Tips for teaching online

I’ve been back from Nashville and the Conference on Information Technology for over a week now. Along with purging all those Southern biscuits and gravy from my system, I’ve started digesting what I learned while I was there. One of the most memorable sessions I attended was a round table given by Bret Nelson of San Jacinto College on making a smooth transition to online teaching. Although Bret didn’t mention it, he’s the winner of a faculty award at San Jacinto and it’s no surprise. The advice he offered was pure gold.

On the difference between teaching online and teaching face-to-face

• In the classroom, we often assume that “awake” means understanding. When we teach, we’re often just transferring information. That approach doesn’t work online.
• Online, you need to be results-oriented. Bret said this was the most important advice he could offer. A resource isn’t good unless it’s used. Everything should connect back to an assignment. If you include a podcast or a PowerPoint, link it to a discussion question. Otherwise, you’ll be watching the tumbleweeds blowin’ through your course. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth grading.
• Remember that copyright is different in an online course. When you share digital resources online, you’re publishing. Librarians are a great resource and can help you avoid copyright issues.

On developing your course

• Work backwards. Ask yourself what you expect students to know at the end of the course. Every activity and resource should help students accomplish that goal. Be flexible with the details.
• It takes a lot of effort to put together a good online course. Don’t be a lone ranger. Use the supports available to you. Working with an instructional designer can give you a better, more consistent delivery. An instructional designer can also help you organize your course so that it makes sense and flows well. (As an instructional designer, I like this one. )
• Don’t wing it. Be clear about your expectations. Develop good guidelines/rules for discussion and assignments. Remember that students can’t raise their hand when they have a question.
• Develop a good schedule and work plan for the course. Students like to see the big picture and it helps them plan.
• The first time you teach online, keep it simple. Start with a few PowerPoints and a discussion board. Once you’ve mastered that, try Elluminate sessions. After that, try podcasting. Don’t “take too big a bite of the apple” your first time because you can always add as you go along. Furthermore, technology and students change every semester. Like your course notes, an online course can get yellowed and frayed. Be sure to update your course regularly.
• Avoid using course cartridges. (Course cartridges are ready-made digital materials sold by publishers.) You have your own perspective and approach to teaching. Course cartridges rarely reflect that and are often confusing for students. If you do use them, be selective and only use the bits that work for you.
• Consider using video as an alternative to reading assignments. However, keep the video short. Bret doesn’t use video clips longer than five minutes.
• Nothing in your course should be more than 3 clicks away. (How many clicks does it take you to find your favourite book on Amazon?)

Using discussion as a tool

• “Real learning usually takes place on the side track, not the main track.”
• Discussion ensures that students get into their course every week. It helps students make those deep connections. Discussion should build from one post to the next.
• Online, you don’t always know what your students know. Discussion helps you find out. A good technique is to ask students to clarify their muddiest point.
• You don’t need to respond to every post. Bret usually reponds only to the best. This helps signal his expectations to everyone.

Strategies to help you cope

• To avoid cheating and plagiarism, vary assignments from one term to the next. You can use software to lock a person’s browser so that they can’t Google or cut & paste during tests. (I’m not sure I like this one.) The best way to prevent cheating is to get to know your students and their writing style. (I definitely agree with this one.)
• Develop an early warning system. Ensure that students log on to their course each week. If they don’t, email or phone them.
• It takes a bit more time to teach an online course but not much more. To manage your workload, find ways to cut down on some of the repetitive things like answering the same question over and over. Bret creates a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). When a student asks a question, he adds it to his FAQ. He distributes this to students each term and refers students to it if their answer is there.
• Remember that not everything will work the way you plan. Technology fails. Always have an alternate plan and be prepared to use it. If one tool doesn’t work, move on to the next.

Keeping the lines of communication open

• When students email you, ask that they identify themselves — thiscutiesnotforyou@yahoo.com doesn’t tell you much.
• Students are more likely to use chat than email. Consider using it in your online course. Ask yourself how you feel about students using text message grammar. How far do you want to go in becoming an English teacher? A good yardstick is, is the message readable?
• Set virtual office hours with your students. Consider your students’ lives, and be prepared to hold office hours on a Sunday afternoon or a Tuesday evening. Canvas your students to see which times work best for them.
• When you hold a chat or Elluminate session, you won’t get everyone to attend so record and share the transcript. Label it clearly.
• Consider holding a live session to discuss assignments. Challenge students to commit to a time for these sessions. Again, not everyone will attend but you’ll usually attract enough students to hold a good discussion.
• Bret highly recommends that instructors leave space on their discussion board for fun discussions. Bret uploads mp3s of recordings that his band has made. Encouraging those conversations helps people make connections and form a community in their class. It’s often the hook that keeps them in the course.

A few more resources

Check out …

• The Myth about Online Course Development, Diana Oblinger & Brian Hawkins
• Mind over Matter: Transforming Learning Management Systems into Effective Learning Environments, Colleen Carmean & Jeremy Haefner

How about you? Do you have any tips you can share?