Unit 4- Heather Campbell

I explored “Educause” and found that the library on the site had great resources.  I found a video highlighting eight musts for online teaching.  To summarize these important tips from the experts teaching online.

1.      High touch is more important than high tech. 

When a student is struggling and reaching that “freak out” moment that we know happens to the majority of nursing students, making it personal by a phone call can be a solution.  A email is impersonal, and during stressful times students still need a personal touch.

2.      Make a social presence through story telling.

This was explained as giving a personal touch, by relating the instruction/ teaching to a story format. How interesting… sounds like a case study.

3.      Use technology intentionally.

This is pointing out that with all the technology available, it can be easy to get lost in the technology and forget the learning objectives for the course. This reminds me of what students consider “busy work”, and reminds me to “keep it simple” when possible.

4.      Power of external resources.

This point reminds us of the vast amount of reliable information on the internet if the time is taken to find relevant information.  This helps teach students to explore these options of learning when needed. This reminds me of our medication books that are online now and what a great resource they can be in the clinical setting.

5.      Making your expectations explicit.

As we all have experienced, online learning can be difficult to manover in some courses. This point was that it should be “easy” for the student to access information, turn in assignment, etc.  Making resources and instructions easy to read and follow will help the student be successful.

6.      Fun and playfulness and the unexpected.

The experts point out that learning should still be fun. One way to engage students can be the presentation of the learning. This is a great place for story telling, and as far as nursing education, this could be a simulation, or role play.

7.      Login regularly at least 5 days a week.

I understand this from being an online student of OCU, I am so grateful, that feedback and responses are answered timely.  This provides an environment of trust and reliability.

8.      Personal feedback.

Take the time to make the feedback not only timely, but also with a personal touch, not a generic response.  For example, pointing out the highlights of the assignments, and also give feedback related to personal experiences.  This is much more personal than, “Great work”.

Atomic Learning

This site www.atomiclearning.com provides students as well as faculty easy access to technology guidance when they need it, 24/7, and in a non-intimidating way.  There are self-paced training and assessment tools both formative and summative.  These tools can assist instructors in identifying where each student may need help.  Lots of interactive tools to use and explore. I think this is a great site to bookmark as faculty.

Google Images and Hangouts

My favorite 2 google platforms. Google images is fabulous for those rare but much needed photos to help with a visual students may need in learning. Google hangouts is a great alternate to Skype, you have a white board to write on, and can share screens to make online learning easier.