Best practices for teaching online

Editor's Notes

• #4: Jim Hybrid or Blended are names commonly used to describe courses in which some traditional face-to-face time has been replaced by online learning. This allows instructors and students to take advantage of the positive features of both face-to-face and online learning. Remember that the content that is placed online is not meant to add-on or duplicate of what is taught in the classroom, but instead it is to integrate or blend face-to-face and online activities so that they reinforce the topic and objectives. Three key points: Web-based learning activities are introduced to complement face-to-face work Face-to-face interaction is not eliminated Components of the course are designed to interact pedagogically to take advantage of the best features of each An online or distance education course is conducted entirely and exclusively via the course management system (Blackboard). The online format is the primary method to deliver the course materials. Communication and interaction occur online between faculty and students. All assessment of student work is conducted online. (Web Enhanced courses may have some materials available on Blackboard and some activities may be online; however, this content is usually and add-on or supplement and students continue to meet in the classroom for the standard number of scheduled hours. Generally, courses are Web Enhanced where less than 20% of the content/assessments is online.)
• #5: Ally Initial Planning Phase Items Are you familiar with the Blackboard Learning Management System? Do you need to schedule training for yourself? Do you know where the online training resources reside? Do you need to consult with someone about organizing your course, such as a member of the Faculty Center or departmental colleague who has experience with teaching online? Do you have access to an empty course shell in Blackboard in order to develop your course materials? Will you be copying content from another course shell? Will you be using a Blackboard course cartridge (pre-packaged course content), or a textbook publisher’s course package? Have you developed clear and measurable learning objectives for each unit of your course? What skills will your students have when they leave your course? Have you outlined your course? Have you identified what tools within the LMS you will need to help you facilitate your learning objectives? How will you transform your in-class teaching materials and activities into a web-based environment? Read: Adapting Your Face-to-Face Course Online How will you organize, display and disseminate your course materials so that students do not get lost or confused? Ensure that students will be able to easily navigate your course. Gather all the course materials you intend to use for the course. Plan course assessments and develop clear rubrics for your assignments and discussion board postings. Develop you course syllabus and ensure it matches what you are building in your online course. Be sure to outline your course schedule, course requirements and course grading policy. Checklist for Course Launch Preview all course materials. Pilot class technologies you are using in your course. Review alignment of important course elements: Course-level Learning Objectives Module-level Learning Objectives Course Materials Assessments/Activities Ensure you have incorporated activities to engage students. Contact students via E-mail prior to the first day of class. Create a plan/schedule of how you will communicate with students in the course. Encourage students to take the online learning orientation. Outline for students where they can receive technical assistance should they need it. Familiarize yourself with the policies for assisting students with disabilities. Make sure etiquette expectations with regard to discussions, email, and other forms of communication are stated clearly and understood.
• #6: Jim
• #7: Ally Accessibility - the extent to which content in a course is available to all students, meeting the needs of a diverse audience – help all students succeed Audio Videos/podcasts without correct transcripts or captions - voice needs captioning Media players without volume controls Visual Text, images, and page layouts that cannot be resized Long passages of text Moving or blinking content Insufficient contrast between colors Physical Websites that do not provide full keyboard support Insufficient time limits to complete tasks Speech Assignments or tasks that only require voice activation/recognition Cognitive and Neurological
• #8: Ally Images used for decoration should have a "null" ALT tag (alt="").
• #9: Jim The following aspects or steps can allow you to design your course clearly and intuitively from the student's perspective: Include instructions on how to begin (include a “Start Here” or “Read Me First” menu tab) Provide a course overview: An introduction to the purpose of the course Information about the structure of the course and how the learning process will be carried out Information on how learning will be assessed Information on the modes of communication List the course and unit learning objectives List or provide the course or assignment schedule Post a self-Introduction (name, title, expertise, email, phone, office hours or availability) Provide an area or a way for the students to introduce themselves Include information on the minimum technology needed to complete the course Provide etiquette and netiquette (online etiquette) policies (tone, colloquial or standard English, spelling and grammar) List any prerequisite knowledge the student needs before starting the course Provide a link to the Student Handbook and Pace University’s policies and regulations Include course policies and regulations (optional) One of the first things we tell faculty regarding course design is plan...plan...plan! Don't wait until the last minute to design your course. With so many factors to consider, course design needs to be given adequate time in order to develop and implement. Ideally, you want to start planning a semester ahead, in which time, you should sit down with a course designer in order to facilitate the process.
• #10: Jim
• #11: Ally The QM Rubric takes a holistic view of the course: learning objectives must align with the assessments, instructional materials, technological tools, course activities, and student interaction
• #12: Ally General Standard 1 – Course Overview and Introduction: The overall design of the course is made clear to the learner at the beginning of the course. General Standard 2 – Learning Objectives (Competencies): Learning objectives or competencies describe what learners will be able to do upon completion of the course. General Standard 3 – Assessment and Measurement: Assessments are integral to the learning process and are designed to evaluate learner progress in achieving the stated learning objectives or mastering the competencies. General Standard 4 – Instructional Materials: Instructional materials enable learners to achieve stated learning objectives or competencies. General Standard 5 – Course Activities and Learner Interaction: Course activities facilitate and support learner interaction and engagement. General Standard 6 – Course Technology: Course technologies support learners’ achievement of course objectives or competencies. General Standard 7 – Learner Support: The course facilitates learner access to institutional support services essential to learner success. General Standard 8 – Accessibility and Usability: The course design reflects a commitment to accessibility and usability for all learners.
• #13: Ally Course Design - Involves the forethought and planning that goes into an online course Course Delivery - The way that a course is taught Course Content - All of the subject matter and its rigor Learning Management System - The platform by which the course is delivered, its functionality, and the technical support that enables its use Institutional Infrastructure - Online tutoring access, the Help Desk, online library access, etc. Faculty Readiness - Faculty training and planning to teach online Learner Readiness - Learners are oriented to learning online and what they must do to be successful
• #14: Ally
• #15: Ally When you are developing learning objectives for your course, try to use at least these 3 levels of learning from Bloom: memorize, understand, and apply.
• #16: Jim
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• #19: Ally In a flipped classroom, course content is reviewed by students outside the classroom – their homework is not a way to reinforce the knowledge, but a way to gain the knowledge. In class, the students discuss the content with the instructor and with each other to master the knowledge. This means that students are already prepared and have some knowledge of the lesson before coming to class, and the students who understood the content can help the other students with questions they may have. This is a very effective teaching strategy in that students are working inside the content and not just sitting and listening to the instructor. The Discussion Board is the main area where students can take charge and responsibility of the content and where much of the engagement happens in an online class.  Create a scavenger hunt with your course website. Using the test feature in Blackboard, you can have students answer questions pertaining to location of important information or announcements, deadlines of projects, course grading policy, etc. You can even create an incentive for the first student who completes this activity. How is this student-focused? – Students are figuring out the navigation, format, structure, and policies of the course on their own, rather than just reading your instructions or listening to a video of you describing the structure of the course.
• #20: Ally
• #22: Ally Providing frequent and most importantly timely feedback to your students is crucial. Students need appropriate feedback on performance in order to really strive and benefit from online/hybrid courses. Having them understand what is expected and what needs improvement not only focuses on learning and engagement but also helps create a stronger online environment. Feedback is particularly important during the beginning of a course. If your students are performing well, you want to encourage that. And of course if they are not, you want them be aware that you are there to help them. Based on early course evaluations at Pace, the number one comment from students is that they do not know how they are doing in the course. Essentially, feedback needs to inform students whether or not they are meeting the course learning objectives. In a face-to-face course, it is natural and somewhat easier to provide visual and verbal feedback to each student. But how can you do this in an online course or in a hybrid course when the next face-to-face session is not for a while? The best way to provide visual and verbal feedback is learning to use a screen recording application. There are many out there that allow instructors to record audio and video content while reviewing a student's work. All these tools (and many others) allow you to record your screen and your audio as you review a student's essay, project, blog, or assignment, etc. Sharing a video of the instructor narrating the feedback to a student's assignment is very powerful and could be easier to understand compared to written feedback. It also allows students to watch/listen to the feedback more than once and whenever they need. (Of course for students who need captions, written feedback would be better...for this using Google Docs can help increase engagement). Requesting a “Librarian in Blackboard”
• #23: Jim
• #24: Ally These flipped strategies move the focus from the instructor to the students and they encourage active participation rather than passive observation. Also, they allow students to use a higher level of learning – creating and evaluating, rather than basic memorization