Overview of library and its services
  • Copyrights compliance
  • Access overviews into its electronic holdings

Suggestion to be conducted by the Library

Technology – For both faculty and staff

  • Adler school technology systems overview
  • MS Word 2007: Basic to Intermediate
  • MS Excel 2007: Basic to Intermediate
  • MS PowerPoint 2007: Basic to Intermediate
  • MS Outlook 2007: Basic to Intermediate
  • MS Word 2007: Intermediate to Advanced
  • MS Excel 2007: Intermediate to Advanced
  • MS PowerPoint 2007: Intermediate to Advanced
  • MS Outlook 2007: Intermediate to Advanced
  • Beyond PowerPoint: Prezi
  • Web 2.0 tools to increase interaction and collaboration

Suggestion to be conducted by IT and Adler Online 

Special Topics – For both faculty and staff

  • From Workplace to Playspace: Innovating, Learning and Changing Through Dynamic Engagement
  • Nourishing your body: Facts and Secrets 
  • Effective ways to design instructions

Suggestion to be conducted by outside speakers

Currently, we do not have our own media servers, therefore Adler Online and IT decided to use Vimeo to host all our meeting archives and video tutorials. It is an excellent hosting service; administratively we only have to upload videos, and add the link to our online resources.

Our long-term technology strategy will explore the potential impact and benefits of in-house multimedia content streaming, archiving, access, and management systems deployment for access by the Adler faculty and student communities.

SMART © (Classroom) Technologies

  • SMART Interactive Whiteboard overview training
  • Classroom technology training (Smart systems, embedded computing, A/V resources, connectivity options for external devices, etc.)
  • Classroom technology reservation and usage policies overview
  • Notebook© software overview (Smart© interactive software)
How does this practice relate to pillars?: 

Access

Web-based applications like Google Sites, PBworks, Vimeo, and YouTube have allowed instant accessibility to resources to support faculty and students. Administratively, our content is centralized, easy to access, update, integrate, and share. To our end-users, all the information is on a consistent platform, which greatly improves accessibly.  These capabilities are supported by a robust network, wireless, and Internet access infrastructure that supports current needs as well as provides for future scalability.  Adler Online, IT, Library and Center for Learning and Teaching are very happy with this approach.

Faculty and Student Satisfaction

Anecdotal feedback from staff, faculty and students has been very positive. At this stage, not all content has been developed. However, the changes in terms of Moodle layout and creation of online resources have shown dramatic improvement in both faculty and student engagement and satisfaction.

We are confident that, based on surveys results collected from students and faculty, our online resources like New to Online, Technical Support and Student Support, and Moodle training resources will have the following benefits:

  • Decrease overall technical and course support requests
  • Faculty can direct students to online resources
  • Students have on-demand access to resources to review before they can contact Adler Online or IT Helpdesk
Equipment necessary to implement Effective Practice: 

Online Applications

The hardware required for access to and interaction with online applications is a webcam and microphone. 

Minimum Hardware Requirements for Moodle© Course Interaction

PCs:

  • Access to high-speed network connection (not dial-up, i.e., cable, dsl, etc.)
  • Processor: Pentium IV 3.0 Ghz / equivalent or better processor (dual core processor recommended)
  • Operating System: Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 2, Windows 7 with all current updates installed
  • Memory: 2+ Gigabytes RAM Memory
  • Hard drive: 120 Gigabyte
  • Sound card and speakers
  • Headset with microphone that plugs into your sound card (not a USB connection)
  • Monitor with 1024 x 728 pixel resolution or better
  • Software – install latest versions unless otherwise specified:
  • Internet Browser: Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 
  • (Firefox is the preferred browser to use Moodle)
  • Internet explorer:  http://www.microsoft.com/ie  
  • Firefox:  http://www.firefox.com 
  • Current anti-virus software
  • Microsoft Word 2003 or newer (or Word-format compatible word processor)
  • Java/JRE: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp  
  • Adobe Flash Player: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ 
  • Adobe Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader 
  • QuickTime: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/  

Chrome, Opera, AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe, and other ISP-provided browsers are not supported.

Macs:

  • Access to high-speed network connection (not dial-up, i.e., cable, dsl, etc.)
  • Processor: PowerPC G4 or Intel
  • Operating System: OS X 10.4.9
  • Memory: 2+ Gigabytes RAM Memory
  • Hard drive: 120 Gigabyte
  • Sound card and speakers
  • USB Headset with microphone
  • Monitor with 1024 x 728 pixel resolution or better
  • Software – install latest versions unless otherwise specified:
  • Internet Browser: Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 
  • (Firefox is the preferred browser to use Moodle)
  • Internet explorer:  http://www.microsoft.com/ie  
  • Firefox:  http://www.firefox.com 
  • Microsoft Word or Word-format compatible word processor
  • Java/JRE: http://developer.apple.com/java/download/ 
  • Adobe Flash Player: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ 
  • Adobe Reader: http://get.adobe.com/reader 
  • QuickTime: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/  

Chrome, Opera, AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe, and other ISP-provided browsers are not supported.

SMART (Classroom) Technology

To maximize classroom technology familiarity by our student and faculty constituencies, we have designed our 24 classrooms with complete consistency in terms of technology resources:

  • Embedded computer workstation (2.2Ghz Core Duo platform with 4GB RAM and gigabit wired network interface) in a secured storage credenza
  • Combination DVD / VHS device
  • Long-range, frequency-programmable wireless keyboard/mouse unit
  • Connectivity for external laptop or other VGA or HDMI device
  • Convenient access to USB inputs for ad-hoc use of other equipment (microphone, webcam, etc.)
  • Built-in content input control panel for selection of the above input sources
  • 15 of these classrooms feature the Smart© 685ix interactive whiteboard system
  • Multiple high-speed wireless network accessible for our faculty and students (to provide varying levels of network access for each of these constituencies)
  • Built-in audio system with integrated audio volume control
  • In-classroom phone for convenient access to IT helpdesk should support be necessary 
Estimate the probable costs associated with this practice: 

Online Applications 

The choices of all the online applications are very affordable.

  • PBworks - $99 /yr 
  • Vimeo – $59.95/yr
  • WebEx - $ 49/ month

SMART Technology

We recognize the significant investment that was leveraged in the development of our classroom technology environment.  We feel that this investment reflects our commitment to provide our faculty with the innovative and collaborative technology infrastructure to fully engage our students and consequently maximize their learning experience with us.

An approximate breakdown of the technology investment per classroom follows:

  • Smart© interactive whiteboard system - $3,000
  • Embedded computer meeting specifications outlined above - $700
  • Combo DVD/VHS playback device - $120
  • Audio system – approx. $250
  • Long-range, frequency-programmable wireless keyboard/mouse unit - $250
  • Wiring / integration installation costs – approx $2,000 
References, supporting documents: 
  • WebEx - http://www.webex.com/
  • Vimeo - http://www.vimeo.com/
  • PBworks - http://pbworks.com/
  • Google Site - http://www.google.com/sites/
  • Survey Monkey -  http://www.surveymonkey.com/
  • Smart© Technology – http://smarttech.com/
  • Evaluating Total Cost of Ownership for Smart© Interactive Whiteboards - http://downloads01.smarttech.com/media/research/whitepapers/tcowhitepaper.pdf 
Contact(s) for this Effective Practice
Effective Practice Contact: 
Zoaib Mirza, Director of Adler Online
Email this contact: 
zmirza@adler.edu
Effective Practice Contact 2: 
Paul Collins, AVP of Information Technology
Email contact 2: 
pcollins@adler.edu
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