Course Syllabus

The Online Classroom

 

Program Goal

Upon completion of the program, learners will be familiar with a number of online resources to assist them in designing, developing, and facilitating an online classroom. 

Achievement Based Objectives

1.  Students will explore the various resources and their application to the online classroom.

2.  Students will experience an online course developed incorporating the various tools and resources available to them.

3.  Students will post their reaction/feelings/thoughts about one resource from each assignment category.

Lesson Outline

Team Cobra has elected to deliver our Online Classroom lesson on two platforms or LMSs (learning management systems).  We've chosen systems that were unfamiliar to us in the hopes that you, The Learner, would remember these resources and possibly use them in your future endeavors.  By accepting  our invitation to Canvas we hope you have fun exploring this interesting platform and open yourself up to its possibilities for your future online classroom needs. 

We have also provided additional instructions to Merlot (located in the Pages tab) in order to present you with just one example of how Merlot can be used as a learning assessment presentation module; in addition to all the wonderful assessment resources, it has to offer.  Links to each, as well as a couple others can be found under the Assignments Tab.

After logging in to into Canvas, please access the Announcements Tab first.  This is a useful tool for  communicating with our online students; very similar to Announcements section on the VCU Blackboard Page. 

Our online classroom steps:

1.  Watch the short video embedded in the Announcements section.

2.  Explore the Assignments Tab.  We've organized a number of online classroom resources we feel may be useful for you in your future responsibilities, managing an online classroom.  Canvas provides an interesting option:  transferring the assignments you develop into the Syllabus Tab.  In effect, it allows your course syllabus to become a living document that automatically updates itself as you create more assignments.

3.  One important take-away from the video - the LMS is not the online classroom, but instead just a tool to help manage the online classroom.  We have provided options to expose you to other tools.  Under the Assignments Tab, please follow the Evaluating Online Resources Link.  The activity has been broken down for Team Merlot & Team Yikes! in respect to your online teacher and online student project.  Follow the activity instructions and post your comments in the Collaborations Tab by Team.

4.  Under the Pages Tab please follow the instructions for how to access and review the presentation designed to showcase a few of the assessment and evaluation resources in Merlot.  Please post any comments under the Comments Tab - the built-in Canvas Wiki.

 References

Anderson, T. (Ed.) (2008). Theory and practice of online learning (2nd ed). Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Athabasca University Press. Available http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120146(Free PDF Tab)

Watkins, R. (2005). 75 e-Learning Activities: Making online Learning interactive. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

www.theatlantic.com (2012) Retrieved from:

     http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/what-its-like-to-teach-a-mooc-and-what-the-hecks-a-mooc/260000/

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due