"Faculty Support"

1- From UW-Milwaukee's Learning Technology Center (LTC)...a new initiative has been created to increase awareness of how educational technology is being used and to increase communication, collaboration and support among faculty and staff. It's called The Technology-Using Faculty (TUF). It includes a database of faculty/teaching staff using educational technology. The database lists:

* faculty contacts
* descriptions of courses taught
* designation of technology or technologies used
* the needs the courses address
* the greatest successes and problems in the courses
* the pedagogical issues that surfaced and
* advise for colleagues

2- Bruce Brown, formerly of UW Colleges, states that support for faculty in the area of presentation skills is essential:

* gestures need to be slower and more predictable in close-up shots
* place the camera next to the monitor so that it appears that you are looking THROUGH the camera at the participants
* what you wear matters - avoid red, stripes, bright white. Wear pastels and plain colors, if possible
* your materials and visual aids are as visible as YOU choose, they need to be poster size if you use them on a document camera and
* visual aids are very important - students will be more attentive to what you show them than what you tell them.

 

3 - Christopher Ford NY Dept. of Health is grateful for the support he has received from staff. Two ideas that have been particularly helpful have been:

* videotaping his sessions, then looking for things that do and don't work and
* taking the time to practice

4 - Dick Cleek, Assis. Vice Chancellor of IT, UW Colleges is attempting to gather together resources that will help faculty. He's posting on the Web:

* a set of nifty handouts and materials developed by Pat Fellows, a faculty member at UW-Richland County and
* has asked other faculty to add to the resources

"Client Support Solution"

1- Stop, Look and Listen To Your Clients says Chris Beard, Director of Operations at Horizon Live Distance Learning (www.horizonlive.com). Horizon makes a web-based distance learning solution that permits real-time, live instructor led training via the Internet. As no two computers (and no two Internet connections) are alike, Horizon receives calls for help with their software.

Though it's never a bad idea to have scripted solutions for recurring problems, there are always those issues that scripts don't address. In those cases, you should know:

* what questions to ask
* listen for details and
* probe for more

It sometimes can be difficult for clients to put their problems into words. Knowing your product or service well, and knowing the words to supply clients, can save their time and yours.

* use your imagination
* construct scenarios for the problem to extrapolate the problem and the solution
* never assume knowledge, but never, ever patronize
* remember that your clients' time is important and
* be respectful

2- Elliott Masie of the Masie Center and Technology and Learning says:

* observe your clients' learning
* do follow-up research on your clients
* follow their progress
* map their transfer
* go over products with them and
* give them product maps and ask them to color-code the segments according to value

"Student Support "

Solutions, ideas and tips in this category come from UW Colleges, ICS and Ariel, Inc.:

1- Bob O'Donnell, UW-Marathon says, We sometimes incorrectly assume that incoming students understand all there is to know about technology - email, word processing and Web browsing. I've been drafted to:

* conduct short intro's to email and
* do weekly mini-workshops.

2- Voila! answers Dave Gibbs, UW-Marathon, it's on the books as CPS 101, and could be taught in the first few weeks of the semester by either CPS faculty/staff or other approved faculty.

2- From Bruce Dewey of ICS - formally orient students to distance learning. An Orientation should discuss Protocol and should help students:

* take responsibility
* become involved
* engage the subject
* listen effectively
* speak effectively
* get to know their classmates and
* show respect for others

3 - Peter Gibeau received an email from a conscientious non-traditional student complaining about her chatty and distracting classmates. His solutions for support were:

* to talk about the situation during the next class and ask the students to tell others to be quiet. They are ALL responsible and have a right to do something about noisy classmates and
* to call more on students who tend to "goof around"...they will be more attentive as the hour goes on

With videoconferencing, it's also an option to set up a quad screen, and use Continuous Presence. This mode allows for 5 sites to be seen at a time and lets the faculty have somewhat more control over the course (Ginny Divine of ICS).

Marnie Dresser, UW-Richland answers that, perhaps the students are enjoying the class and talking about class related things and need more support for interactive learning.

Mark Weinberg, UW-Rock, agrees that perhaps the benefit of DE is a kind of interaction which may seem problematic, but really is active engagement in the learning process.

4 - On the Q & A and discussion side, Bob O'Donnell and Dave Gibbs, UW-Marathon, say that students must be actively encouraged to answer questions and interact. This support must be built in. 'Hoping' that students will engage the instructor in discussion is fatal in distance learning. Two solutions are to :

* update student lists for each site and then use them by regularly calling on students by name and
* have a list and check each name as you call on them

5 - Cathy Lawson of GCC keeps the following in mind to help support student individuality in distance learning:

* view everything from multiple viewpoints in planning sessions, students have varied backgrounds and learning styles
* ask for feedback so students can share in the teaching/learning process and
* use small groups and pair advanced users with beginners

"Site Support "

1- According to Ali Rendall of Collaborative Media, not enough time is spent thinking about the rooms where learning will take place. Take time to look at the rooms that you'll be doing your distance teaching or training in. Consider the:

* room size
* flexibility of furniture
* lighting
* acoustics
* wall color
* room clutter

Then adapt the room so that it will provide an atmosphere conducive to optimal learning.

2- Kari Salkunen of HUT Dipoli, Finland notes that a European consortium of Universities that has recently published a handbook "Classrooms for Distance Teaching & Learning: A Blueprint", that provides practical information and advice on setting up and using interactive telepresence classrooms for teaching purposes. The universities in Belgium, France, Italy, Finland and Ireland have worked since 1996 with technology instructors and users and have developed a range of:

* functional demonstration teaching facilities
* a working laboratory environment for testing and evaluating technologies
* support systems for teaching at a distance and
* guidelines and advice for designers and users of systems

The handbook is published by Leuven University Press. Further information see: http://www.linov.kuleuven.ac.be

"Resource Support"

1- Maggie McVay of Franklin University describes their electronic library system, called Discovery Place. Centered in the public library, most of the colleges and universities are a part of this system as well as other entities (e.g., businesses, K-12 schools, individual government and non-profit agencies). It provides:

* resources to all who are members of the consortia
* electronic access for online databases and
* anyone who has a library card from the consortium with access to these resources from their computer at home or at work

2- Norm Coombs of EASI says that people with disabilities must have the same access to information and resources as everyone else. They must be able to access:

* on-site and on-line workshops
* publications and videos
* e-mail discussion lists
* web sites
* electronic journals and
* be able to participate in a wide variety of conferences