Online learning has skyrocketed in the past few years. This article, written by a highly experienced online and on-campus, instructor will help you get started in online teaching.
Instructions
1. **Online teahing opportunities**
There are many opportunities available to those of you who want to teach online. Years ago, online classes were offered by less reputable schools. But that was then!
Today, many of the large and highly respected schools offer online classes. Why? Because they realized the number of students interested in it and decided to get in on the action.
However, the way you generally get online teaching is the same way you get classroom teaching. You contact the department in which you'd like to teach, mention your desire to teach online, and submit your resume.
In addition, you can look at resources like the Chronicle of Higher Education for online teaching positions. And you can look into places like Universal Class and Virtual U. These two aren't colleges, but rather offer a variety of online classes for no credit. In other words, they're simply for expanding one's mind and learning something new. They're what colleges and universities would call continuing education classes.
I've taught both myself and have equally enjoyed them!
2. **Training**
Some places will have you go through a training program. I've been through this myself at some places. For instance, they might have you take an actual online class with them just to see how things work. Or they may put you through an online certification program to learn how online teaching works. Others will merely send you a booklet on the software they use. And some will provide no training whatsoever!
Blackboard is one of the largest and most commonly used software programs used for online learning. It's not the only one, but it is one of the most widely used. Some places will offer on-campus instruction on it, while others will not.
If you are new to online teaching, I suggest taking advantage of any training the school offers. And even if you've taught online before, as I have for years, you may want to take additional training. This can update your skills or give you more information so you can take full advantage of the features your online learning system offers.
3. **Course layout**
Online students may or may not be computer literate. I've had plenty of students who were extremely good at computers. And I've had plenty of others who were novices. So it's important that your online class be laid out in such a way that's easy to navigate!
Students must be able to find things easily if they're going to learn! Having frustrated students in your class won't make your job easy nor fun. So it's important to make the layout as easy as possible for everyone. Even if they're very computer literate.
TIP: Some places have a standard layout
There are some online schools that provide a layout for your class to you. In other words, they do all the setup and you simply use it. Other places will allow you to customize things as you see fit. I've encountered both!
Some schools use a custom or proprietary software package for online learning. These tend to be less flexible and customizeable from the instructor's perspective. But that's not always the case.
Either way, just realize that you may or may not have a lot of control over how things are laid out. But if you do, then make navigation easy for all student, regardless of their computer skills.
4. **Syllabus**
Essentially, an online class couse syllabus is similar to a classroom course. There'll be lessons, assignments, tests, and perhaps discussions. Discussions are the one area that may exist in an on-campus course. But with online learning, discussions--live or not--are often used to make students feel more like a class instead of individuals separated by the net.
With some online classes, tests may actually be taken on campus. This is the case with many blended or hybrid classes. These are ones where part of class is conducted online and part is done in an actual classroom. But with 100% online learning, exams will be taken online.
My syllabus outlines the course objectives, topics to be covered, grading criteria, etc. And it's posted for all to see. Some students will look at it, while others will not. But definitely make it available to everyone right at the beginning of class!
5. **Lessons**
Make sure your lessons are easy for students to comprehend. Remember, they won't have the benefits of asking you questions right then and there. So writing online lessons can be harder.
Many of the things we'll take for granted in the classroom, or explain with a visual, must be written out when teaching online. And keep things brief!
Students don't like to read tons and tons of material in one sitting. So arrange your material in manageable blocks that students can more easily digest.
TIP: This doesn't mean taking it easy on students
Some student incorrectly assume online learning won't teach them as much. So they'll walk in thinking lessons won't be as detailed. However, you can make your lessons very detailed and packed with lots of info! In other words, you can offer the same level of instruction as you would in an actual classroom. The only difference is in how that information is presented.
For instance, I've had 10 pages of information in my lessons. Each section is clearly divided and information in each section is presented in an easy-to-read format. So I give then quite a bit of instruction, but it's condensed into manageable blocks.
For lessons, some online instructors use MS Word; others use PowerPoint; and some use PDF files. Which you decide to use if up to you. But I do suggest thinking about which format would work best for your students. In other words, will a PowerPoint full of animations slowdown the computer? Would a PDF file be too large for those who may have dial-up connections?
Yes, some schools may say that online classes require students to have broadband or high-speed internet. But in my experience, there are still some who won't have that, yet are in class. So I adjust for it.
6. **Tests**
Perhaps the hardest thing with online teaching is creating exams. Why? Because of the tendency to make them too long or too tough. In other words, with a classroom course, there's only specific time available. For example, a class may meet from 11 AM to 12:50 PM.
But with online classes, you may be able to schedule exams to be that long or even longer. For instance, in some of my classes, I've given students a week to complete their exam. With others, I've given them an hour. So you do have flexibility in terms of how much time you want to allocate for the taking of exams.
That's something totally new to those who haven't taught online before. How much time you decide to give students for exams is up to you. But you should view it the same way you would with a classroom class. Does your exam test what needs to be tested? Is it fair to students? Is it at an appropriate level? Are the questions clear enough?
In addition, you may be able to set various testing options. For example, allowing students to take it multiple times with the highest score being their grade. Or allowing them to take it one time only. Or allowing multiple attempts with the grades averaged together. This is also something that you may not have encountered if you haven't taught online before.
So online testing does offer quite a bit of flexibility!
7. **Student contact**
With online learning, expect lots of student contact! In other words, they'll probably be e-mailing and contacting you with questions, concerns, and calls for help. This just goes with the territory! And the volume of it can easily overwhelm the new instructor.
For example, I've gotten over 120 messages from students in a single class! So it can be pretty time-consuming. But it's something that must be done because you are the instructor and are there to assist.
So I suggest realizing that online teaching may not simply be post your lessons and sit back. You may have to actively check messages and respond. So budget your time accordingly and understand this is part of online learning.
Tags: online learning, online teaching, online classes, other words, online before