Web Integration

I teach online college math courses using a Blackboard- based commercial math program (Coursecompass / Math XL). The management and presentation package is excellent and I am able to do everything I want to do from the program. The University has provided me with several excellent resources (Elluminate, Breeze, and Camtasia) that I have used to enhance and individualize my teaching. I would like to conduct real-time tutoring sessions for my students. I can develop good asynchronous materials using Breeze. Some students would benefit from a visual, real-time tutoring component. I have not seen any web applications in this course so far that will meet this need. I am interested in the podcasts and vodcasts that are coming up. This may work in some way. Elluminate is actually very awkward for math instruction. The whiteboard is slow and it takes too long to type quick responses to student questions using an equation editor. I have learned from experience over the years to keep my classes efficient and the interface simple. When I first started teaching online classes, there was a real temptation to include all the bells and whistles. Just because a feature was available, did not mean that I had to use it. Students are frustrated enough with math -- they don't need to be frustrated by the technology. For example, the first few semesters I taught online, I thought that the Discussion Forum would be a good way for students to develop a sense of community and support each other by helping each other. Not so! They hated it and resented the fact that I required them to do it. It was just one more unnecessary thing for them to do. Adult students have very little time and a lot to do. They received no benefit from emailing each other with useless questions. I have learned to be very selective in what I ask them to do. An application has to be very good for me to include it.


As Director of the Sitka Campus Learning Center, I am also the Disabilities Coordinator for this campus. The resource that I have found most valuable for me professionally in this course is the Classroom 2.0 website. There is a Disabilities Forum on this website that I have joined which will be very useful to me as I try to provide services to students with special needs on campus.

http://www.classroom20.com/group/technologyinspecialeducation

This site is specifically directed towards K-12. But the issues for college students are the same. I belong to an email listserv for community college disability coordinators. The resources and discussion links on the Classroom 2.0 site are much more complete and inclusive. The links and resources are complete. The reports from conferences and publications are up-to-date. This is more of a staff development service, not a student or instructional service.