First Census Report

It is important that your first census report reflect the dated enrollment in your course. It is not always clear how to determine No Shows in Distance Learning courses; the following will help you with that matter:

As "showing up" to a Distance Learning course could be as easy as sending an e-mail to the instructor, you will need to identify and set clear parameters to determine the Show status of your students. For example, entering a post during the first few days in the Student Bios section of your course does not mean that a student indeed "showed up" and accessed the course content.

When designing your course, set assignment milestones that are due in the first week, or before first census the latest. The assignment could be posting to a content question on a discussion board, or email a homework file. This will provided a proof that students indeed accessed the learning module scheduled for the first weeks of the course prior to the first census. Students who do not complete the assignment should be considered No Shows and reported as such on the first census report.

While every effort should be taken to retain the students in the class, it is also important that you accurately report the No Shows in the course so that your course retention rates will not include registered students who never started your course.

 

The DL Program Office

During the first two weeks of your course, the Distance Learning Program Specialist is available to assist you with contacting students who have not logged on to your course or those who did not provide an email address. Postcards or letters of inquiry can be sent to their homes via U.S. Mail.

The DL Program Specialist is available at #4025 or by email at de@lbcc.edu

Student - Content Interaction

Throughout the course, make sure your students access and learn the course content and material. A typical content module in your course will include the following features:

 * chapter or page numbers in textbook
 * module in publisher's CD (if used)
 * study guides or any other original content pages you designed for the module
 * content processors: activities and practices to ensure the students' comprehension of  the content
 * vocabulary / terminology practices
 * content discussion via discussion forums or chats
 * integrated Web 2.0 components such as blogs and wikis
 * related assignment(s)

Enrollment Information

Check your class roster and your student contact information on PeopleSoft. If you need help accessing your PeopleSoft account, attend the ITDC PeopleSoft training for faculty.

 

First E-mail Contact with Students

After obtaining your student contact information, it is recommended that you contact your students as close as possible to their registration date since they will be waiting to hear from you. This means, that you will be contacting some of the students much earlier than the course start date.

The the purpose of the first e-mail contact with your students is to welcome them to your course and let them that you will contact them with the course information shortly before the beginning of the class (specify date).

When your course is ready to begin, send all registered students a group email including an attachment of the course orientation packet. Students for whom you do not have an e-mail address (if they did not include their e-mail when they registered for your course) need to be contacted by mail; please contact the Distance Learning Program Specialist to have a postcard instructing them to update their information sent to their home address.

The orientation packet typically includes features such as:

* Course access information
* Directions and instructions on how to navigate the course environment
* Information on the course technical requirements
* Access to S.I.D.E.Road and information and tips on how to study online
* Detailed description of the e-learning environment used in the course
* Information and tips on how to communicate with the instructor and other students
* Information and links to various LBCC services available for the students online and on campus while they are taking the course

For a sample orientation packet, access the sample DL course.

Orientation Information

The orientation packet is designed to ensure that your students are aware of your course components and are able to fully participate in all course activities. Ask your students to carefully review the orientation document(s) before they start the course.

The orientation packet typically includes features such as:

* Course access information
* Directions and instructions on how to navigate the course environment
* Information on the course technical requirements
* Access to S.I.D.E.Road and information and tips on how to study online
* Detailed description of the e-learning environment used in the course
* Information and tips on how to communicate with the instructor and other students
* Information and links to various LBCC services available for the students online and on campus while they are taking the course

For a sample orientation packet, access the sample DL course.

Course Material

State clearly where all course material is located. Ensure easy access to any material included in the course, including but not limited to:

* lectures
* study guides
* tutorials
* practices
* annotated links
* quizzes and tests
* any other learning objects or content processors.

Technical Requirements

Provide the students with clear information about the technical requirements (hardware and software) for accessing and succeeding in the course. (include this information in your orientation packet; see Orientation Information)

Refer students to S.I.D.E. Road for additional technical help and step-by step "HowTos" instructions for using frequently needed technology in their course.

Time Management Tools

Time management is reportedly the main problem students experience when attending DL courses. Provide the students with clear information about the time management tools they need to participate and succeed in the course. Also provide clear due dates and recommended due dates for all of the activities assigned in the course. Cross link these dates in various features of your course, including, but not limited to Learning Modules and Calendar.

Refer students to the S.I.D.E. Road for additional time management tools and resources including the Procrastination page and the Time Pilot simulation.

S.I.D.E Road

Inform your students about S.I.D.E. Road; include a S.I.D.E Road button on your course menu.

S.I.D.E. Road is the main tool available for your students to prepare and succeed in their DL experience. It includes activities and information to assist your students to acquire the skills they need to be a successful Distance Learning student, as well as overcome typical technical and learning-related hurdles that many Distance Learning students experience.

Access S.I.D.E. Road to learn more about the tools and resources available to your students. During your DL course, refer students to S.I.D.E. Road as necessary. Tech HowTo's are of particular help to students who need step-by-step instruction to perform frequently needed tasks in a DL environment and on the Internet.

Helpdesk@4818
http://de.lbcc.edu/helpdesk/

DL students may use the Helpdesk@4818 services for technical assistance. Helpdesk technologists can be reached (registered Distance Learning students only) (562) 938-4818 on Monday - Thursday 8a.m.- 7p.m. and Friday 8a.m. - 5p.m or helpdesk@lbcc.edu

Helpdesk@4818 will only provide assistance for technical tasks necessary for your course, such as:
 * using e-mail features
 * browser questions
 * features in Word, Excel. Power point, and other standardized
    software at LBCC
 * downloading files or applications
 * platform or operating system-related questions

Helpdesk@4818 cannot help with technical problems that occur on the students' end, such as:
 * modem problems
 * hardware problems
 * local software problems
 * problems with Internet Service Provider
 * problems with e-mail accounts
 * blocked service or features on students' computers

DL Program Office

The Distance Learning program office is available to assist you with the initial communication with your DL students.

You may reach the DL Program Specialist during regular business hours at #4025; the Specialist will assist you with student contact and administrative-related needs.

 

On/Off-Campus Orientation

On-campus orientation meetings are not mandated as part of the DL course approval process.

Some instructors prefer to conduct a mandatory orientation on campus. The advantage in requiring students to show up to orientation is that you can address all the students at the same time and answer all questions, thus you hope to minimize future confusion, and at the same time avoid responding individually to many students' inquiries about the same issues. If you require students to attend an orientation session on campus ensure that the date / time are published in advance in the Schedule of Classes.

At the same time, mandatory orientation may prevent students from registering in your course, since their schedule of personal circumstances do not allow them to be on campus during the orientation session. A detailed and friendly online orientation is necessary when not requiring students to attend an orientation on campus.

A third option is to conduct an optional orientation on campus. This way, students who feel that they need it will show up and others will not. A detailed and friendly online orientation is still necessary.

Requests for Permission to Join Class

Frequently, as your course will reach its maximum enrollment number, students will request permission to join your course. You can provide them with a permission number from the numbers listed on your course roster. If your course has a prerequisite, the students will need to meet the pre-req and fill out a pre-req form.

Notice, manage your course enrollment to allow new students to join. Check your wait list frequently and allow waiting students to take the place of No Shows or students dropped in the first couple of weeks, before first census and when it is still possible to add students.

Communication and Interaction

It is critical that you be in touch with each one of your students at least a couple of times per week throughout the course. The first two weeks are critical as students might be confused about what's required of them or unclear on how to complete the assignments. Therefore, during the first two weeks of classes initiate communication with any students you have not heard from for more than two or three days and verify that all is clear.

Contacting your students during this period will also assist you in detecting No Shows or Drops in order to grant permissions to students on the wait list.

Encourage your students to be active and highly communicative with you and with other students during the course. This will assist you in identifying when your intervention is needed to clarify course material or review lecture materials. Ensure availability of sufficient and effective means of communication for your students to communicate with you and with other students in the class. This may include (but not limited to) the following:

 * Provide students with clear in formation on how to contact you (e.g. e-mail, instant messaging, office hour, phone, or fax)
 * Ensure your students use only one e-mail address throughout the course
 * Provide students clear instruction on accessing and using discussion forums or chats you set in your course.
 * Establish a community of learners by requiring your students to post their information in Student Bios, and by using initial discussion forum topic to share interest in the course and other course related personal information
 * Set up collaboration activities to encourage student- student interaction to process course content as a team.

Implement Retention Strategies

Distance Learning courses typically experience the highest drops during the first few weeks of the course. These are mainly students who did not know what a DL course entails, students who did not realize they enrolled in a DL section of the course, students who thought they would be able to find the time to work on the course but in reality were too occupied with other life activities, etc.

It is important to start implementing your retention strategies that you set during the course preparations stage right in the beginning of the course. This way, you will be able to monitor the progress and performance of students who did begin the course and provide them with feedback and encouragement to continue and complete the course assignments on schedule.

Download the LBCC retention strategies guide here.

Communication and Interaction

Student communication during the course is critical to their success. Collaborative activities designed for specific assignments enrich students' learning experience and increase performance and comprehension. In addition to interacting with content, two types of interaction are necessary for effective Distance Learning:

Student - Instructor interaction:
 * e-mail: initiated by both the instructor and the students, to clarify content material,    answer questions, provide input,etc. It is important for the instructor   and the students    to communicate at least twice a week throughout the course.
 * discussion forums: instructor monitors discussion posts and provides input as necessary.
* live chat: primarily for one-on-one office hour meetings.

Student - Student interaction:
 * e-mail: initiated by students or as part of a collaborative activities required for an assignment.
 * discussion forums: posting responses to instructor's topic and responding to other students' posts.
 * live chat: primarily for reviews and in preparation for exams or other assignments.
 * blogs and wikis: to encourage Web 2.0 principles of interactivity and collaboration

Finally, ensure frequent updates of the students' grades and performance feedback so students can check their grade status on a regular basis. If you don't have a Grades feature on your course site, make sure to send an e-mail to each student her / his grade status every week, or upon due date of every graded assignment.

Assessment and Evaluation

Ensure the application of your course assessment methods as defined in the curriculum committee online course addendum document. By and large, if your course is taught entirely online (including tests and quizzes) your assessment methods should ensure that the bulk of the student grade for the course will be based on student gradual assignment portfolios, emails, essays and projects, rather than on factual quizzes and tests.

Therefore, your online course testing methodologies will consist of those that require critical thinking activities as well as application and transfer of learning (e.g. as in open-book type of test in face-to-face class), frequent student participation, communication and input, as well as gradual graded assignments throughout the course.

It is important that you conduct an evaluation of the course in its entirety as well as specific modules in this course to learn more about the effectiveness of the activities you included in the course. Samples of course evaluation forms are available through the Distance Learning program.

Course Evaluation - Students

Course evaluation form sample is available through the Distance Learning Program Specialist.

It is important that you conduct an evaluation of the course in its entirety as well as specific modules in this course to learn more about the effectiveness of the activities you included in the course.

When evaluating check for changes in:

     * retention
     * comprehension
     * errors
     * levels of skill
     * attitude
     * motivation

and ability to:

     * apply
     * transfer
     * use
     * assess

Course Evaluation - Instructor

Official instructor evaluation form can be designed for you and placed on your course site upon request from your department head. The form will be set on your course and your department head will receive students' e-mail messages with their evaluation data.

If you would like to have an non-official evaluation that students will send directly to your email, contact the Distance Learning Program Specialist .

Finalize Roll Book

Make sure that the final roll book reflects accurately the course registration and completion data. Verify drop (w) status and match the roll book and grade sheet.

Remember to turn in your final roll book on time.

Final Student Contact

Before the end of the course, contact your students to inform them of their final grade, provide overall feedback, and schedule a meeting or chat if necessary for additional feedback.

Also, save student information for future references and possible recruitment to other courses.