I learned about the importance of being organized.
When creating online content, a teacher should continually improve the content.
It is important to be organized with all assignments and communications. The instructor need to be consistent to help with the understanding of material. Guidance and feedback are essential also.
Online consistency to ensure student is engaging and understanding concepts
Test the activity for the online class out on a colleague who will give you honest deedback. Do you get enough bang for your buck?
It is important to convey the structure and time required for online courses. Often times the online course may take the same or even more time then a face to face course. The structure is important for the class ro run well.
In the Teaching and Organizing a Virtual Learning Environment class module four, I learned the importance of identifying delivery methods when creating an online class. Being consistent throughout the online class is also important as students will then be able to anticipate what will happen next in a class. Evaluating the class and modifying the class is an ongoing process. Lastly, a significant aspect to a good online class is related to student engagement. The instructor needs to ensure that student engagement is optimal and that requires the teacher to be actively involved in the engagement process.
This module contained a lot of good, solid information about moving (or transferring) a course from a F2F to an online environment. Certainly there is a lot to consider and transforming the classroom materials from something like ordinary classroom PowerPoints, pics and reading materials into something that works better and cleaner online is certainly an important point. The key point is to develop / migrate the classroom materials into something that will inspire student interest and active participation - resulting in a far better online learning experience.
Just like designing a good weebstie or app, clean and good functional (course) design, links that have been tested (and work reliably) along with content that has been tested multiple time (by peers and potential students) combined with intuititive site navigation and ease of access to materials are all keys to making sure the transition from a classroom envronment to an online environment is a success!
I think the layout is extremely important to the course so the students can find everything they need quick and easy.
Many seasoned teachers have strategies and methods which they know work in a F2F classroom. Although years of experience is good, each online course may require a teacher to start over by using various technology vehicles for students to learn content. These same teachers whom have listened to students over the years in F2F classrooms, will need to learn new technology to impart content. They will remain successful if they listen to students and provide what is needed to have success with learning outcomes.
Being consistent in your course layout will make it easier for students to find the materials they need. Students need to be able to find information quickly and easily. It will also make editing and updating content easier for you.
Teachers need to take a lot into account when creating online courses.
One thing that stands out is that one cannot take a F2F course and then transfer over all components to an online course. Care and preparation has to be taken to make sure the course is organized, and that students are engaging in the online environment.
A quality course needs to be organized and easy to navigate.
Organization of the course is very important. It needs to be structured in a student managable fashion. Students need to know what is found in predicatable area. Instructional units should be small and manageable. Use games and supportive video clips
Organization of course materials can be achieved through catagories which enable the student to find information quickly
A online teacher does not have to reinvent the wheel to be successful, the need will be to use textbooks online and others tools. The teacher should reflect his or her personality and chats use to stimulate the discussions and the students.
We may not need to reinvent the wheel, or it may be easier to recreate the course when translating the learning objectives and our own teaching styles to online courses for online learning. Also, overcome fears and keep moving forward in this process.
It is important for teachers to make a distinction between the on line course and the F2F course.
It would be a good idea for the teacher not to try to emulate the F2F course in an on line situatuio, but rather to use on line tools to create an environment which lets the student feel comfortable using the computer.
A friendly greeting or introduction can be used effectivly in this regard.
What I take away from this module is the importance of not only course structure, but consistancy. It is important for distanct learners to be able to comfortably navigate through the course modules.
