Putting together an online course takes quite a while to just think out what you are going to do. Like most things, it is so much easier the more you plan and follow the plan. In a traditional classroom format, it is much easier to ‘wing-it’ when a lab doesn’t work or you want to make changes based on student feedback or learning level. In the online environment, students need to plan too, so you have to have everything laid out from the start. I already knew my online anatomy class was not going to miss out on the smells and textures of an in-person class. Dealing with the smell and feel of dissection specimens is sort of a rite of passage. Far be it for me to allow my online students miss out.
About two weeks before the semester I open up my Blackboard site with all the class videos, notes, study guides, web links, lab resources, syllabus, and calendar. I post an announcement welcoming them but warning them about what they will be asked to do (to allow any squeamish students to back out and a chance for another to be able to get in or ask for an alternative activity, if necessary). To make sure that all my students are aware of the class requirement and to mimic the in-class requirement of ‘attending the first day of class to remain enrolled in the class’ policy, I have my online students complete a syllabus quiz and their lab safety quiz. To answer the questions they have to be aware of the policies of the course including grading, withdrawal dates, exam formats, and locations (some exams are at a testing center, some are online), and email policies. In addition, they have to read ‘lab safety’ information so they are aware of what they will be getting in their ‘goodie bags’. After I know they know the rules and risks of the class, they then have to complete a ‘class introduction video’ by the middle of the first week. I create a blog assignment in Blackboard that each student will have access to but other students will be able to view (if a student prefers not to have their information or face disclosed to the other students in the class, I allow them to post their video to a journal page, which only I can see or they can just email it to me directly). This video accomplishes three things. First, I get to see and hear my student and get to know a little more about them than a name on the roster. Second, they get to figure out how to make a video and upload it; a skill they need to know for their upcoming labs. Lastly, they get to view other student’s videos introductions and feel like they are in a class with others and not just on their own island. Great! Now they know what to expect in the class, they get to know each other, I get to know them, and they know how to use basic technology.
Once I know they have completed the lab safety quiz, students are allowed to come to my office to pick up their ‘Lab Kits’ (a.k.a. goodie bags). I set them outside of my office door on my cart so they can pick them up at their convenience. I let them know when I will be there to encourage them to stop in so we can meet in person. I really miss that part when I teach online so it is nice to be around when they come by. I also noticed that students that make the effort to meet me in person at the start of class is much more likely to contact me or come by for help when they need it (not just when I contact them after they did poorly on an exam). In their lab kits I provide the basic specimens lab activity resources. They get the lab guides and more information on Blackboard. My BIO 201 class gets a sheep brain and eyeball (they are required to purchase on their own clay and a mini skeleton). My BIO 202 class gets a sheep heart, blood typing kit, urinalysis dip stick, and a sheep kidney. Most of my students are really excited, in a geeky way about getting these kits. (I even have provisions for pregnant students that do not want to experience the wonderful smells of anatomy).
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