Articles

Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice to the Online Classroom

Almost 25 years have passed since Chickering and Gamson offered seven principles for good instructional practices in undergraduate education. While the state of undergraduate education has evolved to some degree over that time, I think the seven principles still have a place in today’s collegiate classroom. Originally written to communicate best practices for face-to-face instruction, the principles translate well to the online classroom and can help to provide guidance for those of us designing courses to be taught online.

Oliver Dreon, PhD February 25, 2013

App Review: Doceri Combines Screencasting, Desktop Control, and Interactive Whiteboard

The Doceri interactive whiteboard and screencast recorder app, like the Splashtop app I reviewed earlier, is useful to anyone wishing to remotely control a projected image from a connected computer, make screen annotations on what is displayed (you can make the annotations on a displayed image or a whiteboard), and send your creation for others to see. The thing I liked the most about using Doceri is the ease with which recorded audio and screen annotations can be made and the ability to send/post the finished product to a LMS or similar system for students to access. This app can save you the expense associated with costly classroom whiteboards and the controls in the app are easy to navigate.

Dave Yearwood, PhD February 22, 2013

Student Presentations: Do They Benefit Those Who Listen?

Almost everyone agrees that student presentations benefit the presenter in significant ways. By doing presentations, students learn how to speak in front a group, a broadly applicable professional skill. They learn how to prepare material for public presentation, and practice (especially with feedback) improves their speaking skills. But those of us who have students do presentations in class know there’s a downside—and that’s how the rest of the class responds to these presentations. When the teacher talks, students more or less have to pay attention, at least some of the time, but when their classmates present, they can be comatose. Not only does this make it more difficult for the presenter, it means the students listening are not likely having any sort of learning experience.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD February 21, 2013

Using Podcasts to Address Concepts Students Find Difficult

Whether you teach online, face-to-face, or blended/hybrid courses, podcasts can improve student learning, says Charles Morgan, chair of the mathematics department at Lock Haven University. Consider the following benefits:

Rob Kelly February 19, 2013

A Three-Pronged Approach to Improving Online Student Engagement, Critical Thinking

Monica Rothschild-Boros, an art appreciation and cultural anthropology instructor at Orange Coast College, uses a combination of embedded lecture questions, threaded discussion, and innovative assignments to engage students and get them to think critically in her online courses.

Rob Kelly February 15, 2013

Should You Be Using Rubrics?

Use of rubrics in higher education is comparatively recent. These grading aids that communicate “expectations for an assignment by listing the criteria or what counts, and describing levels of quality from excellent to poor” (p. 435) are being used to assess a variety of assignments such as literature reviews, reflective writings, bibliographies, oral presentations, critical thinking, portfolios, and projects. They are also being used across a range of disciplines, but so far the number of faculty using them remains small.

Maryellen Weimer, PhD February 14, 2013

Using the E-Portfolio to Validate Student Learning

Too often our students consider their work in the classroom as required assignments—not work that has anything to do with what they will be doing in the real world. Oh, maybe they are picking up some skills they might use in their future employment, but that’s about it. As teachers, how do we get students to understand that the work they do in our classes—such as team projects, community service, technical papers, and even research—is relevant to what they will be doing after they graduate? How do we encourage them to keep their materials and use them to validate their work as students? I think I have an answer. Teaching an e-portfolio capstone course for several years has given me a perspective that I believe should be the framework for validating student learning outcomes across all institutions of higher education.

Ken Scott EdD February 12, 2013

Engaging Students in a Habit of Gratitude

Many labels have been applied to the current generation of college students, many of them disparaging: lazy, distracted, aimless, needy, greedy, and self-absorbed. Some of the emerging adults who populate college classrooms earn these labels with their classroom behaviors and mediocre performance. However, within most men and women who are 18-22 years old, there is a capacity for greater things.

Deborah Miller Fox February 11, 2013

ScreenChomp App Review: Recordable Whiteboard Provides Easy Way to Create, Explain and Share

ScreenChomp is a free, yet highly intuitive and powerful app that you and your students can quickly master. To use ScreenChomp you simply touch the record button; draw on the whiteboard using the available pen or markers; and provide a running narrative. ScreenChomp records your voice and drawing and then allows you to upload your creation to ScreenChomp.com. After uploading your project, you will be provided with a link which you can share via e-mail, Twitter, or on the clipboard. Nothing could be easier than that!

Dave Yearwood, PhD February 8, 2013

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