Teaching Online on a Budget

• Activity Number: 75
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 4, 2013 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Education
• Author(s): Pat Humphrey*+ and Dick Jardine*+ and Dave Rausch*+ and Sue Schou*+ and Gunnar Stefansson*+
• Companies: Georgia Southern University and Keene State College and West Texas A&M University and Idaho State University and University of Iceland
• Keywords: distance education ; online teaching ; technology ; student learning ; introductory statistics ; course management

Abstract

Teaching online can involve a large investment of time and resources on the part of an instructor. Students who take online courses may be working through class assignments and activities at any time during the day or night, seven days a week, and it can be challenging for the online instructor to stay on top of e-mail communication and online discussion, let alone attempt to grade assignments in a timely manner. It can also be challenging for the online instructor to find the right kinds of tools--within his or her budget--to share important resources with students. In this session, instructors who teach partially or completely online courses will share some of their own tips and tricks for teaching online "on a budget." They will showcase and discuss many free or relatively inexpensive technology tools they have used that allow the online instructor to enhance his or teaching and create more conducive learning environments for students. They will also talk about ways the online instructor can budget his or her time when it comes to responding to student e-mails, grading assignments, and keeping up with the day to day work that is involved in managing an online course.