I was asked to give a presentation on improving interaction for online courses. This is a very complex question. The answer lies in research that has been done in online learning, social psychology, distance or online education, communication (including interpersonal, group, and CM communication), and even organizational development. This blog post will give a basic overview of the problems, barriers, factors, and concepts most researchers agree upon. Later next week, I will upload in-depth posts on choice of technology and its affect on interaction (including private, public, and personal interaction), instructional design to maximize online interaction, types of interaction and their purposes, and models of interaction for learning (including organizational learning).
In a previous paper, I identified 4 factors that affect online interaction: Technology, community, instructional constraints, and time.
Technology
Many times, instructors have limited choices of technology type. Because of privacy issues, many US universities and organizations require instructors to use learning management systems (LMS) that allow for privacy. However, these same technologies may limit interaction. For example, Blackboard discussion boards may be difficult for students to identify when a new thread has been started. This would result in discussion that favors one discussion over another because students (or even instructors) are unaware of new information. These more structured LMS tend to structure instruction as two way rather than multiple interaction. On the other hand, Adobe Connect, with audio presentation and chat functions that can be used simultaneously, allow for multiple conversations. However, for some students this can be chaotic.
LMS's also tend to promote "formal" interaction rather than informal. The devise that an individual accesses class interaction can also affect how "public", "personal", or "private" the interaction may be perceived. Even using the same software, an email may appear more private if received on a smartphone than when it is received on a public computer. This might change the way in which a person interacts, either becoming more formal (or informal), more open (or more private) depending on the technology used.
Finally, the level of support, comfort with technology, and reliable access can influence how successful students can interact with other students or their instructor. Students located internationally or in rural areas may not have access to high speed internet. There may also be compatibility problems that affect student participation.
Community
Different programs create different types of learning communities and different communities of practice. The expectations of these communities, a student's ability to relate to the community or know of community norms, and the ability to participate within the discourse community all affect interaction. Students who lack confidence may tend to be "lurkers" who are afraid or, at least, reluctant to participate. They may feel that they will be rejected if they participate or they may not want to belong to community due the perception that they are have a different culture or style.
Instructors may need to develop (with the class) communication norms so that all students are working from the same set of rules. In addition, an instructor may need to help create a safe environment to work and learn through interaction at the individual, group, and class levels.
Time
This is an aspect of interaction that is often overlooked. In face to face interaction, two people can interrupt, read visual cues, and straighten out misunderstandings within a short time span. Interaction online (even if it is through video) may take more time and may be more difficult to follow. On the other hand, there is more time for planned interaction and responses. Instructors can ask for a deeper level of reflection. Another barrier to online learning may be a difference in time zone. As a result, any interaction might take longer to develop. There is also a greater chance of losing motivation during the interaction.
Two ways in which instructors and instructional designers can help to overcome these barriers is to assign facilitators and due dates. It is important for all members of the class to remember the time differences and ensure that times are posted with time zones. Related to time zones are the outside pressures to an online student. There may be work, family, or other activity pressures that limit the time when students and instructors are available. Therefore, it becomes important that there are clear expectations for predictable times within which interaction will take place.
Instructional Constraints
I have taught in Language, Communication, Education, Research, Globalization, Marketing, and Business departments. Some are quantitative in content, some are skill based, some are qualitative, some have static content, some have content that is changing AS I was teaching. I have also taught short term intensive weekend courses, hybrid courses, online courses, workshops, full length year long courses, courses with standardized content, courses which are customized...really any type of configuration you can think of.
In each of these instances, there were some shared givens: well thought out goals and objectives, assessments that matched the course goals and objectives, a student, and a well thought out instructional design appropriate for the student and assessment/goals/objectives.
However, due to the variability of courses, there may need to be different types of interaction. The Community of Inquiry (developed by Garrison, Anderson, and Archer) is one model commonly used as a jumping off point. The model looks at the intersection of social presence, teacher presence, and cognitive presence. Factors such as student experience, previous knowledge, learning environment, external and internal resources, and even culture and language all can have an effect on course interaction.
Improving Interaction
Over the next few weeks, I will be writing some suggestions on how to deal with the factors I discussed here. I will look at research from various disciplines and give some concrete suggestions on how to improve the interaction in an online course at the individual, group, and course level.
Showing posts with label #adjunctchat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #adjunctchat. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Just in Time Teaching #adjunctchat September 9
We've all been there. Either the last minute call asking us to pick up a class (that perhaps we've never taught) or not having a class prepared because of a last minute emergency at home or our other job. How do we handle it?
First, the nature of adjunct/contingent work makes us more likely to get that last minute call when someone quits unexpectedly. On the one hand, many of us feel that this is a favor we can't turn down. If we do this favor, they may give us more/better classes or better times. This may even be a way to connect with the department for tenure track positions. On the other hand, this means we start classes behind. Being given a class last minute means you may not be able to choose the text or even change the syllabus. So the first question is:
1) When do you say yes to a last minute teaching request? What are the pros and cons of saying yes or no.
Once you have committed yourself to teaching the course, what are some ways to get prepared quickly? I use other syllabi. Most universities have syllabi on record from previous semesters. This is always good starting point. However, for me it is important that I make the syllabus my own. I usually will take the text if one has already been ordered because it is too difficult to stop the process. It is important not to teach from the textbook, though. I like to divide my courses into 4 or 5 modules throughout the semester (from my online teaching days). This allows me to group together concepts and readings so readings don't have to be taught sequentially. I also look for other universities' syllabi for teaching/assignment ideas. This has been very successful for my own teaching. Why reinvent the wheel when you have limited time?
So the second question for discussion is:
2) How do you get prepared quickly for a class you have just been given? What resources are available? What instructional design process do you use?
Of course, if you are given a teaching assignment last minute, you may find you are one chapter ahead of the students, especially when it comes to specialized vocabulary used in a text or creating assessments (quizzes, tests, assignments, projects). Many of us who are teaching a course we have been given a while ago may also come to class without knowing what they are going to do for that class. Life happens. Illness, family responsibilities (both younger and older members of the family), outside work, research, conferences, weather, etc...
Even worse for adjuncts are when you have something prepared but are not able to use it. How many of you have taken the wrong bag or forgotten your notes somewhere else? Many of my colleagues admit to having gone to the wrong school or gotten the time wrong (for the day they had to teach) when they work at multiple locations. They also had the wrong class prep at the wrong location. Then there are the times when technology fails, especially for those working early morning or late a night when there is no technical support. The third question for discussion is:
3) What has caused you to be ill-prepared in class? How did you manage it?
I have a few types of activities that I have prepared in case I'm not prepared for the class. These usually student generated (i.e. make up their own jeopardy questions which the rest of the class needs to answer or spending the class time working in teams creating a presentation on the topic). I also am a great believer in games and "playing". In my case, games and simulations work well in the fields of communication, management, education, ESL, and marketing (the fields I've taught in). However, I think it could work in other fields also. It is a great way to assess students and allow students to learn in more ambiguous environments.
4) What are some "go to" activities you use if you can't use the lesson you had prepared? What about activities in the case where you aren't prepared for a class?
First, the nature of adjunct/contingent work makes us more likely to get that last minute call when someone quits unexpectedly. On the one hand, many of us feel that this is a favor we can't turn down. If we do this favor, they may give us more/better classes or better times. This may even be a way to connect with the department for tenure track positions. On the other hand, this means we start classes behind. Being given a class last minute means you may not be able to choose the text or even change the syllabus. So the first question is:
1) When do you say yes to a last minute teaching request? What are the pros and cons of saying yes or no.
Once you have committed yourself to teaching the course, what are some ways to get prepared quickly? I use other syllabi. Most universities have syllabi on record from previous semesters. This is always good starting point. However, for me it is important that I make the syllabus my own. I usually will take the text if one has already been ordered because it is too difficult to stop the process. It is important not to teach from the textbook, though. I like to divide my courses into 4 or 5 modules throughout the semester (from my online teaching days). This allows me to group together concepts and readings so readings don't have to be taught sequentially. I also look for other universities' syllabi for teaching/assignment ideas. This has been very successful for my own teaching. Why reinvent the wheel when you have limited time?
So the second question for discussion is:
2) How do you get prepared quickly for a class you have just been given? What resources are available? What instructional design process do you use?
Of course, if you are given a teaching assignment last minute, you may find you are one chapter ahead of the students, especially when it comes to specialized vocabulary used in a text or creating assessments (quizzes, tests, assignments, projects). Many of us who are teaching a course we have been given a while ago may also come to class without knowing what they are going to do for that class. Life happens. Illness, family responsibilities (both younger and older members of the family), outside work, research, conferences, weather, etc...
Even worse for adjuncts are when you have something prepared but are not able to use it. How many of you have taken the wrong bag or forgotten your notes somewhere else? Many of my colleagues admit to having gone to the wrong school or gotten the time wrong (for the day they had to teach) when they work at multiple locations. They also had the wrong class prep at the wrong location. Then there are the times when technology fails, especially for those working early morning or late a night when there is no technical support. The third question for discussion is:
3) What has caused you to be ill-prepared in class? How did you manage it?
I have a few types of activities that I have prepared in case I'm not prepared for the class. These usually student generated (i.e. make up their own jeopardy questions which the rest of the class needs to answer or spending the class time working in teams creating a presentation on the topic). I also am a great believer in games and "playing". In my case, games and simulations work well in the fields of communication, management, education, ESL, and marketing (the fields I've taught in). However, I think it could work in other fields also. It is a great way to assess students and allow students to learn in more ambiguous environments.
4) What are some "go to" activities you use if you can't use the lesson you had prepared? What about activities in the case where you aren't prepared for a class?
Monday, July 14, 2014
Best Practices with Mobile Tech: #adjunctchat Tuesday, July 15
Mobile Technology is here to stay. It is a fact of academic life.
Many of us may try to resist integrating mobile technology into our classrooms. However, the fact is that it is now a part of our students' lives and it is something as teachers we need to think about whether we work in a traditional classroom or online. What are some ways in which mobile technology has changed the classroom?
First, there is the positive ways. Students have access to information on their mobile devises which can broaden the curriculum. Instructors no longer have to rely on outdated information and can bring in topical issues. This is true of all majors. Another advantage is that higher education students can be sent out of the classroom to learn, observe, and experience what they are learning in context. I often use my class time to send students out and observe while keeping in touch via mobile technology. Using technology in the classroom also helps the instructor to give instant feedback as students work in class. I am able to point to different resources or help students learn how to navigate through information, developing their information literacy, communication, and critical thinking skills.
Outside of class, students can contact their instructor or TA outside of office hours. This is especially important for adjuncts and contingent faculty who may not have access to offices or private spaces for discussion. And new mobile technologies allow for more natural conversation through facetime, skype, or google hangouts. I also am able to update my students, giving them access, through mobile apps for programs such as Trello.com, edmodo, googledocs, youtube or blackboard, to updated resources, feedback, and assignments. Finally, for "temporary" faculty, students can maintain a relationship once a faculty member has left the university. Social networking sites such as facebook or linkedin allows faculty to maintain that relationship which can be a reciprocal relationship for graduate school and employment. I will check in with my former students when I'm revising my classes to get real world feedback so my course stays relevant.
However, more often than not, faculty know the downside of mobile technology. Students become distracted with their technology and social media, neither listening to the instructor or classmates (if they do happen to be focusing on class work) nor being engaged in the class (checking email, messages, or facebook or even studying for another class). For an instructor it is difficult to know when a student is taking notes on their mobile device or communicating with someone outside of class (although grins during a discussion of marketing law are a dead give away).
There are also technology difficulties, such as the digital divide (those who have more advanced technology compared to those that don't), power outages, access to wifi (or lack of access), lack of support for individual devices, and incompatibility with other digital devices. Many faculty members are not confident to use technology that they either are unfamiliar with or have no academic support for. In addition, designing activities for effective use of mobile technology in the classroom may be time consuming as there may be technology testing and training used. For example, there are different designs for smartphone use, tablets, and laptops. Smartphones require a different format than computer based content. In addition, each screen shot on a small mobile device can be linked but normally can't be seen as a whole product.
Finally, the ability for students to reach an instructor 24/7 can lead to an adjunct or part-time instructor interacting with students above and beyond the time for which they are paid. Students rarely distinguish between a tenured, full-time, or part-time instructor and may expect unlimited access.
In this week's #adjunctchat, we will trade some best practices for using mobile technology (m-learning) both in traditional classes and online classes. We will look at the use of mobile technology in academics as a whole and the challenges for adjuncts specifically.
1) Do you allow the use of mobile technology in your courses? Why or why not?
2) What are some challenges in using mobile technology (especially for adjuncts/contingent faculty)
3) How might you integrate mobile technology into your teaching?
4) What boundaries do/might you need to create for effective use of mobile technology with your students?
5) What resources would you like to have when developing activities, resources, instructional design, technology for mobile use in the classroom?
This discussion is open to anyone interested in mobile technology in the classroom. I'll try to put up some links of examples I've used in my classes.
Many of us may try to resist integrating mobile technology into our classrooms. However, the fact is that it is now a part of our students' lives and it is something as teachers we need to think about whether we work in a traditional classroom or online. What are some ways in which mobile technology has changed the classroom?
First, there is the positive ways. Students have access to information on their mobile devises which can broaden the curriculum. Instructors no longer have to rely on outdated information and can bring in topical issues. This is true of all majors. Another advantage is that higher education students can be sent out of the classroom to learn, observe, and experience what they are learning in context. I often use my class time to send students out and observe while keeping in touch via mobile technology. Using technology in the classroom also helps the instructor to give instant feedback as students work in class. I am able to point to different resources or help students learn how to navigate through information, developing their information literacy, communication, and critical thinking skills.
Outside of class, students can contact their instructor or TA outside of office hours. This is especially important for adjuncts and contingent faculty who may not have access to offices or private spaces for discussion. And new mobile technologies allow for more natural conversation through facetime, skype, or google hangouts. I also am able to update my students, giving them access, through mobile apps for programs such as Trello.com, edmodo, googledocs, youtube or blackboard, to updated resources, feedback, and assignments. Finally, for "temporary" faculty, students can maintain a relationship once a faculty member has left the university. Social networking sites such as facebook or linkedin allows faculty to maintain that relationship which can be a reciprocal relationship for graduate school and employment. I will check in with my former students when I'm revising my classes to get real world feedback so my course stays relevant.
However, more often than not, faculty know the downside of mobile technology. Students become distracted with their technology and social media, neither listening to the instructor or classmates (if they do happen to be focusing on class work) nor being engaged in the class (checking email, messages, or facebook or even studying for another class). For an instructor it is difficult to know when a student is taking notes on their mobile device or communicating with someone outside of class (although grins during a discussion of marketing law are a dead give away).
There are also technology difficulties, such as the digital divide (those who have more advanced technology compared to those that don't), power outages, access to wifi (or lack of access), lack of support for individual devices, and incompatibility with other digital devices. Many faculty members are not confident to use technology that they either are unfamiliar with or have no academic support for. In addition, designing activities for effective use of mobile technology in the classroom may be time consuming as there may be technology testing and training used. For example, there are different designs for smartphone use, tablets, and laptops. Smartphones require a different format than computer based content. In addition, each screen shot on a small mobile device can be linked but normally can't be seen as a whole product.
Finally, the ability for students to reach an instructor 24/7 can lead to an adjunct or part-time instructor interacting with students above and beyond the time for which they are paid. Students rarely distinguish between a tenured, full-time, or part-time instructor and may expect unlimited access.
In this week's #adjunctchat, we will trade some best practices for using mobile technology (m-learning) both in traditional classes and online classes. We will look at the use of mobile technology in academics as a whole and the challenges for adjuncts specifically.
1) Do you allow the use of mobile technology in your courses? Why or why not?
2) What are some challenges in using mobile technology (especially for adjuncts/contingent faculty)
3) How might you integrate mobile technology into your teaching?
4) What boundaries do/might you need to create for effective use of mobile technology with your students?
5) What resources would you like to have when developing activities, resources, instructional design, technology for mobile use in the classroom?
This discussion is open to anyone interested in mobile technology in the classroom. I'll try to put up some links of examples I've used in my classes.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Adjuncts doing research Adjunctchat April 8
One of the common myths in society is that only tenure track faculty or Phd students who are forced to do research are doing so at universities. In fact, many adjuncts either want to or are doing research, in some cases on their own, in other cases as part of a full time job out of the academy.
However, there are a number of issues that come up. If adjuncts aren't being paid for the work, then should they have control over their work? If that is the case, do they have to get approval from the IRB if they aren't using students as participants? How do they handle "school affiliation" that a growing number of journals require when they they have conducted the research over two or more different locations? How can adjuncts overcome their "research itch?"
In this week's adjunctchat, we'll be discussing how adjuncts can do research, get funding, and trouble shoot problems if they want to continue doing research (inside and outside academia).
However, there are a number of issues that come up. If adjuncts aren't being paid for the work, then should they have control over their work? If that is the case, do they have to get approval from the IRB if they aren't using students as participants? How do they handle "school affiliation" that a growing number of journals require when they they have conducted the research over two or more different locations? How can adjuncts overcome their "research itch?"
In this week's adjunctchat, we'll be discussing how adjuncts can do research, get funding, and trouble shoot problems if they want to continue doing research (inside and outside academia).
Monday, March 31, 2014
What do adjuncts do? #adjunctchat April 1
A few weeks ago, I read something that made me think of this topic. I'm sorry I didn't save the link, but someone stated, "If we were lawyers, we would get paid for billable hours." This got me to thinking, what if we as education professionals, started billing for the work we did as accountants, lawyers, or even "trainers" (who ARE educators, by the way, even though there are some who continue to make the division) do? What if our contracts were to deliver a service, but we could charge more for larger classes (training contract put a cap on maximum class size), tailoring classes or classes we have not taught before (so prep), office hours, administrative work such as inputting grades, writing recommendations or calculating midterm grades for students who need them or verification of progress, making copies of course material, grading student work (which means all of the innovative new ways of teaching requiring more advanced means of assessment or faculty teaching writing courses would get paid more because of the required extra hours) or research in which the school's name is used in a journal or conference (this is part of school image after all).
So, the problem as I see it is two fold: 1) Adjuncts/contingents don't get paid for all that they do; and 2) most people (except for adjuncts and some department heads & faculty) are unaware of all the work an average adjunct does and does not get paid for.
Over the last week or so I've collected some blog posts and reports about the work situation for adjuncts which are finally coming to light. However, there is still little information and actual data on adjuncts. So my adjunctchat (Tuesday, April 1 at 4PM Eastern Standard Time) will look at the information gap about adjuncts and how we can address that.
Some of the questions I'd like to discuss include:
1) How are adjuncts/contingents/teaching assistants identified and used in higher education? Are there differences in unionized/non-unionized, public/private institutions, community colleges/colleges/research universities, or regions/countries?
2) What are the requirements and hiring practices for adjuncts? How is this different from Tenure Track? How is this different from other part time employees? How is this different from contract professionals?
3) How can we make hiring and the work adjuncts do more transparent? How can be begin to publicize the real adjunct work (rather than the public image of an adjunct some experience in the class-but not necessarily an academic degree- popping into to class to lecture 1-3 times a week and giving the class 2 pre-developed standard tests created by the publisher or a tenure track professor, which is graded by machine)?
4) How much time per class per semester do you contribute to class, service, and research? How can we gather this information so it is not just a self reported guestimate but is methodically collected (I'm thinking there's got to be an app out there)?
I hope you can make this. It would also help if we could begin to get some additional participants outside of the US and Canada as I think other countries are beginning to be pressured to accept this adjunct/contingent" model which has creeped into the US and is beginning to move into the Canadian system. If we have data, academics around the world can begin to push back so there is a more equitable system of pay and work.
References:
Conjob (video)
Congressional Report: The just in time professor
Portrait of part-time faculty by CAW
CUPA-HR Professionals in Higher Education Salary Survey
Just visiting
Adjunctaction Town Meeting
Chronical's Vitae Adjunct stats
Columbia Professors fired after yrs as contingents
UK policy makers getting more data from private sector rather than unis
In case people buy that this is a new problem, read this article from 1995
Please tweet me or add in the comment section any other resources you might have.
So, the problem as I see it is two fold: 1) Adjuncts/contingents don't get paid for all that they do; and 2) most people (except for adjuncts and some department heads & faculty) are unaware of all the work an average adjunct does and does not get paid for.
Over the last week or so I've collected some blog posts and reports about the work situation for adjuncts which are finally coming to light. However, there is still little information and actual data on adjuncts. So my adjunctchat (Tuesday, April 1 at 4PM Eastern Standard Time) will look at the information gap about adjuncts and how we can address that.
Some of the questions I'd like to discuss include:
1) How are adjuncts/contingents/teaching assistants identified and used in higher education? Are there differences in unionized/non-unionized, public/private institutions, community colleges/colleges/research universities, or regions/countries?
2) What are the requirements and hiring practices for adjuncts? How is this different from Tenure Track? How is this different from other part time employees? How is this different from contract professionals?
3) How can we make hiring and the work adjuncts do more transparent? How can be begin to publicize the real adjunct work (rather than the public image of an adjunct some experience in the class-but not necessarily an academic degree- popping into to class to lecture 1-3 times a week and giving the class 2 pre-developed standard tests created by the publisher or a tenure track professor, which is graded by machine)?
4) How much time per class per semester do you contribute to class, service, and research? How can we gather this information so it is not just a self reported guestimate but is methodically collected (I'm thinking there's got to be an app out there)?
I hope you can make this. It would also help if we could begin to get some additional participants outside of the US and Canada as I think other countries are beginning to be pressured to accept this adjunct/contingent" model which has creeped into the US and is beginning to move into the Canadian system. If we have data, academics around the world can begin to push back so there is a more equitable system of pay and work.
References:
Conjob (video)
Congressional Report: The just in time professor
Portrait of part-time faculty by CAW
CUPA-HR Professionals in Higher Education Salary Survey
Just visiting
Adjunctaction Town Meeting
Chronical's Vitae Adjunct stats
Columbia Professors fired after yrs as contingents
UK policy makers getting more data from private sector rather than unis
In case people buy that this is a new problem, read this article from 1995
Please tweet me or add in the comment section any other resources you might have.
Monday, January 20, 2014
The challenges and strategies for online adjuncts: Adjunctchat Jan 21, 2014
There has been a lot of discussion lately about the possibility of all classes going online and MOOC's (Massive online courses)replacing the traditional classroom. A result has been a backlash in which many still believe that online learning is not as effective as face to face learning (despite the body of work that proves that online learning, if done correctly, has no significant difference to learning outcomes than face to face traditional learning. Add to this that many of the online faculty are adjunct and their is a second layer of challenges online learning adjunct faculty have.
Background
As an occasional online (and traditional) instructor, an instructor teaching "Distance Learning", and adjunct for 25 years, I still come in contact with misconceptions about online learning, including:
Background
As an occasional online (and traditional) instructor, an instructor teaching "Distance Learning", and adjunct for 25 years, I still come in contact with misconceptions about online learning, including:
- Online learning instructional design is the same as traditional in-class instructional design
- Plagiarism/academic dishonesty is easier with online learning
- All online learning is the same and can be used for any subject
- Online instruction is easier/less time consuming than face to face instruction
- Any course can be put online (including same content and class size)
- Online instruction will allow for more courses with the same number of inputs (instructors, IT) and in some cases reduces instructional costs
- Any student can do well in an online class as long as the instructor is competent
So, for those of you who have never taught an online class, here is the reality:
- Most online learning is broken up into modules which allows for more individualized learning over a longer period of time. In addition, because of the lack of social cues, there has to be some differences in how content is presented and there usually is a greater level of "use" of the content than in a traditional lecture. There is at least 15 years of good research which has resulted in a variety of instructional design. However, incorporated in the instructional design is a built in structure required by LMS's (Learning Management Systems such as Blackboard or Angel).
- Plagiarism is no more prevalent than in a traditional large lecture or class. Just like a traditional class, there are ways to design a course to prevent academic dishonesty and plagiarism. In fact, because of the fear of plagiarism (from my experience), online instructors are more aware of possible online cheating.
- Some subjects still need to have some face to face time. This does not mean that some instruction cannot be online. Subjects such as studio art, theatre, medicine, and some of the lab sciences need to have hands on instruction/learning. More and more, new technologies are making these possible (i.e. via skype or videoconferencing at facilities with labs and studios).
- Planning and maintenance of the course can be twice as long for an online course than a traditional course. Because of the lack of social cues in many cases, instructors need to work harder at identifying when students don't get a concept.
- Online courses will take more time to communicate. As a result, the content will need to fit into time, technological, interaction, and distance constraints. The ideal class size for an online class is 20 students and anything over 25 may need a TA to keep on top of questions and problems. In addition, online problems require much more IT support which must be designed into the class (as does the use of the online LMS).
- IT will need to have 24/7 support for online degrees along with constant upgrades to programs. Also online degrees and classes can require more security.
- Not all students have the self regulation to do well in an online class. Some people also learn better in a face to face class as they need instant feedback they may not get in an online class.
For many of you who teach online, you are familiar with this. As adjuncts, your only interaction with a department may be with those that hold the opinions above. For others, you key contacts may understand, but your university administration may not.
This may mean:
- You are given contradictory instructions/requirements
- You are expected to meet criteria that may not be possible
- Students may rely on you for support you can't give (i.e. technology glitches, program requirements)
- You have limited colleagues to discuss learning/teaching problems with
- You don't have enough time to design a course or you did not design the course you are teaching
- You spend a lot more time on instruction than you are being paid for
- You feel as if you are on call to the class at all times
Discussion for this Chat
This chat we will discuss:
- Challenges for the adjunct teaching online
- Getting support for your teaching (institutional and social)
- Expectations for adjuncts and online instructors
- Strategies to make online adjunct teaching easier
Monday, December 9, 2013
#adjunctchat November 10, 2013: Managing your commitments at the end of the semester
This is the time of year when the walls begin to close in. Not only might you be finishing the semester, getting semester grades in, preparing for the holidays, and in many cases juggling multiple workplaces. Perhaps you have a full time job which now requires an end of the year report, or you are responsible for a quarterly AND annual report for research funders. An added stress for the adjunct is IF you have a job next semester, what will you be teaching (is it new or do you need to dust off and update a course you've taught before).
On top of this, this is the time of year that there are stronger family pressures, either due to travel to be with family, attending children's performances (if you have children or other young relatives), etc...
This week we will be discussing strategies to manage the commitments so we can enjoy this time of year. Among the questions will be:
1) How do you prioritize work commitments?
2) Are there devises (including social media) which could make your work flow easier?
3) How do you balance work and personal time commitments?
Hope you can make it tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 4PM Eastern Standard Time) and we will keep it to 1/2 hr for all of us pressed for time!
On top of this, this is the time of year that there are stronger family pressures, either due to travel to be with family, attending children's performances (if you have children or other young relatives), etc...
This week we will be discussing strategies to manage the commitments so we can enjoy this time of year. Among the questions will be:
1) How do you prioritize work commitments?
2) Are there devises (including social media) which could make your work flow easier?
3) How do you balance work and personal time commitments?
Hope you can make it tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 4PM Eastern Standard Time) and we will keep it to 1/2 hr for all of us pressed for time!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Mobile Professor
One thing that #acwrimo has done is to remind me to blog my research ideas and insights as I'm developing them. With that in mind, I've decided to talk about some new research I am considering. Many of the ideas are still in the early stages, but the more I read and participate in online groups, the more I'm convinced this is research that needs to be done.
The Mobile Adjunct
Currently, I am involved in #adjunctchat, a community that meets on twitter at Tuesdays at 4:00 PM, New York time. This is open to anyone in the world who is interested in contingent faculty issues, either as a researcher, an administrator, faculty friend of contingent instructors, or (of course) an instructor that works in a temporary position, full-time or part-time, long-term contract or short-term contract, for one university or multiple, by choice or by necessity.
Recently, we had one of our followers suggest that we discuss online contingent faculty issues. We also have discussed controlling the adjunct's work environment. In many cases, adjuncts either share office space, don't have office space, or work in a virtual office, connecting with colleagues, administrators, or students online.
My own officemate teaches at two different universities, resulting in managing her resources, physical and virtual, between two distinct university cultures (one school is a large public research university with a high level of diversity, the other is a world renowned technical university with many international students, but little diversity). At times, there have been some comical mix ups as she has arrived at school with the wrong resources for the class she is about to teach. She is not as open to new technology, but she does rely on a netbook to access student records, courses resources, and student communication.
The Personal Communication Society
Yesterday, while reading an article I am writing for contribution to a book a colleague is working on, I came across Campbell and Park's (2008) idea of personal mobile communication. They point out that research indicates that people communicating using mobile devices in a public place, in fact don't necessarily perceive the conversation private (they are in a public place), but rather as personal.
This distinction is important because people become uncomfortable if they are forced to hear a personal conversation in a public place, trying not to ease drop or infringe on those who are in the middle of a personal conversation in a public place. In addition, Rettie's (2008) research suggests that there are different ways in which devises are used depending on the level of intimacy between people using mobile devises. The deeper level of intimacy, the more likely communication in a public space and time will be disguised.
In other words, communication perceived as deeply personal can still be conducted in public spaces, but some type of code will be used to allow for personal interaction (e.g. teens using texting and abbreviations when parents or other friends are in the room). There may also be signals given that an interaction should be conducted in private (i.e. change in location or devise) in which the interaction may not be personal. An example of this would be taking a business call in a restaurant.
By separating personal from private, I was able to understand a phenomenon my students and I noticed last year. My students interacted on facebook differently depending on what devise they used. While the privacy settings were the same for computer and mobile technology, they were more familiar (slang, communicated on topics in a way that was less socially acceptable, swearing)on mobile devises than when they communicated on a desk top computer.
It is possible that young adults perceive mobile technology, as Campbell and Park suggest, as more personal, resulting in a more intimate register. This would also explain the dichotomy between published incidences of sexting, uploading of socially unaccepted behavior on youtube, and cyberbullying against Pew's findings that American youth are concerned about their privacy. Pew pointed out this dichotomy in their report saying to teens managed their privacy while also sharing more personal information online.
While I have been looking for data (primary research reports and journal articles) on mobile technology use that supports Campbell and Park's theory, Rettie is the only one that I have found so far that begins to address this dichotomy. One reason is that it may be difficult to operationalize private and personal.
Researching the Mobile Professor
So, combining my interest in contingent and temporary employees, and my current interest in mobile technology, I have decided to create a research agenda looking at mobile devise use of adjuncts/contingent faculty. My first research will be on private, public, and personal in mobile communications. This is especially important for adjunct faculty who may have to use their own personal devises to communicate with students, and at the same time have federal laws that require their interactions be private. However, faculty that do not have private physical spaces to interact with students will need to carve out a public space that allows for personal interaction or personal interaction that needs to be conducted in private spaces such as a car or online space.
Part of the conditions that add (or negatively impact) an adjunct is his or her social network. Therefore, it would be interesting to understand what social networks adjuncts create and how they maintain them. For example, now with mobile technology, adjuncts can create more permanent relationships with their students without a close intimacy. Likewise, as an adjunct leaves a position for a semester, are they better able to maintain professional relationships with administrators? With the potential of mobile technology creating sociomental communities (Chayko, 2007), why aren't adjuncts better socialized within departments or the universities? Are adjuncts now being heard because they are creating sociomental communities because they are being forced to interact with mobile devices? Related to this would be determining how adjuncts find each other (which has been a problem with unionizing specific campuses).
By starting with these questions in looking at contingent faculty and mobile technology, I will be able to then extend this research into all types of temporary and/or contingent workers including consultants (private and government), emergency workers (including local government, hospital, utility, national guard, first responders), temporary or seasonal workers, and per diam workers (nurses, teachers, laborers).
Resources
Mary Chayko (2007). The portable community: envisioning and examining mobile social connectedness. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 3 (4), 373-385.
Scott W. Campbell and Jong Jin Park (2008). Social Implications of Mobile Telephony: The Rise of Personal Communication Society. Sociology Compass, 2 (2) 371-387.
Ruth Rettie (2008). Mobile Phones as Network Capital: Facilitating Connections. Mobilities, 3(2), 291-311.
The Mobile Adjunct
Currently, I am involved in #adjunctchat, a community that meets on twitter at Tuesdays at 4:00 PM, New York time. This is open to anyone in the world who is interested in contingent faculty issues, either as a researcher, an administrator, faculty friend of contingent instructors, or (of course) an instructor that works in a temporary position, full-time or part-time, long-term contract or short-term contract, for one university or multiple, by choice or by necessity.
Recently, we had one of our followers suggest that we discuss online contingent faculty issues. We also have discussed controlling the adjunct's work environment. In many cases, adjuncts either share office space, don't have office space, or work in a virtual office, connecting with colleagues, administrators, or students online.
My own officemate teaches at two different universities, resulting in managing her resources, physical and virtual, between two distinct university cultures (one school is a large public research university with a high level of diversity, the other is a world renowned technical university with many international students, but little diversity). At times, there have been some comical mix ups as she has arrived at school with the wrong resources for the class she is about to teach. She is not as open to new technology, but she does rely on a netbook to access student records, courses resources, and student communication.
The Personal Communication Society
Yesterday, while reading an article I am writing for contribution to a book a colleague is working on, I came across Campbell and Park's (2008) idea of personal mobile communication. They point out that research indicates that people communicating using mobile devices in a public place, in fact don't necessarily perceive the conversation private (they are in a public place), but rather as personal.
This distinction is important because people become uncomfortable if they are forced to hear a personal conversation in a public place, trying not to ease drop or infringe on those who are in the middle of a personal conversation in a public place. In addition, Rettie's (2008) research suggests that there are different ways in which devises are used depending on the level of intimacy between people using mobile devises. The deeper level of intimacy, the more likely communication in a public space and time will be disguised.
In other words, communication perceived as deeply personal can still be conducted in public spaces, but some type of code will be used to allow for personal interaction (e.g. teens using texting and abbreviations when parents or other friends are in the room). There may also be signals given that an interaction should be conducted in private (i.e. change in location or devise) in which the interaction may not be personal. An example of this would be taking a business call in a restaurant.
By separating personal from private, I was able to understand a phenomenon my students and I noticed last year. My students interacted on facebook differently depending on what devise they used. While the privacy settings were the same for computer and mobile technology, they were more familiar (slang, communicated on topics in a way that was less socially acceptable, swearing)on mobile devises than when they communicated on a desk top computer.
It is possible that young adults perceive mobile technology, as Campbell and Park suggest, as more personal, resulting in a more intimate register. This would also explain the dichotomy between published incidences of sexting, uploading of socially unaccepted behavior on youtube, and cyberbullying against Pew's findings that American youth are concerned about their privacy. Pew pointed out this dichotomy in their report saying to teens managed their privacy while also sharing more personal information online.
While I have been looking for data (primary research reports and journal articles) on mobile technology use that supports Campbell and Park's theory, Rettie is the only one that I have found so far that begins to address this dichotomy. One reason is that it may be difficult to operationalize private and personal.
Researching the Mobile Professor
So, combining my interest in contingent and temporary employees, and my current interest in mobile technology, I have decided to create a research agenda looking at mobile devise use of adjuncts/contingent faculty. My first research will be on private, public, and personal in mobile communications. This is especially important for adjunct faculty who may have to use their own personal devises to communicate with students, and at the same time have federal laws that require their interactions be private. However, faculty that do not have private physical spaces to interact with students will need to carve out a public space that allows for personal interaction or personal interaction that needs to be conducted in private spaces such as a car or online space.
Part of the conditions that add (or negatively impact) an adjunct is his or her social network. Therefore, it would be interesting to understand what social networks adjuncts create and how they maintain them. For example, now with mobile technology, adjuncts can create more permanent relationships with their students without a close intimacy. Likewise, as an adjunct leaves a position for a semester, are they better able to maintain professional relationships with administrators? With the potential of mobile technology creating sociomental communities (Chayko, 2007), why aren't adjuncts better socialized within departments or the universities? Are adjuncts now being heard because they are creating sociomental communities because they are being forced to interact with mobile devices? Related to this would be determining how adjuncts find each other (which has been a problem with unionizing specific campuses).
By starting with these questions in looking at contingent faculty and mobile technology, I will be able to then extend this research into all types of temporary and/or contingent workers including consultants (private and government), emergency workers (including local government, hospital, utility, national guard, first responders), temporary or seasonal workers, and per diam workers (nurses, teachers, laborers).
Resources
Mary Chayko (2007). The portable community: envisioning and examining mobile social connectedness. International Journal of Web Based Communities, 3 (4), 373-385.
Scott W. Campbell and Jong Jin Park (2008). Social Implications of Mobile Telephony: The Rise of Personal Communication Society. Sociology Compass, 2 (2) 371-387.
Ruth Rettie (2008). Mobile Phones as Network Capital: Facilitating Connections. Mobilities, 3(2), 291-311.
Monday, November 18, 2013
#Adjunctchat Nov. 19: Ways to change / control the work environment
Over the last few months there are number of things we have learned in #adjunctchat:
1) There are basically 5 different types of adjuncts based on the reason they adjunct. I like to refer to them as: traditional (augments full-time job), professional (they make their living adjuncting at numerous sites), transitional (hoping to transition into a full time job), TA (pays for their graduate education), and online (can be any of the others, but teaches exclusively online). Each one has different needs, work environments (i.e. professional often works out of car/mobile office, traditional may have office for their full time work on campus, online may not have any face to face interaction with work environment at all), and time management pressures.
2) There is a feeling of invisibility or lack of acceptance/input within a department. For some this is a problem, for others they prefer this because they don't have additional responsibilities.
3) There is a lack of permanence which makes adjuncts reluctant to speak up within a department. Likewise, most work is defined by the department and the relationship most adjuncts have are with their departments.
In an article by Gary Rhodes in Thought & Action, Fall 2013 (not yet available online), "Disruptive Innovations for Adjunct Faculty: Common Sense for the Common Good" he gives 3 suggestions for creating a collective adjunct voice, starting at the dept. level. Two of these suggestions we are doing with #adjunctchat: create virtual visibility. He also suggests creating a "hiring hall" in which adjuncts share knowledge about adjuncting. The more information we know, the more ideas we can generate to improve our working conditions.
So, what can we change and how should we go about it?
Here are some possibilities (some from the article, some from my own diverse background at different institutions):
1) Just in time hiring: Ask dept to put teachers names on courses, not "staff"
2) Have database/online source for syllabi that adjuncts can access
3) Have office space with full-time faculty (this has helped the "invisibility" factor).
4) Have faculty working lunch/dinner meetings that include adjuncts
5) Create "real world" partnerships between working adjuncts and faculty
6) Create hiring clusters so long term adjuncts can move across depts when needed
7) Create more virtual spaces for adjuncts, faculty, and researchers to "meet".
8) Advocate focus groups, research funding, travel funds, and administrative training opportunities for adjuncts.
9) Set work boundaries including "online office hours" to limit work to paid time.
10) Keep personnel files and faculty data sheets updated.
11) Have access to dept letterhead for formal work related correspondence
12) Have access to support services and resources
This is just a few and hopefully we can come up with some more.
So we will be discussing these questions tomorrow at 4:00 EST:
1) What are some things you'd like to change about your work environment?
2) What are some strategies you can use to make those changes?
3) Who can you enlist to help make those changes?
4) What resources will be needed to make those changes?
5) How will those changes affect the work you do?
1) There are basically 5 different types of adjuncts based on the reason they adjunct. I like to refer to them as: traditional (augments full-time job), professional (they make their living adjuncting at numerous sites), transitional (hoping to transition into a full time job), TA (pays for their graduate education), and online (can be any of the others, but teaches exclusively online). Each one has different needs, work environments (i.e. professional often works out of car/mobile office, traditional may have office for their full time work on campus, online may not have any face to face interaction with work environment at all), and time management pressures.
2) There is a feeling of invisibility or lack of acceptance/input within a department. For some this is a problem, for others they prefer this because they don't have additional responsibilities.
3) There is a lack of permanence which makes adjuncts reluctant to speak up within a department. Likewise, most work is defined by the department and the relationship most adjuncts have are with their departments.
In an article by Gary Rhodes in Thought & Action, Fall 2013 (not yet available online), "Disruptive Innovations for Adjunct Faculty: Common Sense for the Common Good" he gives 3 suggestions for creating a collective adjunct voice, starting at the dept. level. Two of these suggestions we are doing with #adjunctchat: create virtual visibility. He also suggests creating a "hiring hall" in which adjuncts share knowledge about adjuncting. The more information we know, the more ideas we can generate to improve our working conditions.
So, what can we change and how should we go about it?
Here are some possibilities (some from the article, some from my own diverse background at different institutions):
1) Just in time hiring: Ask dept to put teachers names on courses, not "staff"
2) Have database/online source for syllabi that adjuncts can access
3) Have office space with full-time faculty (this has helped the "invisibility" factor).
4) Have faculty working lunch/dinner meetings that include adjuncts
5) Create "real world" partnerships between working adjuncts and faculty
6) Create hiring clusters so long term adjuncts can move across depts when needed
7) Create more virtual spaces for adjuncts, faculty, and researchers to "meet".
8) Advocate focus groups, research funding, travel funds, and administrative training opportunities for adjuncts.
9) Set work boundaries including "online office hours" to limit work to paid time.
10) Keep personnel files and faculty data sheets updated.
11) Have access to dept letterhead for formal work related correspondence
12) Have access to support services and resources
This is just a few and hopefully we can come up with some more.
So we will be discussing these questions tomorrow at 4:00 EST:
1) What are some things you'd like to change about your work environment?
2) What are some strategies you can use to make those changes?
3) Who can you enlist to help make those changes?
4) What resources will be needed to make those changes?
5) How will those changes affect the work you do?
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
#adjunctchat Nov 4: Attending conferences
As adjuncts, we are not expected to contribute research to our profession. However, the reality is that long-term academic positions have changed over the last 20 years and there is an expectation of academic publishing or presentation at conferences. However, there is little funding available for research or conference participation. So adjuncts that want to continue on an academic route may not have the opportunity to participate in conferences.
In a recent post for Vitae (the chronicle of higher education job search function), Kelly Baker spoke of the love of research and writing, and her ability to publish which did not get her that tenure track job. So while some adjuncts feel this is the only way to get a tenure track job, research tells a different story.
So the first question is:
1) Are conferences worth the time and effort for an adjunct?
If you decide conferences are work the time and effort, then:
2) What are the benefits to participating in a conference?
3) What are the challenges to participating in a conference?
4) What are some strategies finding conferences and participating in them?
5) What are realistic expectations for participating in conferences and the impact it will have on your career?
Even if you have never and never want to participate in a conference, I hope you'll participate in the discussion.
In a recent post for Vitae (the chronicle of higher education job search function), Kelly Baker spoke of the love of research and writing, and her ability to publish which did not get her that tenure track job. So while some adjuncts feel this is the only way to get a tenure track job, research tells a different story.
So the first question is:
1) Are conferences worth the time and effort for an adjunct?
If you decide conferences are work the time and effort, then:
2) What are the benefits to participating in a conference?
3) What are the challenges to participating in a conference?
4) What are some strategies finding conferences and participating in them?
5) What are realistic expectations for participating in conferences and the impact it will have on your career?
Even if you have never and never want to participate in a conference, I hope you'll participate in the discussion.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
#Adjunctchat 10/22: Dealing with demanding students and student demands
We've all been there. The student who takes over the class while others role their eyes; the student that wants feedback on every section of their project within the next 24 hours; the student that insists that you graded him or her unfairly; the student that wants just a little more time on their paper because they were busy over the weekend; the student that plagiarizes; the student who needs a letter of recommendation for grad school, a job, an internship, or study abroad program.
The problem is that as adjunct or contingent faculty, we may not have the time, space, or support to accommodate these students. Some adjuncts may not have office space in which to meet students; some adjuncts may only be able to discuss issues with students over the internet; some contingent faculty are evaluated for further courses solely on student evaluations; some instructors only work at night when support services are not available. However, unlike tenured faculty, our jobs may be dependent upon how we react to these situations. In today's chat we'll discuss some of the problems with working with demanding or problem students and some strategies to ensure we have time for the rest of the class, class prep, and our own work outside of class. We'll also discuss strategies with managing legitimate student demands such as letters of recommendations, receiving feedback on assignments in a timely manner, or make-up exams.
The questions will include:
Q1 How, where, and when do you interact with students outside of the scheduled class period?
Q2 What are some student demands you struggle with? How do you manage those demands?
Q3 How do you manage problem/demanding students? How might this be different than a tenure track or a tenured professor?
Q4 What support is available/should you ask for from the University in managing these demands?
Q5 How do you ensure a good reputation as an instructor while managing these demanding students/student demands?
The problem is that as adjunct or contingent faculty, we may not have the time, space, or support to accommodate these students. Some adjuncts may not have office space in which to meet students; some adjuncts may only be able to discuss issues with students over the internet; some contingent faculty are evaluated for further courses solely on student evaluations; some instructors only work at night when support services are not available. However, unlike tenured faculty, our jobs may be dependent upon how we react to these situations. In today's chat we'll discuss some of the problems with working with demanding or problem students and some strategies to ensure we have time for the rest of the class, class prep, and our own work outside of class. We'll also discuss strategies with managing legitimate student demands such as letters of recommendations, receiving feedback on assignments in a timely manner, or make-up exams.
The questions will include:
Q1 How, where, and when do you interact with students outside of the scheduled class period?
Q2 What are some student demands you struggle with? How do you manage those demands?
Q3 How do you manage problem/demanding students? How might this be different than a tenure track or a tenured professor?
Q4 What support is available/should you ask for from the University in managing these demands?
Q5 How do you ensure a good reputation as an instructor while managing these demanding students/student demands?
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