The three most important things to consider are:
1. Time Zones - teaching and learning online is majority asynchronous; therefore, it is important for me to know the time zones for my students to determine the best times to schedule live-chat sessions, office hours, etc. Knowing my students' schedules and time availability will help me maintain effective and timely communications with my students.
2. Learning Style - each student learns differently and when an online learning environment is added to the mix, it can make learning frustrating and difficult to adapt to; therefore, if I know my students' learning styles (audio, visual, participative) then I can tailor my teaching style to fall in line with the best ways that my students learn. This will help ensure that I am being an effective instructor.
3. Student make-up - For example, military students, non-traditional students, 2nd-career students, first-time college students, blended (on-campus and online) students etc will have different educational needs. Knowing the type of students that are in my class will help me tailor my teaching to meet those students' needs.
Onyema Anene
Onyema,
Time zones is something we haven't discussed much. Thanks for bringing that up. Knowing your audience (student make-up) and providing content in a variety of ways to meet the students' learning needs is very important. Thank you.
I believe the three most important things to consider when authoring an online course are:
1) what you want the students to learn
2) how to facilitate that learning
3) why this knowledge is important
Of course, you must comprehensively communicate your intentions and deliver them in ways which benefit all types of learners.
Bob
The three most important things to consider are:
1. The subject matter. It is essential that the instructor have a mastery of the subject and be familiar with the most updated materials for the course subject.
2. User accessibility. The modules must be created in a way that the student can access and master quite easily. Technical difficulties interfere with the student's ability to learn.
3. Learning objectives. It is important that the student not only have easy access to quality material (answers one and two), but also be able to meet the learning objectives for the course, which must be clearly defined and outlined.
Three most important things I would consider while authoring an online course are:
1. Know the level of your students’ knowledge. This is a good point to start with. However, based on my experience of teaching for more than a decade, this level drastically varies across the class. Some have extreme difficulty to express their thoughts; even though English is their first language, while, others are just outstanding with their grasp of the subject and expressing and putting across their thoughts in a very rational and reasonable way. So, the real task of an online teacher is to balance this knowledge level difference in the classroom and adjust the teaching or delivery of the subject in a manner that suits all types of the students.
2. Inspire students to learn the subject. This is an extremely challenging task when one is teaching in an online course, where instructors don’t get to see the students and vice versa. I start my teaching by making relevance of that topic to the business world we live in (since I teach Business subjects) and how important it is to know the subject in order to make right decision in the work place. I give enough current real business examples to students to high light the importance of knowledge of the subject I teach.
3. Make students comfortable in the class to keep them connected to the class. This is accomplished effectively by encouraging students to ask questions. This is the most ideal way to make students to make comfortable in the class by telling them that is no stupid questions and every questions important. By allowing them to ask any questions is another way to check how much they are making any efforts to understand the subject. This will greatly help to make adjustments in teaching methodology and note circulation.
Sunil N. Kulkarni
Three most important things I would consider while authoring an online course are:
1. Know the level of your students’ knowledge. This is a good point to start with. However, based on my experience of teaching for more than a decade, this level drastically varies across the class. Some have extreme difficulty to express their thoughts; even though English is their first language, while, others are just outstanding with their grasp of the subject and expressing and putting across their thoughts in a very rational and reasonable way. So, the real task of an online teacher is to balance this knowledge level difference in the classroom and adjust the teaching or delivery of the subject in a manner that suits all types of the students.
2. Inspire students to learn the subject. This is an extremely challenging task when one is teaching in an online course, where instructors don’t get to see the students and vice versa. I start my teaching by making relevance of that topic to the business world we live in (since I teach Business subjects) and how important it is to know the subject in order to make right decision in the work place. I give enough current real business examples to students to high light the importance of knowledge of the subject I teach.
3. Make students comfortable in the class to keep them connected to the class. This is accomplished effectively by encouraging students to ask questions. This is the most ideal way to make students to make comfortable in the class by telling them that is no stupid questions and every questions important. By allowing them to ask any questions is another way to check how much they are making any efforts to understand the subject. This will greatly help to make adjustments in teaching methodology and notes circulation.
Thanks,
Sunil
Three most important things I would consider while authoring an online course are:
1. Know the level of your students’ knowledge. This is a good point to start with. However, based on my experience of teaching for more than a decade, this level drastically varies across the class. Some have extreme difficulty to express their thoughts; even though English is their first language, while, others are just outstanding with their grasp of the subject and expressing and putting across their thoughts in a very rational and reasonable way. So, the real task of an online teacher is to balance this knowledge level difference in the classroom and adjust the teaching or delivery of the subject in a manner that suits all types of the students.
2. Inspire students to learn the subject. This is an extremely challenging task when one is teaching in an online course, where instructors don’t get to see the students and vice versa. I start my teaching by making relevance of that topic to the business world we live in (since I teach Business subjects) and how important it is to know the subject in order to make right decision in the work place. I give enough current real business examples to students to high light the importance of knowledge of the subject I teach.
3. Make students comfortable in the class to keep them connected to the class. This is accomplished effectively by encouraging students to ask questions. This is the most ideal way to make students to make comfortable in the class by telling them that is no stupid questions and every questions important. By allowing them to ask any questions is another way to check how much they are making any efforts to understand the subject. This will greatly help to make adjustments in teaching methodology and notes circulation.
Thanks,
Sunil
Bob,
Excellent. It is so necessary to know your students and help them learn the content so that they can achieve the learning outcomes. Thanks for your input.
Naomi,
The content, learning outcomes and the students many times dictates how material is provided to students. Thanks for your input.
Sunil,
Yes, it is all about the students. It is our goal, as instructors, to help our students improve and learn the content the best way they learn. Thanks for your input.
Sunil,
When you think about your students, it is good to incorporate exactly what you you state in this forum. This is a good list. Thanks for sharing with us.
Sunil,
Yes, you are right on target.
Thanks for your input.
The three most important issues are 1) knowing your discipline and having the ability to apply it within your LMS; 2) know your target audience, which includes more than just the students, it includes the potential employing industries of your discipline; 3) being able to apply your knowledge of the discipline and the audience to develop clear and concise course elements and mold them into a course whole.
I consider the three most important things to be
1) what I want students to learn and to know
2) the level of skills and understanding
3) how I need to deliver learning activities and materials to students
Robert,
Good list. We have to know what we are teaching and to whom we are teaching. The better we know our students the better we can provide content in ways they need us to so that they can meet the learning outcomes. Thanks!
Albert,
When we know what we need the students to learn and use understand our students, learning is enhanced. Thanks for your list of three!
One of the most important things to consider for me has to do with the lecture material for this course: what do I want students to learn and how do I help them do that. Having a plan from the beginning is very important to give the students the necessary guidance.
I also think it is important to know that not all students will learn in the same way. So using those different learning techniques and objects will make the course more interesting and dynamic and help more students.
Lastly, I think it is important to create a sense of consistency in each module. That makes it easier for students to learn the routine and to feel more comfortable with the lessening experience.
(1) Course framework
(2) How the course content is spread over the period of the course
(3) Communication, Assessment and teaching methods
1) Laying out clear objectives
2) Ensuring all stakeholders know and understand their responsibilities
3) Maximize learning
The three most important things to consider when authoring an online course is the syllabus, discussion forums and tests.
