This is my powerpoint presentation from the 2012 ITC National Conference in Long Beach, CA on eLearning. The presentation was titled, "How'd You Do That? Tips and Tricks that might account for my 95% retention rate. Slides have more data on them then I'd like, but I tried to provide you with just the right amount of information to match what I talked about in the presentation itself. Thanks!

1. Tips and tricks that might account for my
95% retention rate!
ITC eLearning Conference 2012

2. Kari Frisch
Communication Instructor
Central Lakes College
kfrisch@clcmn.edu
 SCHOOL ADDRESS: 501 West College Drive, Brainerd, MN 56401

3. DON’T WORRY…
THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE ….
A DEATH BY POWERPOINT
PRESENTATION !!!!

4. THE TEN TIPS I’M GOING TO
SHARE:
• Work for me.
• May not all work for you.
• Might not all work for your discipline.
I GET THAT. BUT…
• Hopefully, you’ll still get at least one gem that will
work for you and your discipline. Here we go!

5. •Student-created
• Post one weekly if possible
This helps foster a sense of
community.
•*

6. QUESTIONS FOR CLASSMATES
Week 1: I usually start with two, 2-part questions, listed as “Kari’s week 1
questions”, one set per “forum”:
Question Set #1
Part A) Where do you consider yourself from and why?
Part B) What are you going to school to study?
Question Set #2
Part A) How many online classes have you taken before?
Part B) If you have had one or more online classes before, what advice might you
give someone taking an online class for the very first time? If this is your
first online class, what do you think you need to do differently in order to
be successful in this online learning environment?

7. ICE BREAKER TIME!

8. Here are some examples of past questions from students for students.
General questions:
If you could own a non-traditional pet, what would it be?
If you had the chance to do anything in the world what would that one thing be and why?
If you could change any one thing about the way society is today; what would it be and why?
If you could meet any fictional character, who would it be and why?
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you bring with you and
why?
Dogs or cats? Which do you prefer and why?
What, if anything, would you do differently with your life if you won the lottery today?

9. Here are some course specific examples I thought were fun:
Mass Communication
Where do you go to get your news and is the internet helping or hurting news media?
What movie has had the most impact on your life? Explain your answer.
Intercultural Communication
What language would you want to learn to speak fluently and why that one over all others?
Choose one country you’d like to visit and one person (living or dead) from that country that you
would like to be your tour guide and explain why you chose as you did.
If you were visiting the country of your choice, would you rather remain in familiar, "Americanized"
resorts or would you prefer to stay/travel with a local from that country? Why?
Interpersonal Communication
What is the biggest difference between distant learning and in class learning?
How do you feel about talking in front of people you don’t know?
Online Social Networking
What is your favorite Facebook game and how often per day, week, or month do you spend on it?
What effect do you think texting has had on other forms of communication?

10. I divide the notes in two parts:
•Top portion: Notes for all Classes
• Bottom portion: Class Specific Notes
This helps develop a sense of immediacy,
helps tie weeks’ content together, gets out
other important information. Students
know I’m in “real time” with them.

11. Examples of note points:
• Words of encouragement
• Reminders about policies
• Tips on LMS (collapsible content)
• Further explanation of difficult chapter concepts
• “Heads up” about unusual assignments or special
needs for the future
• School notices that we’ve been asked to pass on
(financial aid pickup, college surveys, graduation info,
etc.)
• Assignment clarification/directions/examples

12. Examples of notes:
• Notes Example #1 Interpersonal
• Notes Example #2 Mass Comm
• Notes Example #3 Intercultural

13. TABLE FORMAT THAT INCLUDES :
•Assignment Order (number the items down the first column)
•Check-off/Completion Column
•Assignment Title, Directions, Location, Grading Criteria
•Due Date by Specific Day, Date and Time(Tuesday, February 22 1:00 pm)
•Total Points Possible
•Learning Objectives (so they know why they’re doing it)
This helps keep the students and the course organized.
•*

14. Examples of Assignment
Schedules:
• Assignment Schedule Example #1: Mass Comm
• Assignment Schedule Example #2: Interpersonal
• Assignment Schedule Example #3: Intercultural
• Assignment Schedule Example #4: Social Media
• Assignment Schedule Example #5: Intercultural S10

15. •WEDNESDAYS at 1:00 pm
• FRIDAYS at 1:00 pm
This gets students into course early
and helps prevent total
procrastination.
•*

16. Here’s some other notes about my schedule:
 I always release the upcoming week’s work (notes,
assignment schedule, and anything with a release date) at
3pm on the Friday prior to the start of the week. This allows
students the chance to work on homework (or at least pop in
to see what the week will look like) over the weekend.
 When asked why 1 pm on Wednesday, I respond that it is the
time that works best for me. I like the fact the time is during a
time when I’m online and when our staff is around and
available to answer question if needed (tech support and D2L
support)
 The type of work due Wednesday is smaller (point-wise and
work-wise) so that it is manageable.
 This also allows me time to do a turn-over or a layered
assignment for Friday because there’s still enough time
between 1 pm Wednesday and 1 pm Friday for a small Part 2
assignment.

17. • One point (only on quizzes and surveys)
• Only to first person who properly
reports the error (must include student
name, class, quiz/survey title, question
number, error and what the error should be)
This promotes real accountability and
improves course communication.

19. Fun Learning Object—’fer cute!

20. •Due dates/times
• Repeat-type assignments
•Class Policies
•Grading
This gets students into a routine and
helps class management.

21. For Example…
 Classmate Questions (see #1) in the discussion area are
always due Wednesdays
 Survey of the past week’s learning objectives – always due
Wednesdays
 Chapter Quizzes are always due on Fridays
 I try to be consistent in grading (two communication errors
equals a ½ point deduction with one freebie.)
 Chapter Quizzes are always 25 points
 No Late Work – No Exception (Again, this is what works
best for me, it might not work for you. My students know
up front that this is their “give” in our give-and-take
relationship for being able to have open book, untimed
tests. There’s also enough points in my class that students
are really in control of their own grade, even if they miss a
week or two.)

22. •Courses
• Assignments
• Opportunities
This help keep students engaged
and connected to content.

23. I have students take Learning Style Assessment
and try to hit all learner types. For example…
 Playlists (use for survey, and I frequently have students
create a playlist based on a theme)
 Videos (use as tutorials, quiz them on videos I’ve
created, search & report on videos and soon will have
them create their own videos)
 Word Scrambles
 Fill in the missing word in this quote
 Interpersonal interview assignments
 Photo Assignments
 Surveys

25. •Student Self Assessments
• Concept Application
•Course Effectiveness
This helps keep students and
instructor connected to the
learning objectives.

26. Other benefits:
 Gives me statistical data to use for other assignments
 Helps keep the class dynamic
 Helps students connect to information personally
 Gives me information on whether or not I’m accomplishing my
goals (or how well) = Course Effectiveness
 Reinforces students accountability/responsibility (I ask, “Do you
feel you have a foundational understanding of Chapter 5?” and
follow it up with “How much of Chapter 5 did you read?” (And
yes, I think students are pretty honest)
 I’ve used some statistics outside of that class (support why our
online class tallies shouldn’t be raised, discuss whether students
think they would have cheated if the tests had not been open
book—this one is scary honest)

27. Examples of Surveys/Survey Results:
Self-assessments:
• Survey Example #1: Social Media Online Usage Results
• Survey Example #2: Social Media Facebook Results
• Survey Example #3: Interpersonal Incivility Result
Concept Application:
Survey Example #4: Interpersonal Windows/Mirrors
Survey Example #4B: Intercultural Windows/Mirrors
Course Evaluation:
• Survey Example #5: Mass Comm Assessment of wk9
• Survey Example #6: Intercultural Post Recipe
• Survey Example #7: Interpersonal Final Eval

28. TIERED RANDOMIZATION:
•Question Order
•Answer Options within the question itself
•Questions Selected
I’ve found this helps relieve student and
instructor stress so we can focus on
active learning.

29. Other benefits:
 Helps me reinforce no-late work policy (Can do work
ahead of time if possible and only with advance
notice)
 Allows students to manage their own grade better
 Students still put in the time they probably would have
otherwise
 Allows for real life interruptions that my students
encounter (ie tooth story)
 As I mentioned before reduces their anxiety and mine!

30. •Reaffirm respectful communication
• Use lots of “please” and “thank you”
• Kill ‘em with kindness
• Encourage I-messages
•Answer questions first, then do a “food for
thought” or “please re-read this and see if it could
be perceived in a way…”
• Promotes class integrity, respect, and win-win
communication.

31. Just a few examples:
 Tag Galaxy
 http://taggalaxy.de/
 Playlist.com
 OSN Decade Example
 Interpersonal: Love Types Example
 CollageMaker
 http://tinyurl.com/473cmua
 Windows and Mirrors Theory
 Theory explanation
 Learning Object: http://tinyurl.com/47cb42g
 Music Videos
 http://tinyurl.com/4anyyb6
 http://tinyurl.com/4jc5r9c blog


32. Other Resources I like to use
 “In Plain English” YouTube Series
 Flickr
 FreeRice.org
 Delicious (Social Bookmarking Site)

33. Thanks and Good Luck!