Part 4/5 of the MEAS Course on E-Learning

1. The Online Environment: Within the
University and Openly Available
Karen Vignare, Michigan State University

2. Agenda
• Objectives
• Introduction
• Discussion
• Summary
• References

3. Objectives
• Determine what is available at your university
• The checklist to getting started within the university
• Using outside resources
• Identifying the places to store course materials
• Realize limitations of open environments

4. Introduction
• Online learning is quickly becoming integral at many
universities
• How to find resources at your university
• How to locate resources outside your university
• Getting started

5. Building from the university infrastructure
• Asynchronous tools Learning or course management
systems—MOODLE, Blackboard, etc.
• Synchronous tools—like web conferencing, skype
• Staff support
• IT support

6. Building from the university infrastructure
• Do you know any other faculty putting course
materials online—webpages or elsewhere
• Is the focus on web enhanced, blended learning or
distance learning
• Do the students have any help?

7. Checklist for quality online learning
• Quality Matters is publishing checklist
• Community of Inquiry is a process framework
• Student engagement online measures student
perceptions of effort and engagement
• All require advanced planning for content,
interaction and assessment

8. Checklist for quality online learning
• Start off with a simple approach
• Electronic lectures
• Discussion questions
• Activities—projects, cases, small group activities
• Gradebook
• Plan ahead—make sure you have more than half the
class ready before you start
• Course will require much time once it starts

9. Checklist for quality online learning
• Do students have support if not prepare a technical
checklist for them
• Explain to students why online learning will benefit
them
• Explain to students that online learning could take
more time but it is flexible and convenient

10. Free outside resources
• Moodle—open source learning management system,
Sakai, free does not mean no cost
• WordPress, Drupal and other—open source content
management systems
• Course development—many tools listed at
http://sourceforge.net/ --openoffice.org, prezi.com
• Open Access Journals,
http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=home&uiLanguage=
en

11. Hosting a course online without support
• http://wikieducator.org/Main_Page
• Course on open education resources,
http://wikieducator.org/User:Leighblackall/Open_ed
ucational_resources_and_practices
• P2PU, http://p2pu.org/en/
• Connexions, http://cnx.org/
• OER Commons, http://www.oercommons.org/
• MERLOT, http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm

12. Limitations in open environments
• Open environments do have limitations like students
assessment
• Grades can’t be shared openly
• Students should know that their comments and work
can be viewed by any one and everyone
• Do colleges need to protect privacy?

13. Discussion
• Can you share what online learning support exists at
your university?

14. Summary
• Opting for online learning is likely to require getting
to know what is available at your college
• Don’t despair if no infrastructure exists as you can
find online tools and hosting services
• Be prepared for more work and start simple

15. References
• http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writin
g/ecoach/tenbest.html
• http://www.bestuniversities.com/blog/2009/how-to-
create-your-own-online-course-100-tools-guides-
and-resources/
• www.educause.edu

16. Terms of Use
© Karen Vignare, Michigan State University, MEAS project.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Users are free:
• to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
• to Remix — to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
• Attribution — Users must attribute the work to the
author(s)/institution (but not in any way that suggests that the authors/
institution endorse the user or the user’s use of the work).

17. Disclaimer
This presentation was made possible by the
generous support of the American people
through the United States Agency for
International Development, USAID. The
contents are the responsibility of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the
views of USAID or the United States
Government.