Readings & Resources

Unit 1 Readings

Required Readings

(15 pages, in all, + 3 short videos)

• Schwier, Richard A. (2002). Shaping the Metaphor of Community in Online Learning Environments (pdf). University of Saskatchewan, Paper presented to the International Symposium on Educational Conferencing. The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, June 1, 2002. 8 pages.
  Note: This fairly short paper discusses the elements of community and suggests implications for online learning communities. It is a fast, enjoyable read that while pointing to challenges also suggests ways to meet them.

– OR –

• Watwood, Britt , Nugent, Jeff & Deihl, W. (2009). Building from Content to Community: [Re]Thinking the Transition to Online Teaching and Learning (pdf). CTE white paper. Virginia Commonwealth University. 22 pages.
  Note: This does a nice job of relating good practice in face-to-face teaching to online teaching.

• Facebook in Education: Building Online Learning Communities Through Facebook Connections, Facebook in Education's Facebook Notes, posted Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 10:18am
  Note: This post and its parent post help us to think about (and just maybe consider) potential benefits of social network tools to help build community.
• Creating Community Online: Facilitating Effective Student Introductions (2006). University of Calgary
  Note: This 2-page tipsheet offers concrete examples and instructions.
• RRU - CTET. (2008, Fall). Facilitating Online Learning. Tools for Teaching (T4T) Tipsheet, 1(2), 1-2.
  Note: This is a quick read and a must for for online facilitators!
• Cowley, J., Chanley, S., Downes, S., Holstrom, L., Ressel, D., Siemens, G., & Weisburgh, M. (2002, October 21). Online Facilitation, e-Learn Space
  Note: This post briefly discusses 'Facilitation' from what it means to roles and responsibilities.
• RRU Teaching Philosophy. How does it compare to your teaching experience?

View

• Online Teaching Tips (5:11 min YouTube video)
  Note: Several profs giving tips: how to communicate, set expectations, presence, podcasts/videos.
• Using myCourses - Online Facilitation strategies re: Online Discussions (6 min. YouTube video)
  Note: At 1:45 there is a nice piece on instructor presence in online discussions and at about 3:41 there is about a minute about using a tool (Adobe Connect) like Blackboard Collaborate.
• e-Portfolios for starters (3:08 min. YouTube video)
  Note: Great little animated video that explains what ePortfolios are and how they can be of use to University faculty! Notice its mention of blogs.

And just for fun....

• Can't Help Teaching Online (3:08 YouTube video)
  Note: Calling all Elvis fans....(funny because it's true?)

Optional

• Guilar, J. D., & Loring, A. (2008). Dialogue and community in online learning: Lessons from Royal Roads University. Journal of Distance Education, 22(3), 19-40. (Note: If you are not part of the RRU Community use this Alternate link.)
  Note: If you have time, this is a paper by an RRU colleague and speaks to what many would view as the RRU approach.
• McElrath, Eileen, & McDowell, Kate. (2008, March). Pedagogical Strategies for Building Community in Graduate Level Distance Education Courses. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 4(1), 117- 127.
• Sims, Rod, & Bovard, Bethany. (2004). Interacting with online learners: How new elaborations of online presence can foster critical thinking and reflection (pdf). In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference, (pp.841-850).
• Vesely, Pam, Bloom, Lisa, & Sherlock, John. (2007). Key Elements of Building Online Community: Comparing Faculty and Student Perceptions. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 3(3), 234-246.
• Chao, Tracy. (2004, February). Instructional strategies for Creating Meaningful Online Dialogue (pdf)
  Have you encountered these situations in your online course? Discussions wander off without coherence and focus; learners post individually instead of engaging in dialogue; some learners are very active while others are not. Here are some strategies for dealing with these challenges.

Unit 2 Readings

Learning Theory

• Smith, M. K. (2011). Learning theory. In The encyclopedia of informal education.
• Conner, Marcia L. (2002). A Primer on Educational Psychology. Institute of Training & Occupational Learning (ITOL) Journal, (January). (Cog, Behav, Constructivism, Humanism). Copyright Marcia Conner.
• A Visual Primer on Learning Theories, TeachThought.com

Adult Learning

• Instructional design -- Andragogy (M. Knowles). Adult Learning/Knowles primer (1-pager, Knowles in a nutshell)
• Zemke, R. & Zemke S. (1984, March 9). 30 things we know for sure about adult learning. Innovation Abstracts, VI(8).
  Note: This is a very short (1-pager) broken into 3 sections or lists: Motivation, Curriculum Design, and In the Classroom. As you read this last section, think about how these principles apply to your online classroom. And as you read the whole piece, ask yourself what you know for sure about adult learning - is it on the list?

Learning Styles

• Conner, M. (2002). Introduction to Learning Styles. - good overview of main types of learning styles - perceptual modalities, multiple intelligences, "mind styles", Kolb, MBTI
• Felder, Richard M. & Soloman, Barbara A. (n.d.). Learning styles and strategies.
  Note: This piece suggests specific study strategies for learners who may not be receiving information in their preferred "mode" or "style".
• Learning Styles Don't Exist. (YouTube, 6:55 min). Professor Daniel Willingham describes research showing that learning styles are a myth
• Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning Styles: Concepts & Evidence. Psychological Sciences in the Public Interest, 9 (3), 105-119. (Note: If you are not part of the RRU Community use this Alternate link.)

Learning Styles Assessments

Take 1 (or more) Learning Styles Assessment and see what you think about the results...or, just look at the questions - this is a good way to get a feel for the assumptions/ideas behind learning styles.

• Learning Styles Assessment: Connor, Marcia L. (2008). What is your learning style?

You completed this during the Pre-Course week:

• Solomon, Barbara A. & Felder, Richard M. (n.d.). Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire. North Carolina State University.
  (44 brief questions, scored on web) is an online instrument used to assess preferences on four dimensions (active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal, and sequential/global) of a learning style model formulated by Richard M. Felder and Linda K. Silverman.

Unit 3 Readings

• Glover, N. (2003). Group Projects as a Catalyst for Online Learning Communities. California Virtual Campus.
  Note: While it's a little dated, this reading gives a good overview of Tuckman's five stages of group dynamics, and provides some tips about how to facilitate teams as they move through the stages.
• Lam, W., Chua, A., Williams, J.B., & Lee, C. (2005). Virtual teams: Surviving or thriving? Proceedings of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education Annual Conference, Brisbane, Australia (pp. 357-360).
  Note: This article is written by faculty who have similar circumstances to those at RRU - a strong focus on team work that contributes to as much as 50% of student grades. Some good strategy suggestions for helping teams perform well together.
• RRU - CTET. (2008, Fall). Team Based Learning. Tools for Teaching (T4T) Tipsheet, 1(3), 1-2.
  Note: Written by the Centre for Teaching and Educational Technologies, this tip sheet is a short and sweet strategy document.
• Dool, R. (2007, February). Best practices: Mitigating Conflict in Online Student Teams. eLearn Magazine, 2007(2), 2.
  Note: This article directly addresses the issue of conflict in teams. It gives effective, solid strategies based on experience.

Unit 4 Readings

Assessing Participation

• Liu, Shijuan. (2007). Assessing Online Asynchronous Discussion in Online Courses: An Empirical Study. Technology, Colleges and Community 2007 Proceedings, pp 24-31. (Alternate link)
• Lam, Wing. (2004). Encouraging Online Participation. Journal of Information Systems Education, 15(4), 345-348.
• Note: If you are not part of the RRU Community, please, read the following article instead: Baran, E. & Correia, A. (2009). Student-led facilitation strategies in online discussions. Distance Education, 30(3), 339-361.

• Porto, Stella. (2006). Online Participation as an Instrument of Learning and Assessment. DE Oracle @ UMUC.
• *Please note that this article has some broken links in it but we felt that the content would still be useful.

• Roberts, Tracy. (2010, April). Assessing Online Participation: Exploring the Problem & Possible Solutions (.docx). (White paper)

Tips for Online Success

• Goloboy, J.W. (2003). Top Ten Secrets of Successful Online Educators.
• Smith, M. K. (1999). Reflection, Learning, and Education. In The encyclopedia of informal education.

Choose one:

• Henry, Jim, & Meadows, Jeff. (2008, Winter). An absolutely riveting online course: Nine principles for excellence in web-based teaching. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 34(1).

• Correia, A.P., & Baran, E. (2010). Lessons Learned on Facilitating Asynchronous Discussions for Online Learning. Educação, Formação & Tecnologias, 3(1), 59-67.

Further readings for Unit 4

• Cowley, J., Chanley, S., Downes, S., Holstrom, L., Ressel, D., Siemens, G., & Weisburgh, M. (2002, October 21). Online Facilitation. e-Learn Space

Related textbooks of interest

For those wishing to dig deeper:

• Aragon, S.R. (Ed.). (2003). Facilitating Learning in Online Environments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [Royal Roads University Library Print Collection: LB1028.5 .F33 2003]

• Bender, T. (2003). Discussion-Based Online Teaching to Enhance Student Learning: theory, practice and assessment. Sterling, VA: Stylus. [Royal Roads University Library Print Collection: LB1044.87 .B43 2003]

• Collison, G., Elbaum, B., Haavind, S. & Tinker, R. (2000). Facilitating Online Learning: Effective Strategies for Moderators. Madison, WI: Atwood. [Royal Roads University Library Print Collection: LB1044.875 .F33 2000]

• Conrad, R.M., & Donaldson, J.A. (2004). Engaging the Online Learner: Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [Royal Roads University Library Print Collection: LB1044.87 .C65 2004]

• Hanna, D.E., Glowacki-Dudka, M., & Conceicao-Runlee, S. (2000). 147 Practical Tips for Teaching Online Groups: Essentials of Web-Based Education. Madison, WI: Atwood. [Royal Roads University Library Print Collection: LB1044.87 .H35 2000]

• Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2013). Lessons from the Virtual Classroom: The realities of online teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Salmon, G. (2006). E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online (2nd ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer.

• White, K. & Weight, B.H. (Eds.). (2000). The Online Teaching Guide: A Handbook of Attitudes, Strategies, and Techniques for the Virtual Classroom. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. [Royal Roads University Library Print Collection: LB1044.87 .O45 2000]

Faculty Videos - introductions

Insights from experienced instructors

Several online instructors have agreed to reflect on their teaching and to offer tips, cautions, strategies and approaches that have contributed to their success in facilitating their online courses.

Meet these RRU faculty who will share their experiences with you in the video clips embedded in the course.