Scheduling tests for a blended course

This week I submitted a Distance Learning form to accompany the fall 2010 schedule update from the math dept. Despite the fact that I had already worked out a schedule for my course, and thought about what I would write on the form, the detail needed for the form took me about 6 hours to complete.

My understanding is that one of the college's goals in offering blended courses is to create more classroom space. Hence where a twice-per-week class has been offered, we can now offer two once-per-week classes. For this reason I decided to offer two sections of my blended course during the week, even though I really wanted to test just one section before offering another. Then, because my course is just half a semester long, I decided to fill up the remainder of the semester with two blended courses in the same classroom space. This will allow me to adjust the course after my experiences in the first half of the semester.

A major scheduling issue is exams. Because my course is so short, I cannot take any classroom time for midterm exams. I am allowing four days at the Rockville Assessment Center for the exams in order to reduce the pressure on the Assessment Center. Since my courses meet two days apart, that puts two sections of students at the Assessment Center within 6 days. I'd better make sure I turn in the tests with plenty of lead time to the Assessment Center!

There were other scheduling issues pertaining to exams, but they are specific to the short nature of my course. The larger issue is that if the college begins offering a lot of blended courses, the Assessment Center's role will have to be greatly expanded. Without question, this will be a major issue.

Organization and Online Delivery Systems

The latest complication to my planning for classes is the duplication in online delivery systems. I've used MyMC for quite awhile now and it's allowed me to post files and a "daily log" where I briefly summarize the day's activities. The students grow to depend on it, and it keeps me organized. (Since I've been using WebCT, however, I see many features in WebCT that are far superior to MyMC.) This semester I'm teaching a class with MyMathLab (a publisher's site that contains an online homework system), which contains its own organizational system, and duplicates many of the features of MyMC. How do I use both systems together with efficiency?

 

When I offer my blended Trigonometry course, I will be using WebCT along with MathXL. MathXL is the stand-along homework system found in MyMathLab, but it also contains a few of the organizational features of MyMathLab, such as announcements. My responsibility with respect to this duplication issue will be to provide a clear organization that encourages students to see the outline of the course, find their materials easily, and complete their assignments on schedule.

 

It seems obvious to me that WebCT gives the students the outline of the course, so that must be the primary delivery system, but I have to make sure the students realize this. I must make sure that students check WebCT for announcements and due dates, and they must realize the entire course is available to them at any time if they just long on.

 

I cannot force students to log on daily; instead I must make sure that get a benefit from logging on each day. So not only must the online activities be relevant and useful, but the outline and structure on the course site must be immediately apparent when students log on. This is a reminder to me to review the entire site very carefully for this characteristic before the course begins.