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Technical proficiencies in the tools needed to develop and maintain an On-Line class are critical for success. Just as students need to have the technical tools and the necessary computer skills to take On-Line classes, so must the instructor.
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- Prepare all your course material (goals, objectives, presentations, documents, etc.) before uploading it to the WebCT server. Preparation is ESSENTIAL to any On-Line course. All the material especially the schedule needs to be predefined and most importantly adhered to as much as possible.
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- Develop the course with a student-centered approach in mind. The instructor should encourage collaborative learning so that students are responsible for resolving most of the problems themselves.
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- Develop detailed and dependable course material such as the syllabus, schedule, and grading policy so that expectations are clearly stated. By clearly communicating expectations and responsibilities, the student becomes accountable for their learning decisions.
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- Don't let technology dominate your course. Keep focus on the course subject, sometimes it is easy to get enthralled in technology and loose sight of the main objective. Technology is a tool, a delivery system.
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- Promote online dialogue to enhance learning. Require students to post paragraph responses to specific questions. In addition students should respond to a certain number of student postings. As the facilitator you supervise the discussions and respond when necessary. This encourages communication among students and your periodic comments assure the students of your presence. By the end of the course your students will notice a measurable improvement in their writing skills.
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- Use the Web as a resource for your online course. The Web has become a dominant resource for information. By using the web as a major source of information, the student learns life long research skills. Have the students do the surfing for you, you'd be surprised at the amount of quality information they can find. These resources can be useful as reference material for your next course, or a related course.
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- Not all resource material is freely available on the Web. The Dona Aña Community College Library offers new and powerful portals for research of printed and electronic material not freely available on the web. The newly upgraded portal offers the user the ability to save and email the selected search listing. The new features are cutting edge in research tools I would suggest at least one assignment using reference material from the DACC Library.
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- Encourage students to print some of the course material such as study notes so that they can be read of-line. Reading textbook and course material of-line gives the student respite from the computer. Reading a book under a tree is still a very relaxing and pleasurable experience.
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- Continuously evaluate students' progress. Evaluations and a detailed grading policy reassure the students of their current status and strengthen your presence in the virtual classroom.
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References
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall73/kosak73.html
http://www.ed.psu.edu/acsde/deos/deosnews.asp#_ftn1
http://www.natcom.org/Instruction/summerconf/distance.htm
http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/ |
