A thread for all things related to teaching online.
How about having a whole a whole section devoted to online teaching in its many forms?
Quote from: downer on May 21, 2019, 02:48:41 PM
How about having a whole a whole section devoted to online teaching in its many forms?
Once the thread gets big enough to split and then to need a container to group the multiple threads, then a whole section makes sense.
For the test at the moment, we're gauging interest by seeing what threads take off in the broad categories.
Here's a conundrum: I see that many sites have sprung up that will take your online course for you. Many of our online courses have online, open-book exams, so the student never has to show up in person at all. So presumably a ringer could go undetected. Is requiring an in-person exam the only way to defeat this, or do folks know other ways?
As I was looking at some of the sites, a little dialogue box popped up with "Can we help you?" So I asked if they could handle a class in late antique theology. Sure they could! I warned, "The teacher says its not easy have to know coptic." Sure, they could do that!
Hey, maybe they pay their Coptic teachers more than my university does, and I could jump into a more lucrative career!
A friend in IT swears that the hackers just work in the office next-door to the online seclops urity folks. One creates the bug, the other develops the security updates you have to buy to fix it.
Maybe this is like that!
Ugh.
M.
I'm having an issue with a fully online course. It's a required course for multiple majors and a higher-than-usual failure rate, and so it has a really high demand and helps a lot of students get or stay on track to degree completion. It's gone really well, and I'd like to keep offering it.
However, the last two times I taught it I saw obvious cheating on the open-book exams. Each round there were two or three students failing miserably throughout the course who suddenly submitted high-scoring finals (with terminology not from the course). You'll just have to trust me that these students could not possibly have YouTubed their way to competence all of a sudden. Clearly, they recruited ringers as they realized that they were on track to fail a high-stakes course.
So, I guess my two choices are to make students come to campus for the exams (and show ID cards) or to see about some of those remote web-cam proctoring services (which always seem creepy and intrusive to me). For pedagogical reasons, I can't replace exams with projects.
But are there other options I'm missing? Options that better preserve the accessibility of the course for the vast majority who aren't cheating?
Quote from: LibbyG on May 23, 2019, 08:16:23 AM
I'm having an issue with a fully online course. It's a required course for multiple majors and a higher-than-usual failure rate, and so it has a really high demand and helps a lot of students get or stay on track to degree completion. It's gone really well, and I'd like to keep offering it.
However, the last two times I taught it I saw obvious cheating on the open-book exams. Each round there were two or three students failing miserably throughout the course who suddenly submitted high-scoring finals (with terminology not from the course). You'll just have to trust me that these students could not possibly have YouTubed their way to competence all of a sudden. Clearly, they recruited ringers as they realized that they were on track to fail a high-stakes course.
So, I guess my two choices are to make students come to campus for the exams (and show ID cards) or to see about some of those remote web-cam proctoring services (which always seem creepy and intrusive to me). For pedagogical reasons, I can't replace exams with projects.
But are there other options I'm missing? Options that better preserve the accessibility of the course for the vast majority who aren't cheating?
We have online exams proctored by examity. It is not creepy and has worked seamlessly for students both in the testing center and at a distance.
I tell students it is up to them to find a place that proctors exams if they don't want to take the exam on campus. They have used both their local public library and their local community college.
It is a bit of a pain if there are lots students doing this at different places, but it is an option.
Quote from: LibbyG on May 23, 2019, 08:16:23 AM
But are there other options I'm missing? Options that better preserve the accessibility of the course for the vast majority who aren't cheating?
I teach a hybrid chemistry class. The lecture is online and the required lab is face-to-face.
The lecture is structured with a number of assignments for each chapter. The real reason is to keep them moving through the material throughout each week since the assignments have staggered due dates and to try and minimize the urge to cram right before the exam. A bonus from my perspective is that if they are going to pay someone to do it, then they are going to be paying quite a bit. Can you add work that adds to the class and isn't just perceived as busy-work by the students?
The face-to-face lab also helps (not an option I presume for you, though). I get to see them each week and their lab work correlates pretty strongly with the online work. The few time it didn't and I suspected something, the student dropped.
Every term I have someone who tries to avoid the face-to-face lab part and substitute something else, but we've tightened up the requirements on it (ie major 0-point hammer!) and we've been able to convince our accommodations office that not coming to lab is not an option in a lab-based class.
Thanks, everyone! I think I will just insist on proctored exams (remote or on campus) this next round or two and see if it's really all that disruptive. It's better than not offering the class at all. I do have a lot of low-stakes graded assignments, which is part of why the sudden vertiginous rise in the last exam (for just a couple students) is so clearly out of step with prior performance.
I do love being able to offer this class online, though. It's a lot of procedures, so some students really benefit from being able to watch the little lesson videos I make over and over again - an option students don't have in a traditional f2f class. And for those lessons, I've really been pleased with VoiceThread. Any other VoiceThread users here?
Can you explain what VoiceThread is?
It's an app. To make a VoiceThread you upload media (slides, images, video, websites) and then add comments as either text or audio. For my lesson videos I use mostly slides with audio narration, and I can use the app doodads to mark what I'm talking about. You can set your VoiceThread to accept text and/or audio comments from viewers, which they insert at particular points in time. Like they could type "What does that mean?" right after the audio sentence they didn't understand, and then that word bubble would pop up at that point in any subsequent view of the VoiceThread. I could then type in a reply. It's meant to support a rich, multimedia discussion that exists on a timeline but still unfolds asynchonously.
Interesting, LibbyG. I just looked it up.
Does your institution have a site license for it?
Do your students like it and use it?
Quote from: LibbyG on May 30, 2019, 08:25:45 PM
It's an app. To make a VoiceThread you upload media (slides, images, video, websites) and then add comments as either text or audio. For my lesson videos I use mostly slides with audio narration, and I can use the app doodads to mark what I'm talking about. You can set your VoiceThread to accept text and/or audio comments from viewers, which they insert at particular points in time. Like they could type "What does that mean?" right after the audio sentence they didn't understand, and then that word bubble would pop up at that point in any subsequent view of the VoiceThread. I could then type in a reply. It's meant to support a rich, multimedia discussion that exists on a timeline but still unfolds asynchonously.
A few faculty (including myself) are piloting VoiceThread at my school. I'm looking for ways to get better interaction between classes with my hybrid bio students, so I'm glad to hear you've had good success with it.
QuoteFrom CC_Alan: Interesting, LibbyG. I just looked it up.
Does your institution have a site license for it?
Do your students like it and use it?
My campus has a license, and it's integrated into our LMS. So far, as an instructor, I've only used it in a one-to-many kind of way. I make my lesson, students watch it, and that's it. But I think I'm going to try having students make VoiceThreads and interact with VTs produced by peers in a f2f class I'm teaching Sp 2020.
So I don't have student feedback to convey, but the student user-experience with it is just like the faculty one. It's just media + commentary on a timeline, so even though it's very flexible, it's still simple to interact with.
Quote from: LibbyG on May 23, 2019, 08:16:23 AM
I'm having an issue with a fully online course. It's a required course for multiple majors and a higher-than-usual failure rate, and so it has a really high demand and helps a lot of students get or stay on track to degree completion. It's gone really well, and I'd like to keep offering it.
However, the last two times I taught it I saw obvious cheating on the open-book exams. Each round there were two or three students failing miserably throughout the course who suddenly submitted high-scoring finals (with terminology not from the course). You'll just have to trust me that these students could not possibly have YouTubed their way to competence all of a sudden. Clearly, they recruited ringers as they realized that they were on track to fail a high-stakes course.
So, I guess my two choices are to make students come to campus for the exams (and show ID cards) or to see about some of those remote web-cam proctoring services (which always seem creepy and intrusive to me). For pedagogical reasons, I can't replace exams with projects.
But are there other options I'm missing? Options that better preserve the accessibility of the course for the vast majority who aren't cheating?
Many public libraries provide free proctoring services for online exams. We do it quite often here. Typically the instructor provides us with a password to access the exam for the student. We set up a time with the student, check the student's ID, give the student access to a public computer in a relatively quiet spot, and enter the password. The instructor can also send us formula sheets and such to print out. The instructor will tell us what the student is and is not allowed to have on hand during the exam. Sometimes we have to confiscate the student's phone. We don't use webcams, but we can use the library's regular security camera system to keep tabs if need be.
Re: my reference to WordTread, if anyone is interested, they're offering a webinar on its use in language teaching for online and f2f classes. PM me and I can forward their email as an attachment (new toy we didn't useta have!)
M.
When you have an online meeting by blackboard collaborate, or conference call or other technology for an online class, do you require that people "show up on time?" I seem to have a lot of students who think that if there's an online function from 8 to 9 this means that they can 'drop in' for any part of that hour. Wondering if I can/should say "show up at 8, just like you would if a regular class starts at 8. Being late is rude."
Any thoughts?
Quote from: Morris Zapp on June 10, 2019, 07:01:01 AM
When you have an online meeting by blackboard collaborate, or conference call or other technology for an online class, do you require that people "show up on time?" I seem to have a lot of students who think that if there's an online function from 8 to 9 this means that they can 'drop in' for any part of that hour. Wondering if I can/should say "show up at 8, just like you would if a regular class starts at 8. Being late is rude."
Any thoughts?
I just have a question: Are online classes officially "asynchronous"? In other words, is the intent of an online class that there is no set schedule, but only due dates for assignments, etc? If so, requiring everyone to bo online at the same time may not be enforceable. (I realize this could vary by institution.)
Quote from: marshwiggle on June 10, 2019, 07:28:24 AM
Quote from: Morris Zapp on June 10, 2019, 07:01:01 AM
When you have an online meeting by blackboard collaborate, or conference call or other technology for an online class, do you require that people "show up on time?" I seem to have a lot of students who think that if there's an online function from 8 to 9 this means that they can 'drop in' for any part of that hour. Wondering if I can/should say "show up at 8, just like you would if a regular class starts at 8. Being late is rude."
Any thoughts?
I just have a question: Are online classes officially "asynchronous"? In other words, is the intent of an online class that there is no set schedule, but only due dates for assignments, etc? If so, requiring everyone to bo online at the same time may not be enforceable. (I realize this could vary by institution.)
Mine are asynchronous, but some of the faculty who teach research methods or statistics online will have required dates/times listed in the course information when students register so students are aware when they register that this is a synchronous component of the course.
In this case, we're asking to have a couple of synchronous activities (like one a month) but they are voluntary. I guess my issue is whether voluntary means "show up or don't show up" or whether it means "feel free to show up late and leave early" which is distracting, even in an online class setting. I"m leaning towards telling students it's rude to show up late or leave early during an online class, just as it is to do so in an in person class.
All the online courses at my university are asynchronous. We have a robust study abroad program, so in any given semester there are usually a few people in other parts of the world who are not operating on Eastern time—not to mention the local students with work schedules or class schedules that would preclude logging on at a certain time. Unless a set schedule is published in the course roster, I don't know how you could require everyone to be on at the same time, even for an occasional project.
Quote from: Morris Zapp on June 10, 2019, 12:40:15 PM
[. . .]
but they are voluntary.
[. . . ]
If there is no discernible effect on the course grade, the activity will not function as intended.
Quote from: Morris Zapp on June 10, 2019, 07:01:01 AM
When you have an online meeting by blackboard collaborate, or conference call or other technology for an online class, do you require that people "show up on time?" I seem to have a lot of students who think that if there's an online function from 8 to 9 this means that they can 'drop in' for any part of that hour. Wondering if I can/should say "show up at 8, just like you would if a regular class starts at 8. Being late is rude."
Any thoughts?
I like the specificity of your statement. I think it sets expectations clearly, and if you post it before the first meeting, nobody will feel singled out.
I get around this by having a "checking technology" prequel. So, in your instance, I would say, "I'll be online from 7:45 to 8:00 if you'd like to check your headphones/video/screen sharing. I'm happy to help you with technology issues until then, but we'll need to get started right at 8:00 with [Activity X], after which point you'll be on your own."
Then I have a points-based activity at 8, just as I would in a face-to-face classroom.
AR.
My online students are all over the world — they're all from our university, but for various reasons they're widely dispersed. I think it would be an undue burden, and likely impossible, to require them all to be online at a specified time. And what if they have another course that meets in person at that time? Or a job? To my mind, an important feature of online classes is the flexibility — students can stop by and do the work on their own schedule — which is negated if they're all required to be online simultaneously.
I've attended online programs that offered both synchronous and asynchronous classes. The scheduling of the synchronous classes was not a problem for most of us, since we did not live in time zones that were too spread out. For a few students it was an issue. The synchronous classes worked quite well--WHEN the software worked! I remember quite a few class sessions marred by particular students or the whole class experiencing glitches. We did have some great synchronous class discussions, though.
Overall I preferred the program with classes that operated asynchronously, for the reasons of flexibility Hegemony gives above.
I'm teaching online this summer for the first time and all of the students are taking this course in order to be able to get on track with the timing of a series of required classes for their major. (This is the third of five). All of the students were in my F2F prerequisite class last semester, so I know them and I know that they "like" me (can you say "Stockholm Syndrome"?)
I've been pleasantly surprised to see that some students who really struggled in the f2f situation are doing better online. (No access to friends to work with on the homework? No closed-book test anxiety? Access to the instructional videos as many times as they need? Or simply that the course itself isn't as difficult.... who knows ....)
Can anybody else speak to this phenomenon?
Quote from: Tamiam on July 27, 2019, 09:58:00 AM
I've been pleasantly surprised to see that some students who really struggled in the f2f situation are doing better online. (No access to friends to work with on the homework? No closed-book test anxiety? Access to the instructional videos as many times as they need? Or simply that the course itself isn't as difficult.... who knows ....)
Can anybody else speak to this phenomenon?
Are you certain that the enrolled students are the ones actually doing the work online and not having "helpers" (e.g., friends, girlfriends/boyfriends, spouses, paid help) do the work for them?
I'm teaching an online class for the first time right now (about a week left), and the quality of work is on par with or slightly better than the F2F implementation. This perhaps wouldn't work for all classes, but the bulk of the work requires students to submit two short videos each week where they make an ethical argument regarding a moral dilemma involving computing technology. The fact that I can see each student in their videos each week mitigates some honesty issues.
Now, I'm trying out a take home final, but it doesn't involve video—something that I regret as I type this. Instead, there is an essay portion and a timed online quiz portion. Hopefully it goes well, and there is little cheating. I'll report back in a week.
Quote from: Cheerful on July 27, 2019, 07:14:21 PM
Quote from: Tamiam on July 27, 2019, 09:58:00 AM
I've been pleasantly surprised to see that some students who really struggled in the f2f situation are doing better online. (No access to friends to work with on the homework? No closed-book test anxiety? Access to the instructional videos as many times as they need? Or simply that the course itself isn't as difficult.... who knows ....)
Can anybody else speak to this phenomenon?
Are you certain that the enrolled students are the ones actually doing the work online and not having "helpers" (e.g., friends, girlfriends/boyfriends, spouses, paid help) do the work for them?
When I was director of online education and doing some spot checks, I discovered a student who was dramatically different course to course in the same term. That name was actively participating in discussion groups for all courses, but had a curiously different command of English in the different courses. In addition, the IP addresses were spread across the US in non-linear ways.
I tried to make a compelling argument in my own mind for, say, a salesperson who sometimes posted when very tired and sometimes posted when very fresh or a truck driver who had tired/fresh/wired problems. I did a little more digging and realized that we didn't have all the paperwork we were supposed to have; transcripts were missing. When I emailed the student directly, our email exchanges had yet another style and command of English. The transcripts never showed up by the deadline, so I dropped the student from the program and didn't have to track down any further anything regarding the situation.
I do know for myself that I really love instructional videos that I can pause, rewind, replay, and go ask questions as necessary. In a few classes, I would have done much better had videos been available.
Quote from: Cheerful on July 27, 2019, 07:14:21 PM
Quote from: Tamiam on July 27, 2019, 09:58:00 AM
I've been pleasantly surprised to see that some students who really struggled in the f2f situation are doing better online. (No access to friends to work with on the homework? No closed-book test anxiety? Access to the instructional videos as many times as they need? Or simply that the course itself isn't as difficult.... who knows ....)
Can anybody else speak to this phenomenon?
Are you certain that the enrolled students are the ones actually doing the work online and not having "helpers" (e.g., friends, girlfriends/boyfriends, spouses, paid help) do the work for them?
Of course, that's an issue for f2f courses too. I'm sure that a portion of work that I grade every semester is done by people other than the student who submits it. I haven't seen any reason to think this sort of plagiarism occurs more in online courses than it does in f2f courses.
Quote from: downer on July 28, 2019, 06:53:24 AM
Quote from: Cheerful on July 27, 2019, 07:14:21 PM
Quote from: Tamiam on July 27, 2019, 09:58:00 AM
I've been pleasantly surprised to see that some students who really struggled in the f2f situation are doing better online. (No access to friends to work with on the homework? No closed-book test anxiety? Access to the instructional videos as many times as they need? Or simply that the course itself isn't as difficult.... who knows ....)
Can anybody else speak to this phenomenon?
Are you certain that the enrolled students are the ones actually doing the work online and not having "helpers" (e.g., friends, girlfriends/boyfriends, spouses, paid help) do the work for them?
Of course, that's an issue for f2f courses too. I'm sure that a portion of work that I grade every semester is done by people other than the student who submits it. I haven't seen any reason to think this sort of plagiarism occurs more in online courses than it does in f2f courses.
I don't think that friends/others are doing the course work for them in this particular case. I do know that it happens, of course, but I know these students pretty well. And I'll debrief with them in the fall.