Teaching Online
Course Design
Designing an online course may be a challenge for you, especially if you have never taught outside of a classroom or a lecture hall. There are a number of places where you can get help or learn more about WebCT and technology-based teaching.
As a faculty member using WebCT, you are known as a "WebCT Designer." Designers have the ability to add content to and modify a course. (Students can only access the information, which you will provide.)
Characteristics of instructional Design |
There are several characteristics that should be present in all instructional design efforts:
- Instructional design is learner-centred.
- Instructional design is goal-oriented.
- Instructional design focuses on real-world performance.
- Instructional design focuses on outcomes that can be measured in a reliable and valid way.
- Instructional design is empirical.
- Instructional design typically is a team effort.
(R. A. Reiser and J. V. Dempsey: Trends and Issues in Instructional design and Technology) |
Accessibility
EPLT is building expertise in the area of accessible online course design. A recent flash presentation showcasing some of our work in this area is available here. For more information, please contact Natasha Boskic.
Motivation
Motivation is one of the factors that will have a major influence on how involved your students will be in your course, and how successfully they will complete it. The following questions may help you start shaping your content and activities:
- What can I do to capture student interest?
- How can I arouse their curiosity?
- How can I keep them focused?
- How can I meet their needs?
- How will I make them confident and competence?
- How can I assist them in their learning?
On the basis of information you have on your students, your subject matter and your personal teaching styles, you will write motivational objectives, create motivational tactics, develop and evaluate them.
Learning Styles
The discussion on learning styles in both the popular and academic press is an ongoing issue. Gardner (1983) argues for a different kind of intelligence. It is necessary to modify an instructional strategy so that it can accommodate different learning styles, but still lead to the prescribed outcomes. This could be achieved by increasing the number of examples, by introducing the different ways of working on the assignments, or by giving a choice in content sequence.
Instructional Strategies
Problem Based Learning (PBL)
Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method that challenges students to "learn to learn," working cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real world problems. These problems are used to engage students' curiosity and initiate learning the subject matter. PBL prepares students to think critically and analytically, and to find and use appropriate learning resources. Think about the instructional activities required to support learning different kinds of problem solving. Try and see whether PBL could be integrated with your course.
Case Study
The use of case studies holds great promise as a pedagogical technique. It develops students’ skills in group learning, speaking, and critical thinking. Since many of the best cases are based on contemporary problems that students encounter in the news, the use of cases makes your subject relevant. World Wide Web is a great resource for the variety of case studies from “real life”.
Group work
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject and complete an assignment. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.
Benefits of working in groups:
- Positive interdependence
- Individual and group accountability
- Interpersonal & small-group skills
Drawbacks:
- A member of the group is not participating
- Finding time to meet online and work together could be challenging.
- The quality of work of different students is
- Some students prefer individual tasks
To avoid some of the problems from the beginning:
- Think about assigning some group roles.
- Spend time up front addressing "netiquette" rules
- Clarify the expectations you have for each member in terms of time commitment and tasks.
- Be clear with the grading scheme; design a scoring rubric.
Educational Multimedia
How is your content going to be presented? Variety will keep your students alert and curious about what will happen next. The options are numerous, from print-based page to rich multi-media experience. Don’t get into a trap of using a fancy tool or application just because it is available. Make a plan first with defining your instructional goals. Then ask yourself:
- Is this tool practical?
- Is it a good means of presenting a particular instructional activity?
- What are the characteristics of your learners?
Choose an instructional media with a reason, always having in mind learning situation.
Course Delivery
By now, you have checked your course website to ensure that all updates are in place, specifically:
- The course schedule to ensure that assignment dates, deadlines are posted accurately
- The assignment requirements are clear and relevant
- Grading structure is in place
- Exam information is present
- Exam dates should be posted in the course schedule from the
beginning of the term. If your course has an invigilated face
to face exam, refer them to the exam schedule posted on EPLT website
or (UBC's site ) or to the information that was emailed to the
students.
Welcoming students
It is a good idea to send an email to all of the students in your course on or before the day the course opens. You can do this easily by using the email tools through the Faculty Service Centre.
Building community
Since your students rarely have a chance to meet their peers, help them learn about each other and feel comfortable in their new environment. It is a good practice to open a space (either using Student Homepages or discussion forum in WebCT) where students can introduce themselves. You can help the shy ones talk by structuring their response (asking three specific questions, for example). Building community is essential for social aspect of learning and could be very useful for assigning groups, if necessary.
Content
Even though your content has been developed before the beginning of the course, it is always a good idea to check for broken links from time to time, or check to make sure all the applications work properly (especially if you use a lot of multimedia elements).
Interaction
Most of the interaction between you and your students, or between individual students will happen in the discussion forums. Communicating with other students can improve the quality of learning, but also increase opportunities for help and practice.
- After a short period of time, your discussion board could contain enormous amount of postings. Organize them in different topics, which will follow your course content.
- Reading all the messages could be exhausting, responding even more. Remind yourself that you do not need to reply to every single posting. Let the students communicate, but be there to facilitate the discussions.
- Prepare a few questions for every topic that you have created. Post the first question to initiate the conversation. When you notice that it is “dying”, and students don’t have anything else to say, jump in with your next question.
The email tool is for sending messages to individual students. When you notice that a particular student is inactive, or late with an assignment, send an email. Maybe he/she needs a little help from you. Don’t use email to send a message to everyone. Use the discussion tool!
Assignments
Assignments and the instructor feedback that accompanies them are key elements in support of student learning.
Assignments for the paper-based courses should be returned promptly so that students can build on their performance as they complete subsequent work. Students receive the cover sheets, the yellow address sheets and the window envelopes.
Examinations and Grades
If your course has an examination, EPLT makes arrangements for students to sit their exams. We mail the completed exam papers to you for marking. The Faculty Service Centre allows you to submit grades online for your class. It is the responsibility of the instructor to enter grades. Grades are due 7 business days following the date the examination was held.
Time management
Because of the nature of online learning, students expect you to be there 24/7, and to respond to their messages immediately. Give your students a hint about your working hours, and your availability. Let them know that you will respond to their individual emails in no longer than 24- hours, for example, or if you need to be away from your computer for more than that. Give students your “office-hours”, when you can meet online (using chat room, for example), or be there on their request.
Think about your time when you are creating your activities and assignments. Will you have enough time to read 25 20-30 pages papers three times during the duration of your course, plus all the postings in the discussion forums and your emails? Ask your students to share their work and comment on it. Think about the peer evaluation. Help yourself!
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