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Teaching Online: Reflections on Practice

Last edited by Emily McWorthy 5 days ago

Welcome!! This course invites your critical reflection on the methods of online instruction; beliefs and potential bias of the online learner; policies and rules and how they align with course objectives; tone and the purpose of communication. In this course you'll find readings and experiences of practice from online instructors and students to provide a foundation for discussion. These resources will help us make similar or, upon reflection, different choices for ourselves and our students.

Those new to online instruction will benefit from the practical knowledge shared in this course. Experienced online instructors and designers will both expand their exposure to new insights and focus on the details of their own practice. The unique community college perspective, with all its diversity, provides a rich backdrop and adds genuine complexity to the discussion.

Resource materials will be primarily open web readings and videos. Participants will be able to collaborate, share reflections and provide guided feedback to other participants.

Course Outline

Start here Welcome video and introduction

Review the syllabus and start with the first module to familiarize yourself with Canvas. 

Week 1: Who is an Online Learner and How Do They Learn?

Week 2: Developing Effective Course Policies

Week 3: Technology and Tool Integration

Week 4: Course Design for Online Learning

Week 5: Communication, Presence, and Learner Engagement

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Learner Outcomes

1. Communication

• Communicate in the online environment with effective tone and direction to guide students toward practice and concept application
• Demonstrate timely communication (synchronous and asynchronous) to aid the learning process
• Provide quality feedback needed to continue the learning process

2. LMS/Tool Application

• Use online tools to aid with meeting course outcomes, presenting materials to appeal to various learning preferences, course design, and assessment of concepts
• Locate and share resources with colleagues to continue the exploration of tools for tea

3. Course Design

• Apply and discuss essential core components of the Quality Matters Rubric to a course design
• Develop course policies (tests, late work) that are manageable and fair
• Research learning objects, digital materials, open-educational resources available for your discipline

4. Online Learning Theory and Methods

• Apply common habits of successful online instructors and students

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Need technical support with Canvas? Click on the word "Help" in the upper right-hand corner of your Canvas screen. From there, you will be able to search the Canvas Guides, ask a question, or suggest a feature.  There is also a collection of "How to" guides found at How to use Canvas Network.

If you are having problems viewing YouTube Videos for this class, please click this link to view all of the videos via Kirkwood's flash server.

Objective: Apply common habits of successful online instructors and students.
Before we can get started designing online courses, it's crucial that we understand our audience, or our students.  Some questions we might ask are the following: what are the characteristics of an online learner?  How do those characteristics differ from a face-to-face learner?  What is the role of an online instructor and how does it differ from a face-to-face instructor when dealing with a diverse group of learners?  Reflecting on our own role and our students' contexts will help you design a course that supports learning.  The following activities will help you to understand today's online learner and the role of the instructor in online courses.

Unit Objective: Develop course policies (tests, late work) that are manageable and fair.

Because the instructor is not immediately present in front of the class reminding students daily of deadlines, late work policies, and testing procedures, it is important to have clear and concise policies available for students in multiple locations throughout the course. Policies will vary by instructor and discipline. Some instructors feel that strict deadlines are essential to keep students on task, while others feel that flexibility better matches the purpose of the online format. Some instructors will require proctored exams, while others will choose to keep their exams accessible from home. Whatever policy choices you make for your course, they must be clear, concise, and the purpose repeatedly communicated to students in various formats. This week, we will discuss creating an online syllabus, and several ideas for testing, late work, and other course policies for online courses.

 

Unit Objectives: 

• Use online tools to aid with meeting course outcomes, presenting material to appeal to various learning preferences, course design, and assessment of concepts
• Locate and share resources with colleagues to continue the exploration of tools for teaching and learning
• Research learning objects, digital materials, open resources available for your discipline

E-learning is mediated via electronic technology tools. Online courses are developed, delivered, enhanced and limited using the tools of the medium. So how do you know which tools to use? Do you use tools within the learning management system, or do you look elsewhere? Where might you find supplemental tools? When does it make sense to create tools yourself/in-house, and how do you evaluate tools that others have created? These are some of the common questions among new online instructors. This week, we will discuss several places to find and share the technology tools needed for online teaching and learning. The goal is never to use every tool under the sun, but to wisely choose tools that help learners meet the course objectives and promote the attention needed for your discipline.  

 

Unit Objectives:

• Use online tools to aid with meeting course outcomes, presenting material to appeal to various learning preferences, course design, and assessment of concepts.
• Apply and discuss essential core components of course design standards for online learning.

We've now seen several cool tools for presentation and interaction, explored the components and structure of the all-mighty syllabus, and thought about creating learning opportunities.  Now we move to designing the course.  There are several methods and theories that can be applied to course design, many of which we will discuss this week.  We suggest a backwards approach - start with your course objectives, and work backwards designing learning modules and then activities or learning experiences that help students meet those objectives.  Objective-centered course design will help you re-examine your activities and assignments, determine the purpose and relevance, and can improve course structures for online, face-to-face and blended courses.

Unit Objectives:

• Communication in the online environment with effective tone and direction to guide students towards practice and concept application.
• Demonstrate Timely communication (synchronous and asynchronous) to aid the learning process.
• Provide quality feedback needed to continue the learning process.

Once the course is designed, we move into the facilitation of the course.  Communication and engagement go hand-in-hand in online learning.  In general, more communication better.  However, this communication must be clear, timely, supportive, and perceived as useful to the student. This week, we will discuss strategies for communicating with students, fostering student to student interaction, and creating engagement in online courses.  We could probably spend another 6 weeks on this topic, but time is limited, and so we scratch the surface together.