Michael Sauro

I teach in an asynchronous environment. Organization is the key! It is important to set up the course in a chronological, week-to-week manner and to have each block (week) organized in the same order (learning aids like PowerPoints and videos, discussion boards, assignments, quizzes, etc.). There should also be a student lounge-type discussion board for students to post questions and interact informally with each other. I liked the idea of an FAQ discussion board. I plan to further investigate this idea and implement it in my online, asynchronous environment.

There are a plethora of technology tools out there for instructor use. Whichever ones are chosen, they need to be user-friendly for the students and handled expertly by the instructor. Do not utilize a "one size fits all" approach for any chosen technology tool. Ongoing evaluation and assessment of the technology tool's effectiveness in the course is essential.

There are many different reasons for students to not engage with the online learning environment and course content. Instructors should closely monitor each student and provide individual communication with each student as necessary. The goal of such individual communication is to keep the student engaged in the course and to troubleshoot any issues preventing full and appropriate student participation.

Asynchronous discussions can be very valuable to students if the questions are properly worded to make students think about and apply the knowledge they have gleaned from the course content. The instructor has to carefully monitor discussions and enforce proper netiquette. The instructor should also provide a summary to the discussion topic, and communicate individually with each student after each discussion forum is completed, providing constructive criticism when needed. For synchronous discussions, individual works best, but no more than 5 or 6 students at a time in one discussion forum.

It is important to inform students of your credentials and teaching experience in the subject matter. It is important to start forging an interpersonal relationship with each student through individual communications with them. 

Effective online instruction requires both expertise in the subject matter and a deep understanding of how the technological aspects of the CMS function. The best delivery of instruction will result from intensive planning of how to best engage students throughout the learning process. "Begin with the end in mind." (Stephen Covey)