WebCT news at SFU

Today’s suggestion to the developers at WebCT/Blackboard:

 I’d like to be easily track and see responses to my postings in the discussion area or blog. For example, in Facebook, if someone writes on my wall, or comments on a photo of mine, or comments after I’ve made a comment on someone else’s photo, I get an email notification of that, and I can go check this new activity. In Flickr, there is a link to instantly track who’s made comments on your photos, and another to instantly review who’s made comments after comments you’ve made on other people’s photos.

Today I had to go through several threads to remember which ones I’d contributed to, and which ones had responses, which is what had prompted this suggestion. 

Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here.  The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement it!

It’s often helpful to see how others have used new technologies. If you don’t have a sense of what a software can do, then it’s hard to make choices and prioritize your resources. Here’s a few locations that demonstrate good practices in WebCT:

Coventry University has some very specific examples of how WebCT is used in innovative ways in the classroom, and has written up two in more detail.

The University of Manchester has some detailed and specific descriptions of WebCT use in different courses.

University did a survey of what students wanted to see in their WebCT courses. The results are very similar to the survey that SFU did of students in 2005.

I find it useful to see how other approach similar objectives or challenges. Even if it’s nothing radically different from what you are already doing, it’s comforting to know that others have taken the same approach. I’m using these examples, the questions that we receive from SFU staff and more to develop a set of instructional scenarios, to help connect the various tools in WebCT with divergent objectives and available resources. Knowing how it interconnects I hope will help people make that leap to incorporating more sophisticated - or streamlined methods in their own web-supported teaching environments.

part three: wrapping up

By default, your students will have access to their WebCT course discussions, content and grades until the last day of the semester. After the next semester starts, the course container is closed to them, but they retain access to anything in their personal WebCT File Manager. You’ll still be able to access the course content.

If you have used the discussion forum, post a “good bye” message to students. You can later “lock” discussion forums so that students can read, but not post new messages, but give your students a chance to wrap up their online thoughts. If you are going to grade student postings as part of their participation grade, have them compile and email their top five postings to you. This will save you time, and they’ll be able to revisit and review some of their past contributions.

The assessment tool can be used to survey your students at the end of the semester. They’ll have formal course evaluations, but you can check how they liked the web-supported course forum. Which tools or content supported their learning, and how did it extend the classroom environment. Use the same survey to ask yourself those reflective questions. What worked, what didn’t, and what would you do differently?

The gradebook tool can give your students an overview of their semester grades. Create a calculated column to calculate and distribute provisional final grades. There are instructions available to help you move grades seamlessly from WebCT to SIMS.

Streamline things for the next time you teach: store files that you use in multiple WebCT course sections in your File Manager - you’ll be able to link to those files from any WebCT course.

part two: delivery

Your delivery will depend largely on the communication, administrative, assessment and content-driven tools that you have chosen to use.

Write expectations and guidelines for your students and the communication tools available. Use the discussion, mail tool, chat or announcements to give and receive regular feedback. Promote the the discussion forum as a place for student collaboration or the journal function to introduce reflective practice.

Use the goals tool to remind students of the expected learning outcomes. Attach different content, communications and assessments to specific goals to reinforce how goals and assessments connect to the syllabus and the whole semester.

Create formative evaluations to track student understanding or surveys to request feedback. When using the assessment or assignment tool (for small quizzes or homework), create a test quiz or assignment to reduce student anxiety. Create a rubric to attach to the assessment or assignment, and read all the options available. When you are done, use student view to complete all assigned assessments as the demo student.

Encourage student community by setting it up so that students can contribute URLs to the weblinks tool, add the roster tool or ask students to publish their assignments to the class.

The gradebook is a quick and secure tool to provide grades and feedback to students. Give the demo student grades so you can preview in the student view, release each column as you finish adding grades, and download grades into a spreadsheet for backup or to enter grades offline.

Keep your course design simple, so students can easily navigate it, and be consistent in your communications, grade delivery and content release.

This is going to be part one of a three part series: the planning, delivering and wrapping up a web-supported course.

With some simple planning, you can reduce the basic administration associated with the classroom and connect with students. Alternative texts, video or audio can provide depth or context to student learning. Extending the classroom discussion to an online environment or reinforce concepts with regular assessments and feedback. How might this save you time in basic tasks, help you connect with students, recognize diverse ways of teaching and learning, and increase student learning?

part one: planning and setup 

To start, get some inspiration by looking at other web-based courses (http://www.webct.com/exemplary), attending a workshop or asking colleagues.

Advance planning will help you set your objectives, manage expectations and prioritize your time. What do you want your students take away from this course? What materials, approach and assessments can help you reach these objectives? Incorporate ideas that you’ve seen in other web-supported courses or that your colleagues have told you about. Which administrative tasks take up time in the classroom? How can a web-supported course help?

Write a list of the content, links, resources, and media that you currently use or would like to use for a course. Use this content to reinforce concepts, use different learning and teaching styles or to provide alternative resources and viewpoints. Review the tools available - is there anything new you’d like to try? Take the content, the communications and the assessment and put it in a logical order.

Write a welcome message using the announcements tool or the discussion forum to state your expectations, and what students can expect from you in this environment. Describe to your students the learning path this course will take and how the combination of the web-supported and face to face classrooms will support their learning.

When you are ready, request an online course section using the form at http://webct.sfu.ca∞

Your course container is yours to customize. Start by adding the tools you want to use. Add your syllabus and any course material - you can hide it or set release date to manage student access. Using the assessments described in the syllabus, setup the gradebook, and give your “demo student” some grades. Use the student view tab to see how the content appears, which grade columns are visible and which tools are available. Reinforce the prerequisites needed for your course by creating a low-stakes quiz to bring students up to speed, and help connect your course with the prerequisites.

Students are added to your web-supported course section automatically at SFU, as they register in SIMS. By default, students will be able to access the online materials in WebCT on the first day of classes.

Today’s suggestion to the developers of WebCT/Blackboard:

Currently, I have to create my grading form first, and then create a new assignment and add the grading form. I don’t always think that far ahead. I’d like to be able to add a GradeForm to a previously created assignment or graded discussion.

Remember that you can make your own suggestions to them here. The more suggestions they get, the more likely they are to implement them.