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Dr. Jill Phipps and Dr. Qetler Jensrud will be presenting at the Eastern Educational Research Association Annual Conference on February 25, 2011

The Title of the symposium session they will facilitate “Structuring Online Learning Experiences: Beyond Technology.”
Abstract:
Online courses (and entire degrees) are now common place in higher education. However, the strong underpinning of instructional design cannot be traded for technological “bling.” Careful consideration to principles of “best practice” must be taken into account when designing curriculum for online delivery. To generate rigorous learning experiences that are motivating to today’s savvy students, the online teacher must engage participants while maintaining instructional rigor based on pedagogically sound principles.
The University of Akron, Technical Education Program, will be the first totally online degree offered by the institution. The learning strategies implemented are based on Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) “Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education,” as well as the five key areas on successfully transitioning into cyberspace identified in Palloff and Pratt’s (2000) “Making the Transition: Helping Teachers to Teach Online.” A data matrix has been developed depicting the online strategies, structure, and activities employed in these classrooms and their correlation with the Chickering and Gamson’s principles and Palloff and Pratt’s online principles. Each component employed in the courses is based on characteristics and principles of instructional best practices. Discussion regarding the approach used during development, strategies implemented, successful examples, instructional design, and lessons learned will be encouraged.