Month / September 2020

by fpucoladmin

Weekly Live Session Reflections

Contributed by Sharon Starcher, DBA

Every instructor is required to have a weekly live Zoom session for every class. These live sessions are recorded since not every student can attend under the current circumstances. Student reflections, due each Saturday night, are required in all courses and provide students with a “voice” about the weekly session. They reflect on what they took from the session, what they liked, what they might like to see changed.

This is an immediate feedback loop for faculty so they can see how the sessions are going and faculty can see if students are happy with the session model or if they need to modify to meet the needs. Each cohort of students is different, so faculty may have a great model that works well for one group, but not another. As the PD, I have access to every course in my program so I can review regularly. Specifically, I check weeks one and/or two to see if things are getting off to a good start. If I hear from a student with concerns, I will also jump into other weeks to see what the consensus is of the other students. This has served us well so we can do a quick check-up and see if students are getting what they need, offer tips and guidance as needed.

by fpucoladmin

Synchronous Moodle?

Contributed by Eleanor Nickel, PhD

Many people assume that “synchronous” means Zoom and “asynchronous” means Moodle. Fortunately, I started teaching remotely before I knew that. Back in March, we found out that we had to go online on a Thursday afternoon, and I had a three-hour Monday night class. I had never used Zoom or anything like it. So I emailed everyone and said: “Everyone log into Moodle on Monday at 6:00.” It worked so well that I have been doing it ever since, even after I learned how to use Zoom and started having some classes that way. Mixing and matching is possible! Individual Zoom meetings with each student can be “asynchronous,” while class wide Moodle sessions can be synchronous. I have even done both at the same time. I have Zoomed with a small group while the rest of the class was on Moodle doing a project. Here’s why synchronous Moodle can be the best of both worlds:

  • You can interact “live” without the technological stress of Zoom. Nobody has to be “camera ready,” and I don’t have to lose sleep over my bandwidth. But I can give a quiz that is only open for the first ten minutes, and then immediately after taking the quiz, they can watch a video going over the quiz material. Minimum cheating, maximum learning.
  • Students who miss class can simply go back and do it later, and it’s a lot more interactive for them than watching the Zoom recording and writing about it.
  • For that matter, it’s a lot more interactive for everyone. Even with a small class, it is hard for students to participate equitably on Zoom. On Moodle, everyone can write their posts, and I can respond to questions “live.” We often exchange emails during class too.

Lots of creative options become possible. Students can play games “live” at the beginning of class. They can make audio or video files, upload them, and comment on each other’s work. They can do a seventy-five-minute project with the option of working together over Zoom or phone call. So if you’re struggling to conform to the FPU requirement for synchronous classes, but Zoom is not working for you, give this a try!

by fpucoladmin

Faith Integration Forums

Contributed by Sharon Starcher, DBA

Each course in the DC Business Management program has a faith integration forum component. For six of the courses the students are reading and discussing “Lead Like Jesus Revisited.” It is a short read each week but it has a powerful impact across the courses. Specific questions are asked each week driven by the chapter content. Students must respond to the question(s) in an original post (300 words minimum) by Wednesday, then respond to at least one peer by Sunday (150 words minimum). We do not judge or critique their responses. We know that students come from all backgrounds. Some do not come from a Christian background, but I have had some positive feedback from them also, recognizing at least that Jesus was a man to model. Students’ comments demonstrate the influence on self-reflection, appreciation of classmates, connection between faith and subject matter.