Please read the tips below to help you as you begin your journey in teaching online! The number one tip not listed below is to have an open mind and continue to grow and learn with your students.
Online learning is a shift in the teaching and learning paradigm and it can be a positive and powerful experience with the right tool box in place!
- Be Present
Just like in a face to face course you want your students to know that you are there as a guiding force. You are their teacher! Check in often, respond quickly (24 hours if possible), participate in discussions, post videos and/or podcasts every week. Address issues quickly and don’t panic! Keep a tone of understanding and willingness to understand the student perspective.
- Create a Learning Community
Encourage students to introduce themselves in a unique way. Do this day 1 and make it worth some points. Ask students to post images, pictures and podcasts. As an instructor model the open and collaborative sharing that you want to take place. In turn, don’t be afraid to share a little about yourself! Model the behavior that you want them to have. Involved, ready to learn and share your thoughts!
Harness the power of social media: post articles of interest, links to blogs, use RSS feeds, Twitter or other social media. Invite their prior knowledge and personal perspectives into class discussions and activities.
- Clear Instructions & Naming Conventions
Simple but effective! This can really confuse students or keep the course clean with an easy flow for navigation. There is nothing more confusing to a student than to see activities labeled very generally with no identifiers. Or even worse, grade items are named differently from the gradebook, syllabus and content area.
- Varied activities
Keep your students engaged in the content by allowing for practice, exploration and discussion. This will ensure that you are meeting a variety of learning styles and will keep students interested in what types of activities you will be doing next. There is nothing more disengaging than simply taking notes, reading, discussions and taking a quiz. Rinse and repeat. Think of some different activities or unique ways students can interact with the content and bring their own personal viewpoints and research to the classroom. Send students out apply what they are learning into their communities and to take pictures, video or blog!
- Be Flexible
Murphy’s Law - What can go wrong, will. If you or a student runs into a technical issue remain calm and be understanding that this is inevitable in an online learning environment. Direct students to the WMU IT help desk or the D2L Helpline immediately. If the issue drags on, be willing to work with them on submission of homework or assessments.