1. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
Preparing to be an Online Instructor
To be an effective online instructor, you need to be ready, willing, and enabled.
Ready – refers to what an instructor needs willing – refers to personal beliefs or
to do to be prepared to teach a class – some things convictions.
may be very specific to a first time online
instructor; other items may apply to all online
instructors.
UNDERSTAND the online learner experience BELIEVE in the effectiveness of online learning
UNDERSTAND the design (big picture, connections) BELIEVE in the effectiveness of your online
programs
MASTER the technology (Fake it till you do!)
BE ADAPTABLE AND FLEXIBLE IN developing the
skills this environment requires
PRACTICE managing the blend – anticipate
questions about your content and/or the
technology
enabled – refers to how your My nOTeS
organizational environment will support you and
online learning.
HAVE TIME TO get ready
HAVE TIME TO decompress
HAVE TIME TO teach (pre-work, live session, post-
work)
HAVE support FOR THE blend
HAVE ACCESS TO technical support
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2. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
Creating Audience Engagement
Teaching online is like teaching after lunch ALL THE TIME! In order to keep their attention, you have to
incorporate even more engagement than you would in an in-person class. Try to use some form of
engagement every 3 – 5 minutes.
Ways to Create Engagement:
Breaks, Q&A, discussion, whiteboard – adding thoughts / participating in a grid,
polls and surveys, reading, thinking/reflection, quizzes, application sharing, movie clips
Techniques for Creating Engagement:
- build on experience, feedback from others
- create the environment to share
Storytelling - set to stage so people want to share, example: how would you do it? or do it
differently?
- use situational stories
- vary your intonations
- use humor
- Smile - they can "hear" it
Your Voice - Keep your energy up
- If you normally use hand gestures, still do it! (it will help you talk like you
normally would)
Varying voices are more engaging. Encourage participants to talk. If you have
a producer/assistant like I have today with Stacy, script it for them to talk -
Separate Voices back and forth
Talk like it's a real conversation, don't focus on the technology click here click
there. don't call attention to the technology unless it's vital to the student
Hi Touch –
learning. So instead of saying every time, look below the participant list and
Low Tech click the green check mark to indicate your agreement, after the first time you
teach it, you can just say, click the green check for yes, or even just, click Yes.
Plan for technology gaps. If you are going to have a breakout session or other
Plan for activity that requires time to set up, work it into your teaching plan - schedule
a break, or have your producer set it up while you are doing other parts of the
Technology Gaps lesson.
Enjoy Yourself! If you don't, no one else will! If you are bored, your students
definitely will be. As yoga instructors say, in a hard position, you have to find
Enjoy Yourself the joy, even when you may not be feeling it. ;)
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3. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
Making Life Easier
These three tools will help make your online teaching life a lot easier!
• Use a producer
• Have a pre-class “Learn How to Learn Online” session – including establishing Ground Rules
• Have a disaster recovery plan
Producer
A producer can:
Load the presentation, set up breakout rooms, monitor the chat, run secret communication, add notes
and highlight the whiteboard, run web tours, pre-event warmup, course support/technical support,
run application sharing, conduct polls, help with disaster recovery
When working with a producer, advance planning is key:
• Create a script
• Practice
• Set up an outside IM session
Learn How to Learn Online
Take the time to let participants know your expectations for them, ways they will most effectively
become an online learner, and how to use the technology – before you get to your actual class
materials. Separating this out will help remove the “technology concerns” from your classes.
Your Learn How to Learn Online session should include:
• Warm-up activity
• Welcome message
• Overview of how to use the technology (Elluminate walkthrough)
• Ground Rules
• Discussion of what might prevent participants from being effective learners
• Tips on how to be a successful online learner
Establish Ground Rules
In your Learn How to Learn Online session, you should include ground rules for your class. These may
include but are not limited to:
• Turn off email, phones, instant messaging tools and clear other distractions away from your
training area.
• Participate and prepare to be called on by name.
• Raise your hand if you have an immediate question or comment.
• Be patient waiting for a response to your chat messages.
• If you leave the program, please use the door emoticon to let us know when you leave/return.
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4. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
What in your environment might prevent you from being an effective learner?
Set up an exercise to promote a discussion of what causes distractions during online classes. You can do
this using a grid on a whiteboard, instruct them to type in the chat, or set up a Me Too! survey – or any
other creative way you can devise!
If participants are having trouble coming up with ideas, here are some starters you can use:
• Coworkers, kids or roommates interrupting
• Noisy environment (coffee shop, lab, cubicle)
• Distractions – TV, instant messenger, Internet surfing, Facebook, etc.
• Running late to class
• Scheduling something that starts immediately after class ends
Ask participants to discuss how to overcome these obstacles. Offer any of the following options they
might not have thought of:
• Notify your coworkers/family/roommates ahead of time of the hours you will be in class.
Establish a “Do Not Disturb” policy for this time.
• Ignore anyone who tries to interrupt you.
• Seclude yourself in a private room if possible.
• Post a sign on your door indicating the hours of the class and when you will be available.
• Use a headset instead of speakers.
• Remove all tasks and distractions from your area
o Turn off your cell phone
o Close down all instant messenger programs and browser windows
o Close email programs
o Hide remote controls
Tips on how to be a successful online learner
In addition to your ground rules, offer these tips on ways participants can be successful in your online
synchronous classes. Let them know it’s up to them to get the most out of class, just like it would be in a
face-to-face classroom environment!
• Make sure the technology works – always perform the technology checks before class, and give
yourself enough time to handle issues
• Understand the environment – take additional training as needed from Elluminate’s support
website
• Complete self-directed work – complete asynchronous assignments before the live session
• Participate – you are as likely, if not more likely, to be called on in an online class as in a normal
classroom
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5. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
Disaster Recovery Plan
diSaSTeR 1 diSaSTeR 2
Participants cannot get into the session One participant is having technical problems
using the microphone
• Resend the URL with instructions
• Make sure they did system check before class • Make sure everyone does configuration prior
• Make sure to record to the session so they have time to get support
• Email with steps to check help
• Check the password if there is one • Ask them to run Audio Setup Wizard again
• Call their IT department if a firewall is a • Give them the Elluminate 800-number for
problem support
• Have someone who is a direct contact for help, • Ask them to respond in the chat instead of
like Elluminate 24 hour support 800-number using mic
• Pre-emptively, make sure that it is recorded so • If one-on-one session, call them on the phone
that they can see it later if they cannot get in for the audio portion while still using
• Be flexible on the first class but not on the rest Elluminate interface for visual portions
so they can solve problems
diSaSTeR 3 diSaSTeR 4
Participants have not completed the required pre- Someone is putting inappropriate
work content on the whiteboard
• The moderator can give a brief overview of the • Select item on the whiteboard and right-click
prerequisite knowledge to see “Created by”
• Instructors can give some kind of a quiz via • Send private chat message to participant
their LMS to make sure learners completed the asking them to stop
work before coming to session • Remove whiteboard privileges from
• Tell the participants you will ask one student participant
(or student group) to summarize the materials • As last resort, “Remove participant” from
at the beginning. You can let them know in session
advance which group will present – or not! • If student, pursue disciplinary measures as
• Require the students/participants to actually necessary as you would in a face-to-face class
lead part of the discussion or teach the class • Preemptively, establish communication policy
for a given time period for specific subjects for appropriate online discussion behavior and
• If meeting and too many people did not prep, use of Elluminate
reschedule meeting
Preemptive Disaster Strikes
Send out instructions and copy of course materials in digital/printed format ahead of time – this way, if
the system crashes, participants have access to assistance.
Make sure your instructions include:
• Technical / system requirements
• Configuration instructions
• Information on how to contact technical support (Elluminate Live! 24 hour support number)
• Ground Rules
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6. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
4-Step Disaster Recovery Process
There are 4 steps to solving most disasters you will encounter in your Elluminate sessions:
1. Minimize the anxiety for the individual or the class
2. Identify that there IS a problem
3. Get participants up and running
4. Determine the next steps
1. Minimize the anxiety 2. Identify that there IS 3. Get participants up 4. Determine the next
a problem and running steps
Stay calm Ask specific, probing If you’ve determined If the Fix Works
questions: the problem IS technical Acknowledge that the
- What do you see on – do your best to get participant rejoined the
Keep your voice the screen? participant(s) up and session
modulated - Is your headset running
plugged into…? Producer should note
If support is available, the problem and the
Be authoritative and in Determine if it’s an have the producer solution – if you find it
control individual or group troubleshoot: is recurring for
problem - Move participant and Elluminate, email
producer to breakout learntech@ncsu.edu
Keep the group Determine if the room so they can
engaged while dealing problem is instructional communicate If the Fix Doesn’t Work
with individual issues or technical in nature: - Have the producre Politely dismiss the
phone the participant if participant from this
Be respectful of the If instructional: provide necessary session
group’s time explanation to the Follow up with other
whole group Ask participants to go options (watch the
Utilize your producer or through the following recording, a one-on-one
technical resources Instructional issues steps: with you, office hours,
should never stop the 1. Log out and back into etc.)
class the session Connect the participant
2. Close their browser with Elluminate Live!
If technical: move on to and restart it tech support
the next step (drill 3. Reboot and start
down) again
Technical issues may
cause an individual or
whole group to stop
participating
Keep in mind that you are not tech support –
that’s what the Elluminate Live! 24 Hour Support Hotline is for!
866-388-8674
option 2
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7. Let’s Get Engaged: Best Practices for Elluminate Use at NC State
7-Step Instructor Recovery Process
It’s even more frustrating when you the instructor have problems! If it turns out that you are the cause
of the disaster (you cannot connect, your audio fails, etc.), follow this process:
1. Minimize participant anxiety
It will probably be obvious if you are having technical difficulties but you don’t need to tell them
all the details. If possible, give them an activity or discussion topic while you work on the issue.
2. Log out of the session and back in
This can fix a lot of issues. Also check that your headset is connected properly and that the mic’s
mute is set to “off.”
3. Close and reopen your browser
4. Reboot your computer
5. Continue class with a 2nd computer
If you have the option of a second computer (maybe even borrowing a coworker’s!), you can
skip steps 2 – 4.
6. Call a short break
If you cannot give participants an activity while you work on steps 2 – 4, call a short break so
that participants don’t get frustrated and lose attention.
7. Reschedule the class
If all else fails, confidently reschedule the class.
Resources
Many examples and suggestions were taken from the following sources. The books are available through
the NCSU libraries.
Hofmann, Jennifer. Live and Online! Tips, Techniques, and Ready-to-Use Activities for the Virtual
Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer, 2004.
Hofmann, Jennifer. The Synchronous Trainer's Survival Guide. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer, 2004.
Hrastinski, Stefan. “Asynchronous & synchronous E-learning: A study of asynchronous and synchronous
e-learning methods discovered that each supports different purposes.” EDUCAUSE Quarterly 4
(2008), 51-55.
(http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/AsynchronousandSynchronou/476
83)
In Sync Training – Facilitating Synchronous Learning Certification Program.
http://www.insynctraining.com/
Park,Yun Jeong and Curtis J. Bonk. “Is Online Life a Breeze? A Case Study for Promoting Synchronous
Learning in a Blended Graduate Course.” MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 3.3
(2007), 307-323. (http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no3/park.pdf)
Additionally, you can find information about good PowerPoint design in our recorded seminar,
PowerPoint: Moving Beyond Bullets, available at
http://delta.ncsu.edu/learn/online_training/workshop_materials/
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