Teaching online for the first time

If you’ve been selected to teach online for the first time, here are some practical tips to keep in mind.

Factors to consider when designing/teaching a class online:
The transition from the traditional classroom to the online arena can be managed effectively with a few pointers:

Grey areas in your instructions are black holes for your students online.

• Students do not have the luxury of talking face to face with the instructor.
• Every question, problem or snag a student has results in a delay. The student will lose that time that they set aside for their class because they will be problem solving the instructions, figuring out a technical problem, or questioning the assignment expectations.

*TIP*
Keep your instructions clear and easy to understand. When creating your instructions for an assignment or activity, put yourself in the place of the student who is taking the class online. Did you leave anything out? Are there any details that you need to fill in?

Instructors are taken out of the role as a lecturer (primary focus) and are put into a facilitator role.

• Course materials shift from instructor dependent to learner driven.
• Course materials such as the syllabus, rules, content, quizzes, etc. have to be converted to digital format or redone altogether to fit the online forum. In some cases, simply converting the material to a web page will not work. The instructor may have to re-think their instructional design to fit the online environment.
• Traditional stand up lectures give way to learner-centered activities such as discussions, group activities, learning simulations, written critiques, etc.
• Traditional courses require the student to be present whereas the online class requires students to be self motivated, driven, responsible, and efficient time managers.
• Online courses allow the student to work ahead whereas the traditional course requires the student to follow a more modular lesson plan week by week.

*TIP*
Develop activities that shift the focus back to the learners. Develop group or collaborative activities that encourage communication and require the students to seek out more information on their own. The World Wide Web has tons of resources that students can guide their own learning by researching. Have them make connections with the book, the WWW, experiences, and other students. Be there for the students as a coach, subject matter expert, mentor, and ultimately the facilitator.