SEI
Sedi Minachi PIDP 4150 Jan 9, 2014
10 Best Practices for Online Teaching
The following are a set of ten best practices to
guide me in developing and teaching an online course[1]:
1. 1. Be
present at the course site.
I will be available at the course
site during office hours, and present whenever students need my help and
assistance and respond to students’ email promptly. I will post important
issues in the discussion forum and clarify things by posting online videos in
Moodle. I will also be available for conversations over the phone, skype, email
and using other collaborative online tools.
2. 2. Create
a supportive online course community.
According to Boettcher and Conrad
(2010) quoting Pelikan (1992), developing a supportive online course community
means designing “… a course so that the three dialogues of faculty to learner
(F-L), learner to learner (L-L), and learner to resource (L-R) are about equal”
(p. 39). For example, aside from being present for learners whenever needed, I
will create an activity that allows students to participate in an online
community event and report back to their peers. In this case, I will select a
time when everyone is able to be present online and will facilitate students’
interactions/discussion after each online report back. This activity will have
a better outcome if I divide students into smaller groups.
3. 3. Develop
a set of explicit expectations for your learners and yourself as to how you
will communicate and how much time students should be working on the course
each week.
I will communicate with students
through email, skype, telephone, online forum, video conferencing, etc
throughout the course. For example, I will organize small group discussions
through ovoo or skype and discuss relevant issues with them. Regarding my
expectations of the course, similar to PIDP 4150, I will clearly outline the
course requirements and assignments, and provide a time frame for each
activity.
4. 4. Use
a variety of large group, small group, and individual work experiences.
I will allow students to choose whether
to work on special projects individually at their own pace or with a partner or
group on projects throughout the course.
5. 5. Use
synchronous and asynchronous activities.
My course design will be based on
extensive collaborative and reflective activities. For example, I will
encourage students to use social media to present an issue relevant to course
content and facilitate a lively online discussion after each presentation.
6. 6. Ask
for informal feedback early in the term.
Early in the term, I will post an
evaluation survey (a set of questions in a discussion forum) asking learners for
their feedback and their expectations of the course.
7. 7. Prepare
discussion posts that invite responses, questions, discussions, and
reflections.
As stated by Boettcher and Conrad
(2010), a discussion forum is the best place for the course instructor and
learners to participate in an online community, and hear feedback/reflections
about each others’ work. With this in mind, I will design a discussion forum providing
an opportunity for learners to provide mentorship to each other, solve
problems, encourage creative thinking and share experiences with each other.
8. 8. Search
out and use content resources that are available in digital format if possible.
I will assign reading material this
is available online and encourage learners to use online material when
completing papers with respect to academic style referencing.
9. 9. Combine
core concept learning with customized and personalized learning.
As the instructor, I will explain
the course objectives, goals and outcomes in the course syllabus and will list relevant
reading material. I will also encourage learners’ creativity by designing
optional choices for assignments and special projects.
1 10. Plan
a good closing and wrap activity for the course.
According to Boettcher and Conrad
(2010), at the end of a course students are likely to be overwhelmed and
stressed by the remaining work. In order for me to reduce learners’ stress, I
will design end-of-course activities such as presentations or create activities
that reflect on the learning outcome of learners.
[1]
Boettcher, J. V. & Conrad, R. M. (2010). Chap 3: The Best Practices for
Teaching Online. The Online Teaching
Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. Jossey-Bass: Wiley
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