09:50 – 10:20 a.m. - Online Learning in Teacher Training: A Survey of Six American Universities
Keynote Speaker Dr. Robert Williams, Assistant Professor, English Language Institute
This talk presents the results of a fact-finding visit to six US educational institutions that use online learning in graduate-level language teacher training. The ways that online learning is used in these programs will be discussed as they relate to possible online teacher training courses at AUC.
11:10 – 11:30 a.m. - Improving Quality and Reducing Costs
Dr. Abdel Krim Seghir, Assistant Professor, Economics Department
It is well-known now that the use of WebCT facilitates communication between students and faculty and makes easier the organization and the distribution of the course material. In this presentation, I would like to demonstrate the many educational opportunities that WebCT provides, especially testing and grading students online. WebCT exams, for example, reduce administrative and financial costs, create awareness for good citizenship skills and reduce cheating substantially.
11:35 - 11:55 p.m. - Facilitating Teacher Communication and Streamlining Access to Materials for Large Units
Mr. Jonah Moos – English Language Instructor, English Language Institute
WebCT is primarily used as way for students and teachers to interact with each other outside of the classroom. However, it can also be used as a tool to share ideas among teachers and as a clearinghouse for teacher-created materials. This session will examine the process the Intensive English Program has initiated to develop a communicative focal point for our program. We will look at the conditions necessitating this development, some of the challenges we have faced during this process, and, in particular, the development cycle which has been created for regular updating of our materials and forums.
1:15 - 1:35 p.m. - Teaching Outside the Box
Hanny Alshazly – eEducation Consultant & VP Business Development - Integrated Solutions for Business
This session is geared towards Blackboard users, Instructional Designers and other faculty members involved with the development and deployment of Bb courses. Abstract: What does it really take to go online? Is it just a matter of converting traditional course material for use on the web – or is there more to it? This session will explore the multiple aspects of going online and identify the best strategies and practices on how to go online successfully.
2:05 - 2:25 p.m.- Using the WebCT Discussion Forum for a Peer-Reviewed Critical Thinking Paper
Dr. Mona Amer, Assistant Professor, Psychology Department & Yasmine Ahmed, Teaching Assistant, SAPE Department
This presentation will examine the potentials and challenges of using Web CT as an e-learning tool for the Introduction to Psychology course. Students were assigned to critically compare and contrast a media article focusing on a psychological topic with the original research journal article that produced that information. These papers were posted at the Web CT Discussion Forum where students received feedback from peers, the TA and the instructor, and continually revised and re-posted their improved papers as “replies” to their original posts. A formal student evaluation of the assignment yielded positive and critical feedback, with only 2 students stating that they would not recommend the assignment for future classes. Based on our experience, we argue that this type of Web CT assignment can expose students to a breadth of psychology topics over a short time period; break the ice among classmates and increase participation at the start of the semester; allow the instructor and TA to provide rapid feedback; indirectly self-teach students ethics of peer review; and enhance critical thinking and academic writing skills in a creative yet unconventional learning environment. This presentation will highlight students’ suggestions for improving the assignment and the benefits and drawbacks of using the Web CT technology, including some technological limitations.
02:40 – 02:50 p.m. - Active Learning in the WebCT Environment: Conceptualizing Advanced Research Skills Using An Image Database
Professor Doris Jones - Department of Rhetoric and Composition
This poster presentation examines the implementation of active learning in the WebCT environment as an opportunity for first year composition students to utilize an image and audio/visual enriched database to obtain resources for their group and individual research writing projects in cultural anthropology. Active learning presented these students with resources to strengthen their collaborations with classmates; evolve new roles, and develop challenging engagements with WebCT software in support of their project creations. Students produced quality work products such posters, which were presented at the 2007 Undergraduate Research Conference and research papers that included multi-modal elements such as still and moving images, along with sound bites. Five features that enhance active learning and knowledge building are identified: a balance between individual and group knowledge processes; source referencing; contribution and pro-active engagement with peers; notification storage and retrieval for situating ideas in a community of writers, and, coherence-producing mechanisms for dealing with information resources. These features reaffirm the value of the active learning paradigm as a catalyst to produce higher order thinking skills in students, resulting from their avid interactions with WebCT software tools.
02:55 – 03:15 p.m. - WebCt Tools for Inclusion: Addressing the Needs of Students with Disabilities
Dr. Sanaa Makhlouf, Visiting Writing Instructor, Rhetoric and Composition Department
By Federal law students with disabilities should have access to the general education curriculum. This legislative requirement makes the accessibility of curricular materials and the inclusion of students with disabilities in our university classrooms an issue of great importance. AUC teachers must be prepared to provide useful alternatives in terms of both curricular materials and instructional delivery so as to meet the goal of equal access to the curriculum for everyone enabling each student to engage with his or her lessons in meaningful ways. WebCt applications, particularly voice tools of Horizon Wimba, have proven to be helpful in delivering instructional material for teaching written expression to blind students including ways to teach them how to analyze material learned in the classroom and how to write persuasive essays, and other genres, thereby encouraging them to participate directly in the learning experience.