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Educator's Voice

Volume 4, Issue 9
September 10, 2003

Virtual Illustrations Aid Real Understanding

For much of its history, the United States of America has not been so united. For instance, for a number of centuries, American society was racially segregated. From schools to buses, public restrooms to drinking fountains, restaurants to churches, the country was divided into black and white.

Hospitals were among the last institutions to desegregate. One reason for this is that people were afraid they might get the "wrong blood" during a transfusion. They feared that if they received blood from a person of another color or ethnicity, they might actually develop the characteristics of that race.

But all of that changed when Dr. Charles Drew came along. In the 1930s, Dr. Drew created the process we now use to make plasma. Plasma comes from blood, but it is not type-specific, which means it can be used to treat bleeding patients without the need for 'whole' blood.

Dr. Drew's discovery was so noteworthy that he was asked to head the Blood for Britain campaign during World War II. After the war, Drew founded the American Blood Bank, which is still in operation today.

Ironically, Dr. Charles Drew died in 1950 at the age of 46 because he did not receive a blood transfusion or blood plasma in time.

Dr. Drew was injured in an automobile accident and taken to a hospital that was still a segregated hospital that would not admit black people.

And since Dr. Drew was a black man, he bled to death.

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As an educator, I feel that it is my responsibility to be a storyteller. I'm constantly scribbling down narratives and examples on napkins, paper sandwich bags, or whatever is available! Stories are the glue that hold together many of the important theories and philosophies I teach in the classroom. And often, I use the same story in multiple classes, while simply adjusting the meaning or message. For example, in the above real life story of Dr. Charles Drew, think of how many topics could be covered. Ethics, blood, chemistry, international relations, leadership, vision, research, racism, history, culture, and the list goes on.

However, a problem arises when we apply storytelling to our online classes. Time. Storytelling requires a lot of data entry and can seem overwhelming. As online teachers, we translate all kinds of lecture material--PowerPoint presentations, exams, and even discussions, but as I view hundreds of courses each year, I rarely see one translated story or illustration.

As online teachers, we often leave out what is so easy (and important) in our face-to-face classrooms. Context. How can we achieve context? Story. I am a huge history buff because I had good history teachers who told me the stories surrounding battles, discoveries, and triumphs. I learned and retained more about the atom in two minutes from a television sitcom where an ex-teacher (is there such a thing?) illustrated the atom by using a gang/neighborhood metaphor. (See: http://science.csustan.edu/stkrm/MISC/Atom-by-Venus.htm for the WKRP transcript.) Simply put, the best teachers I have had--whether in elementary, high school, college, or post graduate--were good storytellers.

Ok, so what? You might agree that storytelling is great, but it's still time-consuming. Well, unfortunately I don't have a super trick for uploading your story. I don't have any words of wisdom for faster typing that you don't already know (of course, there are many existing stories and anecdotes out there on the Web; you could definitely search for those that may fit well into your classes…). I just want to encourage you not to forget an important element of teaching simply because the medium changes.

Narrative helps us make sense of our world and the information presented to us in classrooms. Illustrations help us remember facts and figures. Examples bring us closer to our instructors as we find connections and associations to hold on to. Metaphors give us insight and analogies bring understanding to our minds. Plain and simple: stories teach. And, depending on your point of view, the time it takes to illustrate a lesson point might be less if you do it in your lecture. For example:

I recently spoke with an instructor who has been teaching online for about four years. He found that he was having to spend a lot of time answering specific questions about his journalism lectures and readings through emails, discussion boards, or chats. These were on top of his prepared classroom activities and lectures. He soon realized that he was relaying the examples and stories he used in his face-to-face class for these "extra" materials and sessions. So, the following semester he began adding links to HTML pages, special text boxes, and distinctive colored text to his typical lecture items. These new "special" sections contained only stories, examples, and illustrations. He relayed that a few students ignored the new information, but he estimated that 80-90% of his students did not. He also noticed that his course questions were nearly eliminated. Students understood the material better and they even infused his stories into their discussions ("remember Professor Smith's story about…"). Test scores increased significantly, as did his teaching evaluation scores. He expressed to me that he had learned a valuable lesson.

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Isn't that the beauty of story? Learning a lesson without having to experience it ourselves. So… have you learned anything today? What's your story? Your students would love to know…

For more information, take a look at the following sites:

http://eric.indiana.edu/ieo/digests/d34.html
http://www.smc.maricopa.edu/storytelling/story.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/ieo/bibs/story.html

       --Jeff D. Borden, MA

 

TIP

Assessing Design: Quick Course Checklist

What was your initial impulse when you were asked to teach online? Were you excited or concerned? What were some of the images you conjured up? You might have pictured yourself as a pioneer exploring uncharted territory, or as a castaway on a desolate island. The fact is that a well-planned and constructed online course can provide a meaningful educational experience for students and a fulfilling teaching experience for instructors. The question that remains is what does a well-constructed course look like?

Let's take a moment to review a few basic questions that will help you "assess" your online course.

1. Course and Unit Homepages
   • Do homepages contain a Course or Unit Title in large, bold, colored font?
     Note: The title could also be animated using Flash or Swish.
   • Is there a graphic on the homepage that is relevant to the Course or Unit content?
   • Is there a Course or Unit overview/introduction paragraph on the homepage?
2. Communication
   • Are Announcements used effectively on the Course Homepage?
   • Is the Syllabus complete and detailed?
     Note: Include what students need to do to be successful and what you will do to help ensure their success. For example, how often do you check and respond to e-mail and your timeframe for returning graded assignments.
   • Are students told how to access both technical and course assistance/help?
     Note: Remind students to take the Student Orientation Tutorial.
   • Are students told how to access course grades and instructor comments?
   • Are Course and Unit navigation guidelines clearly presented to students?
   • Is Instructor contact information clearly presented to students?
     Note: Consider an online Office as a discussion item under Course Home.
3. Online Community
   • Is there an Instructor biography statement and photo in the Syllabus?
   • Is there an Introductions discussion item under Course Home that requests students to introduce themselves and post a photo?
   • Is there a team/group assignment in your course, if appropriate?
4. Content Presentation
   • Is there an appropriate use of bold, colored text, for example, headings and sub-headings or emphasized text?
   • Are appropriate, relevant graphics used to enhance presentations?
   • Are hot links used to access Web sites, additional text, course tools, etc.?
   • Are short audio or video clips, or PowerPoint slides, used where appropriate?
   • Is material "chunked" appropriately?
5. Course Tools
   • Are all appropriate tools used in your course?
   • The Course Assessment Tool used by eCollege contains 48 detailed questions.

       --Kenneth Switzer, PhD