Leading a Community in Online Learning Research
Cynthia Ris teaches both online courses and hybrid ones, a blend of online and face to face, and she studies the benefits and challenges of each class format to develop the best course design.
Im looking to see how I can help students facility with working online and especially improve their communication and critical thinking skills, Ris, an English professor in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, said.
Ris believes improving communication in an online environment and quality in online classes is crucial, as most careers require online work.
Ris uses research from courses that she taught in the past to learn how she can improve her courses now and in the future. She uses the course modules on Blackboard to distinguish how communication varied across different courses, and then she evaluates which aspects of the course were most helpful for students and which were the most challenging.
Whats best for one discipline may not be for another, but thinking through what makes the optimal online environment is crucial, Ris said.
Her research with online learning has led her to team up with other faculty and staff to improve online learning for the entire university. As chair of a task force focused on eLearning, Ris reached out to department heads and surveyed faculty from every college to evaluate what policies and practices existed and created a set of recommendations to benefit the community.
I became aware of how important it is for faculty to be involved, Ris said. If everyone works together, it will provide a better learning experience for students.
Ris is also a member of the Learning Management System Subcommittee, part of IT governance, which is focused on identifying university needs related to UCs learning management system, Blackboard. As a faculty representative, Ris has voiced her opinion on a variety of issues, especially around Blackboard course retention policies.
We all need to learn how we can make this the best learning and teaching experience possible, Ris said.
Ris tries to balance her one-on-one communication with students with their communication with each other. She said she sometimes asks her students to be the teacher, such as assigning them to find texts that relate to the class material and present a passage to the class to start a discussion. She wants her students not only to learn how to answer questions, but also to learn how to ask the right questions.
Students ability to see the interconnectedness of subjects, ideas and even solutions is an exciting potential for online education, Ris said.
Related Stories
From communication degree to corporate entrepreneur
May 8, 2024
Many communication and public relations majors have careers in mind before they graduate from college, but few may aspire to careers in logistics. But Nick Reasoner, who graduated from UC’s College of Arts and Sciences with degrees in both, forged his path there, and went on to found TransLoop, an award-winning third-party logistics firm. Headquartered in Chicago, TransLoop now has five additional locations, from Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale to Denver. Since its founding, the company has taken the number 12 spot on Inc. 5000’s list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in America, and Reasoner has been named to Business Elite’s 40 Under 40.
Cincinnati Enquirer: UC students win Flying Pig races
May 6, 2024
University of Cincinnati students won championships in the 2024 Flying Pig Marathon, including the women's marathon and men's and women's half marathons, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Information Security Roadshow spreads awareness
May 3, 2024
The University of Cincinnati's Office of Information Security launched a series of 18 in-person sessions from January to April 2024, drawing nearly 350 attendees from the staff of various UC colleges and units. The Information Security Roadshow series aimed to equip the audience with knowledge on prevailing cyber threats, prevention strategies, how to report incidents and resources to stay informed and secure.