Sharing Good Practice
Help students to make the
most of online learning
By Dr Jan L. Jones
W
hile I have never taught
completely online courses,
I have been teaching hybrid
courses and using online
course management programmes for
many years. This article provides a few
tips and guidelines for maximizing a
positive online experience for students.
Set limits on your availability.
Many educators who teach online
courses for the first time express
feeling overwhelmed by the initial work
involved in setting up a course, and
the need to be available to students
at all hours of the day. While it is
important to accommodate different
learning schedules, you should set
limits for yourself and your students.
Clearly articulate and post your
availability online at the beginning of
the semester and more importantly,
stick to these limits and be available
when you say you will be available.
Find creative ways to interact.
In my opinion, the best educators
are those who find creative ways to
connect with their students. Below are
simple ways to maximize the online
learning environment.
1. Send a postcard - Teaching an
online class can mean that you have
students from all over the country.
Get to know them by having them
send an introductory postcard from
their Emirate/City/Country.
2. Online icebreakers - My students
probably thought I was crazy
because I would spend the first
class taking their photos and doing
icebreakers. It is just as important
in an online environment to take
the time to encourage student
interactions. Have students create
online profiles with photos and find
creative ways to encourage the class
to network with each other.
3. Create regular online group
meetings - A colleague of mine
would split his class into groups and
require them to meet using video
group chat technologies to discuss
assignment issues or specific
course topics. This allows students
to interact with each other and the
educator on a regular basis.
4. Start discussions and require
additional responses - Remember
when teaching online to start
discussions that require interaction
and not just summaries of course
content. Require students to interact
with other students’ comments.
5. Multi-media
assignments
Encourage students to learn and
use a variety of multi-media tools
(Press Release, Word Press, Prezi,
PowerPoint). With smart phone
video technologies and social
media platforms, there are a variety
of creative assignments you can
require. To avoid major stress, never
use an application or platform that
you are not familiar with.
6. Group Projects: Should you or
Shouldn’t you? - Students are
often very frustrated with group
assignments. This can be amplified
in an online setting if you did
not take the time to encourage
student interactions from the very
beginning. Group projects are still
an important learning tool, but you
have to be willing to manage and
interact with students and deal with
problems as soon as they arise.
7. Sometimes
a
discussion
is
better than an email - Use video
conferencing, live chat or phone
discussions to deal with tough
issues. In my experience, emails
or written conversations can be
misinterpreted and ultimately create
more problems.
Creating
an
interactive
online
environment can be a huge
undertaking. As with anything you will
perfect your course over time. Most
importantly, set up relationships early
and manage the environment on a
regular basis.
Class Time
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Jan - Feb 2016
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