Learners, Instructors and teaching support staff are involved in different activities at each of the stages of a course or program. These stages may break down (simply) as: Getting In Getting Started Getting Through Getting Out When planning a course or program, its helpful to consider the things that learners will be expected to do […]

Image by leighblackall via Flickr Recently, Larry Ragan, Director of Faculty Development for Penn State’s World Campus, was asked “how would you rank the critical competencies for teaching online?  Here are the 6 he identified: 1. Teaching and Learning State objectives, expectations, & policies Establish communication rules & group decision-making norms Give prompt, effective feedback […]

Trust is the Key to Web 2.0 Originally uploaded by kid.mercury I’ve just returned from the ELI Annual Meeting in San Antonio. The topic was Connecting and Reflecting: Preparing Learners for Web 2.0 ( a much maligned term referring to principles and practices of collaborative, participatory, democratic participation on the web). Technology plays a role, […]

Student in Class Originally uploaded by foundphotoslj I thought I’d share something inspiring with all of you as we approach the end of the term. It’s about one teacher’s experience in appreciation of his students. Christopher Phelp’s Diamond in the Rough reminded me just how courageous, tenacious and adaptable we are. Appreciating those qualities in […]

There is no denying that faculty-student interaction is essential for engaging a student in learning. Student engagement is an important predictor of success and (the good news is) it doesn’t need to be a time intensive proposition. Findings from a recent study published in the Review of Higher Education and reported in last month’s edition […]

Weblogs can be used for many purposes. This one is for sharing information relevant to teaching a distance course at UBC. So far, this has kind of been a one way street. But what about you? I’m sure many of you have comments, stories and issues to share with your colleagues, perhaps you’d like to […]

photo by Robert Scales courtesy Flickr. We know (or think we know) the following things about students in DE&T delivered courses at UBC: • More than two-thirds are women • Average age is 33 • 77% are also taking courses on campus • 23% are studying purely by distance We also know, via student report, […]