| Conference Registration WebCT Homepage | |
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| Wednesday, July 12, 2006: 2:30 PM-3:15 PM | |||
| Mississippi Room (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers) | |||
| D-11: This Works So Much Better Online: Tips from WebCT ECP Instructors | |||
| Detailed Description: | We’ve all heard anecdotal stories of the advantages online education has over the limitations of classroom instruction. This session will present the experiences of 11 exemplary online instructors from WebCT’s Exemplary Course Project and three other national award programs. Come hear what these instructors learned about what does and does not work better online and why, as well as the consequences for student learning. You’ll also discover how to implement these ideas in your own course design. | ||
| Presentation Format: | Showcase | ||
| Topic: | Enabling learning: Effective instructional practices and student support models | ||
| Target Audience: | Course Designers, Faculty and Other Instructors, E-learning Managers | ||
| Appropriate Audience Level: | Beginning or new users of WebCT, Experienced WebCT users | ||
| Abstract Text: | Distance and Web-based education has been, and continues to be, scrutinized because it still is thought of as not being as good as classroom instruction (Sener, 2004). Russell's (1999) No Significant Difference Phenomenon is an example of this type of review whereby computer-mediated and online courses have been examined and compared with face-to-face courses to establish equivalent measures of quality (Curran, 1997; Glass, 2003; Hiltz, Zhang, & Turoff, 2001; Sener, 2004). Additional research shows higher student outcomes in certain online situations (Dziuban, Hartman, & Moskal, 2004; Hiltz et al., 2001). A recent meta-analysis of empirical research conducted on this subject, published in the Review of Educational Research by Bernard et al. (2004), states that it is difficult to determine what works or not and suggests that “many applications of distance education outperform their classroom counterparts and that many perform more poorly” (p. 379). Thus Bernard suggests that, “we might ask whether there are aspects of design, relating to either medium or method, that are optimal in either or both instructional contexts” (p. 414). The report concludes that “continuing to compare DE with the classroom without attempting to answer the attendant concerns of 'why' and 'under what conditions' represents wasted time and effort” (p. 416). The purpose of this study is to describe which aspects of course design are more effective and successful in the online environment than in the face-to-face (F2F) classroom, why, and how they impact both students and instructors. Eleven nationally recognized exemplary online instructors from four award programs, including WebCT's Exemplary Online Course Project, participated. Their stories, including the commonalities and the differences in what they have seen works better online – or not-- will be discussed. Ideas for improving online course design will be provided and opportunities for open discussion among session participants will be facilitated. | ||
| Session Leader: | Eli Collins-Brown Illinois State University | ||
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