STOMP ePortfolio

Presenter:Cheri Ellis Campbell, PhD

This ePortfolio documents the major deliverables I created for the completion of Successful Teaching Online Mentoring Program (STOMP) at Harper College. The contents are as follows:

Community-Building Activity

Time Management Tip List

Final Project: Lesson idea, assessment and rubric developed using Backwards Design principles

Final Reflections/Lessons Learned

Community-Building ActivityInstructions

Instructions:

Share an asynchonous community-building idea on the Week 2 discussion board (Discussion board link below.) Through reviewing the resources above, please come up with one community-building activity that can be implemented in an asynchronous online learning environment. This activity can be an icebreaker, but it can also be an activity that makes sense later in the semester when relationships have already begun to form. When sharing your idea, please include the following information:

TitleTaskObjective(s)InstructionsHow this idea builds community

Community-Building Activity

Humor You, Humor MeAKA Breaking into the Humor

Vault

Task: Arthur Asa Berger, seminal humorologist has done an exhaustive content analysis of humorous content that has given us (in his book Anatomy of Humor) 45 humor techniques, aka ways to make things funny Humor Techniquesnew.ppt ( for those of you interested in what they are).  Students in my Humor in Communication class (adapted to an online version) are asked to collaborate with one another to find examples of all 45 while sharing with one another their particular sense of humor.  There are several places/ways that they can share this & join forces to identify all 45 techniques.• This can be a class/group Pinterest page ( as I have for my personal

account: https://www.pinterest.com/ccam1111/humor/ )• Or this could be a class Facebook group (as I have used for students to share

posts/videos in the past)• For video examples, A YouTube collection of clips can be created on a 'class

channel’• More simply, group or discussion areas of BlackBoard could be used, but I think

it would create greater variety to use a more 'lively' site. 

Community-Building Activity

Objective(s):

to share your personal sense of humor with one another

to identify examples from anywhere in the WWH (Wide World of Humor) of Berger's 45 humor techniques (In the past I've used the movie Something About Mary for a final exam in this course because it uses every one -or close to it, and students paired the technique with moments in the movie @ 3 pts each)

to find more examples than anyone else (or any other group if working in teams) while not repeating any of the 45 techniques.

How this builds community:

This 'humor technique scavenger hunt' engages the class in a central focus of the class...what makes stuff funny.  Collectively (and competitively) they work together (in a larger class teams can compete) to compile a complete set of the 45 humor techniques, understanding the differences of each and showing us how they appear throughout the WWH.  I have found (and the literature supports) that there is nothing like a 'funny competitive challenge' to create solidarity in a group. (aka community building).  The fact that they compile this 'glossary' together and have the opportunity to challenge and better one another's examples, while exposing their own personal humor tastes, makes this a highly engaging, interactive and fun orientation activity.

Community-Building ActivityInstructions

Review Berger's 45 techniques and their definitions

Check our group 'page' to see which of the terms have been 'taken' and work fast to get as many as you can without duplicating any of the 45.

Search the WWH for examples (YouTube is good for clips, IMDB has famous lines from movies, Pinterest has a plethora of humor resources...'google' funny quotes, images, text, jokes, etc., and post it with the technique label as your title on our 'page'.

The 'game' has ended when we have paired each or the 45 techniques with an example. Whomever has most examples and has hence amassed the most points will be the BIG winner and will be awarded the most amazing prize/bonus (there will be a 2nd & 3rd place for the demi-winners)

But wait!  There's more.  You can challenge.  If someone's example isn't exactly kosher or doesn't really depict the technique, you can make a case for why you don't think it works and post your better example.  And steal their points ;).   

Time Management Tip ListInstructions:

Read through time management strategies for online instructors from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Create your own time management tip list for your professional use, focusing on the tips that will be most important to you. Feel free to copy and paste directly from the webpage, and add your own notes as well. This assignment should be incorporated into your journal submission for this week.

Time Management Tip List1. Handle it once

Email – if a message requires a reply or an action, do it right then. Put emails that need to be kept, but not acted on, in a specific folder before closing them. If the email is pure junk or not needed, delete it, don't keep it… just in case.

Discussions – make note of important contributions while reading discussion postings. Keep a gradesheet hard copy handy or have a spreadsheet open to make notes while reading.

Assignments – make notes or grade assignments as they arrive. Add to the filename so that it is immediately clear which items have been graded. For example WongMPowerPoint.ppt would become WongMPowerPointGRADED.ppt *

Focused Thinking – This chart by Learning Fundamentals is helpful for all online instructors in the age of distraction.

Time Management Tip List2. Respond to student questions efficientlyIf a student asks a great question via email, and you think other students may also ask the same question, reply personally to the student by email, and ask the student to copy/paste his/her question and the instructor’s reply into the course Q&A forum for other students to read.If more than one student emails with the same question, then there is a need to respond to the whole group. Period! There is likely widespread area of confusion for the majority in the course. This can be handled by posting a news announcement in the course site, an all-class email, or a Q&A posting on the discussion board. Adding an attention-getting image to a news announcement helps insure that students see it.If the question is procedural, such as how to do something in the course management system, create a quick Jing video with an audio explanation to show students how to proceed. Accompany this with a transcript for those who have accessibility or technical issues with the video.If a student asks a question which has already been answered in a news announcement or in the Q&A forum on the discussion board, direct the student to that spot to read the answer. Answering it again by email encourages the student to email when he/she should be checking the course news for answers as step one in problem solving.If more than one student has a question, there may be an issue with unclear directions or explanations in the course materials. Consider revising the assignment to resolve the problem for next term.Analyze the instructor welcome email and the first few news announcements to make sure the preliminary info provides good support for students and minimizes "how to begin" questions as the course starts.

Time Management Tip List3. 'Billable hours' in E-Learning

Make time count, if it is something that the student won't notice, don't do it. For example, don't spend more time leaving comments than they spent doing the assignment. If it is something the students can do for EACH OTHER, or for themselves, have them do it. For example, establish a Q & A forum as the first topic area on the discussion board. Require students to post questions in this area of the discussion board BEFORE sending an email to the instructor and encourage students to assist each other. This forum will need to be monitored to provide assistance as needed, though in many cases students will help resolve each others' issues without instructor assistance.

Use e-tools for student self-reflection or self-grading i.e. e-forms, e-journals etc.

Use keyboard shortcuts to save time (and it will help prevent physical issues such as wrist problems caused by overusing the mouse). Use the Help menu in the word processor and search for keyboard shortcuts. These will become second nature in no time. Ctrl+C for Copy, Ctrl+V for Paste, Ctrl+Z to Undo the last action, Alt+A to Save As a file (such as when renaming it after grading, see above), Shift+Tab to move backwards in a form, are just a few commonly used keyboard shortcuts.

Use desktop shortcuts too. For example, if a major assignment is due and the folder has to be opened frequently, make a shortcut on the desktop to save time navigating to the file. On a PC right click on an empty area of the desktop, choose New/Shortcut from the menu. Navigate to the folder and save. This shortcut can be deleted when the need for it has passed.

As the course begins, inform students about projected turnaround times, virtual office hours, and vacation schedule. The attached sample policy should be included in your course Syllabus, for example. Let students know how soon they will receive a response if they email a question. Also describe the expected turnaround time when grading assignments. Let students know that teaching online is not a 24/7 job. *

Time Management Tip List

4. Get organizedHave an organized workspace to avoid hunting for things all the time. Avoid sharing this workspace with co-workers or family members. If others use the space then things will not remain organized.Create a cheatsheet in a prominent place in the course site with phone numbers and email addresses of the library support staff and university technical help desk. Direct students to those resources if they are having difficulty.All documents for a class should be in one folder on the computer; each section should have its own folder; each week/assignment its own folder. Here is an example of such a folder tree. All the Week Two assignments for the course section that began 11/9/10 are in the folder for the university, in this case, Assessment.Use tools like Del.icio.us, Diigo, and Scoop.it to keep course resource links organized.Use a calendar to keep track of assignment due dates, course start dates etc. Most online instructors are scheduled well in advance, and course start/end dates are easy to forget when the contractual communication about teaching the course occurred months ago.Create an online course calendar with due dates and deadlines. Post it in a central location in the course management system where it’s easy for students to check each day. Do not post any dates within the content/modules. This will reduce course maintenance time each semester, as there will be only one place to update due dates. This reduces the chance of having information in two places that does not match.

Time Managem

ent Tip List

5. Stay focusedFind a quiet place with no distractions. Sounds simple, but this is a key to staying focused on the task at hand.

Learn how to flag and prioritize emails.*

Don't answer email while grading. Handle email at specific times each day and don't be tempted to check it at other times. Whatever it is, it can wait, and it is just a distraction from other 'less interesting' tasks.

Take breaks. Productivity will increase if short breaks are taken regularly

Time Management Tip List

6. Establish email and file naming protocols and train students

Emails from students should be required to have a signature line with the student's full name. The instructor will not know, and probably doesn't want to know who hottie2@generic.com is. Besides it is more professional to include a full signature.*

Emails should have a proper subject line to distinguish the email from SPAM and to make prioritization easier when determining who to help first when swamped. Proper subject lines also allow the use of rules in an email program to sort incoming mail into folders before opening the individual email.*

Establish file naming protocols such as last name first initial. This means that the student assignment files in the folder will be in the same order as the gradebook. *

Time Management Tip List7. Use a quiz or scavenger hunt to explain class policies

Students will more likely follow course policies that they have read. A pre-course agreement or syllabus quiz are ways to make sure that students read important policies.

State course policies very clearly. Having to deal with students who are looking for loopholes is time-consuming. Establish clear policies, along with some certainty that students have read the policies before the course begins, and save time answering emails from the Loophole Generation.

Quiz questions should include questions which always arise early in the course such as when are assignments due or what the requirements are for discussion participation and how will discussion postings be graded.

Time Management

Tip List

8. Organize the discussion forums

Avoid checking for postings to the discussions or submissions to the Dropbox several times a day. This is not necessary. Set a schedule such as checking for new discussion postings only once a day. Check the course home page for new posts or submissions at a glance.Establish a subject line protocol for discussion postings. Create a subject that conveys the main point of the comment. (No more than ten words). This requires the author to summarize and helps with learning. It provides the other students with an advance organizer which helps in organizing and prioritizing response postings.If the class size is sixteen or more students, consider creating groups of eight students where students can discuss, debate, and interact. This will create less reading for everyone. Some instructors limit students to responding to three other students’ original postings per forum topic. This may vary based on the class size. Structure the discussion to a routine such as “post your original no later than Wednesday, and then make your responses no later than Sunday night.”Reorder the discussion forums so that the current week/module’s forums are at the top of the page. This saves the time it would take to scroll down and locate the correct forum.

Time Management Tip List9. Use the right tools

Use comment features in word processing programs to leave notes throughout complex/lengthy papers.As already stated, use Del.icio.us and other bookmark sites to keep track of bookmarks no matter what computer is being used. When working on a laptop and a desktop, this eliminates transferring bookmark files.Use a flash drive or other portable storage to backup the hard drive, remember to back up the flash drive as well.*Split the computer screen to see the assignment and a spreadsheet/gradebook at the same time.If graduate assistants or interns are available to help with the mundane tasks of online teaching, use them!

Time Management Tip List10. Work smarter, not harder, at grading

Keep comments and news announcements from previous semesters. Organize announcements/news that are posted each semester, welcome letter, commentary on a topic, etc. in Word documents or make it a permanent part of the course within course content, and set release dates at the beginning of each semester.Use rubrics to make grading easier and to clarify expectations for the student.Establish peer feedback activities using rubrics or checklists to provide an opportunity for students to revise and improve assignments before final submission to the Dropbox.Customize feedback comments for each student/course section; students hate (as well they should) canned comments. However there is no reason to type out everything again if some comments remain the same from student to student or section to section. Adapt or reuse them next semester. *Spread out the grading. Schedule self-graded or shorter assignments after a long, complex assignment to allow time and energy for grading the longer assignment properly. Carefully set due dates so that a two day turnaround time for grading assignments is possible.Link the Dropbox folders to the gradebook to facilitate faster grading and feedback.If appropriate, wait until shortly after the due date of an assignment and download an e folder at one time.

Time Management Tip List11. Know Thyself

Each person has a daily cycle when he or she is most alert; schedule that time for online work. Determine the best time of day to check and respond to email. Flag and prioritize emails.What is an overload for some instructors is not for others. Before accepting teaching assignments, look at the other assignments already accepted for that time slot and consider whether the workload is too heavy. Factor in family obligations and planned vacations when considering personal work capacity.Record notes each week in a teaching journal identifying thoughts about revisions for the next semester. Some fixes like broken links can be done on the fly during the current run, but others, like the rewriting of a section, need to wait until the students are no longer present. At the end of the semester, reflect on the notes and adjust as needed.* Items marked with an asterisk are copied or adapted from How to be a Great Online Teacher (2004) by Kay Lehmann. Available from Amazon.

Final Project Summary

This presentation showcases an assessment, rubric and lesson idea created for my Humor in Communication course. This culminating project demonstrates my ability to apply Backwards Design principles to lesson plan development. We were asked to choose 1-2 learning objectives that fulfill the student outcome(s) of an existing course and then create an assessment, rubric and lesson idea that align with those objectives.

Humor in Communication: COM 291 (U of WI)

Course description :

Humor is effective! In this course, the field of humor as a human communicative device will be explored beginning with a discussion of humor theories, forms and techniques. Understand, appreciate and "use" humor to enhance communication. Identify humor theories; understand our responses to it; appreciate its role in relationships, organizations, politics and social situations; and understand how humor works in mediated and live entertainment in society.

Why is this funny???? Find out…

Cheri Ellis Campbell, PhD, Assistant Professor of Communication & Member/E-Zine editor for the Association for Applied & Therapeutic Humor, will be teaching her signature course, “Humor in Communication” during the Winterim Session (Jan. 4-21) at Univ. of Wisconsin-Waukesha. This 3 credit course satisfies (in 12 class sessions; 1-4:45pm) a HU (humanities) requirement & will combine humor theory & research in communication contexts (interpersonal, organizational, therapeutic, public speaking, media) with improv, comedy writing & performance.

Find examples of last year’s class on Facebook at the above title or link below

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=465628757535&id=591472535#!/group.php?gid=238881121407

1 Student OutcomeStudents will… 

Develop understanding of the value of humor in relational communication.

Learning Objectives

Assess from the readings assigned, the various ways in which humor can be used to manage interpersonal communicationInterpret Baxter & Montgomery’s research on relational dialectics as explained in the overview of their work and applied/diagramed in The Campbell ModelApply the dialectical management techniques of selection, separation, neutralization and reframing in an interpersonal encounter.

Explanation of AlignmentHaving students recognize the great power that humor has for communicating in their lives is a central goal of this course. Interpersonal uses of humor, given the importance of this context, is arguably the most important. I adapted Baxter and Montgomery’s Relational Dialectics to Teacher/Student classroom interaction for my dissertation. In applying these same 4 strategic relationship techniques to humor use in interpersonal interactions as depicted in The Campbell Model, I have created a usable flow chart for possible optimal outcomes with humor use. This assignment will measure the student’s ability to assimilate our humor materials and creatively apply them in a real life situation.

Lesson PlanRead Social Functions of Humor (Campbell), overview of Baxter & Montgomery Relational Dialectics and review the narrated ppt. Interpersonal Humor posted in course documents. Using The Campbell Model that adapts Baxter/Montgomery’s Relational Dialectics, create a scenario in which you use/encode humor to better manage a difficult interpersonal situation. Show how you can differently use the dialectical management techniques of selection, separation, neutralization and reframing in order to do that.

 

Lesson Plan (cont.)You can produce this in script form or essay form. You should:

Identify the situation and your relational partner.For each of the 4 techniques show how you are strategically encoding humor in a particular manner for more prosocial communication outcomes.While we cannot predict outcomes, using the course readings, demonstrate the ideal outcomes (supported by research/readings) if your partner accepts your humor management techniques. (aka how you hope it will turn out).

Your assignment (script, narrative, essay) should show that you are informed by our coursework, have internalized the information, and are able to apply the specified techniques to a real time interpersonal situation. explanation if needed

Lesson Plan (cont.)Comment upon at least one other student’s paper showing how 2 of their ‘strategic humor uses’ could have another outcome. Suggest at least one alternate possibility that you feel could be better.

Respond to all comments to your assignment post.

AssessmentI’ve used a critical thinking rubric for my assessment of this lesson because it measures student’s ability to understand and apply the materials provided. Since the objective is to have the student attain behavioral knowledge of the ways in which humor uses can positively affect relational communication. The rubric assesses student’s understanding and application of the narrated powerpoint on social uses of humor, the Campbell article/model, and a short overview of Montgomery and Baxter’s work on relational dialectics.

Students are asked to critically adapt this knowledge into a creative senario in which they illustrate a real life scenario in which the 4 B/M management strategies are used (patterned on the Campbell Model) to better ‘handle’ a conflictual situation with humor.

Students are further asked to discuss the work of others and defend/or adapt their own work.

Assessment RubricCRITICAL THINKING VALUE RUBRIC

for more information, please contact value@aacu.org

Lessons LearnedThis has been a most enjoyable STOMP class. While it has been a lot of work, I look at it as an investment of my time that will create much future benefit for myself and my online students. In order of importance, here are my take-aways.

1. Not being afraid of going where other online teachers have boldly gone before.

2. Knowing how to use the tools & gadgets of technology for good not evil.

3. Learning from and discussing with my amazing course colleagues who have made me feel as though the force has been with me.

4. After 2 hours, learning how to correctly put a word chart into a powerpoint on a mac (priceless)

Thank-you for being a friend…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiQzUEc_FmI&list=RDKiQzUEc_FmI#t=0