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  COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All materials is this site are available for educational, not-for-profit use, assuming appropriate citation:

Vassilakis, P.N. and DePaul University's Instructional Design and Development (2009). "DePaul Online Teaching Series: Facilitating effective online learning," http://www.acousticslab.org/dots_sample.

Any other use by non-DePaul University employees is prohibited.

  

    

  
  Mon, Jun 08, 2009 -- Course Design Process Summary
 
Part 1
 
1.    Overall course objectives
2.    Objectives per module and well-aligned objectives/assignments/resources sets per module.
       a. Objectives can be in the form of a bulleted list per module
       b. Objectives/assignments/resources sets can be 1-2 typed pages per module
3.    Syllabus, orientation page, tech-support info, and various rubrics (i.e. discussion, grading,
       communication)
4.    Draft navigation menu for the Blackboard course site

Part 2

1.    Video introduction for the entire course
2.    Blackboard course-site design
       a. Transfer of the materials from Part 1 into the BB site as BB “items”
           (pdfs, Web pages, etc.); design of the course navigation and interface
       b. Design of the online discussion forums, assignments/tests/surveys, and grade book
3.    Incorporation of necessary non-text resources
       (e.g. images, videos, audio examples,  Web-links, etc.)
4.    Gravy! (e.g. video intros per module and site beautification and enhancement
       with additional multimedia, navigation, illustration, etc. bells and whistles)
 
 		 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, Jun 05, 2009 -- DOTS has been completed
 
Congratulations on completing DOTS! We hope this has been a useful experience for you. I sure learned a lot!
We look forward to helping you design your online courses.
 		 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, Jun 05, 2009 -- DOTS Program Survey
 http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229ACPRL854 		Posted by: Jeanne Kim     
  Thu, Jun 04, 2009 -- Last meeting information
 
Tomorrow we will be wrapping up DOTS in room JTR 417.
 
During the meeting:
 
a) IDD staff will introduce you to blogs and wikis. The benefits of these tools include the ability to easily create Web pages where students can
  i) contribute posts or comment on posts (e.g. blogs) and
  ii) collaboratively complete a project/assignment (e.g. wikis).
 
b) Faculty members from the Writing Program will show examples of ways they have integrated wikis in their online classes for writing assignments.
 
c) The director of the Hay DePaul Leadership Project will discuss her experiences teaching online.
 
d) The IDD director will discuss what you can expect after DOTS has been completed.
  		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Tue, Jun 02, 2009 -- Camtasia & SoftChalk Workshop Videos
 
The videos from last Friday's workshops on Camtasia and SoftChalk have now been posted in the "Wrap-Up Meeting" page for Module 5.
For ScreenFlow, see the relevant pre-recorded video under "ScreenFlow Resources" on the same page.
 		 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 29, 2009 -- The materials for Module 6 have now been posted
 

During this module you will be focusing on your draft Blackboard courses.

Two notes:
 
1) How much of your course do you need to produce?
 
There is no pre-set amount of materials you are expected to have finished by the end of DOTS. The hope is that you will have the chance to touch upon portions of all aspects of your prospective online course (e.g. syllabus, course- and module-level objectives, rubrics, orientation page, course navigation, textual, multimedia, and other resources, etc.). Ideally DOTS will help you prepare a course template, along with elements of all relevant portions, which will be your starting point as you eventually work with a consultant to fully build your online course(s).

2) What about your originally planned Wimba presentations?

The main objective of this exercise was for you to get some familiarity presenting in Wimba. However, the Wimba workshops to date may have been insufficient to prepare you for this exercise. Therefore, Module 6 will be devoted exclusively to working on your draft courses (Assignment 1) and to one-on-one face-to-face consultations with us, as needed.
Use the Module 6 forum, under "Discussions," or email us directly for assistance with your course drafting.

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Thu, May 28, 2009 -- Module 5 - Workshop Resources
 
All resources for tomorrow's technology workshops (Camtasia, ScreenFlow, and SoftChalk) have now been posted on the "Wrap-Up Meeting" page of Module 5 for your reference. Hard copies of any handouts will also be provided tomorrow.
  		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Wed, May 27, 2009 -- VoiceThread follow-up
 

All available resources related to VoiceThread have now been posted on the “Wrap-Up Meeting” page for Module 4.

They include:

  1. Videos of the presentation and workshop (the workshop begins 50 minutes into the first video and continues through the second video)
  2. PDF files of the two workshop handouts
  3. Links to VoiceThread samples and a short video introduction to the tool
  4. Instructions on hiding URLs
  5. Instructions on VoiceThread video-file compatibility

For those of you that would like a hands-on refresher on VoiceThread, IDD is planning a follow-up VoiceThread workshop for the middle of June. The specific date will be available and communicated by our last meeting on June 5th.
 

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Tue, May 26, 2009 -- Hiding Web Addresses - Instructions & Suggestions
 
Instructions on and caveats of hiding a Web address have now been posted. To access them go to the "Wrap-Up Meeting" page for Module 4 and click on the "Hiding URLs" link under the "Module 4 Wrap-Up and Workshop Resources" section.
Do contact me if you have any questions.
 
Note: You may need to empty your browser’s cache (i.e. Temporary Internet Files folder) in order to see the updated “Wrap-Up Meeting” page for Module 4.
  		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 22, 2009 -- Module 5 is now available
 
The Module 5 materials are now available and work on the module begins tomorrow.

This week’s group discussion (Assignment 1) asks you to share ideas on how to design a potential objectives/assignment/resources set for your prospective online courses around a provided short video clip. You will be completing this exercise on your own, using the relevant group forum to help and bounce ideas off one another.
There is no submission deadline for this assignment. Completing it is meant to help give some direction to your work on Assignment 2. I sure you can imagine several ways to include VoiceThread in this exercise.

Assignment 2 asks you to focus on your individual courses, using the multimedia resources list presented in the Module 5 lecture notes as a starting point.

Post any technical questions on the discussion board (under “Discussions”). I will respond promptly and will be available for one-on-one meetings as needed.

Good luck with Module 5 and, as always, I’ll look out for any questions you may post on the discussion board.
  		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 22, 2009 -- URL encryption
 
It is possible to encrypt URLs (i.e. hide Web addresses) by using one of several available (free or premium) encryption software.
See for example http://www.designerwiz.com/URLencryptor.htm
You can identify many more such applications by searching Google for "how to encrypt a url."
 
These applications provide you with a piece of html code (as, for example, is the case with video embedding), which you have to enter "under" the link you want to encrypt. For assistance with using this code contact one of the Instructional Design Consultants.
 
The security offered by URL encryption will not solve all of your privacy concerns but will make it relatively difficult for your encrypted URLs to be widely distributed.
 		 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 22, 2009 -- Your feedback on the online portion of Module 4
 
As the online portion of Module 4 comes to a close, please take a few minutes to fill out the Module 4 feedback survey, now available under the "Feedback" menu area.
Thank you!
 		 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Thu, May 21, 2009 -- Blackboard workshop materials now available
 
The first part of the Blackboard Workshop Materials by our IT staff is now available under the "Resource Archive" menu area.
 
The materials cover 29 basic topics that include
i) tailoring menu buttons,
ii) posting appropriately-sized banners to the "Announcements" and other content pages,
iii) incorporating e-reserve resources,
iv) posting all forms of content (documents, audio, video, etc.),
v) using Blackboard's e-mail function,
and more.
 
An additional resource addressing the Assignment, Discussion Board, Grade Center, etc. functions will be available in the future.
   		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Wed, May 20, 2009 -- Module 4 - Wrap-up Meeting Information
 

This Friday’s wrap-up meeting will be taking place in room JTR 300 (Lincoln Park Library, 3rd level, west side of the building).
 
We will start with a presentation by Prof. Pacansky-Brock (Sierra College, California), continue with any technical or other questions you may have regarding DOTS and your work on your personal courses, and conclude with a workshop on VoiceThread.

In preparation for the meeting, please
i) address the pre-workshop resources available on the “Wrap-up Meeting” page for Module 4 of DOTS and
ii) collect and bring with you existing media files (max 20Mb per file) for use in the VoiceThread workshop.

You may bring
a) presentations (saved in .ppt, .pptx, .opd, or .pdf formats),
b) image files (at least 1280x960 in resolution and saved in .jpg, gif, png, or bmp formats),
c) video files (saved in .mov, .avi, or .flv formats - files will work but there are codec exceptions -- bring yours and we'll try it out), and
d) documents (saved in .pdf, .doc, or .xls formats).
 
I will be bringing along some media files to complement what you find.
 

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 15, 2009 -- Module 4
 
The Module 4 materials are now available and work on the module begins tomorrow.
 
This week’s group discussion (Assignment 1) asks you to share ideas on how to design assignments that support student-centered, project-based, and team-based learning, based on a set of guiding questions.
There is no submission deadline for this assignment. Use this discussion forum to bounce ideas off one-another as/if needed.
 
Assignment 2 asks you to write assignment descriptions and instructions that provide contexts for student-centered, project-based, and team-based learning.
If your assignments already fulfill these requirements or if you consider these requirements secondary to your specific course designs feel free to devote the upcoming week to developing your syllabi, orientation materials, rubrics, and course modules.
 
Post any technical questions on the discussion board (under “Discussions”). I will respond promptly and will be available for one-on-one meetings as needed.
 
The “Wrap-up meeting” page for the module includes instructions for next Friday’s face-to-face workshop and materials that the presenter would like you to address prior to our meeting.
 
Good luck with Module 4 and I’ll look out for any questions you may post on the discussion board.
   		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 08, 2009 -- Module 3 and Course Improvements
 

The materials for Module 3 have now been made available. Module 3 begins on Saturday, 5/9.
Details on the asynchronous meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 5/13 at 10:00 a.m. will be sent out in a separate message.

Thank you for your feedback during today’s face-to-face session. The changes below will hopefully improve your course experience for the remaining modules.
 
1) Per your request, I will be discussing with IDD the possibility of re-doing today's workshops on Wimba and Viddler. To do this, we will most likely need to schedule a face-to-face session, additional to the ones already scheduled, and ensure that all of you will be available.

2) Any pedagogical discussions will be reduced to a minimum and will only occur to address any relevant questions you may have.
Such questions will be addressed during the face-to-face meetings and/or through the “Course Design Questions” forum under the “Discussions” menu item.

3) Technical questions will be addressed during the face-to-face meetings and/or through the “Technical Questions” forum under the “Discussions” menu item.

4) Our face-to-face wrap-ups will be driven by questions you bring to the sessions.

5) Approach the remaining DOTS assignments and their start/end dates as flexibly or as strictly as you wish to fit your individual schedules and course design needs.
Post any questions to the “Technical Questions” and “Course Design Questions” forums under the “Discussions” menu item. We will be monitoring the forums and responding promptly.

6) As already planned, all remaining assignments will focus on creating components of your own prospective courses.
 
I will “see” you all online on Wednesday morning.
 

Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 08, 2009 -- Module 2 - Upcoming Meeting
 

The online portion for Module 2 is now coming to a close.
During our face-to-face meeting we will first address the issues that came up in the group discussions and the feedback surveys, and then move on to the two workshops scheduled for the day.
See you in a few hours.
  

Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, May 01, 2009 -- Module 2 - Half-way mark
 
The first half of Module 2 is slowly coming to a close. We will start the second half tomorrow, Saturday, 5/2, with another collaborative, discussion-based assignment. As is the case with all your discussions, when this next one has been completed it will be “collected” and posted as a Word document in the “File Exchange” area of your work groups. I’ll be following the discussions and will be addressing all Module 2 assignments during our next meeting on Friday, 5/8.
  		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Tue, Apr 28, 2009 -- ASSIGNMENTS: NUMBER, DEADLINES, & STRUCTURE
 

NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS
 
The two-to-three assignments included in each DOTS module are not distinct assignments. Rather, they represent steps/stages of a single module-level assignment. In turn, this single assignment per module constitutes a step towards a larger, end-of-DOTS assignment. This is deliberate and represents a practice we suggest you adopt in your own courses.
 
DEADLINES FOR ASSIGNMENTS
 
There is essentially a single deadline for each module-level assignment. This is marked by intermediate milestones (deadlines to each assignment step), introduced to pace student work. This, too, is deliberate and represents a practice we suggest you adopt in your own courses.
Given your dual role in DOTS as both, faculty and students, your approach to the intermediate milestones (i.e. each assignment-step deadline) can be more flexible that what you would expect from your online students. We are aware of your workload and appreciate your commitment to DOTS. As long as the message regarding the need for intermediate milestones that pace each module-level assignment is communicated, pacing in DOTS is up to you and is ideally guided by the intermediate milestones.
 
STRUCTURE OF ASSIGNMENTS

All module-level assignments include up to two steps.
Step 1:
Critical analysis/review of one or more sample online-course components (or reflection on one or more online-teaching strategies).
Step 2:
Production of one or more relevant online course components (i.e. principal module-level DOTS assignment) tailored to your own prospective online course (i.e. larger, end-of-DOTS assignment).
You are always asked to complete Step 1 as a group and Step 2 individually.
 
Module-level descriptions of the two steps just described are included below for your reference:

MODULE 1
1) overall analysis/review of an online course and reflection on take-home messages
2) (no production step for this introductory module; instead, you were asked to post your introductions to and expectations from DOTS)

MODULE 2
1) critical analysis of sample module-level learning objectives and associated assignments and resources (spread over two weeks: one dedicated to learning objectives and one to properly aligned corresponding assignments and resources)
2) production of tightly aligned learning objectives, assignments, and resources for at least one module of your prospective online course (also spread over two weeks: one dedicated to learning objectives and one to properly aligned corresponding assignments and resources)

MODULE 3
1) (no critical analysis or reflection step; this is covered in the lecture notes)
2) production of as much as possible from the following: introductory video, syllabus, orientation materials, and various rubrics tailored to your prospective online course and informed by the module’s lecture notes

MODULE 4
1) reflection on ways to form successful student-centered, project-based, and team-based learning strategies
2) production of examples of student-centered, project-based, and team-based learning strategies tailored to your prospective online course

MODULE 5
1) reflection on ways to incorporate multimedia resources to your assignments; group production of a possible assignment based on a provided multimedia resource
2) production of (or suggestions for) multimedia-rich resources and assignment(s) tailored to your prospective online course

MODULE 6
1) (no critical analysis or reflection step)
2) fine-tuning of your prospective online course, modifying and adding to the components produced in the previous module-level assignments; presentation of your draft course structure and content to our group via Wimba
 

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, Apr 24, 2009 -- Module 2 begins tomorrow, Friday 4/25
 
Module 2 has now been released.
Work on it starts tomorrow, Saturday, 4/25.
Do make sure to complete the two short surveys under the Feedback menu item, addressing the online and meeting portions of Module 1.
Thank you again for an overwhelmingly successful and rewarding Module 1!
 		 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, Apr 24, 2009 -- Online portion of Module 1 completed
 

The online portion for Module 1 has now been completed. Thank you for your thoughtful engagement with the materials and assignments!
 
Your discussions have been collected (using the Collect function in the discussion forums). They have been converted into MS Word documents and placed in your group's "File Exchange" area (click on the "Work Groups" menu item, select your group, and click on the "File Exchange" link).
We will be discussing your submissions briefly during our meeting.
 
As soon as convenient and prior to our meeting, please complete the short, anonymous survey below, addressing your use of the assignment resources for Module 1.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=5O3oGSF5BtoAHLvG3_2f3mBQ_3d_3d
 
 

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Thu, Apr 23, 2009 -- PROCEDURAL SUGGESTION FOR YOUR FINAL SUBMISSION
 
Create a final draft
 
One group member should create a draft post that synthesizes the group-consented response and post it in the Drafting thread with an appropriate subject heading (e.g. Final draft).
The rest of the group members should approve, fine-tune, etc.
 
Suggestions to help with the fine-tuning and group approval of your final draft
 
Respond to the final draft by clicking on the "Quote" rather than the "Reply" button. This will include the original in your response, allowing you to edit it like you would a wiki (more on wikis later in DOTS).
To make your changes visible you could, for example, bold any new text, put in brackets or change the color of any text to be deleted, and put in parentheses any necessary comments (all these steps are optional).
 
When agreement on the final draft has been reached, one group member should take the responsibility to add a single post to the Submission thread with your final response. 		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Wed, Apr 22, 2009 -- Resource Archive
 

 
The "Resource Archive" menu item has now been activated. As indicated in the DOTS orientation materials, this page will serve as a repository of all DOTS resources, organized by module.
The page will be updated with the Module 2 resources on Friday afternoon, the scheduled time for that module's release.
 

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Tue, Apr 21, 2009 -- Accessibility Features Checklist
 

Theresa suggested that it would be useful to have an accessibility-features checklist. I agree.
I have not found a single list that is both comprehensive and simple. So, several such lists have been provided in the Module 1 resources. As they may have been slightly hidden, I include directions to them in this message.
 
Here they are:

  1. Your first stop would be the detailed QM Accessibility Standard (with annotations), available as a link from the bottom of the "Building Communities" page and in the "Printer-friedly Module 1" document. It is not comprehensive but provides some basic tips to satisfy the basic "Americans with Disabilities Act" (ADA) requirements.
     
  2. See the "References and Additional Resources (Optional)" page (linked from the bottom of the "Assignments and Resources" page). The Accessibility section of the additional resources includes three links.
    • The first (Accessible Multimedia) includes a checklist (i.e. the ADA standards) specifically addressing accessible use of multimedia.
    • The second (ADA Section 508) is the most comprehensive resource regarding ADA standards (i.e. section 508 of US Law). Click on the "508 Tools & Resources" link, located on the menu to the left of the page.
    • The third (Web AIM) includes tips specific to Web design. Click on the "Principles of Accessible Design" menu link.

The "References and Additional Resources" page in each module will always be your first source for ... additional resources. If you locate any additional resources that should be but are not included in these pages, email them to me and I'll add them.
 
I am happily surprised to see such interest in issues of Accessibility. Thank you!
 
 

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Tue, Apr 21, 2009 -- Contacting one or more participants outside the discussions
 
Click on the "Email" menu item and select the appropriately-named option to send an email to all users, select users (you'll be asked to select from a list), all groups, select groups (e.g. for email messages to your or any other group), etc.. Messages sent in this way are only seen by the specified recipients. 		Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Sat, Apr 18, 2009 -- You may subscribe to the discussion forums
 

 
You have the option to subscribe to the discussion forums. The advantage of subscribing is that an email will be sent to you every time a new message has been posted, making your monitoring of discussions much more efficient (no need to keep logging on to Blackboard just to check for new discussion posts).

The disadvantage of subscribing is ...

I cannot think of any!

 

To subscribe to a forum, enter the forum and click on the "Subscribe" button, towards the top-middle of the page.
 
Pantelis

 Posted by: Panteleimon Vassilakis     
  Fri, Apr 17, 2009 -- Welcome!
 
Hello and welcome to the DePaul Online Teaching Series!

Dr. Sharon Guan I will be the facilitators for the course, which kicks off today.

To begin, click on the "Orientation" menu item. This item presents information that is instrumental to your success in the course. It also functions as a preface to Module 1, which also begins today.
The course structure is, hopefully, self-explanatory, as are the assistance avenues available to you. Any technical issues that may arise will be addressed through the appropriate forum under the "Discussions" menu item. For details see the "Orientation" page.

We will engage in Module 1 of the course from today until our first face-to-face meeting, scheduled for Friday, 4/24. Time, location, and other meeting details are available on the "Wrap-up Meeting" page for Module 1.
The online portion of DOTS is self-paced, in that it does not require participation at pre-specified times and locations. Nonetheless, it is structured around deadline-driven activities that pace the progress of the course. All deadlines are outlined in the course schedule and are also included in the “Assignments & Resources” page for each module.

Dr. Guan will be the main online facilitator for Module 1. I will see you all during our first meeting, next Friday, and will be the main online facilitator for the remainder of the course.

We hope you will find DOTS useful, engaging, and maybe even enjoyable.
Again, welcome and good luck with Module 1!

Pantelis