Preparing ITAs
to Teach Online
Dawn Bikowski, PhD
Director, English Language Improvement Program Linguis/cs Department Ohio University
Handout
hOp://linguis/cs.ohio.edu/ELIP/?page_id=494
Topics
• Trends in online educa/on • When to consider online learning
• TA roles for online learning
• What is needed to teach online
• Preparing ITAs for teaching online • Assessment of online classes
Prevalence Online Educa8on
How common are online classes now?
1 out of 4 students in the US took at least one online course in 2013
(Inside Higher Ed, 2015)
Prevalence Online Educa8on
Who teaches fully online students?
Mainly local public two-‐ or four-‐year ins/tu/ons
(Inside Higher Ed, 2015)
Prevalence Online Educa8on
How many are interna8onal students?
~1% of the 2.6 million students in fully online programs in fall 2013
Are all Classes Best for Online Learning?
• Courses that “match” the online environment
– Guiding vs. “tradi/onal” courses that match F2F
• Helps students (and teachers!) develop their
digital literacy & computer competence
– Retrieve, analyze, and communicate informa/on
Picture Digital Literacy book cover
Changing Reali8es of Teaching
• Changing student expecta/ons about engagement and interac/vity • Shorter aOen/on spans • Expecta/ons for varied
media sources • Ability to meet
various learning
styles (Kessler, Bikowski, & Boggs, 2012)
TA Roles in Online Classes
Mentors / Online Learning Coaches:
1. Check that students are comple8ng materials
• AOend to student progress
• Grade assignments • Report grades
TA Roles in Online Classes
Mentors / Learning Coaches:
2. Communicate and Tie Course Together
• Communicate with faculty
• Ini/ate and maintain contact with students
• Respond to students in a /mely manner
• Facilitate e-‐learning and discussion groups
What is Needed to Teach Online?
1. Support from Administra/on 2. Content Knowledge 3. Technical Skills
4. Organiza/on/Delivery/Time Management Skills 5. Problem-‐Solving Skills
6. Clear expecta/ons and understanding of:
– TA/teaching du/es
– US privacy laws
7. ??
1. Comprehensibility
ü Segmentals & Suprasegmentals– Intona/on & emo/on; emphasis ? Nonverbal communica/on
– Facial expressions
? Pragma/cs and grammar
– Politeness, explicitness, hedging
? Prepared for all modes of communica/on
– Video, audio, text, combined
2. Teacher Presence
The Humanity behind the Technology
Increasing Teacher & Social Presence
1. Reveal who you are as a person– Your background, stories, humor
2. Get to know your students 3. Ini/ate regular communica/on 4. Use personalized communica/on
– Including personalized feedback
5. Use a variety of modes of communica/on
– Virtual office hours
– Skype, Google Hangouts
– Telephone
Building an Online Community
• Build social presence • Start with rapport-‐building
ac/vi/es
• Break larger groups into
smaller groups
– Create groups inten/onally
• Make sure students have a shared goal
3. Self-‐Confidence
• Virtual poise & ini/a/ve • Cross-‐cultural
communica/on skills • Ability to handle
challenges to authority
• “Polite Interpersonal persistence”
4. Facilita8ng Online Learning
• Leading collabora/on & online discussions
• Monitoring group projects/wri/ng
• Contribu/ng & asking ques/ons, managing
PREPARING ITAs
Thanks to: Lara Wallace, PhD Edna Lima
Faculty teaching ITAs, Ohio University
Preparing ITAs
1. Integrate technology into the course – Flipped Classroom
– VoiceThread
– Na/ve Accent pronuncia/on soqware – Online audio/video recordings – Course Management Systems
(Blackboard Collaborate)
2. Students Prepare for Topic
Video: “Voices of Exemplary Online Teachers”
hOps://vialogues.com/vialogues/play/17957
Important:
Knowing students, knowing content, & building rela/onships with students
hOps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4BG4Me7TU
1. High touch over
high tech
2. Be explicit
3. Log in regularly 4. Give personal
feedback
2. Students Prepare for Topic
2. Students Prepare for Topic
Principle 4: Great online courses are defined by teaching, not technology
Principle 5: Sense of community and social presence are essen/al to online excellence
“An absolutely rive/ng online course: Nine principles for excellence in web-‐based teaching”
Preparing ITAs
3. In-‐class discussion of quali8es of effec8ve online teaching
– Evalua/on of online learning experiences they’ve had as students, teachers, professionals – Opportuni/es & challenges for non-‐na/ve English
speakers
– ITAs set personal communica/on goals (many apply to both online and F2F teaching) – Video tour of online class environment made by
instructor (as homework)
Preparing ITAs
4. Instructor of the ITA class teaches online
– Skype, Adobe Connect, Google Hangouts
– Put ITAs in separate labs or from home
– Vary group dynamics
Preparing ITAs
4. Instructor of the ITA class teaches online
– Instructor leads discussion
• Discourse Intona/on
• Asking and Answering
Ques/ons • Using visuals
effec/vely
Preparing ITAs
• Prac/ce presenta/on with PPT
– Will do presenta/on in-‐person
later in course
• Classmates ask ques/ons & give
feedback
• Try with and without video • Classmates complete feedback
sheets
5. ITAs teach online in groups of 3-‐4
Assessment of Online Classes
Quality Ma\ersAssessment of learner interac/on, feedback, teacher communica/on
Evalua8on of Mentors
1. Mentor contacts students regularly and responds to ques/ons in a reasonable length of /me.
2. Mentor is helpful if there is a misunderstanding regarding course materials or assignments.
3. Students would be comfortable having the same mentor in a future course.
4. Students would recommend mentor to other students. 5. Communica/ons from mentor and lead instructor are consistent
and clear. (Thomas, 2005, Florida State University)
What Strengths ITAs might bring to
Online Classes
• Awareness of needing to think about their
speaking during teaching
• Increased maturity and life experiences • Ability to make quick and effec/ve changes as
needed: flexible, adaptable, problem-‐solving • Strong content knowledge
Teaching Support F2F Teaching?
1. Communica/ve competence 2. Teaching sensi/vity
3. Digital literacy
4. Self-‐confidence
and teaching presence 5. Interac/on in
English
References
Gunawardena, C. (1995). Social presence theory and implica/ons for interac/on and collabora/ve learning in computer conferencing.
Interna1onal Journal of Educa1onal Telecommunica1ons, 1(2-‐3), 147 –
166.
Henry, J., & Meadows, J.(2008). An absolutely rive/ng online course: Nine principles for excellence in web-‐based teaching. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 34. Retrieved from
hOp://www.cjlt.ca/index.php/cjlt/ar/cle/view/179/177
Straumsheim, C. (2015, March). Distance Ed Myths Debunked. Inside
Higher Ed. hOps://www.insidehighered.com
Thomas, R. C. (2005). Suppor/ng Online Students with Personal Interac/on. Educause Quarterly, 1, 45-‐51.
hOp://www.educause.edu/ero/ar/cle/suppor/ng-‐online-‐students-‐ personal-‐interac/on
[email protected]
Handout
hOp://linguis/cs.ohio.edu/ELIP/?page_id=494
Dawn Bikowski, PhD
