Promoting Online Student Success

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Promoting Online Student Success

• Andrea Henne, EdD
• Dean, Online Distributed Learning

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2008 Online Student Feedback Survey

• Surveyed students enrolled in an online course in
  regular Spring semester 2008.
• Did not include students who dropped before
  census or never attended.
• 9,208 emails sent on April 21 and 2 follow-up
  reminders.
• 1,682 students responded 18 response rate.

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Student Preparation for Online Courses

• Majority (66.5) had previously taken an online
  course at SDCCD in past two years.
• One in five (20.5) had taken an online course at
  another college in the past two years.
• Most (65.3) responded that they had sufficient
  information about online course requirements
  prior to enrolling.
• However, 27 indicated that they had some, but
  not enough information.

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Course Information Pages
Linked from Home Page http//www.sdccdonline.net
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Course Information Pages
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Online Learning Readiness

• Only 27 of the respondents reported completing
  the Online Learning Readiness Assessment.

http//www.sdccdonline.net/students/training
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Online Learning Readiness

• Less than one-third (29.7) reported attending an
  online student orientation. Almost 18 were
  unsure or did not respond.

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Student Experience with Online Courses

• Nearly half (47.5) reported they enrolled in two
  or more online courses during Spring 2008.
• Less than one-quarter of respondents (22.9)
  withdrew from any online class in Spring 2008.

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Reasons for Withdrawing
Did you withdraw from any online classes you
enrolled in for Spring 2008? If Yes Please
explain the reason for withdrawing.

• Assignments were difficult, there was little help
  available, and the book was confusing.
• Dissatisfied with forum posting requirement as a
  grading criteria and the excessive amount of time
  required compared to traditional classes.
• I asked the assigned instructor for the online
  class a question about a problem I was having and
  she referred me elsewhere instead of actually
  answering the question. I cannot learn from
  anyone who cannot answer simple questions.

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Reasons for Withdrawing
Did you withdraw from any online classes you
enrolled in for Spring 2008? If Yes Please
explain the reason for withdrawing.

• I had a difficult time submitting the homework. I
  emailed my teacher a few times and never received
  a response.
• I think the teachers that host online classes
  have to be very informative with their students.
  Make sure they email them and keep them updated
  on how the class is going, or maybe if theyre
  missing something. Sometimes the students might
  miss something in the syllabus. I withdrew
  because I felt the teacher didn't explain very
  much and wouldn't notify the students about
  things until last minute.

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Reasons for Withdrawing
Did you withdraw from any online classes you
enrolled in for Spring 2008? If Yes Please
explain the reason for withdrawing.

• Instructor took too long to reply to questions.
• Lack of interest from instructor. Monotonous
  assignments. Instructor fell behind and was slow
  to grade assignments.
• No teacher and student communication and no
  teaching whatsoever.
• The class was poorly organized and there was
  little feedback or instruction from the
  professor.

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Reasons for Withdrawing
Did you withdraw from any online classes you
enrolled in for Spring 2008? If Yes Please
explain the reason for withdrawing.

• The course was way too confusing to figure out
  assignments and deadline. When I contacted the
  instructor I got very vague responses that didn't
  help at all. The online course was not laid out
  very well at all.
• The online material from the instructor was
  unsatisfying.
• Need instructor for better clarification on
  subject matter.

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Students Suggestions from the Survey

• A clear assessment of what you need to do.
  Sometimes there are hidden assignments on the
  syllabus that are not in the assessment or
  assignment sections. I rely heavily on the
  assignment and assessment sections to know when
  things are due.
• Email reminders for deadlines and due dates.
• For the instructor to post something everyday.

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Students Suggestions from the Survey

• Having questions answered by the professor a
  little faster.
• If the professor had the site organized properly.
  The site had things from previous semesters that
  did not apply to our class and it was very
  confusing. Modules were not labeled clearly in
  folders.
• More instructor involvement!
• Online lectures and examples from teachers about
  coursework instead of making us teach ourselves.

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Students Suggestions from the Survey

• Professor or instructor available to chat with
  for questions on scheduled time/day per week.
• Strong need for video lectures.
• Support is secondary to an online class that is
  set up properly, with easy navigation, clearly
  established tasks (tests, assignments, etc.), and
  no redundant or old information (professors seem
  to copy their old class and can't delete all of
  the information that is not applicable to the
  current semester).

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Students Suggestions from the Survey

• The course wasn't at all what I was looking for.
  While I know that online courses mean less
  contact with the professor, I didn't expect the
  professor to take such a surface level role. The
  professor didn't provide any sort of lectures
  (either via ppt or video) and instead of
  instructing us (ahead of time) it was "do this
  and let me know if you have questions" which is
  something I don't need to pay college credit for.
  The course neglected to take advantage of all
  the online resources that can make learning
  online a dynamic and interactive experience.

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Tales from the Ancient GeeksCourse Structure

• Is there a clear sense of structure?
• As a student, would you know what to do first?
• Are there clear instructions about when things
  are due?
• Are students using the discussion forum to ask
  for help in finding things?
• Are students doing the reading and lectures? If
  not, you may want to rethink your course link
  structure.

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Tales from the Ancient GeeksCourse Content

• Do you have instructor-prepared materials?
• Are your introductory materials clear and easy to
  follow?
• Are there clear and varied methods used for
  delivering content?
• Is your material organized into learning modules
  with pre- and post-assessment?
• Are there additional resources available?
• Are you using the vast resources of the web?

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Tales from the Ancient GeeksCommunication

• Make sure you have Regular Effective Contact
  going on.
• Use Discussion Forums.
• Use regular Announcements.
• Make sure you are conducting instructor initiated
  interaction.
• A combination of discussion forums, email,
  regular announcement use and online or phone
  conferencing will ensure that effective
  communication is happening.

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Tales from the Ancient GeeksCommunication

• Ask the students for feedback. Do it often and
  with a sense of humor Are you with me? What
  do you think you have learned, so far?
• Check the Temperature Do you have a fever, are
  you warm, are you asleep?

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Tales from the Ancient GeeksPutting YOU in
your Online Course

• Keep the best part of YOU in your course.
• Be there, be welcoming, be honest.
• Create your own e-lectures and materials that are
  in your voice.
• Use Wimba for office hours and demonstration
  lessons (archive them!)
• Tell stories. You have experiences, tell about
  them.

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Interested in Online Instructor Certification?

• For more information please visit
  http//www.cccone.org/certification
• Please email me ahenne_at_sdccd.edu and let me
  know if you are interested.