Paula Wilson

Creating and maintaining a course history is great practice in workload management.  It could include a history of changes and updates made to the course and additional learning objects used such as additional assignments. 

The online instructor should be a "guide on the side" and not dominate discussions. There is no need to respond to every post. Small groups should be encouraged to rely on each other.

Not only is it ok to not be available 24 hours a day, it is essential. Set specific times to answer questions, check e-mails, and teach. Organization is vital in avoiding burnout and helping promote a positive experience for the online learner.

Workload management is dependent upon time management. Know your deadlines.

Online learning need not be done in large blocks of time.  A skill set can be reviewed/mastered in smaller amounts of time which is often-times more feasible for the student. A student overthinking the amount of time needed can have a negative affect on his experience and possibly keep him from working at all.

The initial list of questions to ask students, that is recommended for learning just what technical skills a student possesses, is something I will be implementing indeed. Also, the lack of these skills should not lead to changing the expectations of the course, but rather how I may assist a student to become more technically prepared to be successful in the class. Love the list! It could also be used to evaluate the skills of a potential new hire??

I love jigsaw style activities and they can be designed for any class setting and multi-level classroom need. Having each student assigned a particular part and coming together to see just how important and powerful working as a team can be is exciting to watch.

As so in a traditional face-to-face classroom environment, instructors should be prepared to identify learning styles and disabilities in their students.  Accomodations are available for the online environment as in the traditional classroom. In orientation we have a learning styles inventory that students to complete. I now see the value in making sure my online students complete it and results are utilized to their benefit as well.

I have a newfound appreciation for assesssing with a Rubric. It certainly does help provide structure and consistency when assessing many aspects of an effective online experience.

A student's age and generational characteristics can play a part on how well-prepared one is for online class communication. Possibly a mini-session of technology review including emailing, texting, posting comments etc would be beneficial for student success.