Online Course: Final Presentations

It's hard to believe we are finishing up the online class with the final assignment! 18 students are still enrolled with all assignments complete. They met with me and a few faculty today to finish up with their presentations. What fun!

They were all a little nervous and a bit tired already! They spent yesterday in interview skills preparation for the internship interviews that start next week. They have also been in meetings all morning with various professors and program administrators. I was so proud that each of them showed up on time and ready to go!

The format and feedback process is simple. Each student comes into the Center, introduces themselves to the two other faculty and me and talks about themselves for 3-5 minutes. I was looking for in-depth knowledge of themselves and concrete evidence to support their strengths. I also hoped to see good content organization, good use of time, believability and engagement, and a polished rehearsed delivery.

After each student finished, faculty provided a few comments in turn as feedback. I provided a simple rubric to help them with this process. I then followed-up with any additional suggestions. I also used their presentation planning worksheet assignment to make sure they covered all of their material.

Generally, the students were engaging, polished and professional. Of course, I hope they will use all of the feedback provided to them to continue to hone their skills.

Whew, it was a long day!

Online Course Development: Presentation Skills

I save Presentation Skills for the last module for several reasons. First, they have to do a presentation in front of a small group of faculty. That necessarily requires that they are back on campus to complete this. Learning presentation skills closely followed by an actual presentation works best. Second, they need a topic for their presentation. I use the presentation as another way to pull together all they have learned in the course about themselves. So the presentation is a capstone assignment incorporating all of the strengths exploration, branding and professional development.

The Presentation Skills Workshop includes mini-sessions on determining your purpose, analyzing your audience, knowing yourself as a speaker and getting information for a presentation. Students then learn how to organize their information and prepare visuals for a presentation. Finally, they explore ways to polish, practice and powerfully present.

I have developed a Presentation Planning Worksheet they submit in advance. This requires them to think about themselves as speakers, select information and organize their presentation.

I created a Doodle sign-up calendar for students and accounting faculty to select time slots. Remarkably, everyone slotted themselves into an appropriate slot!

Watching student presentations is one of my favorite parts of this process. I love to see the students in action and hear what they have chosen to share about themselves. And for this online class, it will be the first time I actually get to put names with faces!

Online Course Development: Listening Skills

This workshop is definitely not one students eagerly anticipate. After all, they already know how to listen, right? Of course we all know how little we all actually listen. Excellent listening skills is always one of the first skills employers tell us students need - and don't have! Convincing students of this isn't easy however.

A recent campus panel of marketing professionals was asked what the most important thing a new hire needed in a marketing position. I think students were shocked when the response was "great listening skills." They went on to explain that if you could not LISTEN to your clients and deeply understand their needs, you would not succeed. I remind students how true this is in every profession - sales, marketing, consulting and so on. You cannot satisfy someone else's expectations if you can't listen and understand them.

The Listening Skills workshop discusses active listening techniques. I then ask students to consider their own listening preferences. I go on to discuss how they can assess others' listening preferences so they can adapt their communication appropriately. The related assignment asks for ways students can recognize listening preferences and techniques they can use to adapt their communication to their conversational partner's preferences.

Online Course Development: Business Communications Part 2

The major assignment for the Business Writing and Business Communication modules is a professional memo on an accounting topic. Students first submit a Planning Worksheet and Draft Memo after the Business Writing Workshop (see Business Writing Skills post). Students will then complete the Business Communications module with individual workshops on appropriate patterns of development for a business document as well as workshops on emails, business letters, memos, proposals and reports.

I realize that much of this information isn't going to "stick" with students until they really use it. I create an extensive handout for them to download and take with them as a "cheat sheet."

After this workshop, students revise their draft memos using effective business writing techniques and format. They should also include any additional content suggested in my feedback on the draft memo. And when they submit it... my work begins!

I open each memo in Word and use the review window to make extensive comments. I then save it and post it back into Sakai for the students to use as they revise one more time into a Final Memo. Their eyes probably pop when they first open my returned memo because it practically glows red with my comments.

In reality, each memo does take 20-30 minutes for me to assess. It is a tedious, labor-intensive process. I definitely admire any English teacher who does this for students day in and day out. I have streamlined the process somewhat by using macros I create in Word. For example, one might say "Use the power format of subject-verb-modifier in the majority of your business writing for effective sentences", "Use turn signals such as "and", "or", "but", "so" and "because" to help your reader better understand." or "Watch excessive modifiers. Rely on strong nouns and verbs when possible." I used to offer a more specific suggested revision, but I decided students were probably just making the changes without really learning "why".

It is always a long, hard week when it is Revised Memo assessment time...

Online Course Development: Business Communications

I spent most of today working on the content for the business communications workshop. This workshop covers the various patterns of development used in typical business documents, as well as business document formatting.

I wanted to start with a "quick and dirty" introduction to emails. When I couldn't find what I wanted, I decided to create my own. That was possibly a bad decision, since I spent several hours on it. Well, I can use it again...

What do you think?

Another Pause for Station Identification

Helping my students through this strengths exploration process causes me to be more cognizant of my own strengths and how they play out. I think one reason I have enjoyed the creation of this course so much is that it dovetails perfectly with the things I love to do.

My "sticky strength" is Strategic. When I was little, my favorite story was The Snow Queen, where Kay is held prisoner in the Snow Queen's castle unless he can complete an ice puzzle. Day after day, he struggles to arrange the pieces of ice, like a Chinese puzzle, into the word that will make him free. While others perhaps found his dilemma frustrating or cruel, I found it exhilarating... I loved the idea of the challenge of completing the puzzle. I love games of strategy like chess and backgammon. I learned to solve a Rubik's Cube to the point of completing it in only a few minutes. I innately "see" the paths to possible solutions.

Most of my thought processes would look like a giant sliding puzzle - if this moves there, then this can lead to that, which in turn can mean this... I couple this with my Ideation strength to constantly generate new ideas to throw into the puzzle to improve the outcomes. In my ideal world, I wouldn't need sleep but could just lay there all night generating ideas and moving them into plans and processes.

My Learner strength supports this as well. When I am brainstorming solutions or creating new programs, I usually find that I don't know everything I need to know to make it as good as I want it to be. So I immediately seek out the knowledge or information I need. When I look back on my results, it is not unusual for me to have read numerous books or reference materials, learned new software or other systems, and even taken additional courses or training, just to create or improve a specific project. Because I love learning, this is not a hardship but a pleasure.

All of those strengths could easily cause me to get bogged down and endanger actual accomplishments if I didn't have my Activator strength. Activators can't wait to get started... we also tend to become "super producers". Once I decide what I want to do and how I want to proceed, I am off and running. It is not unusual for me to pause only for brief food and sleep breaks while in the middle of a project. Because all my endeavors are puzzles to be solved, the challenge of the work and exhilaration of solutions keep me motivated. Activators believe action is the best device for learning. We make a decision, take action, look at the results and learn. This learning then informs the next action and the next.

This process is then complemented by my final strength - Maximizer. Excellent, not adequate, is my measure. I am good at evaluating my work and figuring out how to make it better. Sometimes people accuse me of being a perfectionist - but that is not really the case. I am always ready to create and put things out there, knowing the flaws will inevitability surface, but confident I can then go back and tweak it to make it better. "Back to the drawing board" is a given and a positive for me.

Maximizers are also fascinated by strengths... their own and others as well. When we find a strength, we are compelled to nurture it, refine it and stretch it towards excellence. I am not much interested in things I don't do well. People sometimes tell me they think I'm good at everything. My response is always quick and honest - of course that's not true, but you usually don't see me do things I am not good at.

My love of maximizing strengths, my own and those of my students, is the foundation of this course. I hope my students will benefit as much as I have from this class!

Online Course Development: First Assignment Review

Today marked a "first" for the class - the first assignment (signifying completion of the first workshop module) was due today. I logged in around 10:30 am to begin the bulk of the review and grading (I had actually already reviewed 5 over the weekend for students who had turned it in early!)

I am always a little worried when I go to the assignment section for grading. I hope they understood the assignment, the deadline, the technology and procedures required and are even still "with me" in the class. I was delighted to see that almost all of the completed assignments were there (the remainders trickled in over the afternoon).

I am always very vigilant in assessing how accurately the students understood and delivered what I wanted. This is how I grade my own work. I learned in my education classes the importance of analyzing your assignments, test questions, etc. after the fact for "good" and "bad/confusing" requirements. After all, what seems perfectly clear to me, might not appear clear to the students. In an "in person" class, I have the opportunity to clarify or explain if necessary. In an online class, I really don't have that option. The standards I must meet for the assignments and work must be much higher, in my opinion.

I also have students from other countries, educational backgrounds and native languages. This creates an even greater need for complete clarity. Believe me, I have dealt in the past with the late night frantic emails from students seeking clarification before the next day's assignment. While sometimes unavoidable, this is NOT a situation I like to repeat.

I was really delighted with the students' introspection and responses to their strengths, evidence and branding plans. I was amused, but not really surprised, at the wide variety of strengths my accounting students bring. Most people tend to think of accountants as a certain "type". It is wonderful to see how all of their varied strengths can supplement each other to form great teams.

I am always humbled by the honesty of their responses and what they choose to share with me. One of the strengths reflections asked them to compile phrases from the strengths feedback that really resonated with them. One student reflected on his combination of competition, and achiever strengths. He somewhat ruefully talked about his belief that even if he did his best, and the results were outstanding, it was still hollow if it wasn't THE best (the "winning isn't everything - it is the only thing" concept).

I was reminded of my oldest daughter's same combination that has helped her achieve things even beyond my wildest expectations. When she was younger, I remember consoling her after she lost a competition with how well she had done, how wonderful to have placed, she would likely be the victor next time, etc. She stopped me cold with "Mom, I know you are trying to help and I will be okay... but THERE IS NO SECOND PLACE."

I also had one student email me with her concerns. She worried that the strengths she possessed weren't the best strengths for accountants and wanted to know how she could instead generate those strengths. One of her strengths she discounted was positivity. Her email was delightfully positive and respectful - she ended with how much she was enjoying the class and how much she was learning. I immediately emailed her back as to what a wonderful quality that was, how important to her teams, bosses and colleagues. I also scheduled a meeting with her so that we could discuss this further in person.

I always try to carefully read through their assignments (even though the real "grade" is only complete/incomplete) and offer individual feedback. I try to use a combination of "I really like your ******* example. Can you go on to quantify, expand, further discuss the results, etc. Here are some suggestions for your **** strength..."

I find that if I work pretty diligently, I can complete each student in 10-15 minutes. So about 5 hours later, I still had time to run to the gym!

Online Course Development: Revisions Already

I opened the course on Sakai on Friday the 8th as planned for the "official" start on Monday the 11th. I was delighted to see that almost half the students logged on early and started some of the materials over the weekend!

I monitored the class all week and did not appear to have any technical issues with the platform or materials (my greatest fear). Everyone appeared to be moving through the materials just fine.

I do have to learn to control the late-night second-guessing of the materials! Darn that Maximizer strength! I was trying to fall asleep last night when I started re-thinking the assignment for the Networking section they start on the 18th. In my regular class, the students conduct a networking activity aimed at connecting with someone for internship contacts or information. Because of the nature and timing of that class, it is a valuable assignment and helps students get started on their internship search.

My accounting students are in different places. Some have already completed their internship and have accepted job offers. Others are really new to the interview process (and even to this country) and are hoping the course will help them connect positively with the recruiters during the interviews and company socials in September. I feel very strongly that the deliverables be valuable and not "busy work" (or even possibly detrimental if done incorrectly).

I started reviewing other possible networking activities on Thursday morning. I went back to the PwC branding workbook to look through their networking section. And there I found it - a link to a neat little widget helping students create their "elevator pitches". I decided this was a nice alternate assignment for those who wanted/needed to expand on the strengths and branding material to better connect it for the upcoming recruiting socials. I could also refer those that seem to need more work on their pitches to their Career Management counselor for individual coaching.

So this workshop now provides the students with a choice of assignments based on their perceived needs. I have never done this before, so I am eager to see the results!

Here is the widget if you want to try it

It's ALIVE!!!

Okay, this is how I felt today! My online class just went live with 27 students enrolled for credit. What a journey so far!

Now I need a few hours off this weekend before the class actually begins on Monday.

Online Course Development: See Sam Says...

My usual online delivery is a voice-over presentation. I have a rather distinctive voice, and people tell me they recognize it immediately. My background in public speaking and theatre help there as well (although perhaps I should have worked harder to mitigate my accent).

People always ask why I don't just record my workshops and use those instead. Surely that would be easier than creating a whole new presentation? Well, that answer is simple... I can't stand to watch myself on video. My "in person" presentation style is very energetic. I move around and gesture... a lot. I don't think this is a problem when you are actually in the room, but watching it on a video is painful... for me at least. I critique my hair, clothing and the occasional (but impossible to eliminate) miscues. I also have to rely on my flip cameras, which don't have the best lighting and technical capabilities.

I decided, however, I needed to include an actual video introduction for this class. Most of these students have never met me. I thought it would be weird for them to work so closely with me for 8-10 weeks and never "see" me.

I picked a "decent hair day" and set up my camera beside my home office. I hit the "record" button and taped a quick test run. And I noticed my other really bad habit that drives me crazy in my videos... I am really "twitchy". Part of this is just a reflection of my "hyper" personality. I am never still. Even when I am sitting reading or working on the computer, I am in constant motion. I also have a bad habit of moving my head around a lot and shifting my eyes. If I were being interrogated for a crime, I am sure they would automatically believe I was guilty!

So I set up the camera again and worked on holding my head still while looking directly into the camera. It felt like my head was in a vise, but the end result was much better. I spoke "off the cuff" for a few minutes to introduce myself, welcome students to the course and briefly talk about the purpose and goals. When I went back to review this first effort, I decided that it was acceptable. While I would have liked it to be stellar, I knew that wasn't going to happen. I also knew I didn't want to go through that again!

Cut! It's a wrap!

Online Course Development: Strengths & Personal Branding

Well, it was time to tackle the first workshop in the online class - Strengths Exploration and Personal Branding. As I wrote earlier, I put this one off for a while since I had already developed some of the materials for the other workshops. In fact, this particular workshop will be new for me this fall in my "in person" class. So I had to figure out exactly what I wanted to cover and then how I wanted to cover it.

In my previous class, we used CareerLeader-College as the required assessment. I am switching to StrengthsQuest this year. The Career Services office is expanding and we now have dedicated staff for our students. Some of the previous class work that was "career development-related" is being funneled out to them. This allows a more unique "professional development" focus for my class.

I was pretty blown away when I took the StrengthsFinder assessment a few years ago. I have rarely taken an assessment that provided so much "ah ha!" I am hoping my students will get a lot out of it as well. I have not enjoyed sending out all of the customized access codes and instructions, however. I will need to find a better way to distribute those in the future!

Students will start out by taking the SQ and reading the online reports. They will then watch a very brief William Arruda video explaining the importance of branding. I also wanted to emphasize how importantly the accounting firms view the strengths exploration/development and personal branding. I emailed my recruiting contact at Ernst & Young for a quote to use. I was thrilled to get back a perfect quote within 20 minutes! PwC gave permission for me to use their Personal Branding eBook as proof of their commitment. I will make that available for ongoing student use.

I finished up a prezi that explains the StrengthsQuest, and I am pretty proud of it. It is quick but hard-hitting. They get to self-click through it, so that hopefully will increase their engagement.

I then alternate reflections with links to some additional Personal Branding videos, including ones on combining StrengthsQuest with branding and 360Reach. William Arruda does such a fabulous job with his videos that there is no reason for me to try and top them! Now that I am certified as a 360Reach Analyst, I am offering to work individually on that with any student who chooses to "go further".

The final assignment will require planning the investment students will make in developing the themes they uncovered in SQ, as well as ways to document their evidence of success. This also forms the basis of their interviews and the required presentation.

Whew, I was glad to get this one behind me!

Just like birthing a baby... sorta

Building a new website has consumed a hefty chunk of my "off" time this week. Each time I would think, "there, I'm done... good enough..." the ole Maximizer theme would kick in and I would scrutinize a little further and think, "well, it could be a bit better..."

I finally decided around 9:00 pm last night that I was DONE! I looked it over one last time and thought, "okay, but it still needs a little oomph." I wanted it to convey professionalism, but I also wanted it to reflect me... just a little zany sometimes. So I grabbed my camera and snapped a quick picture of "command central" (also known as my desk in my home office). Put it on the first page, uploaded the whole thing and AHHHH, IT'S DONE.... for now!

Online Course Development: Prezi is my friend?

One of the biggest challenges in an online course is to find ways to vary content delivery. While I use videos, voice-over PowerPoints, articles and even some cartoons and other visuals, I wanted to be able to incorporate some more exciting elements that could even be interactive.

Enter Prezi....

I heard about Prezi some time ago. I registered for a free educator's account, watched the intro video, played around with it a bit and decided it probably wasn't for me. There aren't easy voice-over capabilities and the zebra-thing you used was more like wrestling a gorilla.

I know that others didn't feel the same way... even one of my son's computer geek friends extolled the virtues of Prezi for flashy delivery.

A recent email from Prezi made me take another look. They gave the zebra a makeover. Sure enough, it was much easier to use. In fact, the Brand Attribute video in the lower right corner was created in Prezi in just a few minutes.

I also found out that you can search for reusable Prezis that others have created to get you started. I found a beginning Prezi for introducing StrengthsQuest that I liked. Boom...let's get started (and then Boom... a thunderstorm knocked out our power for a couple of hours)!

I was so pumped up to see how I could use this that I hit the computer again at 10:45 pm last night when the power came back on. I worked a couple of hours and was really pleased with what I was creating. One good thing is that you can allow the viewer to control the action. They can click through at their own pace (a little more web 2.0 there). I also hope it will help keep the students a little more engaged with the information.

I did dream about Prezi wheels and zebras all night long though...

Back to the Drawing Board?

I was putting the finishing touches on my website today. I had added, deleted, changed colors, fonts, colors and blocks of texts. I had written and rewritten. I finally sat back and thought, "okay, so this is pretty much done." I was excited to upload it and get on back to the other work that was pressing.

I called my teenage son in to take a look. I sat back with pride (mama can learn a few new tricks) while he scrutinized the pages. After a few minutes, he only had one comment, "Very Web 1.0, Mom."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh........ All that work and he was pretty much right on the mark. It was very much an "older website" design.

So here I go again....

I spent the afternoon reading up on some fresh styles, top trends and new elements. And I realized that some of them just wouldn't work for me. After all, I am not a big business, eCommerce site or mass market commodity. The purpose of the website is just...well...me about me.

But I did make it better, fresher and a little easier on the eyes. And if I can get by on a little less sleep, I'll have it uploaded this week! That is...barring anymore teenage commentary!

Pause for Station Identification: Personal Website Revision

I spent all weekend working on implementing some of the personal branding concepts I have learned in the Reach Personal Branding Certification program. I will talk about this process further a little later in the summer once I've completed it.

For now, I knew there were several things I had to do. I needed to make sure my blog was up to speed. I had planned to write on my online course development process, so after some reflection, I went back and made sure my steps were all up-to-date.

I also knew I needed to redo my website. I purchased my name domain (samleonardbeck) a year or more ago when I first became aware of the importance of branding concepts. I had created a quick website with the simplistic web designer provided by my host. I wasn't crazy about the end result, but it was sufficient, or so I thought.

I can't believe how much I have learned since then about branding! When I originally did my website, I chose the colors simply because I liked them and thought they stood out. After going through the branding work, I realize that red was indeed the best color for me. I continued to use the black, gray and white because those are basically the colors I tend to wear. I included a little yellow in my new website because that is also a good branding color for me.

I purchased a website development software and spent the weekend learning how to use it. Fortunately, it was pretty intuitive and fairly easy to learn. I'm finalizing my website this week and hope to upload it in a few days. As a Maximizer, I know I won't be totally happy with it, but I can continue to revise it as I go along.

Now, back to online course development!

Online Course Development: First Deadline for Me!

I hit a hard deadline I had previously established for the online course. I had told students I would have some additional course information to them around June 24. This required that I individualize StrengthsQuest instructions with access codes and then email this out to each student.

This was boring, repetitious work and so I procrastinated…

On Saturday the 25th, I forced myself to sit down for about an hour after dinner and knocked it out. I emailed each student and I also included a revised syllabus. I told the students I had a waiting list for the class and asked them to let me know if they had decided against it. I heard back immediately from two students who have had a change of plans. The remainder of the students will get their information next week. Wow, I've really started!

Online Course Development: Business Writing Skills Workshop

I like the Business Writing Skills workshop because I feel it provides concrete information on utilizing business writing techniques. We all know our students believe they are great writers. Indeed, they may excel in AP English, literature-based essays and creative writing. We also know that business writing is different. This requires them to write concisely, get to the point and use appropriate words.

Students tended to be resistant when I told them they would need to employ a different writing style. After all, they are top students in a very competitive university. They didn’t really believe their writing wasn’t up to par.

Pam Brumbaugh from Elon University gave me a wonderful way to put this to students. She said, “Think about it this way… I'm teaching you to become bilingual”. In other words, business writing is a different way of writing - just like a different language. When you learn another language, you don't forget how to speak the first one. You have just added an additional one. You also know which settings you would use one language versus the other. It's the same way in writing. You won't forget how to write a poem or a thank-you note to your grandmother. Instead, you will learn techniques that you must consciously use in business settings.

The business writing skills workshop teaches a plan-draft-revise model. I show students how to do a planning worksheet. We then briefly discuss the drafting phase. The second workshop in this module focuses on revision. Students learn to go back to their work and revise to include effective words (short, concrete, specific, appropriate) to create effective sentences (active tense and generally subject-verb-object) and effective paragraphs (short and based on the topic sentence).

The assignment for this workshop is the beginning work for a business memo. In my regular class, I use examples related to general business, such as a memo recommending implementing social media or purchasing company cell phones for the sales team. These are accounting students in my online class. I enlisted the help of an accounting professor to devise an appropriate subject. He is also going to provide me a “key” to appropriate research, since my accounting knowledge would fill a thimble!

Students will create a planning worksheet and a draft. I review both to ensure they included sufficient research and information. I also review the draft to make sure they are not revising as they go along, a very inefficient writing process. They will revise the memo and resubmit after the Business Communications workshop.

Online Course Development: Oral Communication Skills Workshop

This workshop helps students assess and improve their communication in formal and informal small group and one-on-one settings. I base some of the material on First Impressions by Ann Demarais. This is a fantastic book on how to analyze and change how we appear to others. There are wonderful "assessments" you can use with the material for reflection. Dr. Demarais graciously granted permission for me to use some of this with my students.

Why is this important for students? Here is a typical student/Sam interaction in the halls.... Sam-"So, how was your spring break?" Student-"Great". Sam - "What did you do special?" Student-"Went to Cancun." Sam-"Wow, that sounds really fun!" Student-"Yep" and so on...

Now, granted, I could have worked harder on my open-ended questions, but students typically respond to "adults" in this brief, fact-based approach. They wait to get questions and they supply the required response. They rarely expand, draw the other person out or ask questions in response that could deepen the conversation. This is probably okay in the above casual encounter (although it would have been nice to have been asked about my break as well) but I point out to students that they will soon be in situations where they will be expected to put the other person at ease, guide the conversation and seek to deepen the connection. That may happen in just a month or two when they take a potential client to lunch. "Yikes", I can see in their expression! This workshop helps teach them skills to excel in these situations.

I also spend some time here on nonverbal communications as well. After they watch a brief video on nonverbals, they complete an exercise coaching a "team member" on improving their nonverbals (try searching for "arms crossed" clip art for some good examples).

The student assignment is designed to help them assess their current conversational style and create a plan for improvement.

Online Course Development: Networking Workshop

I'm ready to begin! Branding is the first workshop the students will complete, but I am still working on my Branding Certification and considering the materials I want to use. So I am going to jump ahead to the second workshop - Networking. This seemed like "low hanging fruit" because I already have a great video I previously created, along with good assignments, goals and a clear direction.

Not so fast! The video I already have is basically my one-hour class. That is not going to be effective for online learning. I don't think it is realistic or appropriate. I believe breaking up the workshops and alternating with other materials is going to be better for learning.

Camtasia Studio makes fairly quick work of separating my previous Networking video into two parts. The students will begin by taking a quick survey I created to assess their attitudes towards networking (usually past responses indicate they realize its importance but are unsure exactly how to do it and secretly feel it is "using" people artificially).

Next, my first video helps them understand how Networking is not "using and schmoozing"! I want them to understand how to connect in a way that creates mutually beneficial long-term relationships. They then take a quick assessment to demonstrate understanding of these concepts.

In the second Networking video, they learn how to use these concepts in an internship or job search. I "walk them through" developing a networking script, making a networking phone call and documenting the results. I also show them JibberJobber and a networking contacts spreadsheet they can use to compile and maintain their connections.

Their assignment for this module requires them to create a script, make a call and document the results (information they received, additional contacts offered, etc.)

This is one of my favorite workshops and deliverables! Student feedback is always so positive! They are delighted with how easy it ended up being and how much help and other connections they receive.

This is also one of the workshops I offer for outside groups. Let me know if I can partner with you!

Online Course Development: Format

While it's my nature to dive right in and get started on any new project, I know the importance of creating a structure in advance for classes. This helps the student, but also makes it easier on the developer. I decided on a three part format for each workshop – “Think about It”, “Learn about It” and “Try It Out”.

The “Think about It” section introduces the topic. It may include a short survey, a brief exercise, an article or even a cartoon or visual. The goal is to help the student get ready for the information that will follow.

The “Learn about It” phase begins with the goals for the module. These are followed by videos or other instruction. Brief quizzes, introspections or other feedback follow each video to keep the students engaged and connected to the material. This also helps me ensure they are actually watching the videos and not off checking Facebook!

When the students “Try It Out”, they complete and submit a weekly deliverable or assignment. While I look at all of the material submitted, these assignments receive extra scrutiny and individual feedback.

Online Course Development: Content

The following workshops are required in the Professional Development Course:

Personal Branding and Self-Development Workshop

Students will explore their strengths through StrengthsQuest, understand the concept personal branding and begin to implement branding concepts.

Networking Workshop

Students will learn how to develop, access and maintain personal and professional networks. Students will complete a networking exercise and establish a system to maintain future connections.

Oral Communication Skills Workshop

Students will assess and improve their communication in formal and informal small group and one-on-one settings. Students will analyze and coach nonverbal communications to a colleague. Students will assess their conversational style and create a plan for improvement.

Business Writing Skills Workshop

Students will understand and implement effective writing processes and styles in business communications. Students will complete a revision exercise using effective words, sentences and paragraphs. Students will create a planning sheet and draft for a business memo.

Business and Electronic Communications Workshop

Students will learn to develop effective business communications including letters, memos, reports and emails. Students will revise their previous draft using the business writing and business communications guidelines.

Listening Skills Workshop

Students will gain information on preferred listening styles. Students will assess their listening style and develop a personal action plan to improve their effective listening skills.

Presentation Skills Workshop

Students will understand the steps involved in planning a presentation, as well as the techniques involved in public speaking. Students will develop and present a 3-5 minute presentation about their personal insights on their strengths and brand.

Interview Skills Workshop

Students will attend an on-campus workshop when they arrive in August to develop powerful interview strategies for their internship interviews in September. Students will record a mock interview and make a plan for interview improvement.

Online Course Development: First Steps...

First, I obviously needed to design a syllabus and a course schedule. I decided on 8 workshop/modules. Each module is to be completed during an assigned week, beginning July 11 and concluding September 5. The modules consist of video workshops, short quizzes, surveys, reflections or other ways of responding to the information, and a designated assignment or deliverable that I assess for mastery.

This course is a one credit pass/fail. I require each student complete all workshops and all assignments to receive credit. Since this is a pilot course, I offered students the option of engaging in the class, but without incurring penalty if they were unable to complete it. I hoped to limit the class to around 15 to 20 students. But when we sent out the email inviting students to take this optional class, I received 35 enthusiastic responses!

I decided to enroll the first 21 students that responded on the first two days. I've then placed the remaining 14 students on a waiting list. One student on the waiting list asked if he could still have access to the class even if he could not receive credit. What a good idea! So, I will offer those students a spot in the class if they're willing to commit to all of the course requirements, including the weekly assignments. Alternately, I will allow the students on the waiting list to have access to the class materials for their own self-directed learning. They can obtain all of the information but will not be required to complete the deliverables. (note: each weekly deliverable requires approximately 30 minutes per student for feedback and evaluation, so time commitment on my end is a determining factor in the class enrollment).

Creating the two different cohorts provides a test group I can later survey to see if there is value in making the online course available but without requiring the deliverables or offering feedback.

Online Course Development: So Sakai...

Last year, we switched from the Blackboard platform to Sakai. I spent last summer frantically getting myself up-to-speed on Sakai since all of my course assignments and materials are housed there.

It worked fine for me last year, but I (and students) lamented the plain, visually unappealing and less-intuitive interface. I especially disliked the lack (or so I thought) of customization and the separate sections/files for resources, assignments and test/quizzes.

Going into this online class, I worried about how I would make the material "flow" in Sakai. I was very proficient with Blackboard and used html to enhance the appearance. I liked the way Bb let you create tabs that could contain the entire module (videos, handouts, assignment links, etc.). I was afraid students would get "lost" trying to pull all of the related materials together in Sakai.

Enter Steven Wicker, an IT support person, and his Sakai customization workshop! While I had some vague ideas that Sakai could be customized, this workshop quickly gave me the "how to's".

I came home and started playing with the tools/techniques and soon I had created "web pages" within Sakai that contained quizzes, embedded videos, animations and all of my supporting materials!

If you use Sakai and would like to see an example of how this looks, just touch base with me!

Online Course Development: In the Beginning...

I am spending my summer developing an online course on Professional Development topics. I realized that blogging about my process might be helpful to someone considering online program delivery. This process has been challenging and thought-provoking, but incredibly stimulating and actually very fun!

It has required me to reflect and refresh myself on areas including pedagogy, various media that facilitates information delivery, how students prefer to learn, tools that can help this process, and even HTML to make the interface I'm using (Sakai) more appealing and user-friendly.

I proposed the course back in February as a combination of online and in-person workshops. While faculty were excited about the content, they wanted the entire course to be delivered online! This allows students to complete the class during the summer and immediately utilize course content in the fall of their senior year. A totally online class is a first in our school of business! How exciting to be ground-breaking!

After the course was approved, I realized I was on a tight deadline to get everything in place. Fortunately, I have presented all of these workshops as part of an ongoing in-person class I already teach. I even already had videos developed on each topic because I require students who missed my class to catch up through the web videos. That made the process of developing the workshops for this online class a little easier, however, I needed to rethink how the videos and other supplemental materials actually were used. It was imperative that I implement the best ways to engage students and ensure their mastery of the materials.

My Amazon order just arrived with my summer reading list. These have been recommended by friends and colleagues or mentioned in the press.

Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It
Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter

Windmill Networking: Understanding, Leveraging & Maximizing LinkedIn: An Unofficial, Step-by-Step Guide to Creating & Implementing Your LinkedIn Brand
Neal Schaffer

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work
Matthew B. Crawford

OBD: Obsessive Branding Disorder: The Illusion of Business and the Business of Illusion
Lucas Conley

Decades of Differences: Making It Work
Bonnie Hagemann and Kenneth W. Gronbach

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Daniel H. Pink

Me 2.0, Revised and Updated Edition: 4 Steps to Building Your Future
Dan Schawbel

I've Landed My Dream Job--Now What???: How to Achieve Success in the First 30 Days in a New Job
Scot Herrick, Jason Alba

Not Everyone Gets A Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y
Bruce Tulgan

The 10Ks of Personal Branding: Create a Better You
Kaplan Mobray

Storytelling about Your Brand: Online and Offline
Bernadette Martin

The Power Formula for Linkedin Success: Kick-start Your Business, Brand, and Job Search
Wayne Breitbarth

The Power of Personal Branding: Creating Celebrity Status with Your Target Audience
Tim O'Brien

Do you have additional books to recommend? What are you reading?