April 27, 2022 • 39 mins
Every course begins with an idea but the journey of an online course from ideation to consumption varies greatly from that of a "traditional" in-person course. Join us as we walk through the process of online course development with pyschology professor Ashley Jordan, digital course content producer Steve Bayless, and online student Dani McCartney.
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(00:04):
Hello everyone.
Welcome to DigiCats, the podcastwhere we talk all things
education and technologyI'm your host, Aviva, Doery
This podcast is brought to youby the online
distance and continuing educationdivision of the University of Arizona.
(00:24):
Welcome backto another episode of DigiCats.
This month we are learning how the cookiegets made or in the case of online
education, how a course goes from an ideato production for digital consumption.
We start where all coursesstart with the faculty.
We will be joined by Dr.
Ashley Jordan, a professor of psychologyand director of online programs
for the psychology department
whose research focuses onhow to teach in online and digital spaces.
(00:48):
We then move to our amazing technologywizards, Steve Bayless, whose main job
when he isn't making this podcastsound really good,
is to produce and createeducational content for online courses.
Finally, we have the pleasure of hearingfrom one of our very own online
students, Dani McCartney,who shares her experience as a consumer
of the amazing digital educational contentthat Steve and Dr.
(01:08):
Jordan so expertly produce.
I know that was quite the introduction,but what can I say?
I'm excited about this episode.
Let's begin with Dr. Ashley Jordan.
She is an associate professor of practiceand director of online programs
for the psychology department.
Her primary research interestsrevolve around the scholarship
of teaching and learning in onlinecontexts in higher education.
(01:29):
Specifically, she is interested inhow pedagogical practices and technologies
can be used and incorporatedin an online environment to enhance
student engagement with the instructor,with peers, and with course material.
Her ultimate goal is to increasestudent success, meaning better
learning and better retention.
(01:55):
Dr. Jordan,thanks so much for joining us today.
Why don't you tell us a little bitabout what
you do here at the University of Arizona.
Sure. Well,thank you so much for having me.
I'm really excited to be here.
I am an associate professor of practicein the psychology department,
and I am also director of online programsfor the psychology department.
What does it mean to bethe director of online for psychology?
(02:17):
Well, when I was hired,
it was when we were very firstlaunching our full VA program online.
And so it was initially overseeingthat course,
curriculum development and scheduling,academic scheduling.
And since then,our online program has grown.
So it no longer includes just the VA.
We are also working ongetting the base up.
(02:39):
And we recently got approvalfor academic certificate.
So that's launching this fall.
And we are working with a micro campusactually in Lima, Peru,
to offer a dual degree.
So that will all be done online as well.
Yes, there are a lot of a lot of onlineprograms in the department under works.
Awesome.
So what we decided to talk abouta little bit in this episode
(03:00):
is essentially how a course goesfrom ideation to the student consuming it.
And I think a lot of time
those courses start with you guys,with the faculty, with ideas.
So talk me through a little bit
like the thought processof where a course begins and how we get to
then working with our digital creatorsto put that course into an online setting.
I thinkevery class is a little bit different,
(03:21):
so it definitely depends on the contentand the scope of that course.
And then I also thinkthat an important thing to keep in mind is
that teaching is iterative.
So it's always changing and evolving.
So what I start off with withthe first iteration is very unlikely
to be exactly what you see
three semesters laterso it changes and evolves across time,
(03:43):
not just in relation to assignmentsrelated to the course,
but also in terms of the coursescope itself in some ways.
For example,we have recently included an emphasis
on diversity, equity and inclusion
in all of our courses and careerconnections and all of our courses.
And so that's something that in additionto the regular course content
(04:04):
we're now incorporating to more directlyanswer your question.
Typically we have some ideaof what exactly we want to be teaching.
And then usually I start with oneor two cool tools that I want to use,
and that's where I really partnerwith Office of Digital Learning
because they have all the expertize
with their instructional designersand helping me to bring this idea to life.
(04:29):
And so there have been timeswhere I've had a vague idea, like,
I want to do a choose your own adventurething, and then how do I make that work?
I want to kind of gamify it.
And how does that look in an online classand how do I make that practical?
And I pair up with IDsinstructional designers to help me figure
out the best way to present thatand make it work for students.
(04:52):
So you just mentioned this flexibility,right, that you have in
an online space that you may not havein an in-person class.
So what is it like to be able to runwith an idea
and have different technologiesto support you in that process?
Is it really exciting?
Is it you know,I assume it's also somewhat challenging
because the technology may not meet youwhere you want to go.
(05:15):
That's where it's really helpfulto only introduce one or two new tools
or technologies at a time
rather than just throwing in the kitchensink all at once.
And it also helps to have some experiencewith a tool or technology.
So oftentimes if I'm incorporatingsomething new, I will try to practice it
or work with it first, or maybe workwith it in a way that's more simplistic.
(05:36):
And so for an example, is the first timethat I ever used the tool play position,
I just used it with a videofrom the Internet,
like a TED talk that I put in there.
And if listeners are unfamiliarwith that tool, it's
a way to have students engagewith content by having questions
directly embedded within the videoso that they can answer those questions.
(05:57):
And get credit for that in the course.
As timehas evolved, I now create my own videos.
So instead of relying on videosfrom the Internet that were already
preexistingvideos, it's my own lecture content
and still have the same thing wherethere is questions embedded throughout.
And that way
it's more cool that it's my own contentbecause I can also have the questions
(06:18):
direct students to make connectionsacross the course material.
So thinking back about previous lecturesand relating that to future things
that we will be talking aboutwithin the class.
And so it's a little bit more involved
than my first iterationof using that technology.
Yeah, definitely.
So thinking ahead, are therecertain technologies that you're like,
(06:41):
Wow, that would be so coolto use in an online setting?
Or are there technologiesyou're using where you're like,
Here's the next step, here'swhere I'm going with this
you know, give us a little sneak peekinto where the tech is taking us.
Well, I would really like to usenext as I'd like to get into more VR
and air stuff.
Especially at being an online class,I think that that leaves us open
(07:01):
to a lot of possibilities for studentswho are already engaged in technology
because the nature of it
being an online class,they're doing these things electronically,
and the technology has come to a placewhere there's
a lot of cost effectivemeans for doing that.
And so I could see, for example,
in unit, you know, psychology,so we learn about the brain.
(07:23):
So in a unit on the human brain,rather than it being in
a PowerPoint presentation that studentslooking at slightly on their screen
having to be this three dimensional thingthat we're able to blow up and take apart
and look at the different structures.
And what does that do specificallyand highlight those areas in a way
where it's more potentially meaningfuland impactful for the student
(07:43):
rather than seeing it in a flat,two dimensional space.
Right. Brings in that experiential pieceto it.
Exactly.
Well,we love talking about virtual reality
on this podcast,and if our listeners are catching
on, it's one of my favorite topics.
So let's jump
a little bit into your researchbecause you do teach as a faculty,
but you also have the opportunityto do research.
So what's your focus?
So all of my research at this time is on
(08:06):
student learning and student success.
So I'm really interested in differenttechnological tools that help students
and even pedagogical practicesFor example,
one of the recent presentations that I didthat I'm working on is talking
about the impact of student choicein terms of affecting their learning.
(08:26):
So I have different assignmentswhere I allow students to pick.
Do you want to complete this assignment
doing kind of the traditional wayof just writing a research paper
or do you want to use a new tech toolor potentially new to them?
Not new in general.
So we have Adobe Creative Suite here,and it's available to students for free.
And so I will offer them as a possibilityto create a video for our project.
(08:51):
And so this applies to universal designfor learning principles.
Where students are getting a choicein how they want to complete this project.
It's basically the same instructions,regardless
of which way they're presenting it.
But I really try to encourage thattech piece and then I've done research on
how that impacts students,and it turns out that it makes them more
engaged in the course content,it makes them more interested in it.
(09:12):
They report that it helpsaid their learning
because they are more engaged in it,they're more interested in it.
And there's a lot of research that showsthat the more engagement students
have within a class, the betterthey're able to do within the class.
And the more likely they are to persistwithin the program overall and ultimately
reach graduation, which is really our goalhere, is to have students be successful.
(09:32):
Yeah, this is a lot of implicationsfor retention and graduation rates.
Exactly.
So I'm just curious,have you shared this knowledge
with your compatriots, with other faculty,and has that impacted
how students are interactingwith their courses as well?
Absolutely.
I am very involved in the scholarshipof teaching and learning.
University of Arizona.
We have a faculty learning communitiesthat I have been an active participant
(09:56):
in that
I've been able to learn a lot from othersand then teach them things that I've done
as well.
Also within the department,we have different teaching series, and I
participated in those within my departmentas well as within other colleges.
They have similar teaching panelswhere we're able to talk
about different tools and technologies,and I would love to continue that.
You know, I worked with collaborators
(10:17):
from other universities,so we're publishing on these things.
And I think that it's importantthat even though we're a research
one universityand I definitely recognize that ultimately
I feel like our mission at its coreas a university is to educate students.
And so that's really where my passionlies.
Yeah. We don't really existwithout the students. Absolutely.
And the reason I really like your researchis because you're sort of
(10:39):
making this whole marriageof your entire identity as a faculty.
If I may write like
your research is directly embeddedin your teaching,
which is directly embeddedwith your students, which comes back.
It just seems very cyclicaland like a great way
to have a really awesome impactfor your students.
Thanks. It's by design.
So my background is actually in familystudies and human development.
(10:59):
So my Ph.D.
was actually on risky adolescent behavior,and I no longer do that research.
Once I got into psychology,I did still initially dabble in that.
And obviously it's importantto have that content knowledge
when you're teaching those courses.
But I just really found a passionfor wanting
to learn about best practices,for teaching and to really engage
(11:20):
with that literatureand be more involved in that field.
Can we expand on that just a little bit,because I'm currently Ph.D.
student, and so I thinkthere's an understanding of you
do your PhD and that is your lifeand nothing can change, right?
There's sort of this trope ofthat is your pedagogy.
That is what you studyand learn and live and breathe.
Can you talk a little bitabout how it's been to explore new topics
(11:44):
once you've gotten into a faculty spaceand be able
to expand your knowledge and really studywhat kind of comes your way?
Yeah, absolutely.
I will first say it's not necessarily easybecause you are so immersed
in a field of literature for whateverit is you're studying in graduate school
and to shift.
That is not an easy transition.
(12:05):
But we also have a saying in psychologywhen we go to the academic conferences
and we're seeingwhat people are presenting
that it's all me research,not just of research, but me search.
People have research.
They tend to research the things thatreally interest them, which makes sense.
And so if your interests evolve and shiftand change, I think that you'd be
doing a disservice and trying to stay inwhatever the past was.
(12:28):
You got to gowith wherever you're heading.
And even though it's not necessarilyan easy transition, it's a worthwhile one.
Great advice.
I'm going to stick that in my pocketfor later on the train of advice.
We'd like to ask everybodya signature question, and that is
what is the best piece of advicethat a past professor
or mentor has given you in your journey?
That's a great question.
(12:49):
I would say that
at one time I encountered an issuewith students cheating,
and I was really torn onhow to handle this
because once I caught the student,they fessed up to it.
And that'sunfortunately not entirely common.
Typically,you catch someone cheating and they deny.
And so in this specific situation,I was just really torn on
(13:10):
what is the penalty I should impose,what should I do in this situation.
And I had a mentortell me never to forget that
the ultimate goal is to teach
Everything else is subordinateto that main goal.
And so making thatinto a teaching experience,
even for the student,a learning experience for them
(13:31):
instead of it being onethat was purely punitive in nature.
So to me,I try to keep that in mind in all regards,
not just in plagiarismtype situations or academic integrity.
Situations,that the ultimate goal is to teach
and everything else comessecondary to that.
Well, that's great advice.
Now, if we have faculty membersthat want to get connected
(13:51):
if we have students that are like,Wow, I need to take your course.
Where can they get connected with you?
Yeah, absolutely.
You can find me in psychology.
So I've got a faculty web page there.
I like to participate in the facultylearning communities.
That's a great way to connectnot just with me, but other like minded
faculty who are interestedin kind of these cutting edge
pedagogical techniques and practicesand reach out to me personally.
(14:13):
You can email me at Jordan one at Arizona,talk to you.
I'd love to meet people.
Thanks so much for taking some timeto hang with us on the show today.
I was super inspired by the waythat you approach your scholarship
and your teachingand how they come together into one.
So thanks so much for taking the time.It's great chatting with you.
Thanks. I've loved it. Thank you.
(14:41):
That was Dr.
Ashley Jordan talking to usabout the faculty experience
when creating and teachingonline courses and also in researching
how to create engaging and informativedigital content for our students.
So how do we get from facultyhaving an idea to students
actually interacting with that ideain a digital space?
Well, we need people
like Steve and his amazing teamover at the Office of Digital Learning.
(15:04):
So here's Steve to tell you
a little bit more about that process,from taking faculty ideas to putting them
in an online space for studentsto engage with and learn from.
Thank you, Aviva.
My name is Steve Bayless.
I'm a videographer producerwith the Digital Learning Department,
and basically we help produce the materialthat you see in your online courses.
We produce the videos that you see.
I have to go back in timebefore it even gets to us.
(15:27):
It all starts with the instructionaldesigners, and these are fantastic folks
that work with the instructorsto help craft that course
for the online environment.
They basically take that in-personface to face course
and they figure out waysto adapt it to the online arena.
Through all this, they want itto be engaging and informative,
but they're also trying to figure out waysto make it innovative there.
(15:48):
We're always trying to, you know, keepour audience engaged with the material.
So one of the most important thingsthey do with instructors is they take that
maybe it was a face to face courseand lasting an hour or so.
They try to encourage the instructorsto make that content in shorter bites.
More digestible nuggets, as you might say.
So they're always looking to try to say,OK, if you've got like this
(16:09):
hour long course, maybe
split it up into maybe four or five parts,make it between ten and 15 minutes.
So you can thank us for that.
Once the instructional designersor IDs, as we call
them, has worked with the instructor,that's when we get involved.
We have a full service studio in Harvell,and we're actually building
a second one on the way.
We also have a podcast studioin the library in addition to what
(16:31):
we call a one button studio,and we're always trying to figure out
innovative ways of getting,you know, the material delivered.
So we figured, you know, podcastingis an option out there for instructors.
And then we have the one button studiofor really quick turnarounds
with our instructors.
But in our main studio,we can do a lot of different things.
We can do the traditional lectureswhere if you've seen any of our online
courses, you see an instructor
(16:52):
standing up maybe in front of a wood wallwith a monitor over their shoulder.
That's right.
That's happening in our studiothat's shot right here in Harvell
in that same studio. We can do interviews.
We can also do some really cool stuffwith green screen,
but it's a full service studio,so we treat it very professionally.
We have three cameras,we have a teleprompter.
There's usually an engineer
sitting in the control roomkind of manning the controls
(17:14):
and making sure everything soundsand looks as good as it possibly can.
All three of us currently here at DigitalLearning all come from a PBS background.
So we try to say that we bring that PBSesthetic to online education.
So the instructorswill come into our studio
and they'll present their lecturesand then after they're done and they leave
we packaged them and put them onlinefor you, our audience, to enjoy.
(17:36):
Now mistakes happenand that stuff gets edited out,
but we try to makethat look as seamless as possible.
One of the other things we do there inthe studio is we do field production.
Again, we're always trying
to find innovative waysof presenting the course material.
So rather than have a professorstand up at a blackboard
and talk about fermentation will encouragethem to get out in the field.
(17:56):
Why not go to a bakery or a breweryand talk
about how the fermentation processis used in real life?
We're always trying to look for innovativeways to liven up the content.
And so a large part of our jobis to work with the instructors
to make the courses engaging and fun andwe get to do a lot of really cool stuff.
We have some amazing instructorshere at the U of A who are always up
(18:17):
for the opportunity to really,
you know, kind of stretch the boundsand really go for it.
We had one instructor, Rob Stephan.
He's in the classics department.
He teaches Greek history,
and so he was doing an introfor his course and he wanted to travel
around to the pyramids and to theParthenon, all these different places.
So we actually had himstand up in front of the green screen
and he, you know, kind of like interactedwith what he was thought
(18:38):
was going to be behind him.He didn't really quite know at that time.
Let's take a closer look.
Oh, man.
Cool. The pyramids.
And so then afterwards we would key himover a shot of the pyramids.
And it was a lot of fun.
And it really livened up that introductionand really made it stand out.
So journey with me as we meet later.
(19:00):
But of course, we'll also dodemonstrations and demonstrations
are a lot of fun.
There's a professor of chemistry
and biochemistry here on campus,Laura Van Doren, and she's she's amazing.
And one daywe actually got the chance to go to
we got the chance to go to her lab whereshe had a bunch of gas filled balloons.
These were filled with nitrogen gas,helium, hydrogen and oxygen.
(19:20):
And then she would showhow each one of them reacted
when a flame was brought close to it.
I mean, the results were explosive,literally explosive.
Now, why is itthat hydrogen actually reacted
when nitrogen didn't?
I want you to think about the structure.
That caused that demonstration.
Really is a stand out with her students.
(19:43):
Bra was inviting our instructors to bringtheir personalities to their courses.
And one professor we get to work with, Dr.
David Soren. He's a regents professor.
He teaches in the anthropologyand classics department.
He's amazing.
You might see him on campus.
You'll see himkind of walking around on campus.
He's got his little dog,Alana, with him on a leash.
Well, he brings Lorna into the studio,and so he'll start each one
(20:04):
of his lectures with Lorna on his lap,and she'll get up and lick his nose
and he'll interact with her.And it's really cute.
And it's amazing.
It's amazing that the responsefrom his students, they love his courses
just for those little bitsthat he does with Lorna.
But one of the other really cool thingshe'll do is he'll weave humor
into his course.
Oftentimes arms in the middleof a lecture, he'll suddenly stop.
He'll have one of us in the studio crew,like, actually get up on set with him
(20:27):
and interrupt him
and kind of go through some little,you know, kind of humorous little bit.
Now, sometimes the jokes, you know,are meant to be lame.
So he'll expect us to maybe addin some cricket noises after the joke
has been told or put like a groaningaudience, like, oh, that was horrible.
With set.
I've beenI don't know what's wrong with me today.
I, I got up this morning,you know, I looked in the mirror
(20:51):
and I looked so old old and ghastly.
Well, look at the bright side, doctor.
Sore losers.Nothing wrong with your eyesight.
And this kind of stuff works.
Those courses really hold people's
attention, whether it's, you know,blowing up balloons in a laboratory.
Or green, screening yourselfagainst the pyramids of Egypt.
(21:13):
You know, this stuff has an impact,and we get feedback, and you can read
comments on, like, ratemy professors dot com and other sites
that students in those courses really dopay attention.
They're looking for this stuff.
We're always looking for innovativemethods to assist our instructors,
helping them present the lecturesin a meaningful and impactful way.
But it's all about our students,our viewers out there.
(21:35):
So we're always trying to figure out waysto make the material clear and engaging
and we're alwayslooking to new technologies
to we've been exploring, you know,augmented reality and virtual reality.
One of the thingsthat I recently got to try,
which I thought was a lot of fun,was shooting some 360 video
at a health clinic.
And so we had to move around differentlocations within this health clinic.
And so that students will eventuallybe able to put on, you know, VR goggles
(21:59):
or maybe even like Google Cardboard orsomething like that with their cell phone.
And they'll be able to look aroundthis clinic in a 360 kind of view and spot
certain highlighted featuresthat they're supposed to pay attention to.
So I really dolove what I do here at the U of A.
I get to workwith some amazing instructors.
I get to work with an amazing crewat Digital Learning.
Our goal is to help craft that content
(22:20):
and make it innovativeand engaging for our students
and who knows what the future holdsfor the world of education.
I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Danny McCartney is a senior at
Arizona Online studying psychologyand Care, Health and society.
(22:41):
Danny will graduate in May 2023and is on track
to graduate summa cum laudewith a 4.0 GPA.
She's an active member of the SEKAIInternational Honor Society and Psychology
and an intern for the Academic
Advising Team at the College of Socialand Behavioral Sciences.
You're Danny McCartney.
Yes. Tell us a little bitabout who you are.
(23:01):
I'm Danny McCartney.
I'm a studentat the University of Arizona Online.
I'm studying
psychology and care, health and society,getting both my degrees fully online.
I'm a transfer student from Pima CommunityCollege, so I started here in the fall
of 20, 20,right in the middle of the pandemic.
So that was interesting.
But it ended up kind of working outbecause all my classes were online
(23:21):
already.
So all my professors had their classesonline already.
So I didn't have to deal
with the adjustment of tryingto make main campus classes online.
So I was lucky in that way.
Awesome.
You said you're majoring in psychology,and what was the other one?
Care, health and Society.
Care, health and society.
What drew you towards those majors?
So I always have had a passionof helping people.
(23:43):
When I began college,I knew I wanted to do psychology
and I was minoring in care,helping society
because through the psychology major,you just have to pick a minor.
So I just picked on
that sounded interesting,
and then I ended upfalling in love with it and wanted to just
I just kept taking classes and classesand care, health and society
and had enough that I can easilyadd it as a double major.
(24:03):
So I did.
And I really liked the way thatthey kind of complement each other because
psychology, you study like the mindand human behavior on an individual
aspect versus Carrollton Society,you kind of look at societal factors
and how we as a society influenceeach other and each other's health
and human sufferingand all that with different social factors
in mindas well as the mind and bring aspect.
(24:27):
So what type of social factors likecan you give me an example of something
that impacts our psychologyor how we work as a society?
Like what would be an example of that?
So through care, health and society,
we kind of learn about differentsocial factors and like the inequalities,
different factorslike your education level
that in a way affects the health careyou receive or your health overall
because like your education level goesdirectly with your socioeconomic status
(24:50):
because if you are in the lowereconomic status,
you don't have access to money
to go and obtain a higher educationthan those who do, which then
both of those factors togetherinfluence your health
and possible health care that you're ableto receive or health resources.
And if you're less educatedand you also live in a lower socioeconomic
status, the neighborhood you live inmay have less resources.
(25:12):
So and it may be less safe to go
walk around your neighborhood at nightand get exercise and you're not given
access to healthy grocery storesor so it just all so intertwined,
which all of those social factors,if you look at like the psychology of it
generally will make younot as happy as a person.
And your mental health then may struggle.
So just kind of interestinghow they all intertwine.
(25:35):
You know, so really linking a lotof these societal factors that impact
minorities, communitiesand how that can impact their mental
health and maybe understandingthat the way that these social factors
are working against certain communitiescan really impact
how different care providersactually give help, right?
(25:55):
Like the types of help
that some communities might needthat other communities wouldn't.
Yeah, exactly.
And then what's even more awful about itis, yeah, then you have all these people
who are struggling more butthen don't have access to get the help.
So then they're all strugglingand facing these really hard
challenges and adversities,but they don't have the resources
or the accessor the ability to go and get help.
(26:18):
Like even down to just transportation.
If they need to get health treatment,they can't get there.
And so it's just all so deeply rootedand just really interesting
and makes you really want to helpand make a difference.
Yeah, it's interestingbecause in psychology
we learned about Maslow'shierarchy of needs
and then in care, health and society,we learned
about how that should be debunked almostbecause
(26:40):
if you can'tget to the highest level of your needs
because you don't even have your first oneof just your basic needs,
if you don't have your food and shelter,
how are you ever supposedto have like a fulfilled life?
So it's just interestingto learn about both sides of that.
Yeah, definitely.
Putting it in the largercontextual picture.
Yeah, you know, we can study psychologyand that's fantastic.
But also let's study societywithin the greater context of the world
(27:04):
we're living in. Yeah, definitely.
I know that as you move towardsgraduation, a lot of people will ask, you
know, what comes next?
And that's a pretty loaded question.
Are there some different ideasthat you have, different options
you're weighing, things
you might be thinking of like perhapsgrad school, perhaps not grad school.
You know, what are some different optionsthat you're just sort of exploring?
So after graduation, like I said,I was always really interested in helping
(27:26):
people and passionate about that.
So I did have a plan to continueto do a graduate program
and get my master'sor a PhD in clinical psychology,
which I'm still interested inand probably will want to do one day.
But directly after graduation,I actually have an internship right now
at the University of Arizona online,working with the academic
advisors for the online college of sports.
(27:48):
And I've kind of fallen in lovewith that too.
I really enjoy working with students,especially online students,
because they are from such diverseand different backgrounds.
And you're able to help peoplein a different way.
Like kind of what I've learned throughsocial factors, through my CHC degree.
It's education has a huge roleon social factors.
As well.
So just kind of being able to help peoplefind their way in their path
(28:10):
and continuethe next important step of their life.
So I'm considering maybe being an academicadvisor post-graduation
and kind of working with students,so the University of Arizona
and helping students in that way and thensee where life takes me after that.
That is a great idea.
I have a few friends
who are actually working and advisingand they talk a lot about,
you know, sort of the marriagebetween the counseling side and also the,
(28:35):
you know, education side and how education
is really a step in social mobility.
And so being able to counsel
and help people move throughthat process is incredibly important.
So I think that's an awesome goal.
And I'm biasedbecause I also work in higher education.
So I you know,I definitely would support that.
But let's talk about your internship.
(28:56):
That sounds super cool.
What kind of work are you doing with SB?
Yeah, I've loved it.
It's been really funand I've learned so much
and I felt like I feel like I've gottensuch great experience already.
My internship supervisor has been greatand she knows my goals
for after graduation.
So has helped me kind of tailormy internship to help me reach my goals.
So she's let me shadowa lot of student appointments.
(29:16):
So I've been able to sit downwith a lot of great students
and see different situationsand adversities or struggles
that they may be dealing withand what you're
kind of helped them overcome that to makehigher education accessible to everyone.
And I've also helped with a lotof making different graphics
and fliers to promote different wayswe can help them as well.
Like through different workshopsthat we've had with Think Tank
(29:38):
or there was even like we did workshopsto help students enroll in their
fall classes as well as like we've createdwith the College of Art Space Online.
We created an enrollment competitionto promote students
enrolling in their classes for the fallso that they get on that
and get in the classesthat they want to make sure
they get their first picks, whilealso kind of giving them incentives
(29:58):
and like some prizes and college swagto tell them they're doing a good job.
And that must be a really cool experience.
You know,you're moving through as a student,
but you're also already starting to getto help students and sort of feel out what
that career might feel like, you know,in a few months or in a year from now.
That's super cool. Yeah, it's very cool.
And I love every student I've worked withhas been super nice
and let me shadowing their appointmentsand help them as much as I can.
(30:21):
I've been able to email a few of them
and give them class suggestions,so it's been really rewarding.
That's awesome.
Let's talk about classesnow that you mention it.
What's it like being an online student?
Yeah, I love being an online student.
I actually started online in high school,so throughout my whole life had been
on like a public school, regularbrick and mortar school going every day
(30:42):
and I never really liked it, but I justdid it because that's what you had to do.
And then my freshman year of high school,I kind of learned about public online
public school,and so my mom allowed me to do it.
And just from then on, my lifekind of changed in a way.
Like I struggle a lot with anxiety.
And when I was in a public school,I couldn't raise my hand, ask a question
in front of my teachersand my entire class
(31:03):
because I didn't want to be the studentwho raised their hand
and didn't understandand kind of feel that judgment.
So by doing it online,I was able to watch my lectures
when I wanted to on my timewhen I was ready to learn.
And if I missed something,it was a lot easier to just rewind
and have to raise your handin front of 30 other students
so then I started Pima Community Collegeand took a few classes
(31:25):
on campus, took a few online,and still just really found myself
learning better, learning more, gainingmore from my online courses.
So when I transferred to the UVA,I knew I wanted to do Arizona online.
And so I started with full timeonline classes my first semester
and just continued through,and now I'm graduating in a semester.
That's exciting.
(31:45):
It's very exciting.
Yeah, I'm excited and scared, but excited.
I felt the same waywhen I went to graduate.
It was sad and exciting and confusing.
But, you know,
I think you just have to really relyon a lot of those skills and I think
you're speaking to a different skill set
that a lot of our main campusstudents can probably speak to, right?
(32:06):
You have a larger acumen for technologyand so I like what you said
about being able to learnwhen you wanted to,
and I think that's a lot of what we talkabout in student success.
And if you're interested in studentsuccess down the line, you'll read about
it is meeting students where they are.
And I think it's interesting that the maincampus set up doesn't always do that.
(32:28):
Right?
We expect students to show up to classwhen we schedule them.
We expect studentsto meet specific location requirements,
you know, and so I think onlinesort of opens up a new box
and a new ability to say, hey, here'swhere you are, let's meet you there.
Was that your experience?
Yeah, exactly.
It was less of,OK, this is how we're doing it.
(32:49):
We're doing this one way
and you need to learn the exact waythat we're teaching it.
And if you don't, you kind ofyou're going to fall behind with online.
I feel like there's so many more options.
And like you said, with technologyadvancing so much, there's
multiple different assignmenttypes. There's papers. Yes.
But then there's also like playposit videos
where you watch a videoand kind of interact
with the video throughout it,or you do class discussions
and I've honestly have gainedso much more knowledge, I feel like,
(33:12):
because I've been able to learn
on, like I said, my own timeas well as ask the questions I need to
and have a lot more formsof learning than just typical.
OK, you're going to do this paperand take this test.
There's a lot more options with technologynowadays.
So there's a lot I feel like there'sa higher chance of success for students
with online because they're not just givenone way that they have to learn things.
(33:35):
They're given multiple waysand multiple ways to express
what they have learnedand show what they've learned.
And I feel like they gain more that way.
Yeah.
You mentioned possiblygrad school in the future.
Is that something you think you'd continuein an online world
you'd want to go to onlinegrad school? Yeah, definitely.
When I first started high school online,there was like kind of negative stigmas
and a negative connotationwith, Oh, it's online.
(33:58):
That was more presentwhen I was in high school.
I feel like now we've kind of grown,especially when all of a sudden
the entire worldkind of switched to online.
I feel like there's beena lot more acceptance with it,
but there are still some I know peoplewho have their feelings towards online
that you don't get the same education,which I agree and disagree.
You don't get the same education.But is that a bad thing?
Is it bad that it's not the same aswhat it's been for the past hundred years?
(34:18):
We've grown as a society, as a whole.
Technology has advanced.
I feel like doing onlineeducation has just advanced
with cell phones and computers because 50years ago we didn't have access to that.
So now that we do, why not change?
Look at that technologyten years ago, right?
Yeah, definitely.
And I feel like I've learned so manyskills outside of academics to like
you have to be self-motivated,you have to be driven,
(34:40):
you have to hold yourself accountable,have be organized, have a schedule.
So doing online, like, yeah,you face those obstacles
in a way of having to do it yourselfand be motivated and driven yourself.
But how great
that you got to gain those skillswhile also gaining the academic skills.
You also take on a lot of other skillsthat you can apply towards.
Your. Career and future. Exactly.
Totally marketable skills.
(35:00):
You know, I use every day,you know, my boss says, here's a project.
You got to make it work and I do it.
But, you know, having been in an onlineclass setting to say, OK, here's,
you know,I have seven weeks to learn, here's
you know, obviously there's guidancethroughout the seven weeks.
It's not just a full syllabusand, you know,
but I definitely agree some of those timemanagement skills do come into play
that I learned in an online setting.
(35:21):
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
Super cool.
So what about outside the classroom?
You know, you are a student.You are an online student.
We love students,but you're also a person.
And I think that's super importantto acknowledge.
And I think in a space where
we're talking about technologyand we're talking about education,
we should also talk about whowe are as people.
So who are you as a person?
Yeah, well, I'm a really boring person.
(35:42):
Oh, I doubt it.
I spend a lot of my time doing schoollike I was a really bad student
in high school.
Like I didn't get the best gradesand I didn't really care.
And senior year,something kind of switched and I was like,
I want to get straight A's.
So then my senior year of high school,I did that.
And then since then, I've justbeen obsessed with getting straight A's.
So kind of devote everything to school.
So but in my free time,
(36:03):
I really just hang out with my familyhang out with my boyfriend.
I have a dog that is my entire world.
I hang out with a lot.
My dogs are my entire world as well.
So I very much understand.Unhealthy almost. Yeah.
I don'tthink I don't think that exists. But
is there anything we didn't talk aboutthat you want to talk about?
(36:23):
Going back onwhat I was saying with my online classes,
I've had so many differentlike assignments.
I think the University of Arizonaonline is really unique because
you're learning from the same professorswho teach on campus as well.
A lot of the times.
But I've also had professorswho live in Florida.
I've taken multiple classes from them andthey've been some of my favorite classes.
I've gotten to see a lot of casestudies, too.
I think that's another really awesomething is even when you're on main campus,
(36:47):
you don't see that case studiesright away.
They're still made up storiesand made up situations, or they're
real storiesthat you're just hearing about later
so I've got to see a lot of thoseand take those and make my own assignments
and different presentationsthat I've done.
Like there's been a lot of really,really interesting and awesome ways
to showwhat I've learned rather than just exams.
(37:07):
Another really awesome thing about onlineis, yes, there's exams
and they may be proctoredor multiple choice or short answer,
but then because it's online,it's almost more creative.
Like I'm not just answering.
True or false or multiple choice question,I'm able to take what I've learned
and then, OK,take what you've learned and apply it.
And I'm going to make an entire websiteand my gerontology course for psychology
(37:29):
and make an entire website
aimed towards a senior living communityand what that all needs to include.
And I made this really,really awesome website
that my professor actually ended up using,and it was just really cool
because I feel like I learned so much moreand was able to show what I learned
so much more than just taking a final examat the end of the semester.
So I just think online you're ableto be more creative as well as take home
(37:52):
and actually learn rather than I feel likeI've learned to learn
and rememberrather than learn to pass the test.
That's a really good point.
Yeah, I like that all right.
I'm going to ask you one more question.
OK, if you could give one piece of adviceto somebody
who's interested in online learning,what would you say?
I think one piece advice would just be,yeah, definitely stay organized,
(38:15):
stay on top of your deadlines,
because I think that's another thinglike doing online classes.
It isn't just a kind of free for all.
You don't pick your own deadlines
you still have deadlines and assignmentsand a professor and classmates.
And so I would just saystay organized, manage your time.
Well, I also think you kind of likeget what you put in.
So if you're going to
think that it's just an online classand it doesn't really matter, then yeah,
(38:38):
you won't learn as much as if you really,like, devote yourself and.
Don't be afraid to dedicate yourselfto what you're learning.
Yeah, exactly. Great.
Well, Danny, thank you so,so much for coming to chat with us.
I'm super excited for yougraduating next semester.
We are so excitedto have you on the podcast.
Thanks so muchand we hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
(39:03):
This podcast is brought to youby the online
distance and continuing educationbranch of the University of Arizona.
It has been directed by AvivaDoery, produced by Steve Bayless and Aviva.
Doery, executive producer, is Dr.
Craig Wilson.
For more information on Arizona online,visit A-Z Online DOT, Arizona Dot Edu.
To learn more about Digital Learning,visit Digital Learning DOT
(39:24):
Arizona Dot edu.
And for more information on psychologyat the U of a visit
Psychology Dot Arizona dot edu.
Thanks for listening, folks.
We'll see you on thenext episode of DigiCats.
Hello everyone.
Welcome to DigiCats, the podcastwhere we talk all things
education and technologyI'm your host, Aviva, Doery
This podcast is brought to youby the online
distance and continuing educationdivision of the University of Arizona.
(00:24):
Welcome backto another episode of DigiCats.
This month we are learning how the cookiegets made or in the case of online
education, how a course goes from an ideato production for digital consumption.
We start where all coursesstart with the faculty.
We will be joined by Dr.
Ashley Jordan, a professor of psychologyand director of online programs
for the psychology department
whose research focuses onhow to teach in online and digital spaces.
(00:48):
We then move to our amazing technologywizards, Steve Bayless, whose main job
when he isn't making this podcastsound really good,
is to produce and createeducational content for online courses.
Finally, we have the pleasure of hearingfrom one of our very own online
students, Dani McCartney,who shares her experience as a consumer
of the amazing digital educational contentthat Steve and Dr.
(01:08):
Jordan so expertly produce.
I know that was quite the introduction,but what can I say?
I'm excited about this episode.
Let's begin with Dr. Ashley Jordan.
She is an associate professor of practiceand director of online programs
for the psychology department.
Her primary research interestsrevolve around the scholarship
of teaching and learning in onlinecontexts in higher education.
(01:29):
Specifically, she is interested inhow pedagogical practices and technologies
can be used and incorporatedin an online environment to enhance
student engagement with the instructor,with peers, and with course material.
Her ultimate goal is to increasestudent success, meaning better
learning and better retention.
(01:55):
Dr. Jordan,thanks so much for joining us today.
Why don't you tell us a little bitabout what
you do here at the University of Arizona.
Sure. Well,thank you so much for having me.
I'm really excited to be here.
I am an associate professor of practicein the psychology department,
and I am also director of online programsfor the psychology department.
What does it mean to bethe director of online for psychology?
(02:17):
Well, when I was hired,
it was when we were very firstlaunching our full VA program online.
And so it was initially overseeingthat course,
curriculum development and scheduling,academic scheduling.
And since then,our online program has grown.
So it no longer includes just the VA.
We are also working ongetting the base up.
(02:39):
And we recently got approvalfor academic certificate.
So that's launching this fall.
And we are working with a micro campusactually in Lima, Peru,
to offer a dual degree.
So that will all be done online as well.
Yes, there are a lot of a lot of onlineprograms in the department under works.
Awesome.
So what we decided to talk abouta little bit in this episode
(03:00):
is essentially how a course goesfrom ideation to the student consuming it.
And I think a lot of time
those courses start with you guys,with the faculty, with ideas.
So talk me through a little bit
like the thought processof where a course begins and how we get to
then working with our digital creatorsto put that course into an online setting.
I thinkevery class is a little bit different,
(03:21):
so it definitely depends on the contentand the scope of that course.
And then I also thinkthat an important thing to keep in mind is
that teaching is iterative.
So it's always changing and evolving.
So what I start off with withthe first iteration is very unlikely
to be exactly what you see
three semesters laterso it changes and evolves across time,
(03:43):
not just in relation to assignmentsrelated to the course,
but also in terms of the coursescope itself in some ways.
For example,we have recently included an emphasis
on diversity, equity and inclusion
in all of our courses and careerconnections and all of our courses.
And so that's something that in additionto the regular course content
(04:04):
we're now incorporating to more directlyanswer your question.
Typically we have some ideaof what exactly we want to be teaching.
And then usually I start with oneor two cool tools that I want to use,
and that's where I really partnerwith Office of Digital Learning
because they have all the expertize
with their instructional designersand helping me to bring this idea to life.
(04:29):
And so there have been timeswhere I've had a vague idea, like,
I want to do a choose your own adventurething, and then how do I make that work?
I want to kind of gamify it.
And how does that look in an online classand how do I make that practical?
And I pair up with IDsinstructional designers to help me figure
out the best way to present thatand make it work for students.
(04:52):
So you just mentioned this flexibility,right, that you have in
an online space that you may not havein an in-person class.
So what is it like to be able to runwith an idea
and have different technologiesto support you in that process?
Is it really exciting?
Is it you know,I assume it's also somewhat challenging
because the technology may not meet youwhere you want to go.
(05:15):
That's where it's really helpfulto only introduce one or two new tools
or technologies at a time
rather than just throwing in the kitchensink all at once.
And it also helps to have some experiencewith a tool or technology.
So oftentimes if I'm incorporatingsomething new, I will try to practice it
or work with it first, or maybe workwith it in a way that's more simplistic.
(05:36):
And so for an example, is the first timethat I ever used the tool play position,
I just used it with a videofrom the Internet,
like a TED talk that I put in there.
And if listeners are unfamiliarwith that tool, it's
a way to have students engagewith content by having questions
directly embedded within the videoso that they can answer those questions.
(05:57):
And get credit for that in the course.
As timehas evolved, I now create my own videos.
So instead of relying on videosfrom the Internet that were already
preexistingvideos, it's my own lecture content
and still have the same thing wherethere is questions embedded throughout.
And that way
it's more cool that it's my own contentbecause I can also have the questions
(06:18):
direct students to make connectionsacross the course material.
So thinking back about previous lecturesand relating that to future things
that we will be talking aboutwithin the class.
And so it's a little bit more involved
than my first iterationof using that technology.
Yeah, definitely.
So thinking ahead, are therecertain technologies that you're like,
(06:41):
Wow, that would be so coolto use in an online setting?
Or are there technologiesyou're using where you're like,
Here's the next step, here'swhere I'm going with this
you know, give us a little sneak peekinto where the tech is taking us.
Well, I would really like to usenext as I'd like to get into more VR
and air stuff.
Especially at being an online class,I think that that leaves us open
(07:01):
to a lot of possibilities for studentswho are already engaged in technology
because the nature of it
being an online class,they're doing these things electronically,
and the technology has come to a placewhere there's
a lot of cost effectivemeans for doing that.
And so I could see, for example,
in unit, you know, psychology,so we learn about the brain.
(07:23):
So in a unit on the human brain,rather than it being in
a PowerPoint presentation that studentslooking at slightly on their screen
having to be this three dimensional thingthat we're able to blow up and take apart
and look at the different structures.
And what does that do specificallyand highlight those areas in a way
where it's more potentially meaningfuland impactful for the student
(07:43):
rather than seeing it in a flat,two dimensional space.
Right. Brings in that experiential pieceto it.
Exactly.
Well,we love talking about virtual reality
on this podcast,and if our listeners are catching
on, it's one of my favorite topics.
So let's jump
a little bit into your researchbecause you do teach as a faculty,
but you also have the opportunityto do research.
So what's your focus?
So all of my research at this time is on
(08:06):
student learning and student success.
So I'm really interested in differenttechnological tools that help students
and even pedagogical practicesFor example,
one of the recent presentations that I didthat I'm working on is talking
about the impact of student choicein terms of affecting their learning.
(08:26):
So I have different assignmentswhere I allow students to pick.
Do you want to complete this assignment
doing kind of the traditional wayof just writing a research paper
or do you want to use a new tech toolor potentially new to them?
Not new in general.
So we have Adobe Creative Suite here,and it's available to students for free.
And so I will offer them as a possibilityto create a video for our project.
(08:51):
And so this applies to universal designfor learning principles.
Where students are getting a choicein how they want to complete this project.
It's basically the same instructions,regardless
of which way they're presenting it.
But I really try to encourage thattech piece and then I've done research on
how that impacts students,and it turns out that it makes them more
engaged in the course content,it makes them more interested in it.
(09:12):
They report that it helpsaid their learning
because they are more engaged in it,they're more interested in it.
And there's a lot of research that showsthat the more engagement students
have within a class, the betterthey're able to do within the class.
And the more likely they are to persistwithin the program overall and ultimately
reach graduation, which is really our goalhere, is to have students be successful.
(09:32):
Yeah, this is a lot of implicationsfor retention and graduation rates.
Exactly.
So I'm just curious,have you shared this knowledge
with your compatriots, with other faculty,and has that impacted
how students are interactingwith their courses as well?
Absolutely.
I am very involved in the scholarshipof teaching and learning.
University of Arizona.
We have a faculty learning communitiesthat I have been an active participant
(09:56):
in that
I've been able to learn a lot from othersand then teach them things that I've done
as well.
Also within the department,we have different teaching series, and I
participated in those within my departmentas well as within other colleges.
They have similar teaching panelswhere we're able to talk
about different tools and technologies,and I would love to continue that.
You know, I worked with collaborators
(10:17):
from other universities,so we're publishing on these things.
And I think that it's importantthat even though we're a research
one universityand I definitely recognize that ultimately
I feel like our mission at its coreas a university is to educate students.
And so that's really where my passionlies.
Yeah. We don't really existwithout the students. Absolutely.
And the reason I really like your researchis because you're sort of
(10:39):
making this whole marriageof your entire identity as a faculty.
If I may write like
your research is directly embeddedin your teaching,
which is directly embeddedwith your students, which comes back.
It just seems very cyclicaland like a great way
to have a really awesome impactfor your students.
Thanks. It's by design.
So my background is actually in familystudies and human development.
(10:59):
So my Ph.D.
was actually on risky adolescent behavior,and I no longer do that research.
Once I got into psychology,I did still initially dabble in that.
And obviously it's importantto have that content knowledge
when you're teaching those courses.
But I just really found a passionfor wanting
to learn about best practices,for teaching and to really engage
(11:20):
with that literatureand be more involved in that field.
Can we expand on that just a little bit,because I'm currently Ph.D.
student, and so I thinkthere's an understanding of you
do your PhD and that is your lifeand nothing can change, right?
There's sort of this trope ofthat is your pedagogy.
That is what you studyand learn and live and breathe.
Can you talk a little bitabout how it's been to explore new topics
(11:44):
once you've gotten into a faculty spaceand be able
to expand your knowledge and really studywhat kind of comes your way?
Yeah, absolutely.
I will first say it's not necessarily easybecause you are so immersed
in a field of literature for whateverit is you're studying in graduate school
and to shift.
That is not an easy transition.
(12:05):
But we also have a saying in psychologywhen we go to the academic conferences
and we're seeingwhat people are presenting
that it's all me research,not just of research, but me search.
People have research.
They tend to research the things thatreally interest them, which makes sense.
And so if your interests evolve and shiftand change, I think that you'd be
doing a disservice and trying to stay inwhatever the past was.
(12:28):
You got to gowith wherever you're heading.
And even though it's not necessarilyan easy transition, it's a worthwhile one.
Great advice.
I'm going to stick that in my pocketfor later on the train of advice.
We'd like to ask everybodya signature question, and that is
what is the best piece of advicethat a past professor
or mentor has given you in your journey?
That's a great question.
(12:49):
I would say that
at one time I encountered an issuewith students cheating,
and I was really torn onhow to handle this
because once I caught the student,they fessed up to it.
And that'sunfortunately not entirely common.
Typically,you catch someone cheating and they deny.
And so in this specific situation,I was just really torn on
(13:10):
what is the penalty I should impose,what should I do in this situation.
And I had a mentortell me never to forget that
the ultimate goal is to teach
Everything else is subordinateto that main goal.
And so making thatinto a teaching experience,
even for the student,a learning experience for them
(13:31):
instead of it being onethat was purely punitive in nature.
So to me,I try to keep that in mind in all regards,
not just in plagiarismtype situations or academic integrity.
Situations,that the ultimate goal is to teach
and everything else comessecondary to that.
Well, that's great advice.
Now, if we have faculty membersthat want to get connected
(13:51):
if we have students that are like,Wow, I need to take your course.
Where can they get connected with you?
Yeah, absolutely.
You can find me in psychology.
So I've got a faculty web page there.
I like to participate in the facultylearning communities.
That's a great way to connectnot just with me, but other like minded
faculty who are interestedin kind of these cutting edge
pedagogical techniques and practicesand reach out to me personally.
(14:13):
You can email me at Jordan one at Arizona,talk to you.
I'd love to meet people.
Thanks so much for taking some timeto hang with us on the show today.
I was super inspired by the waythat you approach your scholarship
and your teachingand how they come together into one.
So thanks so much for taking the time.It's great chatting with you.
Thanks. I've loved it. Thank you.
(14:41):
That was Dr.
Ashley Jordan talking to usabout the faculty experience
when creating and teachingonline courses and also in researching
how to create engaging and informativedigital content for our students.
So how do we get from facultyhaving an idea to students
actually interacting with that ideain a digital space?
Well, we need people
like Steve and his amazing teamover at the Office of Digital Learning.
(15:04):
So here's Steve to tell you
a little bit more about that process,from taking faculty ideas to putting them
in an online space for studentsto engage with and learn from.
Thank you, Aviva.
My name is Steve Bayless.
I'm a videographer producerwith the Digital Learning Department,
and basically we help produce the materialthat you see in your online courses.
We produce the videos that you see.
I have to go back in timebefore it even gets to us.
(15:27):
It all starts with the instructionaldesigners, and these are fantastic folks
that work with the instructorsto help craft that course
for the online environment.
They basically take that in-personface to face course
and they figure out waysto adapt it to the online arena.
Through all this, they want itto be engaging and informative,
but they're also trying to figure out waysto make it innovative there.
(15:48):
We're always trying to, you know, keepour audience engaged with the material.
So one of the most important thingsthey do with instructors is they take that
maybe it was a face to face courseand lasting an hour or so.
They try to encourage the instructorsto make that content in shorter bites.
More digestible nuggets, as you might say.
So they're always looking to try to say,OK, if you've got like this
(16:09):
hour long course, maybe
split it up into maybe four or five parts,make it between ten and 15 minutes.
So you can thank us for that.
Once the instructional designersor IDs, as we call
them, has worked with the instructor,that's when we get involved.
We have a full service studio in Harvell,and we're actually building
a second one on the way.
We also have a podcast studioin the library in addition to what
(16:31):
we call a one button studio,and we're always trying to figure out
innovative ways of getting,you know, the material delivered.
So we figured, you know, podcastingis an option out there for instructors.
And then we have the one button studiofor really quick turnarounds
with our instructors.
But in our main studio,we can do a lot of different things.
We can do the traditional lectureswhere if you've seen any of our online
courses, you see an instructor
(16:52):
standing up maybe in front of a wood wallwith a monitor over their shoulder.
That's right.
That's happening in our studiothat's shot right here in Harvell
in that same studio. We can do interviews.
We can also do some really cool stuffwith green screen,
but it's a full service studio,so we treat it very professionally.
We have three cameras,we have a teleprompter.
There's usually an engineer
sitting in the control roomkind of manning the controls
(17:14):
and making sure everything soundsand looks as good as it possibly can.
All three of us currently here at DigitalLearning all come from a PBS background.
So we try to say that we bring that PBSesthetic to online education.
So the instructorswill come into our studio
and they'll present their lecturesand then after they're done and they leave
we packaged them and put them onlinefor you, our audience, to enjoy.
(17:36):
Now mistakes happenand that stuff gets edited out,
but we try to makethat look as seamless as possible.
One of the other things we do there inthe studio is we do field production.
Again, we're always trying
to find innovative waysof presenting the course material.
So rather than have a professorstand up at a blackboard
and talk about fermentation will encouragethem to get out in the field.
(17:56):
Why not go to a bakery or a breweryand talk
about how the fermentation processis used in real life?
We're always trying to look for innovativeways to liven up the content.
And so a large part of our jobis to work with the instructors
to make the courses engaging and fun andwe get to do a lot of really cool stuff.
We have some amazing instructorshere at the U of A who are always up
(18:17):
for the opportunity to really,
you know, kind of stretch the boundsand really go for it.
We had one instructor, Rob Stephan.
He's in the classics department.
He teaches Greek history,
and so he was doing an introfor his course and he wanted to travel
around to the pyramids and to theParthenon, all these different places.
So we actually had himstand up in front of the green screen
and he, you know, kind of like interactedwith what he was thought
(18:38):
was going to be behind him.He didn't really quite know at that time.
Let's take a closer look.
Oh, man.
Cool. The pyramids.
And so then afterwards we would key himover a shot of the pyramids.
And it was a lot of fun.
And it really livened up that introductionand really made it stand out.
So journey with me as we meet later.
(19:00):
But of course, we'll also dodemonstrations and demonstrations
are a lot of fun.
There's a professor of chemistry
and biochemistry here on campus,Laura Van Doren, and she's she's amazing.
And one daywe actually got the chance to go to
we got the chance to go to her lab whereshe had a bunch of gas filled balloons.
These were filled with nitrogen gas,helium, hydrogen and oxygen.
(19:20):
And then she would showhow each one of them reacted
when a flame was brought close to it.
I mean, the results were explosive,literally explosive.
Now, why is itthat hydrogen actually reacted
when nitrogen didn't?
I want you to think about the structure.
That caused that demonstration.
Really is a stand out with her students.
(19:43):
Bra was inviting our instructors to bringtheir personalities to their courses.
And one professor we get to work with, Dr.
David Soren. He's a regents professor.
He teaches in the anthropologyand classics department.
He's amazing.
You might see him on campus.
You'll see himkind of walking around on campus.
He's got his little dog,Alana, with him on a leash.
Well, he brings Lorna into the studio,and so he'll start each one
(20:04):
of his lectures with Lorna on his lap,and she'll get up and lick his nose
and he'll interact with her.And it's really cute.
And it's amazing.
It's amazing that the responsefrom his students, they love his courses
just for those little bitsthat he does with Lorna.
But one of the other really cool thingshe'll do is he'll weave humor
into his course.
Oftentimes arms in the middleof a lecture, he'll suddenly stop.
He'll have one of us in the studio crew,like, actually get up on set with him
(20:27):
and interrupt him
and kind of go through some little,you know, kind of humorous little bit.
Now, sometimes the jokes, you know,are meant to be lame.
So he'll expect us to maybe addin some cricket noises after the joke
has been told or put like a groaningaudience, like, oh, that was horrible.
With set.
I've beenI don't know what's wrong with me today.
I, I got up this morning,you know, I looked in the mirror
(20:51):
and I looked so old old and ghastly.
Well, look at the bright side, doctor.
Sore losers.Nothing wrong with your eyesight.
And this kind of stuff works.
Those courses really hold people's
attention, whether it's, you know,blowing up balloons in a laboratory.
Or green, screening yourselfagainst the pyramids of Egypt.
(21:13):
You know, this stuff has an impact,and we get feedback, and you can read
comments on, like, ratemy professors dot com and other sites
that students in those courses really dopay attention.
They're looking for this stuff.
We're always looking for innovativemethods to assist our instructors,
helping them present the lecturesin a meaningful and impactful way.
But it's all about our students,our viewers out there.
(21:35):
So we're always trying to figure out waysto make the material clear and engaging
and we're alwayslooking to new technologies
to we've been exploring, you know,augmented reality and virtual reality.
One of the thingsthat I recently got to try,
which I thought was a lot of fun,was shooting some 360 video
at a health clinic.
And so we had to move around differentlocations within this health clinic.
And so that students will eventuallybe able to put on, you know, VR goggles
(21:59):
or maybe even like Google Cardboard orsomething like that with their cell phone.
And they'll be able to look aroundthis clinic in a 360 kind of view and spot
certain highlighted featuresthat they're supposed to pay attention to.
So I really dolove what I do here at the U of A.
I get to workwith some amazing instructors.
I get to work with an amazing crewat Digital Learning.
Our goal is to help craft that content
(22:20):
and make it innovativeand engaging for our students
and who knows what the future holdsfor the world of education.
I, for one, am looking forward to it.
Danny McCartney is a senior at
Arizona Online studying psychologyand Care, Health and society.
(22:41):
Danny will graduate in May 2023and is on track
to graduate summa cum laudewith a 4.0 GPA.
She's an active member of the SEKAIInternational Honor Society and Psychology
and an intern for the Academic
Advising Team at the College of Socialand Behavioral Sciences.
You're Danny McCartney.
Yes. Tell us a little bitabout who you are.
(23:01):
I'm Danny McCartney.
I'm a studentat the University of Arizona Online.
I'm studying
psychology and care, health and society,getting both my degrees fully online.
I'm a transfer student from Pima CommunityCollege, so I started here in the fall
of 20, 20,right in the middle of the pandemic.
So that was interesting.
But it ended up kind of working outbecause all my classes were online
(23:21):
already.
So all my professors had their classesonline already.
So I didn't have to deal
with the adjustment of tryingto make main campus classes online.
So I was lucky in that way.
Awesome.
You said you're majoring in psychology,and what was the other one?
Care, health and Society.
Care, health and society.
What drew you towards those majors?
So I always have had a passionof helping people.
(23:43):
When I began college,I knew I wanted to do psychology
and I was minoring in care,helping society
because through the psychology major,you just have to pick a minor.
So I just picked on
that sounded interesting,
and then I ended upfalling in love with it and wanted to just
I just kept taking classes and classesand care, health and society
and had enough that I can easilyadd it as a double major.
(24:03):
So I did.
And I really liked the way thatthey kind of complement each other because
psychology, you study like the mindand human behavior on an individual
aspect versus Carrollton Society,you kind of look at societal factors
and how we as a society influenceeach other and each other's health
and human sufferingand all that with different social factors
in mindas well as the mind and bring aspect.
(24:27):
So what type of social factors likecan you give me an example of something
that impacts our psychologyor how we work as a society?
Like what would be an example of that?
So through care, health and society,
we kind of learn about differentsocial factors and like the inequalities,
different factorslike your education level
that in a way affects the health careyou receive or your health overall
because like your education level goesdirectly with your socioeconomic status
(24:50):
because if you are in the lowereconomic status,
you don't have access to money
to go and obtain a higher educationthan those who do, which then
both of those factors togetherinfluence your health
and possible health care that you're ableto receive or health resources.
And if you're less educatedand you also live in a lower socioeconomic
status, the neighborhood you live inmay have less resources.
(25:12):
So and it may be less safe to go
walk around your neighborhood at nightand get exercise and you're not given
access to healthy grocery storesor so it just all so intertwined,
which all of those social factors,if you look at like the psychology of it
generally will make younot as happy as a person.
And your mental health then may struggle.
So just kind of interestinghow they all intertwine.
(25:35):
You know, so really linking a lotof these societal factors that impact
minorities, communitiesand how that can impact their mental
health and maybe understandingthat the way that these social factors
are working against certain communitiescan really impact
how different care providersactually give help, right?
(25:55):
Like the types of help
that some communities might needthat other communities wouldn't.
Yeah, exactly.
And then what's even more awful about itis, yeah, then you have all these people
who are struggling more butthen don't have access to get the help.
So then they're all strugglingand facing these really hard
challenges and adversities,but they don't have the resources
or the accessor the ability to go and get help.
(26:18):
Like even down to just transportation.
If they need to get health treatment,they can't get there.
And so it's just all so deeply rootedand just really interesting
and makes you really want to helpand make a difference.
Yeah, it's interestingbecause in psychology
we learned about Maslow'shierarchy of needs
and then in care, health and society,we learned
about how that should be debunked almostbecause
(26:40):
if you can'tget to the highest level of your needs
because you don't even have your first oneof just your basic needs,
if you don't have your food and shelter,
how are you ever supposedto have like a fulfilled life?
So it's just interestingto learn about both sides of that.
Yeah, definitely.
Putting it in the largercontextual picture.
Yeah, you know, we can study psychologyand that's fantastic.
But also let's study societywithin the greater context of the world
(27:04):
we're living in. Yeah, definitely.
I know that as you move towardsgraduation, a lot of people will ask, you
know, what comes next?
And that's a pretty loaded question.
Are there some different ideasthat you have, different options
you're weighing, things
you might be thinking of like perhapsgrad school, perhaps not grad school.
You know, what are some different optionsthat you're just sort of exploring?
So after graduation, like I said,I was always really interested in helping
(27:26):
people and passionate about that.
So I did have a plan to continueto do a graduate program
and get my master'sor a PhD in clinical psychology,
which I'm still interested inand probably will want to do one day.
But directly after graduation,I actually have an internship right now
at the University of Arizona online,working with the academic
advisors for the online college of sports.
(27:48):
And I've kind of fallen in lovewith that too.
I really enjoy working with students,especially online students,
because they are from such diverseand different backgrounds.
And you're able to help peoplein a different way.
Like kind of what I've learned throughsocial factors, through my CHC degree.
It's education has a huge roleon social factors.
As well.
So just kind of being able to help peoplefind their way in their path
(28:10):
and continuethe next important step of their life.
So I'm considering maybe being an academicadvisor post-graduation
and kind of working with students,so the University of Arizona
and helping students in that way and thensee where life takes me after that.
That is a great idea.
I have a few friends
who are actually working and advisingand they talk a lot about,
you know, sort of the marriagebetween the counseling side and also the,
(28:35):
you know, education side and how education
is really a step in social mobility.
And so being able to counsel
and help people move throughthat process is incredibly important.
So I think that's an awesome goal.
And I'm biasedbecause I also work in higher education.
So I you know,I definitely would support that.
But let's talk about your internship.
(28:56):
That sounds super cool.
What kind of work are you doing with SB?
Yeah, I've loved it.
It's been really funand I've learned so much
and I felt like I feel like I've gottensuch great experience already.
My internship supervisor has been greatand she knows my goals
for after graduation.
So has helped me kind of tailormy internship to help me reach my goals.
So she's let me shadowa lot of student appointments.
(29:16):
So I've been able to sit downwith a lot of great students
and see different situationsand adversities or struggles
that they may be dealing withand what you're
kind of helped them overcome that to makehigher education accessible to everyone.
And I've also helped with a lotof making different graphics
and fliers to promote different wayswe can help them as well.
Like through different workshopsthat we've had with Think Tank
(29:38):
or there was even like we did workshopsto help students enroll in their
fall classes as well as like we've createdwith the College of Art Space Online.
We created an enrollment competitionto promote students
enrolling in their classes for the fallso that they get on that
and get in the classesthat they want to make sure
they get their first picks, whilealso kind of giving them incentives
(29:58):
and like some prizes and college swagto tell them they're doing a good job.
And that must be a really cool experience.
You know,you're moving through as a student,
but you're also already starting to getto help students and sort of feel out what
that career might feel like, you know,in a few months or in a year from now.
That's super cool. Yeah, it's very cool.
And I love every student I've worked withhas been super nice
and let me shadowing their appointmentsand help them as much as I can.
(30:21):
I've been able to email a few of them
and give them class suggestions,so it's been really rewarding.
That's awesome.
Let's talk about classesnow that you mention it.
What's it like being an online student?
Yeah, I love being an online student.
I actually started online in high school,so throughout my whole life had been
on like a public school, regularbrick and mortar school going every day
(30:42):
and I never really liked it, but I justdid it because that's what you had to do.
And then my freshman year of high school,I kind of learned about public online
public school,and so my mom allowed me to do it.
And just from then on, my lifekind of changed in a way.
Like I struggle a lot with anxiety.
And when I was in a public school,I couldn't raise my hand, ask a question
in front of my teachersand my entire class
(31:03):
because I didn't want to be the studentwho raised their hand
and didn't understandand kind of feel that judgment.
So by doing it online,I was able to watch my lectures
when I wanted to on my timewhen I was ready to learn.
And if I missed something,it was a lot easier to just rewind
and have to raise your handin front of 30 other students
so then I started Pima Community Collegeand took a few classes
(31:25):
on campus, took a few online,and still just really found myself
learning better, learning more, gainingmore from my online courses.
So when I transferred to the UVA,I knew I wanted to do Arizona online.
And so I started with full timeonline classes my first semester
and just continued through,and now I'm graduating in a semester.
That's exciting.
(31:45):
It's very exciting.
Yeah, I'm excited and scared, but excited.
I felt the same waywhen I went to graduate.
It was sad and exciting and confusing.
But, you know,
I think you just have to really relyon a lot of those skills and I think
you're speaking to a different skill set
that a lot of our main campusstudents can probably speak to, right?
(32:06):
You have a larger acumen for technologyand so I like what you said
about being able to learnwhen you wanted to,
and I think that's a lot of what we talkabout in student success.
And if you're interested in studentsuccess down the line, you'll read about
it is meeting students where they are.
And I think it's interesting that the maincampus set up doesn't always do that.
(32:28):
Right?
We expect students to show up to classwhen we schedule them.
We expect studentsto meet specific location requirements,
you know, and so I think onlinesort of opens up a new box
and a new ability to say, hey, here'swhere you are, let's meet you there.
Was that your experience?
Yeah, exactly.
It was less of,OK, this is how we're doing it.
(32:49):
We're doing this one way
and you need to learn the exact waythat we're teaching it.
And if you don't, you kind ofyou're going to fall behind with online.
I feel like there's so many more options.
And like you said, with technologyadvancing so much, there's
multiple different assignmenttypes. There's papers. Yes.
But then there's also like playposit videos
where you watch a videoand kind of interact
with the video throughout it,or you do class discussions
and I've honestly have gainedso much more knowledge, I feel like,
(33:12):
because I've been able to learn
on, like I said, my own timeas well as ask the questions I need to
and have a lot more formsof learning than just typical.
OK, you're going to do this paperand take this test.
There's a lot more options with technologynowadays.
So there's a lot I feel like there'sa higher chance of success for students
with online because they're not just givenone way that they have to learn things.
(33:35):
They're given multiple waysand multiple ways to express
what they have learnedand show what they've learned.
And I feel like they gain more that way.
Yeah.
You mentioned possiblygrad school in the future.
Is that something you think you'd continuein an online world
you'd want to go to onlinegrad school? Yeah, definitely.
When I first started high school online,there was like kind of negative stigmas
and a negative connotationwith, Oh, it's online.
(33:58):
That was more presentwhen I was in high school.
I feel like now we've kind of grown,especially when all of a sudden
the entire worldkind of switched to online.
I feel like there's beena lot more acceptance with it,
but there are still some I know peoplewho have their feelings towards online
that you don't get the same education,which I agree and disagree.
You don't get the same education.But is that a bad thing?
Is it bad that it's not the same aswhat it's been for the past hundred years?
(34:18):
We've grown as a society, as a whole.
Technology has advanced.
I feel like doing onlineeducation has just advanced
with cell phones and computers because 50years ago we didn't have access to that.
So now that we do, why not change?
Look at that technologyten years ago, right?
Yeah, definitely.
And I feel like I've learned so manyskills outside of academics to like
you have to be self-motivated,you have to be driven,
(34:40):
you have to hold yourself accountable,have be organized, have a schedule.
So doing online, like, yeah,you face those obstacles
in a way of having to do it yourselfand be motivated and driven yourself.
But how great
that you got to gain those skillswhile also gaining the academic skills.
You also take on a lot of other skillsthat you can apply towards.
Your. Career and future. Exactly.
Totally marketable skills.
(35:00):
You know, I use every day,you know, my boss says, here's a project.
You got to make it work and I do it.
But, you know, having been in an onlineclass setting to say, OK, here's,
you know,I have seven weeks to learn, here's
you know, obviously there's guidancethroughout the seven weeks.
It's not just a full syllabusand, you know,
but I definitely agree some of those timemanagement skills do come into play
that I learned in an online setting.
(35:21):
Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
Super cool.
So what about outside the classroom?
You know, you are a student.You are an online student.
We love students,but you're also a person.
And I think that's super importantto acknowledge.
And I think in a space where
we're talking about technologyand we're talking about education,
we should also talk about whowe are as people.
So who are you as a person?
Yeah, well, I'm a really boring person.
(35:42):
Oh, I doubt it.
I spend a lot of my time doing schoollike I was a really bad student
in high school.
Like I didn't get the best gradesand I didn't really care.
And senior year,something kind of switched and I was like,
I want to get straight A's.
So then my senior year of high school,I did that.
And then since then, I've justbeen obsessed with getting straight A's.
So kind of devote everything to school.
So but in my free time,
(36:03):
I really just hang out with my familyhang out with my boyfriend.
I have a dog that is my entire world.
I hang out with a lot.
My dogs are my entire world as well.
So I very much understand.Unhealthy almost. Yeah.
I don'tthink I don't think that exists. But
is there anything we didn't talk aboutthat you want to talk about?
(36:23):
Going back onwhat I was saying with my online classes,
I've had so many differentlike assignments.
I think the University of Arizonaonline is really unique because
you're learning from the same professorswho teach on campus as well.
A lot of the times.
But I've also had professorswho live in Florida.
I've taken multiple classes from them andthey've been some of my favorite classes.
I've gotten to see a lot of casestudies, too.
I think that's another really awesomething is even when you're on main campus,
(36:47):
you don't see that case studiesright away.
They're still made up storiesand made up situations, or they're
real storiesthat you're just hearing about later
so I've got to see a lot of thoseand take those and make my own assignments
and different presentationsthat I've done.
Like there's been a lot of really,really interesting and awesome ways
to showwhat I've learned rather than just exams.
(37:07):
Another really awesome thing about onlineis, yes, there's exams
and they may be proctoredor multiple choice or short answer,
but then because it's online,it's almost more creative.
Like I'm not just answering.
True or false or multiple choice question,I'm able to take what I've learned
and then, OK,take what you've learned and apply it.
And I'm going to make an entire websiteand my gerontology course for psychology
(37:29):
and make an entire website
aimed towards a senior living communityand what that all needs to include.
And I made this really,really awesome website
that my professor actually ended up using,and it was just really cool
because I feel like I learned so much moreand was able to show what I learned
so much more than just taking a final examat the end of the semester.
So I just think online you're ableto be more creative as well as take home
(37:52):
and actually learn rather than I feel likeI've learned to learn
and rememberrather than learn to pass the test.
That's a really good point.
Yeah, I like that all right.
I'm going to ask you one more question.
OK, if you could give one piece of adviceto somebody
who's interested in online learning,what would you say?
I think one piece advice would just be,yeah, definitely stay organized,
(38:15):
stay on top of your deadlines,
because I think that's another thinglike doing online classes.
It isn't just a kind of free for all.
You don't pick your own deadlines
you still have deadlines and assignmentsand a professor and classmates.
And so I would just saystay organized, manage your time.
Well, I also think you kind of likeget what you put in.
So if you're going to
think that it's just an online classand it doesn't really matter, then yeah,
(38:38):
you won't learn as much as if you really,like, devote yourself and.
Don't be afraid to dedicate yourselfto what you're learning.
Yeah, exactly. Great.
Well, Danny, thank you so,so much for coming to chat with us.
I'm super excited for yougraduating next semester.
We are so excitedto have you on the podcast.
Thanks so muchand we hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
(39:03):
This podcast is brought to youby the online
distance and continuing educationbranch of the University of Arizona.
It has been directed by AvivaDoery, produced by Steve Bayless and Aviva.
Doery, executive producer, is Dr.
Craig Wilson.
For more information on Arizona online,visit A-Z Online DOT, Arizona Dot Edu.
To learn more about Digital Learning,visit Digital Learning DOT
(39:24):
Arizona Dot edu.
And for more information on psychologyat the U of a visit
Psychology Dot Arizona dot edu.
Thanks for listening, folks.
We'll see you on thenext episode of DigiCats.
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