Kevin Hamilton

You can't simply take the content from a face to face course and dump it in an online course. You need to consider your audience, what you want to accomplish in the class, how you are going to accomplish it, and how to assess that your students have mastered the content.

Communication is key in the online environment. Feedback to students must be prompt and clear. You as the instructor must server not only as the instructor, but also as social coordinator, administrator and tech support among other functions.

It is good to have a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning if possible. Synchronous learning helps students feel connected and seems more like a traditional face to face class. Asynchronous learning gives students more flexibilty as to when they access content and complete assignments. Both types of learning need to be under the umbrella of easy to access content. If students can't access content easily, then they will typically not do well in a class.

It is important to assess why you are using a particular online learning tool. You can't simply use what is initially available. You must think about what you want to accomplish in the course, what kinds of activities students are going to do, how you are going to deliver instruction, and many other factors. Once you know what you want to accomplish and how you want to accomplish it, you can research online learning tools and implement the use of the ones most appropriate to the task.

You must use multiple evaluation methods and get a variety of stakeholders to evaluate your course. Student evaluations, peer evaluations, and self evaluation are just some of the methods available to help you improve your online course.

Feedback is very important for improved student learning. Also, when making rubrics, make them as clear and detailed as possible so that students understand them. Have students self assess with the rubric before they turn in a project and then reflect and make changes to the project before they submit it.

I have learned that you need to make your online syllabus interactive and updatable. Communication is the key to making your course run smoothly. Establish communication guidelines from the outset so that you don't have students constantly e-mailing you questions when they could be getting the answers online, from other students, or from another resource.

I have learned that consistency in module development is key. Students need to know where to find materials and how to interact with these materials.

I have learned that there are a variety of reasons why students in an online course may decide to drop out prematurely. It is helpful to ask questions early on to see who might be especially vulnerable to alienation, technical issues, competition for time and other issues that may alienate their online learning. The initial biography may tell you something about the individual learner, but more specialized surveys can help the instructor identify those at risk early on in the course.

I have learned that synchronous sessions should be avoided with large groups. Also international students and slow readers can have difficulty with synchronous sessions. Synchronous sessions can be used with small groups with specific goals in mind. You should allow for some small talk at the beginning of a synchronous session.