I love this class and love learning online!
For the first week of this course, there was a lot of reading about general statistics in distance ed/online teaching and policy, a meet and greet, and this assignment – creating a welcome message for an online class. Under the assignment in this post are also some ideas and insights from the course’s first week materials.
For the first week of this course, there was a lot of reading about general statistics in distance ed/online teaching and policy, a meet and greet, and this assignment – creating a welcome message for an online class. Under the assignment in this post are also some ideas and insights from the course’s first week materials.
Welcome!
My
name is Kristi Reyes, and I am your teacher for the ESL Level 7 hybrid class
you are enrolled in, which starts Monday, August 24 in room 113 at MiraCosta’s
Community Learning Center, 1831 Mission Avenue. In this class, you will study
with classmates in person and online and work to improve your ability to
communicate well in English. I am so
excited to have you in my class, and I look forward to meeting you!
Class Schedule:
For the eight weeks you
are in the class, you will spend Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays 12 – 3:20
p.m. in the classroom, but this class is hybrid, which means that the class is
conducted partially online.
Online Study:
You will need to complete three hours of online study and class work each
week using the Blackboard course for this class, online at http://blackboard.miracosta.edu.
You may complete these online study hours anytime, anywhere.
The Blackboard assignments and activities include speaking and
pronunciation activities on voice boards, reading and grammar exercises,
vocabulary practice, written discussion boards and paragraph writing
assignments, and quizzes. The activities you should do each week
are listed in the “Week” sections.
Logging in to Blackboard:
I will provide you with your Blackboard user ID and password in class, if
you do not already know it, or you can visit the Student Password Information page to see how to get or reset your ID and password.
If you have trouble logging in at any time during the term, you may get
help in the following ways:
·
Tell me in person or email
me at kreyes @ miracosta.edu.
·
Go to the front desk at
the Community Learning Center and explain the problem.
·
Go to the Community
Learning Lab room 131 and explain the problem.
·
Contact the Student Help
Desk by phone (760)
795-6655 or 1-888-201.8480 extension 6655 Monday – Thursday 8 a.m. to 7:30
p.m., Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., by email StudentHelp@miracosta.edu, or by
online chat (see Help
Desk page for live chat link).
Watch these shorts video that shows you how to log in and
find your class.
Update your Contact
Information:
I will send you email messages through Blackboard. To make sure that you
receive class information by email, please login to SURF, online at http://surf.miracosta.edu to make sure that your contact information (address, phone number, and
email address) is correct so that you receive notifications from me. Watch this
short video
that shows you how.
Accommodations:
If you need special accommodations because of learning
or physical disabilities, please tell me, a counselor at the Community Learning
Center, or a representative of MiraCosta’s Disabled
Students Services and Programs (DSPS), located on the Oceanside campus (see http://www.miracosta.edu/studentservices/dsps/index.html for information).
You may be
wondering…
Is a hybrid
ESL class right for me?
Do you know how to navigate the Internet? For example, can you click links
and scroll?
Do you have three hours per week available to spend doing classwork
online?
If you answered yes to both questions, this class is perfect for
you. If not, we have other classes that are not hybrid and maybe better
suited to your needs and interests.
Is there any special
equipment I need?
You only need internet access and speakers.
If you do not have a computer or device with internet, you can complete
your online classwork
·
in the Community Learning
Lab, room 130, any time that the lab is open (Monday – Friday morning, noon,
and evening hours and Saturday mornings)
·
in the libraries at the
Oceanside or San Elijo campuses, if these locations are more convenient for you
(see hours)
·
at the Oceanside Public
libraries (see http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/gov/lib/
for branch locations and open hours) or the Carlsbad Public Library (http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/depts/library/about/locations.asp)
For some assignments, you will need to record your voice. If you do not
have a microphone, you may check one out. Ask me for more information. You can
also call in these assignments by phone.
More information will be provided when these tasks are assigned.
I don’t understand how to do the online work. How can I get help?
We are here to help you! Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance
anytime you need it. This is how you can get help:
·
You may meet with me
before class Monday – Wednesday, during class break times, or after
class. You can also call or text me at (760) 555-5555 or email me at kreyes
@ miracosta.edu. I will get back to you within 24 hours.
·
You can visit the
instructor in the Community Learning Lab room 130 during any of the times the
lab is open Monday – Saturday.
·
You can visit the Academic
Support Center, located next to the student lounge and across from the front
desk at the Community Learning Center.
What
NOT to do…
This video shows
ineffective teaching and the resulting very bad learning experiences of an online
student.
What can you do? How to alleviate this
problem…
I
found this slideshow online and love the ideas presented within – perfect for
hybrid ESL!
Building Community in Online Learning Classes from Jackie Gerstein
These are Suggestions for Initiating a Good Online Climate
from the @ONE Course:
·
Start your class with an
"ice-breaker" activity and communicate your interest with your class
in encouraging students to share something about themselves. Ice breakers serve
many functions including calming anxieties of new students and facilitating
early connections between learners. It’s always a great feeling to see students
reach out to their peers early on in your class and make a bond as a result of
sharing something about themselves. Make ice breakers fun and creative.
·
Consider including an assignment
that allows students to tell their own story in support of your class’s
learning objectives. The diversity of your students’ stories can be an
overwhelming learning experience … for you too! (Stories could be shared in
writing, audio recordings or video presentations.)
·
Give students choices in their
learning activities. When students are given options for “real world” learning
experiences, they can more easily engage their own, diverse surroundings and
share these with their classmates.
These are Suggestions for Meeting the Needs of Different
Types of Students (the energetic / experienced ones):
·
Offer extra tasks to exuberant students
for extra credit. Learn to leverage their energy and interest to your own
advantage.
·
Identify experienced online student
“mentors” whose role will be to offer support to new online students in your
class. Many students feel honored when asked to play a “mentor” role and enjoy
performing as an expert.
·
Consider organizing students into
small online groups if you’re integrating discussion boards as a regular
activity. You will quickly begin to identify the groups need more dynamism.
After a few weeks, reshuffle the groups to create a more balanced energy level
across the spectrum.
These are Suggestions for Helping Students Know if they are
Ready for Online Classes:
·
Have students complete an online
readiness quiz as one of their first assignments in your class. Your college
may have this type of quiz developed already (check their website). If not,
here are a few existing quizzes you could easily link to...then consider having
students discuss their results in a forum the first week (note: not sure if these are appropriate for ESL at
this point. Looking at MCC’s, students
would not understand the word “whiz,” and the quiz is more tailored to students
who are planning to take a fully online course, not a hybrid):
·
Consider encouraging your college or
department to develop a special handout about “How to Succeed in an Online
Class.” These resources are incredibly valuable, especially if they can be
shared with a wider audience of educators. Check out the attached “Are
You Ready?” online student guide
(adapted from a Sierra College resource) -- it’s a great starting point!
See
these resources for consideration:
Chickering
and Gamson, “Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education”:
again – active learning, student-faculty contact, high expectations, prompt
feedback, respects for
diversity (talents and ways of learning)
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