Blended/Online Learning Workshop 2013 REPORT With support from the Office of the Provost, the Center for Instructional Innovation & Assessment (CIIA), Academic Technology & User Services (ATUS), and Extended Education (EE) provided a 6-week workshop to interested instructors, entitled Teaching a Blended/Online Course. The goal of this six-week blended-format workshop was to take the participants through the planning, design, and implementation process of creating a blended and/or online course, provide an opportunity to experience a “blended format” course, and give them the ability to create blended and/or online courses on their own. Each successful participant for the “certificate option” received a $500 stipend and a certificate of completion. Participants were also welcomed to participate without this option.

PLANNING TEAM / WORKSHOP FACILITATORS This team met regularly for two months prior to the workshop to plan content and delivery, develop a pre-survey, a syllabus, all the assignments and support documentation, and plan for workshop logistics. • Peter Agras, ATUS • Andrew Blick, EE • Justina Brown, CIIA • Kevin Dixey, ATUS • John Farquhar, ATUS

PARTICIPANTS There were 22 participants with 14 individuals completing the certificate-option program.

BLENDED COURSE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS In the development of this workshop, the facilitators drew upon several key resources in the literature and online (see workshop syllabus for complete list). A recent study, McGee & Reis, (2012*) lends particular credence to the design of this workshop. The study reviewed best practices in blended course design (or redesign) and revealed common principles and practices that can lead to successful implementation of blended courses. Not surprisingly, having clear, student-centered learning objectives, alignment between these objectives and course assignments and assessments, and meaningful, relevant use of technologies to support learning are key elements described in this study. In addition, by carrying out the blended/online learning workshop using the blended format, instructors get to see and experience a clear example of a blended course—something the authors of this study indicated is in great need. *McGee, P. & Reis, A. (2012). Blended Course Design: A Synthesis of Best Practices. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(4), 11-18.

Prepared by Center for Instructional Innovation / Teaching, Learning & Technology / Extended Education, Western Washington University, Nov. 2013

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WORKSHOP DETAILS Workshop Objectives

Completion Checklist

Each successful participant left the workshop with the ability to: 1. Describe the benefits and outcomes of blended and/or online delivery 2. Develop an action plan to prepare to teach in a blended and/or online format 3. Identify open source resources, examples, best practices. 4. Where appropriate, utilize Canvas to:  Set up a new course including grade book  Turn in an assignment  Post to a discussion board  Use a quiz and/or survey  Use wikis, discussions, and interactive tools 5. Facilitate real-time web conferencing 6. Use instructional design strategies to plan organize and implement course content 7. Develop materials for use in blended and/or online courses:  Syllabus appropriate for blended/online delivery  Faculty/student communication guidelines  Technology requirements & support resources  Calendar and timelines  Benefits and challenges of blended delivery  Prepared conversations for discussion board assignments  Assignment that is written appropriate for future blended course  Course content using appropriate media such as Word, PDF, PPT, digital media, lecture capture 8. Assess the effectiveness of instructional design decisions

For participants enrolled in the “certificate option” to obtain the certificate of completion and the stipend, full participation in discussion board and online Collaborate sessions were required as well as satisfactory completion of the following assignments: • Action Plan • Blended/Online Syllabus • Mid-term Assessment of Teaching & Learning Survey • Assignment-Assignment • Survey/Quiz Development • Peer Review Activity • Consultation • Collaborate Presentation • End of Workshop Reflection

Readings Participants were given the option of selecting readings from one of the two following sources: • The Blended Learning Toolkit, as part of their BlendKit Course made freely available online through UCF: http://blended.online.ucf.edu/blendkit-course/ • Boettcher, J. V. & R-M Conrad. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.

Prepared by Center for Instructional Innovation / Teaching, Learning & Technology / Extended Education, Western Washington University, Nov. 2013

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WORKSHOP SCHEDULE Week 1 1/22 – 1/25 2 1/28 – 2/1

Main Theme(s)

Tasks

Assignment(s)

Introduction to Blended Learning and Canvas

• •

1.

Introduction: Discussion Syllabus Muddiest Point Activity

Planning your Course

• •

3. 4.

Complete Action Plan Complete Draft Syllabus for Blended Course and upload for Peer Review



WWU Resources: ATUS CIIA EE Library Writing Center

5. 6.

Review Peers’ Syllabi Merlot/Khan Academy Scavenger Hunt - Discussion Complete Midterm Assessment of Teaching & Learning



Develop original content (screencast, podcast, video)



Peer-review of courses



Peer-review of courses



TBA



• •

3 2/4 – 2/8

Developing and Locating Content

• • • •

4 2/11 – 2/15 5 2/18 – 2/22 6 2/25 – 3/1 7 3/4 – 3/8

Developing Assignments and Tasks



Reviewing and Revising your Course

• • •

“Finals” Week



• •

Attend F2F Sessions Attend Canvas Training Session Set-up microphones and prepare to use Bb Collaborate Reading Attend “Setting Up Your Canvas Course” Review Chunking and Organizing your Content Syllabus and Course Models Review Reading Introduction to Screencasts, Podcasts, and Video Attend F2F Library Resources Session Schedule Collaborate Presentation Reading – Blended Content and Assignments Tests, Surveys, and Pools Grading in Canvas Reading Quality Matters Consultations

2.

7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

Consultations

“Assignment” Assignment uploaded for Peer Review Test/Survey Development Upload final syllabus Peer review of “Assignment” Assignment Conduct ‘Quality Review’ of your course Presentations End-of-Workshop Reflection and Survey

Optional Activities/Resources • TBA

Catch-up Week Get-together/reflection on last day (3/7)!

Prepared by Center for Instructional Innovation / Teaching, Learning & Technology / Extended Education, Western Washington University, Nov. 2013

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WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT REFLECTIONS As their last activity, workshop participants were asked to reflect on their experiences in the workshop. The following “common themes” emerged from that source:

Common Themes Learning about course design was very helpful. Being part of a group and getting feedback was invaluable.

7 5

I feel more prepared/confident to teach a hybrid class. The workshop materials served as a model I can emulate. The resources and support services are very helpful.

8 5 6

I'm excited to implement the strategies I've learned.

10

I understand the LMS/blended options at a higher level now.

9 Number of Participants Contributing to This Theme out of 12

Following are some comments that further illustrate the above themes in terms of what made the workshop most valuable to participants: “This course offered a hidden learning opportunity for me as it required me to rethink my teaching delivery and force me to take seriously the role of technology in my instruction.” “I feel much more positive about blended learning now than I did 6 weeks ago. The amount of work that is required prior to the start of a course is immense. However, I think it also forces me to really think about what I want my students to get out of the course--a lot of backwards design (UbD).” “I learned a lot through this course - as usual I also learned how much I don't know. I am very concerned that more of my faculty don't understand how much can be gained in a blended learning environment.” “For me, this class was a great opportunity to work with some new tools and to think about new ways to organize my courses. I see some exciting to ways to build assignments.” “I am excited about using blended/online learning for its unique to provide opportunities to get a sense of a student's zone proximal development, to provide more consistent, low stakes individual feedback and balance participation among introverts and extroverts.” “After going through this course I feel much more comfortable offering a blended course.” “I love that Blended Learning offers diverse learning opportunities for students and their diverse needs. Thank you for this opportunity to learn about Canvas and Collaborate as a student-it REALLY helps to learn the ropes this way!”

Prepared by Center for Instructional Innovation / Teaching, Learning & Technology / Extended Education, Western Washington University, Nov. 2013

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SURVEY FEEDBACK Workshop participants participated in a pre-workshop survey and a post-workshop survey. The following charts show pre- (blue) and post- (red) survey feedback received via these surveys.

Reasons for Wanting to use Blended/Online Design 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%

Pre-Survey

20%

Post-Survey

10% 0% To deliver quality, interactive instruction despite larger class sizes and static support.

To create a highly interactive and experiential learning environment.

To create classes that are To deliver content through more customizable for the use of media allowing diverse learners. class time to be used for teacher/student or student/student interactions.

Faculty Familiarity with Blended/Online Learning Tools 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0

Pre-Survey web web-based virtual office self-paced podcasts or software to discussion boards conferencing writing tools hours learning other audio- produce or shared (blogs, modules based media screen casts electronic journals) (e.g., Jing, whiteboards Camtasia, (e.g., etc.) Blackboard Collaborate)

cloud-based collaboration tools (e.g., Google Docs, wikis)

Post-Survey

Scale: 2 – Very Comfortable 1 – Somewhat Comfortable 0 – Not Very Comfortable

Prepared by Center for Instructional Innovation / Teaching, Learning & Technology / Extended Education, Western Washington University, Nov. 2013

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Strategies Faculty Intend to Incorporate into Blended Class Design 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Pre-Survey Post-Survey

Degree which Faculty Think a Blended/Online Design will Provide Opportunities for Assessment 4 Pre-Survey

3.5

Post-Survey

3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 student performance

instructor performance

course effectiveness

Scale: 4 – Very High 3 – High 2 – Moderate 1 – Low 0 – Very Low

CONCLUSION The above charts illustrate some of the valued elements that the “Teaching a Blended/Online Course” workshop provided these instructors. In combination with the reflective comments, it is clear that the workshop helped instructors: • increase skill and comfort levels with blended learning, • participate in a community of learners, and • move toward an instructional approach that not only incorporates instructional technologies but increases student learning, motivation, and engagement. In addition, the designers of this workshop have realized some potential for redesigning the workshop to address the needs of a new group of novices as well as the needs of our more advanced users. Prepared by Center for Instructional Innovation / Teaching, Learning & Technology / Extended Education, Western Washington University, Nov. 2013

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