University faculty, staff and graduate students were able to register for Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications seminars beginning this week.
The seminars and workshops, designed to improve online education practices, will be held in the Information Technologies Teaching Center labs in D.H . Hill Library beginning Sept. 6.
The workshops, which are listed on the University’s DELTA website, include introductory topics such as basic web page creation and using Moodle and WolfWare , and higher level topics like teaching an online course and creating web videos.
According to the DELTA site, the most advanced topics seek to expand the trainee’s knowledge of web-based instructional strategies and multimedia development.
Donna Petherbridge , associate vice provost of DELTA instructional support services, said the seminar series is not only about distance education, but rather teaching faculty how to use technology. Petherbridge has also taught a distance education class.
“There are no requirements for faculty who teach online to take [DELTA] training,” Petherbridge said. “The classes are open to faculty — teaching technology topics [such as] how to set up courses or a Moodle quiz, creating online groups and forums.”
According to Petherbridge , there is a focus on training in technology provided by Enterprise which includes the digital platforms WolfWare , Moodle and in-class technologies such as clickers and SMART Boards.
“We want people to be familiar with the Enterprise technology,” Petherbridge said. ”The workshops focus on the best practices with the technology.”
Distance learning through technology is an option which appealed to Chase Platz , a junior in nuclear engineering, who could not be on campus for classes. Platz took distance education courses in introduction to computing, Java and philosophy of ethics.
“It was helpful because I didn’t have to be on campus,” Platz said. “I found a job elsewhere and [distance education] worked well with my schedule and the credits transferred.”
Platz said, however, despite the use of technology, students probably learn more in physical classes.
“It was really slack,” he said. ”It was pretty straightforward; we watched videos and took tests. There wasn’t any proctoring and it was difficult to have any interaction hearing the lecture on a computer.”
As far as improving the applications of technology, Platz said more online forums would be beneficial and the instructors could use some sort of chat like Skype to communicate with students.
Lydia Bravo-Taylor, a junior in sociology, said having some form of communication with the instructor is important.
“You can’t really ask questions,” she said. “It would be good if you could Skype the professor, but I guess the point is the professor can’t be there.”
Bravo-Taylor said it can be harder to grasp information because the lectures can be very fast and minds tend to wander more in front of a computer.
“It would make a huge difference if you could send in your questions at the end of the lecture and get a quicker response from the professor,” Bravo-Taylor said.
Petherbridge said her experience teaching a distance education class was extremely interactive and personable. She often got feedback commenting her course was one of the most interactive.
“I felt like I knew the students very well,” she said. “The amount of work [submitted] and feedback [given] allowed me to know students’ work very well.”
Petherbridge said she made time to meet locally with students within driving distance. For students who could not come to campus, she held meetings through Elluminate , a web conferencing program which participants in the DELTA workshops are also being trained in.
Yashar Kasebi , a senior in paper science engineering, took distance education communication for engineering and technology. He said the experience was very interactive.
“It’s more responsibility because they throw you assignments and you keep track of it on your own,” Kasebi said. “But the professor was really good at providing feedback and the forums allowed students talk about readings, trade documents and do peer reviews.”
Kasebi said the course made use of Elluminate to facilitate communication, but he did not personally use it.
“The professor encouraged students to call her so she could get a feel for who the person is and held office hours with voice chat,” Kasebi said. “Everything I needed was there.”
