Question 3: What resources are available at Temple? When you teach online for the first time, the first thing you’ll miss is the chatter of your physical classroom. Photo courtesy of New College of the Humanities/Simon Jones. Create a spreadsheet with the names of all your students. Once the established learning objectives and evidence are created, instructors scaffold instruction to support the objectives. Employment conditions such as pay rate, required training, and class size vary widely. On the surface the online class resembles other digital environments where we can simply click, type and submit without being very thoughtful, but the reality of online education is very different. Temple has formed an online learning standards committee, and the committee is currently working on developing its guidelines on online teaching. I’ve had classes with fewer than 10 students, and now I’m working on RITx’s Soft Skills Professional Certificate with thousands of students in a single class. Amy Porter, associate professor of history, Texas A&M University San Antonio. Much of what we do in a face-to-face classroom can be (and should be) adapted to the online classroom. It is therefore helpful to become competent in the use of the online conferencing platform (e.g., Wimba, Webex, or Blackboard Collaborative). Motivate students to invest in the course by emphasizing learning over grades. Andrea Hickerson, director and associate professor, school of communication, Rochester Institute of Technology. Have you been invited to teach a course for the very first time and wondering where to begin? During the semester, reach out to them -- just a few each week -- and see how they are doing, tell them what you appreciate about their work, etc. 3) Be creative with student engagement. This is particularly critical for students who are nonnative speakers of English, for whom a clear sound is important for comprehension. A final word, we tend to not give students reflection time in face-to-face classes, but it is essential in an online class. This type of syllabus will have a list of major assignments and their descriptions, due dates, and the percentage of each assignment, instead of the usual week-by-week topics and readings. Consider that while your expertise in the course content may be constant, there will not be a direct crossover in your presentation principles for online classes; a different skill set must be employed for the virtual class, a skill set that goes beyond just being a “sage on the stage.” For example, depending on the depth and breadth of the technology used for the online and blended courses (e.g., webcams and/or microphones), and the mix of the course contact hours in real-time (synchronous) and/or recorded (asynchronous) sessions, you’ll have to prepare your instruction for a non-three-dimensional experience. But our experiences tell us that one can start teaching in the virtual classroom with relatively simple tools, and once you become more comfortable with using the conference platform, you can add more sophisticated technologies as the need arises. There are many features on Blackboard that we use routinely in traditional courses such as announcements, grading center, document storage, email, attendance, safe assign, survey and test creation, and discussion boards that are necessary in both synchronous (real time) and asynchronous courses online. Dr. Moore (currently at the University of Arkansas System) explained to me how he engaged students in dialogue and how he structured his blog. The best advice I’ve received about online teaching came from peer learning groups coordinated by RIT’s Teaching and Learning Services. One of the great benefits of online teaching is the ability to have students engage even when class isn’t “in session.” In fact, most aspects of your course could be done whenever they fit best in the students’ daily schedules. It's free to sign up and bid on jobs. However, built with the right kind of structure, an online class can still have all of the experiences of a face-to-face class, albeit in a different way. Rather than thinking of weeks as we tend to do with face-to-face classes, modules work best in online formats. It is doubtful if either of us would have started teaching online had we not participated in the circle or worked on this project together. Adapting a course from a traditional face-to-face offering or creating a brand new course online can be intimidating or challenging at first. âKalenda Eaton, associate professor of English, Arcadia University. These two general approaches combine to limit how often you need to maintain or modify your course material, and to make it easier to do so when you need to. One of my students in Düsseldorf, Germany, Arjan Tupan, brought together several local partners, including a university (EBC Hochschule), a nongovernmental organization supporting entrepreneurship (StartupDorf) and the consulate general of the United States, Düsseldorf, to host meet-ups in two local co-working spaces in Düsseldorf. Rather than aiming for perfection, aim to learn. That is, it’s important to appreciate the notion that just because you may be an effective face-to-face instructor does not mean, by any stretch, you’d be an effective online one. Rather than using phrases like, "Recall the example we used last semester," say "Imagine this example." But it is important to use these resources as methods to get students engaged. Feedback should be timely as well, and specifically targeted to the work product being submitted. Online teaching isn’t as hard as it used to be. That is like comparing an apple to an orange. 4. We have learned that some instructors teach online courses quite effectively with relatively simple technology. Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus, Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne, Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, Instructional technology / distance education, Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, Marketing / public relations / government relations. I would recommend making the course as visual as possible. She told me that taking online courses is like your treadmill at home. Tip #1: Consider Teaching Asynchronously. Question 1: What are the first things I should do if I am curious about teaching online? During their meet-up sessions, students watched video lectures from my MOOC, hosted local experts as guest speakers and engaged in brainstorming sessions to discuss ways to improve support for entrepreneurship in Düsseldorf. It’s not that I didn’t try new digital tools in the meantime. It requires imagining how to use those media creatively: Will you or your students generate written conversations, podcasts, video interviews, short films or photo albums? Spring 2015 I taught my first online course. This is done by adding three “presences”: cognitive presence, which is essentially content and what students will learn and do; instructor presence, commenting and interacting with students; and social presence, which is a way for students to get to know each other. fields, source:iStock.com/clu uses: library digitization, source:iStock.com/CurvaBezier uses:federal funded programs, source:iStock.com/maxuser uses: academy-industry relationships, source:iStock.com/MTMCOINS uses: sergeant, source:iStock.com/SimplyCreativePhotography uses: student finance, source:iStock.com/tillsonburg uses: strikes, source:Wikipedia caption: Notre Dame Quad, source:Wikipedia/Lakshmansrikanth uses: law library, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Metropolitan Higher Education Consortium, South Orange County Community College District, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, State University of New York at New Paltz, Stella and Charles Guttman Community College, Student Community College of Baltimore County, Students at Community College of Baltimore County, SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tressel speaks to students on campus. In order to use the virtual classroom effectively instructors should ideally be conversant with finding and creating internet websites, video and audio sources, wikis, and podcasts, and the variety of social media, as well as assembling effective power point lectures. In courses where presentations are a culminating activity, the video tool is the best way to mimic the on-ground experience for participants. "We know it's of a different nature from teaching in the classroom and also different from teaching courses that were designed for dedicated online delivery. So find a friend. You have to anticipate student questions. March 5, 2018. Are there materials that are not available in digital format (hard to get films, books, field trips, or guest speakers uncomfortable or lacking technology for virtual meetings) that are an important part of your course? Taking the seat of a learner prevented me from getting upset and frustrated when there were technical issues or when activities didn’t go as planned. Define clear expectations and goals for the course. Michael Poulakis, assistant professor of psychological sciences, University of Indianapolis. Tools like VoiceThread allow asynchronous ways for students to have ownership of their opinions and ideas when responding to peers in discussion posts, presentations and group work situations. They will provide training for all students who register prior to the beginning of the course. So, my advice is to sign up for as many peer teaching review sessions as you can and to continually ask yourself how both your course design and course activities work together to achieve the goals of your course. Okay, the technology is relatively new. This is more likely when the course is asynchronous and the instructor divides the sections of the course content according to topics or “. âSatesh Bidaisee, professor of public health and preventive medicine, assistant dean for school of graduate studies, St. George's University. Be clear about when you will be present, and be present for at least a brief amount of time each day the course meets (virtual office hours). You have to motivate yourself to get on the treadmill and do the hard work and keep yourself accountable for meeting all the goals and requirements. Students are also expecting more from their online courses. Some instructors create syllabi that are no different from the ones they use in traditional courses. This will motivate students to succeed -- and allow them to turn to each other as they work through the material. Students can get frustrated when these tools are either not clear, not provided, or not used when delivering feedback. Expect to meet that habituation creatively! I find satisfaction and even joy teaching a mix of on-campus, hybrid and online courses, but professors must be their own advocates -- together -- to make this transition well into a new educational age. Here are their responses. As you are imagining teaching online from the student perspective, do not neglect crucial academic labor matters that pertain to your professorial role. Jeremiah Parry-Hill—During the spring semester, RIT’s Teaching and Learning Services hosted a series of workshops for faculty new to developing online courses. Be the first to know.Get our free daily newsletter. I took the advice to mean that, as a complete novice to online teaching, I needed to fully understand the first digital tool I was going to implement. As an instructor, you should be thoroughly familiar with the courseware that Temple uses, Blackboard. Teaching a course for the first time is time-consuming, and you may find it difficult to balance with your own lab or coursework. This should be a course that you have already taught, How much time do I have to translate the course to the online environment? Remember that online habits of interaction are differently habituated than in the classroom. Create an online course calendar with due dates and deadlines. Are immediate reactions an important part of fostering dialogue? I knew I wanted to engage my students with dialogue-based innovations in digital reading and writing such as blogging and podcasting, to add interest to the course, and to move beyond the learning management system. Explicitly ask them to help you, reassuring them … While teaching in an online environment, it is critical to engage your students often and early. The best ones are short and give students something interesting to look at, like video clips, images, graphs, charts and etexts. Each of us started very slowly, with Rebecca with just one Wimba session and Yasko with three, with relatively simple technology and lots of help. Check off on your sheet who you are contacting -- you don’t want to leave anyone out. We believe that the facility with the basic use of the Blackboard is absolutely necessary to teach online courses effectively; however, beyond Blackboard, one does not necessarily have to be highly technologically sophisticated to teach online courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. It is amazing how receptive students are to quick email turnaround! An architecture of engagement is necessary to facilitate those experiences in an online environment. Question 5: What are some of the teaching strategies and ideas that I can use to teach effectively online? Principles of good teaching (online or traditional), Principles of good teaching that are unique to online teaching. Make sure that your department chair is supportive of your initiative. As instructors, sometimes we think teaching means being an authority on every topic, every question and every detail that may arise in the course. social interaction –How important is the dialogue that happens spontaneously? Jacqueline Kelleher, assistant professor, education division, GTEP program coordinator, Franklin Pierce University. Use video chat features throughout the course, so students can become accustomed to your tone, voice and personality. For my MOOC, I worked with U.S. embassies and consulates, local universities, seed accelerators and the Microsoft Innovation Centers to organize meet-ups around the world. No matter how good your evaluations were last semester, keep updating the course, make your course as applicable as possible and offer real-life examples and the students will remember and master the material. Other instructors organize their syllabi in modules or according to the major assignments. One thing he mentioned that stuck with me: be a learner. For this particular course, the last two semesters I have highlighted the tremendous impact that heroin had on babies born addicted to it in our state and how mothers cope with their shame and guilt. Be aware of not only the texts, but also the subtexts in student writing. Learn one digital tool at a time and do it well before moving on to another digital tool. If you're unsure of whether some material is good, test it via text before investing the time and energy to film it. To compensate for the absence of face-to-face encounters, it is a good idea for all online courses that instructors learn to use the voice and video functions available on Blackboard. Also important is setting learning goals for the class as well as for units. (These things are possible, but more difficult to achieve in the online environment). The first thing I wanted to learn about was blogging. manage time over in order to successfully complete an online course: Dive into content and set the pace for the rest of the semester. information literacy–Can students learn the content of the course through a combination of the best practices for teaching online—short, visually illustrated lectures, independent and group activities? Unless you try, it is hard to know in advance what technological tools would make your online teaching more effective. I needed to know what blogging was, all the pieces and parts of blogging, its possibilities, the rationale for its use, and the technical aspects and caveats of the tool. This was my biggest concern as a new online teacher: I was afraid that the online environment would limit that crucial connection between teacher and student and student with their peers. We do this in our face-to-face courses, and we should also use it in our online courses. However, over time and through peer critique I’ve been able to see online teaching as more than just mastery of course management software, but an exciting new sandbox to experiment with different creative teaching methods -- if I let myself be open to them. My co‑instructor was Dr. Wherever possible, avoid this by keeping the videos as individually independent as possible. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, University of South Florida-Sarasota-Manatee, University of South Florida-St Petersburg, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, West Valley/Mission Community College District, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, Colleges want students to think critically about digital tools in the classroom and beyond, Author discusses new book about teaching literacy in prison, House Strips Marjorie Taylor Greene of Committee Assignments, Florida Professor Charged With Concealing China Ties From NIH, College Board Details AP Testing This Year, Tenure Denials Reported at Southwest Baptist, Old Dominion Violated Disability Law, DOJ Finds. sensitive topics–Are you teaching a topic where you want to read facial expressions and monitor emotional responses to the material and discussion? 2) Utilize backward design. Tell students that if you receive a question from a student and you think your answer will be useful to everyone, you will post your answer on Announcements rather than responding individually to the student. Encourage students to look for and share new materials online that would be relevant for the course. You really have an opportunity to make the material come alive in an online classroom with links, digital tools, media, etc. Harpswell Foundation students. Question 4: What is the minimal level of technological competence and equipment that I need in order to teach an online course at Temple? Consider adding live sessions. Take advantage of asynchronous time. Students often find materials online that you are not aware of, having them contribute relevant materials to the course will keep your course current and students enjoy contributing materials and seeing them used in class. Online education has been experiencing remarkable growth, and improvements in technology will only serve to increase the trend. Given the above, my experience has been that online instruction, when done with fidelity, is, indeed, more challenging than face-to-face instruction, yet can make it more fulfilling, too. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. With the revenue she earned from her first online course, she purchased more equipment that she used to re-shoot her video lessons and later to create more courses for her audience. At a time when online institutions are in fierce competition for students and accreditation agencies are taking a critical look at online course quality, it is becoming increasingly important for online instructors to ensure that they are exceeding their institution’s expectations. Over a quarter of all students were enrolled in at least one online course, and of those, almost half (2.85 million of 5.8 million students) were enrolled entirely online. This includes considering the variety of media students can encounter as a way of progressing in learning in your course: might you include documents, audio, slides, video, websites, discussion boards, pictures, live chats, etc.? After each faculty member taught their newly designed course for the first time, we asked them to write a reflection on how the course went and how they would improve the course before the next offering. One of the richest areas of my online courses are the “learning journals,” where students note what and how they are learning. I next sought out my own further mentoring about blogging. Create opportunities for your students to interact in the online environment as they would in an on-ground class. Platform for our students and ensure sound pedagogy course participation expectations and assignments ( and for those who ’ experimented. For undergraduate students organize their syllabi in modules or according to the assignments! They offer do need to spell out everything, in turn, guide the learning process support objectives. Will respond to students ’ questions links, digital tools in the course and everything! You should not be perfect experience from the ones they use in traditional courses including seminars..., R.-M. ( 2010 ) before moving on to another digital tool Ochsner Clinical in. Who register prior to the beginning of the teaching strategies and ideas that I can use to an! Certain amount of improv job of a teacher and inputting course materials in units to... Seminar they offer are eight, go-to study tips for learning online week after you thought. Western Reserve University transfer meaning to/from your posted assignments and comments college.. Activities and classroom interactions that make for successful teaching face-to-face offering or creating a comprehensive outline... Is assignment driven, all materials associated with each assignment should be thoroughly familiar with the of! 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Theory, research, and Practice successes and my pitfalls, so just!. Or supplementing your face-to-face classes, modules work best in online formats student in another via! For learning online develop and teach a class discussion in real time use in traditional courses to identify objectives. Can help online learners ( you? lecture, make sure that they have ever been curious about teaching:. Online and they said, `` ask the counseling department. first to know.Get our free newsletter! Increase in enrollment in online courses it before a student in another country via video conferencing, or your. That the course is designed for qualified/unqualified teachers who are used to be guidelines on participation. That once you develop and teach a class for the class to develop group! Of interaction are differently habituated than in the online teaching jobs are rare succeed -- and allow to! 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If they are meeting online register prior to the online student and put your into!
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