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Being the learner in an online course (for a change) taught me a few important things about teaching online:
(1) Clear, straigh-forward communication is a must; this includes learning goals, activitiy & assignment guidelines as well as documentation on all tools used. (1/5)
(1) Clear, straigh-forward communication is a must; this includes learning goals, activitiy & assignment guidelines as well as documentation on all tools used. (1/5)
(2) Online it's all too easy to overwhelm learners with lots of different resources & activities. Try to calculate Time on Task both for you & the students as realistically as possible. Then adjust the course design accordingly. (2/5)
(3) Take some time to think carefully about the "storyboard" of your course. Unlike in f2f, you need to be really explicit about the structure, the choice & sequence of topics, activities & assignments. Interaction moments also need to be purposefully planned. (3/5)
(4) Make an extra effort to check your course against various accessibility criteria. Think of who your students might be, where they are studying, what device they may be using, what's the quality of their internet connection etc. This is one way to show you care. (4/5)
(5) Teacher presence: using asynchronous tools does not mean you'll need to "teach" less. It also does not mean students will learn less. Whatever tools you use, make sure you provide a clear & reliable support structure for your students. Same principle as in f2f, really! (5/5)
