Interactive Assignments for Online Students
Pam LOWRY
Veraldi Instructional Technology Resource Center, Lawrence Technological University
Southfield, Michigan 48075, USA
ABSTRACT
Students can experience first hand through interactive
assignments what is involved in teaching an online course.
Most students develop a whole new appreciation for the student
learning process. Faculty are beginning to realize that online
instruction is more than a series of readings posted to a course
management system. This paper summarizes the faculty
member’s instructional strategies involved when creating
student interaction assignments. The paper also summarizes the
assignments, discussion board, and trends in education from the
student’s perspective. In summary, it concludes with the
faculty’s overall perspective concerning these assignments and
how the assignments could be more effective for the student.
Keywords: Interactivity, Online, Assignments, Students, and
Strategies.
1. ONLINE COURSE DESCRIPTION
Distance Learning Through Technology is an elective course in
our the Master of Educational Technology Program (MET) at
Lawrence Technological University (LTU) located in
Southfield, Michigan. The MET program is a partnership
between Lawrence Technological University, a university
known for its established technological curriculum, and
expertise with high-tech tools, and Marygrove College, which
has extensive experience in teacher education and certification.
Furthermore, the MET program is one of only a few such
programs offered in the metropolitan Detroit area. It is also
approved by the State of Michigan to provide teachers the
training required for the NP (department of education)
endorsement on their teaching certificates.
The course was designed to assist learners in identifying
successful distance learning strategies through the examination
of best practices and practical activities. It emphasized the use
of online teaching and learning in distance education and how
to identify, implement, and utilize various tools to enhance
teaching and learning processes online. The course utilized
independent and collaborative strategies to analyze online
courses and to design and develop successful online learning
experiences.
One of the educational goals of this course was to analyze the
structure, interaction, and components of a distance learning
lesson. This course has been taught in a hybrid modality and
recently it was taught in a totally online modality. Teaching in
both delivery methods, it was important to make sure students
had a majority of assignments that involved interactivity. Each
time the course has been taught, it is important to vary the
components of their assignments based on student’s final
evaluations.
Interactivity involves interacting with fellow students, with the
instructor, and with the course content. These assignments
involved a mixture of individual and group assignments
involving different interactive levels. The interactive
assignments involved utilizing asynchronous and synchronous
delivery. Asynchronous delivery was accomplished through
Blackboard Learning Systems. Students could easily access
relevant course materials and communication features within
their course environment such as course syllabus,
announcements, assignments, course documents, discussion
board, gradebook and external links. Utilizing a course
management like Blackboard reduces student feelings of
isolation and increasing interactivity between students (Morgan
and Kinross, 2002). Synchronous delivery was accomplished
through Wimba by holding live, online classes. Wimba, Live
Classroom allowed the professor and students to build
relationships by combining state-of-the-art interactive
technologies.
2. ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE PERTAINING TO
ASSIGNMENTS
Instructional design refers to the systematic process of
translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for
instructional materials and activities (Smith and Ragan 1993).
To support this theory in designing this course and assignments,
it was important to think about content, learning activities, and
the desired learning outcomes (Oblinger & Lawkins 2006). It is
also important to keep in mind attentiveness in online courses
because brain-based learning theory lends itself to attending to
the length of time it will take students to read and process the
content (Thompkins 2007).
As the course interactive assignments were being designed and
developed, it was important to keep in mind my teaching styles
and my student’s learning styles. I was very conscious of this
because research on learning styles and how students receive
and process information should be included when instructors
design courses. It is also important to include experimental
activities which involve the use of reflective exercises (Western
2005). While implementing assignments for the course, I tried
to keep in mind auditory, tactile, and visual learners. Since an
auditory learner is an independent learner, some activities
included completing some independent work as well as some
teaching strategies including lecturing, discussion, verbal
questioning and verbal sharing. Visual learners tend to be
dependent learners that are generally group oriented. Some
teaching strategies included group learning, demonstrations,
and activities that emphasize creativity. Tactile learners tend to
learn by doing. They need to be actively engaged in
something
like open-ended questions. Some teaching strategies included
experiential learning activities and simulations. Students will
gain more knowledge, retain more information, and perform
better when teaching styles match learning styles (Lage, Platt,
& Treglia, 2000).
As these assignments were being developed an important
element in the instructional design was interactivity. It
increases students’ interest; it improves cognitive processes,
and it develops group learning skills (Morgan and Kinross,
2002). In designing these assignments it was important for the
students to be a part of a community of
students so they did not
feel alone.
3. ASSIGNMENTS
Numerous assignments were expected to be completed by the
students during the semester. The type of assignments included
evaluating an e-learning product, design and developing an
online class unit using Blackboard, evaluating online courses,
Wimba group sessions which involved researching topics, and
discussion board responses pertaining to research articles. Some
assignments were individual and many were group assignments.
Since online education can promote collaborative learning
(Yang & Cornelious 2005), I found it important to include
many group assignments. The assignments were to implement
what the students learned to a specific context. Toward the end
of the course, students actually commented on how much they
learned while collaborating on assignments and listening to
their fellow students report on their findings.
We did not meet face-to-face so some students occasionally had
questions pertaining to assignments. The previous two
semesters involved hybrid delivery that included meeting face-
to-face each week. During this time the students could ask
questions pertaining to the assignments. During the totally
online format some students pointed out in their discussion
threads that it would be great to listen to an audio version of the
assignment just as if they were in a face-to-face session with the
instructor. To accomplish this, I created assignment rooms in
Wimba. I opened the assignment in Wimba and proceeded to
discuss the assignment as if I were teaching in a face-to-face
session. I then archived this session for the students to view at
their convenience. They indicated this procedure was very
helpful and answered any questions they may have had
concerning the assignments.
Evaluating e-Learning Products
This individual assignment required students to select an e-
learning product using tools such as podcasting, blogging,
webcasting, streaming video, and surveys. They had to
describe the product, evaluate the product, identify strengths
and weaknesses of the product, and give reasons and
recommendations. In their evaluation they had to include
discussing the instructional design, interactivity, and navigation
options of the product. During the first two times I taught in a
hybrid format, a presentation to the class was required for a
grade. During the online delivery, a presentation was not
required. Some examples from this assignment included
webcasting, garageband, YouTube, streaming video, classroom
response systems. The assignment made the students aware of
different e-learning products available and how they could
possibly benefit their students.
Design and Develop an Online Class Unit Using Blackboard
This individual assignment involved having the students create
a course by accessing http://coursesites.blackboard.com
which
is free for 30 days. They had to select their course design,
allow guest access, make the course available and enroll the
students in our class. This assignment was broken up into
three
components. Component 1 consisted of course and unit
description, goals, objectives, contact information,
announcements, and a class schedule. It included student
description, student abilities and student motivation levels.
Component 2 consisted of instructional materials such as word
documents, powerpoint files, and any excel files. This section
also included external links for interactivity, resources, and
enhancements for the students. Component 3 consisted of
creating a discussion forum pertaining to their unit, responding
to everyone’s discussion forum, self evaluation and feedback
concerning their experiences. The students thought this
assignment was very valuable in terms of designing content.
Some examples of what students created for this assignment
were:
• sound investigations which dealt with
understanding how vibration, pitch, and tone
related to sound
• learning about various plants and animals that
live in the city and naming the animals,
describing the habitat, and describing reasons
they live in the city
• activities to help students with social studies and
mathematics
• examining how algebra can be applied to the real
world
Many teachers have Blackboard or some course management
systems available to them in their district. This assignment
helped them to create different units for their students and to
make sure they utilized the technology effectively.
Evaluating Online Courses
This group assignment expected students to explore courses
developed at http://opencontent.org/ocwfinder or iTunes
University. The students had to evaluate whether the course
encouraged contact between students and faculty, developed
cooperation among students, encouraged active learning, gave
prompt feedback, emphasized time on task, communicated high
expectations to the students, and respected diverse talents and
ways of learning. Their evaluation was based on a rubric
which expected overall visual appeal, an introduction, and
relevant content in their PowerPoint presentation. Some
examples of what the students developed as part of this
assignment were Introduction to Flash MX, Learn and Apply
HTML, structure of earth materials, groups and teamwork,
physics and American history, and Algebra 1. Some of the
students’ comments concerning these courses were that too
much time was spent on the design, not enough on the content,
and that interaction was limited.
This assignment allowed students to compare different online
courses available on the Internet. By sharing their findings with
the other students, they were able to explain and justify their
findings on these courses.
Wimba Group Instruction Sessions
Many of the group sessions that were assigned involved
researching an assigned topic and creating a PowerPoint
presentation that applied multimedia principles from our text.
Such topics included learner analysis and motivation, cognitive
learning strategies, constructivism
approaches to e-learning,
and future trends in distance or face-to-face learning. Each
group researched the topic utilizing reliable educational
technology web sites, articles,
and books. Break out rooms
were created in Wimba for each group with instructor privileges
for these rooms. They were able to upload PowerPoint
presentations just as an instructor would. Each group had 10-15
minutes per person to present their topic to the rest of the class.
Since this was an online course and the previous semesters were
hybrid format, each group presented their material whenever it
was convenient for the group. They invited the rest of the class
to their presentation but it was not mandatory for the rest of the
class to attend. Each group archived their presentation through
Wimba. The remainder of the class could view the session at
their convenience.
A summary of their presentations dealing with future trends in
distance or face-to-face learning indicated:
• No matter how good we think we are today, we’re
going to have to continually strive to become better
for tomorrow;
• Teamwork skills, and understanding how to
communicate across generations is very important;
• It is important to bring out the real talents in our
students;
• Organizational change can take over 20 years, yet
complete technology changes can occur every 18
months;
• Feedback should be designed to help the learner
revise his/her performance independently;
• Develop good people skills and emphasize good
communication
• Role of student is a more active role and mastering
subject is placed on the learner
The students liked and appreciated this assignment the most.
When they presented their PowerPoint in Wimba they had to
click through their presentation, answer questions, and read chat
all at the same time if other students and I attended their
session. I made sure I acted as a student during these sessions.
They didn’t realize how hard it was to multitask through these
different venues and still keep students engaged in their
learning. They found it was a great experience to be the
instructor during this assignment. The student groups needed to
interact with each other and change their role from student to
instructor. They indicated it was a great benefit to them to
experience this interactive assignment and they felt it would be
a great benefit in their career as a teacher. This process
emphasized student-to-student interaction through group tasks
and cooperative activities which increased as they moved from
a teaching to a learning paradigm (Bower 2001). The students
indicated on their final evaluations that the student-to-student
interaction through their group work helped them learning from
each other.
The assignment made the students aware of research and
opinions of educators pertaining to different topics. By
working in a group on this assignment they were able to discuss
their opinions with their group members before their final
presentation.
Discussion Boards
The lack of face-to-face interaction can be substituted by online
discussion (Yang & Cornelious 2005). As a result, I designed
the course to have at least one discussion forum for
each week
of the class. Students were expected to answer the specific
questions posted, raise questions and add comments to postings
by others that added value. Discussion forums were posted at
the beginning of the week and ended Sunday at 11:59 p.m.
Each student was expected to participate a minimum of two
days each week to receive maximum points based on a rubric.
“Two days/week” was defined as two different dates and times
that are at least four hours apart.
The discussion forums were based on numerous research
papers. Examples of papers included Preparing Instructors for
Quality Online Instruction, Teaching Online-A Time
Comparison, The Next Generation Classroom, Instructional
Design in e-learning, and Chronicle of Higher Education
articles that students found pertaining to hybrid or online
courses.
Additional discussion forums included getting to know your
colleagues, learning the difference between training and
education, the importance of formative and summative
evaluation, the value of an online degree, conducting learner
analysis to adjust online instruction for your faceless learners,
effectiveness of distance education, and the student’s thoughts
on the Michigan merit curriculum guidelines online experience.
Some weeks involved a group of students being responsible for
facilitating the forum instead of the professor. During the
semester I taught this course totally online, Blackboard
implemented a new feature called voice tools. Because of this
new feature, I verbally summarized weekly discussion forums
for the students using a voice discussion board. In the previous
semesters I taught this course, students indicated on their final
evaluation that a summary of the discussion forums would be of
great benefit to them.
Time was spent discussing the Michigan Merit Curriculum
Guidelines from the Michigan Department of Education. The
guidelines state that students must take an online course, or
have the online learning experience incorporated into each
course of the required curriculum, beginning with the class of
2011. Based on this mandate, it is imperative for K-12 teachers
to experience and teach in an online environment utilizing
asynchronous and synchronous technologies. Some of the
students’ comments concerning these guidelines were: they
allowed each district to handle this online experience in a way
that suits the district’s needs; they require an online learning
experience rather than an online course; they will make students
more marketable in the future; funding can be an issue and;
there will be an even wider digital divide between districts.
These assignments made the students interact each week with
everyone in the class. The majority of weekly discussions were
based on outside papers they had to read. Students are expected
to answer the specific questions posed, raise questions and add
comments to postings by others. They were given a total 3
points for their weekly discussion forums based on a rubric.
This was based on original thoughts not already contained in
the threaded discussion, cited examples and ideas, and reasons
for agreeing or disagreeing with other postings.
4. CONCLUSION
In an online environment, faculty are being challenged to move
beyond the notion of a course as covering content to the idea of
a course as constructing a series of learning environments and
activities. It requires deliberate instructional design that hinges
on linking learning objectives to specific learning activities and
measurable outcomes (Oblinger and Hawkins 2006).
In a traditional classroom setting, faculty can use their
understanding of their students through observation of body
language, verbal response, and eye contact to create an effective
learning experience (Bower 2001). The instructor needs to reply
more on nonverbal communication cues and employ active
listening skills. Instructors can pose additional questions for
clarification and summarize what is said to ensure accurate
information exchange (Rybarczyk, 2007). I felt that by
teaching this class utilizing synchronous technology, I was able
to understand my student’s verbal response to the content, the
assignments, and respond to their needs. Even though personal
interaction with students is one of the most gratifying aspects of
teaching (Bower 2001), I did not feel it was a disadvantage in
meeting my students virtually.
Students indicated I made them look at distance learning from
the instructor’s perspective based on the assignments. This was
accomplished by having the students create a Blackboard
course as a project, research various topics, present the
information virtually to the class as an instructor using Wimba,
and by monitoring discussion board forums. They thought the
readings for the course were meaningful, applicable to the
topics, aided the course outline, and led them to research
additional readings.
In the past, faculty expressed serious concerns and reservations
regarding the effectiveness of distance learning (Bower 2001).
In my experience and from discussions with associates from
other universities, improved course management systems, such
as Blackboard, and improved synchronous technologies such as
Wimba made faculty and students realize how meaningful
interaction between faculty and students can take place
virtually.
[This article was modified from a presentation I presented at the
International Conference on e-Learning at Columbia University
in New York City June 2007.]
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