Fostering Community in Online Courses

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Fostering Community in Online Courses

• Presented by
• Dr. Xuemei Hu
• of Union County College
• Dr. Kathleen Cleary and Midge Hall
• of Clark State Community College

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OVERVIEW

• GREAT BEGINNINGS
• KEEP IT GOING
• ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

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GREAT BEGINNINGS

• Welcome Page
• Home Page Activities
• Early Class Discussions
• Email Assignments

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Welcome Page as Friendly Course Opener

• Course description
• Anytime, anywhere learning
• Easy access
• Contact information
• SOC 101 Welcome Page

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Home Page as Logical Organizers

• Course syllabus
• Course content and Web sources
• Three modes of interaction
• Course evaluation
• SOC 101 Online Course

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Early Class Discussionas Students Primary Guide

• Get acquainted
• Know course requirements
• Learn how to minimize distance
• Let students teach students
• Warm up Questions

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More Warm up Strategies

• Theatre Courses
• Theatre History (Welcome Message)
• Introduction to Theatre (For Dr. K)
• Chemistry Courses
• Intro. to General Chemistry (1st Email)
• Fundamentals of Chemistry (Introductions)

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KEEP IT GOING

• Regular Progress Reports
• Group Assignments/Discussions
• Office Hour Chats

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Progress Reports

• Theatre courses
• Theatre History
• Introduction to Theatre
• Chemistry Courses
• Intro. to General Chemistry
• Fundamentals of Chemistry

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Group Projects/Discussions

• Theatre courses
• Attending a play I Cant Wait
• Group Discussion Final Thoughts
• Chemistry courses
• Unit Projects
• Challenging the Instructor

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Office Hours Chats

• Poll students to select the best time
• Publicize and remind students about times
• Suggest a topic for each weeks chat

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ALLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL

• Final Study Guide Projects
• Student Evaluations
• Term Wrap Up

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Study Guide

• Study Guide for THE 130

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Student Evaluations

• Let students evaluate course
• Let students evaluate performance

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Term Wrap up asrewarding online experience

• Compile and post all assignments
• Check final grade
• Compiling and fulfilling course requirements

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Finale

• Make the initial pages friendly informative
• Solve technical challenges in the first week
• Communication is a priority!
• Finish with satisfied students who have learned

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• end!