Transcript Additional Information For the Workshop Best Practices in

Additional Information
For the Workshop
Best Practices
in Engaging Students
with Diverse Learning Styles
Diane Holtzman
Michael Ciocco (of Rowan University)
Mary Ann Trail
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Examples
Creative Ideas
for Different Learning Styles
Examples of Best Practices from 75 e-Learning Activities: Making Online
Learning Interactive
—R. Watkins (2005)
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“LET ME INTRODUCE”
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Based on an activity that is commonly used in traditional
courses, this online adaptation has students interview other
students and post online introductions of their partners. This
activity is a great ice-breaker at the beginning of a course and
you can later have students re-use the introductions when they
form teams for group projects.
Steps: (a) Pair students with partners, (b) provide sample
interview questions, and (c) have students interview each other
and post introductions to a shared discussion board.
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“WEBSITES ABOUT MYSELF”

Taking advantage of unique resources available to online
students, this activity is a wonderful ice breaker and lets
students introduce themselves by identifying Websites that
illustrate their interests and backgrounds. When students
have posted favorite Websites, you can then encourage them
to discuss similar and different interests with their peers.

Steps: (a) Have students identify three Websites illustrating
their interests and explain why they selected each Website,
(b) have students post these Websites and explanations to a
shared discussion board, and (c) have students explore one
posted website from a classmate and provide the classmate
with feedback (plus, minus, interesting) about the website.
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“PLAYING ROLES IN GROUPS”

By assigning group members to roles within group discussions
(for example, discussion leader, idea proposer, cheerleader,
devil’s advocate, questioner, nay sayer, example giver,
clarifier, tension reliever, encourager, note taker, online
resource finder, or conflict negotiator), you can use this
activity to add diversity and depth to course discussions.

Steps: (a) Assign students to teams of three or more, (b)
assign a role to each student, (c) have students play their role
in group discussions, and (d) have students reflect on the
positive or negative contribution of assigned roles to the
discussion.
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“IN THE NEWS”

This activity capitalizes on the number of newspaper and magazine
articles available online to bring discussions of current events into
online courses. Either as an individual or group activity, encouraging
students to utilize online news articles can engage them to discuss
currents events related to the subject matter of most any course.

Steps: (a) Identify online resources related to course topics, (b) assign
online news Websites to individuals or teams, (c) have students read
and reflect on their assigned news stories, and (d) have students
discuss the news stories on a shared discussion board.
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“COURSE BLOGS”

Much like course journals, an online blog (short for “web log”)
can be used as an effective e-learning activity that encourages
students to work together in reflecting on course experiences.
By engaging students in a group exercise where they each
contribute to a single online blog that explores their positive
and negative course experiences, you can create an online
learning community.

Steps: (a) Ask students to reflect privately on their positive and
negative course experiences, (b) provide a shared discussion
board for students to post their reflections, and (c) have
students review and respond to the postings of other students.
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“LESSONS LEARNED
THE HARD WAY”
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This activity encourages students to reflect on and share their
previous experiences in using online technologies—this generates a
list of e-learning study skills that can be applied in their current
courses.
From lessons learned through sending emails to the wrong person to
ideas for structuring file folders on their computer, encouraging
students to share the e-learning study skills they have developed can
be useful at most any point in an online course.
Steps: (a) Create a shared discussion board for the activity, (b) have
students reflect on experiences they have had in an e-course, and (c)
have students post the lesson they learned (i.e., tips, suggestions,
ideas) from each experience.
75 e-Learning Activities: Making Online Learning Interactive —R. Watkins (2005)
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Planning the Online Class
The next series of slides present additional
information that was not discussed in detail
during the presentation.
We wanted to share these ideas to assist you
in planning and developing your online
courses.
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Planning
To ensure the successful implementation of e-learning activities
consider the following:
a) What tasks you will have to complete prior to starting the activity (for
example, emailing instructions, forming groups, establishing chat rooms).
b) What tasks students will have to do in preparing for the activity (for
example, reading course materials, downloading software, identifying
partners).
c) The steps that will necessary for both you and the students to participate
effectively in the activity (for example, when you will post the instructions,
how often will students participate, and what will happen if a partner does
not participate?).
d) How you will assess the participation of students in the activity and how
much extra time will that take you (for example, will the number of
postings to the discussion board be important, will you review the content
of all discussion postings, and will students summarize their interactions?).
(Watkins, 2005)
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Planning Considerations
(University of Washington, 2009)
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Gather all the content
 Start collecting all the documents, images, audio/video, links,
presentations and the other material that you would like to
include in your class Web site. Save them in a single folder on
your computer. This will help you get a sense of what you need
to include in your Web site and will save you time once you start
building the site. Keep in mind that video and other multimedia
need to be prepared before being put on the Web site
Organize the site
 Think through the whole site and make a list of all that needs to
be included in it - content, images, links, resources, contact
information, and so on. Start "chunking" the content in sections,
for example "Syllabus," "Assignments," "Lecture schedule," and
so on. Think about what you would like to be included in the
home page of your Web site and how you foresee the other
pages to be organized and linked to each other.
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Planning
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Start creating a site map
 Draw a chart of how you want the parts of your Web site to be
linked together. To better define the layout of the site you can
build a wireframe, a visual representation of the structure of each
page. Spending some time planning your Web site will save you a
lot of time and trouble when you start building it and, most
importantly, will help you make your site more effective and
usable.

Consider your audience perspective
 When creating a Web site it is important that you always keep in
mind the perspective of those who will be using your site. What
are their information needs? What would students like to find in
your course? Try showing your site to some of your students
before putting it online, or ask for their feedback at the end of the
term. This may help you improve your site.
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Planning
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Borrow ideas
 It is a good idea to look at what other people are doing and develop
your own design ideas based on other sites. What do you like or dislike
about other course Web sites? A good place to start looking for
inspiration is the World Lecture Hall. Images and text are subject to
copyright.
Link to other resources
 On your course Web site you can post links to outside resources to help
your students quickly find reliable information related to your course.
You can create links to research projects at other institutions, YouTube
videos, refereed online journals, and Web sites of companies related to
coursework, for example.
Use the library’s electronic resources
 The library has information presented on how to use the electronic
databases that are available for research, how to order resources
through Interlibrary Loans, and how to conduct research. Students have
remote, 24 hour a day protected access to peer-reviewed, professional
resources. By having students do an introductory library assignment that
has them use the online resources, they begin to see that the library
and the librarians are resources that are available to them.
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Planning
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Strive for visual coherence
 Colors or animations may look impressive at first, but tend annoy
the viewers. Try to create a sober visual environment where
students instantly know they are looking at your course Web site.
Use consistent color schemes and formatting conventions across
the pages in your course Web site.
Keep images small
 You can easily include digital images to your course Web site.
However you should keep in mind that graphics on the Web take
much longer to load into a browser than plain text. Students with
a slower connection to the Internet may find it difficult to access
your Website if you use heavy graphics. When working with
digital images you should keep the file size as small as possible.
Keep tables small
 Just as with images, you should consider the physical size when
inserting them on Web pages.
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Planning
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Direct students to necessary plug-ins or helper
applications
 Some file formats, such as portable document format (.PDF)
or QuickTime movies, can be accessed from the Web only if
your viewers have additional software installed on their
computers, such as the Apple QuickTime plug-in or Adobe
Acrobat Reader.
 If you are publishing information in these formats, you will
want to direct your viewers to locations where they can
download these extra pieces of software in order to access
your information.
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Planning
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Consider visual issues
 While viewers can change settings on their computers to make text
larger, they can't do much to change the colors you choose for your
pages
 Contrast of foreground and background is too low.
 Difficulty occurs when print is too small
 Background is too busy or cluttered to perceive important
foreground information
 Material is not organized in a direct left to right sequence, making
tracking difficult
 Browser window is too small and the pointer is hard to find or use
 Strive for strong contrast between text and backgrounds, and
remember that different computers display colors differently,
potentially making your color combinations unreadable.
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Planning
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To make print materials accessible for students who have low
vision, consider these alternate formats:
 Speech outputs
 Cursor and mouse pointer enhancers
 Large print--magnification software
 Reverse display…white on black…to enhance contrast
Source:
http://atto.buffalo.edu/registered/ATBasics/Populations/LowVision/printmodule.
php
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Planning
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Keep site content dynamic
 Make your content dynamic by posting announcements,
ideas, and links that change often on the opening page of the
site.
 You may also want to consider holding back the content you
have developed and adding it in stages over the course of the
term as it becomes relevant, rather than posting everything
at once.
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Learning Styles
David Kolb’s Learning Styles Model
(LSI) and Experiential Learning Theory
(ELT)
and
Howard Gardner’s
Multiple Intelligence Theories
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David Kolb’s Learning Styles Model
(LSI) and Experiential Learning Theory (ELT)
Kolb (1984) found four combinations of perceiving and processing
determine the four learning styles.

The learning cycle involves four processes that must be present for
learning to occur:
 Activist
 Reflector
 Theorist
 Pragmatist

Activist
 Active Experimentation (simulations, case study, homework).
What's new? I'm game for anything.
 Teaching approach - Problem solving, small group discussions,
peer feedback, and homework all helpful
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David Kolb’s Learning Styles Model
(LSI) and Experiential Learning Theory (ELT)
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Reflector
 Reflective Observation (logs, journals, brainstorming). I'd like time
to think about this.
 Teaching approach - Lectures are helpful; faculty should provide
expert interpretation (taskmaster/guide); judge performance by
external criteria.
Theorist
 Abstract Conceptualization (lecture, papers, analogies). How does
this relate to that?
 Teaching approach - Case studies, theory readings and thinking
alone helps
Pragmatist
 Concrete Experience (laboratories, field work, observations). How
can I apply this in practice?
 Teaching approach - Peer feedback is helpful; activities should apply
skills; trainer is coach/helper
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forOnline
a self-directed
Classes
autonomous learner.
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Howard Gardner’s
Multiple Intelligence Theories
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Methods to understand and explain people's preferred ways to
learn and develop
 where individuals differ is in the strength of these intelligences
 the so-called profile of intelligences
 and in the ways in which such intelligences are combined to carry
out different tasks and solve diverse problems
The learning styles are:
 Visual-Spatial
 Bodily-kinesthetic
 Musical
 Interpersonal
 Intrapersonal
 Linguistic
 Logical/Mathematical
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Howard Gardner’s
Multiple Intelligence Theories
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Visual-Spatial
 Think in terms of physical space (architects and sailors)
 Can be taught through drawings, verbal and physical
imagery.
 Tools include models, graphics, charts, photographs,
drawings, 3-D modeling, video, videoconferencing, television,
multimedia, texts with pictures/charts/graphs.
Bodily-kinesthetic –
 Keen sense of body awareness. They like movement, making
things, touching. They communicate well through body
language
 Can be taught through physical activity, hands-on learning,
acting out, role playing.
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Howard Gardner’s
Multiple Intelligence Theories
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Musical
 Show sensitivity to rhythm and sound. Love music, but also
sensitive to sounds in their environments. They may study
better with music in the background.
 Tools include musical instruments, music, radio, stereo,
CD-ROM, multimedia.
Interpersonal
 Understanding, interacting with others. Learn through
interaction.
 Can be taught through group activities, seminars,
dialogues.
 Tools include the telephone, audio conferencing, time and
attention from the instructor, video conferencing, writing,
computer conferencing, E-mail.
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Howard Gardner’s
Multiple Intelligence Theories
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Intrapersonal
 Understanding one's own interests, goals. Tend to shy away from
others.
 Can be taught through independent study and introspection.
 Tools include books, creative materials, diaries, privacy and time.
They are the most independent of the learners.
Linguistic
 Using words effectively. Highly developed auditory skills and often
think in words. Like reading, playing word games, making up poetry
or stories.
 Tools include computers, games, multimedia, books, tape recorders,
and lecture.
Logical -Mathematical
 Reasoning, calculating. Think conceptually, abstractly and are able to
see and explore patterns and relationships. They like to experiment,
solve puzzles, ask cosmic questions.
 Can be taught through logic games, investigations, mysteries.
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For More Information contact
Diane Holtzman: [email protected]
Michael Ciocco: [email protected]
Mary Ann Trail: [email protected]
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