The UW-Colleges Engineering Department offers its full curricular offerings via Non-Online Distance Education (NODE). This paper discusses several techniques that an instructor may use to increase the interaction with their students that are located on a different campus.
Introduction
The UW-Colleges are the freshman/sophomore campuses of the UW-System. The UW-Colleges supply the basic engineering courses to thirteen campuses with only four faculty members. We do this via Non-Online Distance Education (NODE). NODE consists of compressed video (videoconferencing) and WisLine Web (webconferencing) courses. Due to the dispersion of our campuses, students in engineering will not have a resident engineer on their campus, and they may or may not even have a fellow engineering student in their class. The students will rely on one of the engineers located on a different campus for instruction and students on different campuses for their study buddies. Since the students are not able to “walk in” and see the professor during class, it is important that they feel “connected” to the professor as well as the other students in the class. In an effort to allow for this “connectedness” several techniques have been developed and employed to increase the interactivity of the students.
Description of Process
Interaction with students can be viewed as three distinct types of interaction:
- Interaction with myself and the NODE Students
- Interaction with the students in the same class on the same campus
- Interaction with the students in the same class, but on different campuses.
This paper will focus on tips, tricks, and techniques that may be used to increase the various types of interaction between 1) the teacher and the NODE students.
Before class begins the students and the teacher are connected into the web site for the class. This allows us a few minutes to chat and discuss any items that are outstanding. I tend to utilize these five minutes to get to know my students, just as I would in a live class. I tend to use two basic techniques for these five free minutes we have, Sign in Sheets and Weather.
Sign In Sheets
Typically, I never meet my NODE students as I am not physically on the same campus. Many of our students tend to be visual learners and like to feel part of a class. To help aid them to interact with myself and other students I utilize a sign in sheet to take roll. This sign in sheet consists of each class member’s name as well as a picture of the student. Before class begins I post the sign in sheet on the website for the course and ask a question. The question may be related to homework, text book topics, or topics that are unrelated to the topic being discussed in class. As the student arrives to class he/she answers the question and the rest of the class sees their response. The topics that are unrelated to class discussions tend to generate the most comments. Some of the most memorable questions include “What is your favorite Thanksgiving Food?”(two students answered Brats). “Did you get a deer, deer hunting?” “What was your costume for Halloween?” “What is your favorite color?” These questions may seem irrelevant to engineering (which they are), but they provide a basis for a brief discussion before class to allow the students to get to know each other. Also, this technique allows roll to be taken before class and not eat valuable class time.
The Weather
One thing that we can all talk about is the weather and the students enjoy giving little updates on what is going on in their neck of the woods – some campuses are over five hours apart by car and it is always interesting to see what is going on in other parts of the state. We may just have a brief weather chat before the start of class.
During class I tend to run the class just as a I would a live class. Since the courses are engineering we tend to do a lot of problem solving. Instead of my just running through problems and having the students take down the solutions and methodologies I call individually on students to help answer questions. I keep track of who I have called on by utilizing the sign in sheet. If the students are struggling, I will allow them to “ask a friend”, which involves their asking a fellow student on another campus for help. This ensures that the students are on task and it allows them to further interact with other students.
Since the students are unable to stop into my office and sit down and chat about their courses and how things are going, I have two techniques I use to help to get to know and advise my NODE students.
Student Information Sheets:
Since the students are in the same major but not at my school, I try to get to know them. I use a simple questionnaire that helps me determine where the student is at in their education, what their goals are, and a bit about themselves. I use the results for many things. First, it gives me an understanding of the student and where they want to head in their careers as well as their educational goals. This will help me; help them understand the course better and how it relates to their chosen field. Sometimes I will create teams from students at different campuses. When I do these remote teams, the results of the questionnaire help me align people with similar interests. When discussing certain methodologies or theories I will refer to the students for whom this material will be especially applicable given their chosen field of study. Also, I use it to have the students contact other students who are going to transfer to the same school. One time I had two students take a course together who both transferred to UW-Madison and roomed together.
Advising
Due to the lack of an engineer at each campus, I serve as the advisor for each of the students at campuses without engineers. As part of all of my courses during registration for the next semester I require that all students email me their intended schedule, their current schedule, and where they intend to transfer. This allows the students to make sure they are on track, and it allows me to help them out so that they feel connected to the engineering program even though there may be only five or six engineering students on their whole campus.
Outside of class I use several methods of staying connected and interacting with my students. It is imperative that the students know the instructor is there for them just as if they were in the same building. The following three methods have proven highly effective for my students and me.
Virtual Classroom Site
The UW-Colleges virtual classroom is powered by a product called Adobe Connect Pro. It is an interactive synchronous virtual classroom. In Adobe Connect Pro, you can share programs, share a white board, have a chat room, use web cams and audio to work with students on problems. Most of my students have speakers and microphones built into their laptops so this is a favorite way for them to meet with me and discuss their homework or issues that they are having. I typically will spend five-seven hours per week in Adobe Connect Pro. At times I may be in Adobe Connect Pro with one student, but I have had as many as seven students at once in the room.
Virtual Classroom in Adobe Connect Pro
Virtual Office Hours
I hold all of my office hours as virtual. This means the student knows I am sitting at my desk responding immediately to email and Adobe Connect meeting requests during posted office hours. I am typically available from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm every day and the students just drop me a line and we meet if I am not busy.
Staying Connected
I always feel that if you are a NODE teacher, you have to embrace technology and use it. Therefore, I have an iPhone and I am connected to my email even when I am not at my desk. I also give out my cell phone number and tell the students that I prefer to text if possible. The students do respond to the texting and I have unlimited text in my service plan. Most students have their phone as another appendage and if they are stuck on a problem they can send me a quick text and if I have my phone I will respond as soon as I can. I usually limit this to about supper time and then maybe an hour in the evening because of my schedule and family.
Conclusions
With the advances in technology and the use of technology for educational experiences, it is imperative that teachers and students still connect and have the “college” experience. Even though the students may not be physically located on the same campus as the professor, they can still feel connected to the teacher and the class. The simple techniques discussed here can be implemented with relatively little effort, yet the benefits are many, especially for the student.
[Home] [Order the Book] [Accessibility Statement]
[Other Distance Education Resources] [The Essential Videoconferencing Guide] [Training for Videoconferencing] [Instructional Design at ICS] [Interactive Services at ICS]
If you have trouble accessing this page, require this information in an alternative format or wish to request a reasonable accommodation because of a disability contact: Rich Berg berg@ics.uwex.edu.
© Copyright 2006 Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin
Last updated May, 2006