I'm a technology geek.
There, I said it.
In the last twelve months I've been teaching a few online Digital Media Design classes. Like many instructors, I am new to teaching online classes. Fortunately, I am not new to the medium. Not only did I complete my degree through a distance-learning program, but I have taken many professional development classes specifically focused on best practices in online instructional development. As such I’m well prepared to address both the challenges and benefits of online learning.
For example, I particularly benefited from online video/audio conferences with instructors and fellow classmates while taking classes. I feel strongly that online video/audio conferencing is an application that greatly benefits students and, as such, I planned on integrating it into all of my distance learning classes.
COTC recently implemented the Angel Learning Management System and currently is looking into purchasing the rights to an online live video/audio conferencing tool to use within the system. But, being an impatient technology geek, I poked around and found Dimdim to use in the meantime. Dimdim is currently free with the limitation that you may have only 20 participants in any one online conference. However, one of the best features of Dimdim is you can record sessions so students who miss the online conference can review the presentation at their leisure. This is particularly important in offering asynchronous classes. Many distance-learning students choose online classes for convenience and avoid programs that require specific login times.
Another benefit of using Dimdim is participants do not have to download any software (great for those students who may not be particularly computer savvy or using someone else's computer). They simply follow a link sent via e-mail or posted somewhere online, sign-in with their name and they're in on the conference.
I've been using Dimdim for the two classes I'm teaching online this quarter and have had received great feedback from my students. It has proven invaluable in demonstrating how to use design software, providing instructor lead feedback for work-in-progress (most of the Digital Media Design curriculum is project based) and discussing the topics and or subjects being studied.
Students in both classes have expressed their gratitude for this extra resource. The first time one of my students logged into one of the live conferences he said, "52 credit hours later and I finally get to hear a teacher's voice." It has been proven to be both gratifying to me and extremely helpful to my students.
Regarding group project work, some of my student groups have been “meeting” through Dimdim and recording their meetings for group members who can’t meet at a set time. They seem comfortable using the service on their own and seemed to have embraced the concept.
Dimdim works by allowing the you to share presentations (PowerPoints or PDFs), your desktop, a on-screen whiteboard or webpages. You can also choose to permit participant "mark-up" capabilities, screen sharing, presentations or whiteboards. Students can even be allowed to speak during the conference through a microphone, via telephone or typing in a chat window.
It works like a dream. Dimdim is Mac and PC friendly, and it is simple to use. And, you have control: no waiting for someone else to set you up, provide software, etc.
I highly recommend you try it!
Posts
I second that emotion. Yes, yes, I'm a geek, too. But for me the greatest joy of teaching my online courses was being able to interact with my online students almost as if they were in the classroom with me.
ReplyDeleteSure, it was extra time... a whole hour... and it was the best teaching hour of the entire week.
I had found a few other open-source meeting sites (look here: http://www.twiddla.com/), but dimdim let me include a live video stream. I could not only talk to my students, they could see me! And, hey, I'm Italian, I can't talk without gestures!
I got questions and responses from the students in our live dimdim sessions that were more open than in the face-to-face classes I was teaching concurrently. And, by far... I mean by an order of magnitude... the work the online students submitted was superior to the work of the F2F classes. This despite the fact that the live classes had access to me five hours each week.
As for me, I felt so energized at the end of each live session that I wished there were more people around to share the joy. Far from feeling exhausted by 8pm, after F2F classes that began at 8:30am, I felt as if I could run a marathon. I still smile when I think about those sessions... and I plan on incorporating the optional live critiques into my online class this quarter.
But dimdim is just the tip of the iceberg in Web 2.0 means of reaching our students. My classes—including some of my F2F classes—use blogs instead of discussion boards to continue the exploration of a topic outside of the classroom. Having done both blogs and boards, I can tell you that the student-to-student discussions are more open on a blog (and longer and more thoughtful) than on a discussion board where the students (and the teacher) have to dig through layers of topics and responses. On the blog it's all hanging out there.
And the course blogs are popular. My game design students requested that I leave their class blog live after the class ended. A couple of my course blogs are even being followed by non-COTC people.
If you're not ready to dip your toes into the Wild Wild Web, you might try using Angel's blog functions instead of the discussion board. You might be surprised at what your students do... and learn.
nerds! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, it's too bad I can't do anything on this blog but comment. Lots to share. But here's a good article about Twitter. I know you all have heard of it, but you're probably thinking: Kids today!
ReplyDeleteWell, there *are* academic uses for it (and I've been experimenting with it myself as a learning resource for our students). Here's the URLe on Twitter in academia: www.campustechnology.com/articles/59315
Hey Bill,
ReplyDeleteI totally see the potential w/ you using twitter... I've often found that a little help at the right time is often better than a lot of help when you don't need it. Twitter, besides being used to keep track of project deadlines and to send notes/messages to students could also be used to express hints and thoughts you have that could benefit the students. There are so many tidbits of wisdom and the philosophy behind the design in your lectures (and Kathleen's!) that were so beneficial to me when I was a student... these could be broadcast and saved for posterity via twitter.
just thinking outloud