Posts Tagged ‘tips for online instructors’
September 24 - Boosting a First-Time Online Adult Student’s Self-Esteem
By: Dawn M. Kaiser, PhD in Online Education
As professors, we all have seen first-time students who are so nervous that they do not even know where to begin, let alone how to achieve their educational goals. I am one of those lucky professors who works with adult students who are going back to school for a myriad of reasons, and are choosing to take online classes. Not only do these students need help with writing an academic paper, and how to submit an assignment to a dropbox, but their self-esteem and support system are sometimes lacking.
September 17 - The Top 10 Faculty Challenges for Teaching Online
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Issues such as time and workload management, quality assurance, and the need for new skills and competencies remain real or perceived barriers for faculty who are new to teaching online. Join Lawrence Ragan of Penn State’s World Campus as he shares his observations, stories, and insights regarding where faculty struggle in the online classroom, and what can be done to help.
September 6 - Tips for Overcoming Online Discussion Board Challenges
By: Errol Craig Sull in Online Education
Discussion boards are often viewed as the heart of online courses, and for good reason: the students can interact with one another 24/7, sharing, debating, and offering ideas, insights, suggestions, and information that stimulate the learning process. Yet challenges do happen in discussion, and these can be formidable. Left alone, they can quickly limit the effectiveness of any discussion and create problems throughout the online course.
August 10 - Five Factors that Affect Online Student Motivation
By: Rob Kelly in Online Education
Understanding what motivates online learners is important because motivated students are more likely to engage in activities that help them learn and achieve, says Brett Jones, associate professor of educational psychology at Virginia Tech. Based on an extensive review of the literature on student motivation, Jones has developed the MUSIC model of student motivation, which identifies five main factors that contribute to student motivation: eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring.
July 31 - Selecting Online Learning Technologies: An Interview with Tony Bates
By: Rob Kelly in Online Education
With so many technologies available to enhance online learning, it’s important to choose wisely. In an interview with Online Classroom, Tony Bates, an e-learning and distance education planning and management consultant, offered some insights on what to consider when making technology choices. We offer an excerpt of that interview here.
July 27 - How Can I Get Started With the Virtual Classroom?
By: Mary Bart in 20 Minute Mentor, Teaching Online
Presenter Jill Schiefelbein draws on her experience as an adjunct professor at Arizona State University and as a communications consultant to show you the ins and outs of teaching in a virtual classroom.
July 12 - The How, Why, and When of Posting Resources in the Online Classroom
By: Errol Craig Sull in Online Education
Resources—that amalgam of nearly anything and everything related to the subjects we teach and offered to our students as “extras”—give students a broader, deeper, and enhanced understanding of what they are being taught. Resources come in a variety of forms and often reflect our deep interest in our specialties. Sharing them in the online classroom gives students a better learning experience.
July 2 - Creating an Ongoing Feedback Loop with Your Students
By: Mary Bart in Online Education
Feedback is often given to students after the fact. After they completed their assignments, and after they turned in their exams. Likewise, faculty receive feedback from students in much the same fashion. After a paper is late because they didn’t know how to submit it electronically, after they dug a grading hole that will be difficult to climb out of, or after the course has ended.
May 3 - The Online Educator’s Complete Guide to Grading Assignments, Part 2
By: Errol Craig Sull in Online Education
On Tuesday, I provided general suggestions on course-based grading expectations practices. Here I share some ideas for grading specific assignments.
Use a bank of comments that are precise, detailed, and clear. The smart online educator is the one who has a bank of comments from which he/she can draw on to give students feedback on any number of items in the course. But there are two important items here that will make these precast comments most effective: 1) Have comments point out not only when something is wrong but also why it is wrong and how to get it right. In this manner, each comment becomes a mini teacher’s aide in the assignment. 2) Adjust (personalize) any comment as is necessary when your comment as written does not exactly match the problem you see in the student’s assignment. This way each comment is a perfect fit for the error, allowing the student to learn more fully.
April 19 - Making Online PowerPoint Content Engaging: Writing a Narration Script
By: Patti Shank, PhD, CPT in Online Education
Giving your students PowerPoint slides with only text or graphics is a problem because slides, even with text and graphics on them, really do not stand alone. It’s hard to add enough context without adding tons of text to explain what’s on the slide. And, well, PowerPoint isn’t really the right media for tons of text. If you want students to do a lot of reading, you really should provide students with printed or downloadable print materials.
