Adapting Online Learning Material for Face-to-Face Classes

One of my major problems in teaching this class lay in the fact that it was not scheduled to meet in a computer lab. Since all the material for the course was in WebCT, I was forced either to make lots of copies of the WebCT material to use in class, to try to reschedule classes in computer labs, or to bring my laptop and a projector to the classroom. I wound up combining the three, and each provided its own set of challenges.

It was difficult to reserve a computer lab at the time when I taught. Thus, we could only meet in a lab twice during the semester. The making of copies meant that I had to prepare the copies several days in advance to meet the English department's copying schedule. Also, my lesson had to stick to what was on the copies, since I did not have access to the rest of the instructional material during class time.

Bringing my laptop to class was both good and bad. It was easy to set up and use, but it required me to drag quite a bit of weigh around campus. As I noted early in the semester:

Laptop set up went well. The only problem is lugging the laptop & projector around campus. I will definitely build upper body strength. Having all the material in WebCT and not teaching in a lab is difficult. This class should definitely meet in a lab or a smart classroom & I will request that if I teach it again. I checked the academic lab schedule for Wednesday evenings and there are no labs open except the Mac lab.

It is and will continue to be difficult to integrate technology into courses when there are limited technology-equipped classrooms on campus. I at least had the advantage of having a laptop and a projector to bring to class. Other faculty at George Mason can check this equipment out, but there is only a limited supply.

Designing Course Material for Online Learning

Lack of Material Designed for In-class Activities