Teaching Online Learners

Public

Ask a question from your peers to help you in your professional work. Seek different points of view on a topic that interests you. Start a thought-provoking conversation about a hot, current topic. Encourage your peers to join you in the discussion, and feel free to facilitate the discussion. As a community of educators, all members of the Career Ed Lounge are empowered to act as a discussion facilitator to help us all learn from each other.

Robin Cobbey

Evaluator not a Grader

It's important to look at assessment as evaluation and not simply assigning a grade. This is why grade feedback is so important. I get comments from students all the time that thank me for the feedback on their assignments as this is how they learn. I've also found that when there is good feedback students are less likely to complain about their grade. Has anyone else had this experience?

Robin Cobbey

Motivating students in an asynchronous environment

One of the issues that I encounter in every online class is getting students motivated to engage in the asynchronous environment. This would certainly cut down on late assignments and help to increase discussion and participation in the forums and on the boards. What techniques have you used to motivate students? What seems to be most successful?

Robin Cobbey

Demonstrating how to do a statistical analysis

I teach a research methods course, SPSS. I've found that synchronous demonstrations of how to set up and do an analysis in SPSS is the most effective method because students can ask questions and let you know if they are understanding. However, this is not always possible so a screen capture demonstration would be a good way to provide an illustration on a number of different types of analyses. I'd be interested in hearing how others have used screen capture and if there are any tutorials on setting one up.

joyce walker

Controlling the Online Environment

It is essential that the teacher take the lead in controlling the online environment. Providing specific guidelines and rules to the students at the beginning of the class through the course syllabus, class announcements, emails, and online chat sessions is critical. Also, being alert at all times to the class climate is key to maintaining a learning environment that encourages success in each student.

joyce walker

Being a Part of the Learning Group

It is important on day 1 of the class to make each student feel as if their participation through discussions, ideas, and opinions really matter to you as the instructor and to the rest of the class. Being a vital part of the group definitely encourages participation!

joyce walker

Projecting the Personal Touch

I believe that it is important to project a personal touch with each student. Making each student feel that they are important and their opinions matter are a priority for me on day one of a class. I feel like one of the most vital things I can do for my students is to give them the self-confidence they need to succeed!

joyce walker

Readiness Quiz for Online Instructors

Potential online instructors should be required to take an orientation quiz to see if they are ready, technically and otherwise, to teach an online course. There is a huge difference in being an online instructor and an on-campus instructor. The time commitment is much more stringent in online classes.

Richard Brown

Assessment Variation

A variation of skill assessments adds a set of dynamics to the course. These dynamics assist in engaging the student and in many cases re-engaging the student. Many students that take online courses would be considered a non-traditional student. These students can easily discouraged when taking traditional assessments. The challenge that we have as educators is overcoming this insecurity of our students and helping them inspite of themselves.

Doreen Baldyga

The key to a student feeling engaged

Having taken an online course before, I felt more engaged in the online class when my instructor responded to a post that I had written. Even the smallest response from the instructor made me feel a part of the class. When i saw other students posts commented on and not mine, it made me feel less a part of the class. My plan is to try to respond to as many students even in the smallest way to let them know that I hear them and notice and acknowledge their participation and hard work.

Michael Fournier

Scheduling time

I've found that I'm most effective in all aspects of my life when I block off time for specific tasks -- doing so allows me to complete many tasks a day. This semester's ground schedule isn't conducive to doing so, so I've been having a tough time achieving balance -- my writing and exercising have been suffering the most, unfortunately, as they get juggled to the bottom of my list in favor of school obligations. Next semester promises to be better. Does anyone else find the blocking schedule effective?

Nancy Parker