In the following weeks or months, many #Twitterstorians may face the task of delivering college or university #OnlineClasses
We’ve been teaching #OnlineClasses for 5 yrs to part-time, life-long learners. Here are a few tips we’ve picked up along the way. Many have come from students themselves. If time, resources, and inclination allow, you may be able to use some of them
Take advantage of any resources your institution already has for delivering online education
There’s also a ton of resources elsewhere. We work with sites.google.com/site/ctltteach…
Make yourself aware of your students’ ability to access a webcam, a microphone and the internet
Remember that online learning may be new to your students as well as you and that the “digital native” label doesn’t necessarily mean that students are naturals at online learning.
Suggest ways for students to pace their work - when to watch video lectures, when to provide discussion questions, when to contribute to discussion boards, etc.) but build in flexibility. Give ideas on how to manage coursework without the structure of scheduled on-site classes
Just because students don’t have to come to campus doesn’t necessarily mean they have unlimited free time. They may be caring for dependents, taking extra shifts at jobs to cover for sick colleagues, etc.
Create multiple ways for student participation—live discussions, @voicethread, discussion boards, etc. While text-based boards might be most familiar to you, they don’t necessarily work best in isolation. This is a good chance to experiment with additional options
Mix recorded lectures with asynchronous discussions via something like @voicethread or a discussion forum. Asynchronous discussions may be much more inclusive for students unfamiliar with these technologies and/or with poor, intermittent internet access
Rethink your lecture. Split recordings into short units, say 10 minutes each. Break up the passive experience of watching a video with quick quizzes, thought experiments, and lightening assignments
Build community by assigning group projects. Direct groups to an online source and ask them to select images according to a prompt and design and build online galleries
e.g. We use the National Library of Medicine's “Historical Anatomies on the Web” to build discussions around topics such as pre- and post-Vesalian anatomy, or European and Chinese depictions of bodily systems bit.ly/38CloTk
Design assignments that students can post and comment upon, such as “create an advertisement for an imaginary 17th century London healer”, after having them read some primary sources as examples
This might be the perfect time to set those video, podcast, and Wikipedia page-editing assignments you’ve been thinking about. For an intro to assigning a podcast, see this For an intro to assigning a podcast, see this @nytimes article: nyti.ms/38C44h2
Assign texts, images or videos for discussion to specific students, giving them responsibility for creating prompts and moderating discussion. This encourages participation and can help break online silences
Try peer assessment of written work; some students sharpen their skills by coaching others; some students will learn what a strong assignment can look like. Be sure to anonymize the assignments
Set clear expectations for student participation. Make student participation measurable (within reason) and provide timely feedback on whether students are meeting expectations
For some assignments, you may want to ask students to limit comments to a specific number of words (if written) or minutes (if spoken). Prepare specific prompts to keep the discussions on point
All the usual rules about respect and civility should apply online as onsite. If you want to use ground rules for participation, you (and/or your students) can adapt these to the situation: bit.ly/2Iz2Poo
Asynchronous discussions can get very unwieldy very quickly and, like in-person discussions, can be dominated by just a few people. Introduce to your students to “step-up/step-back.” Some tips here: bit.ly/2Tz2MiJ
Create opportunities for students to let you know what is working and what could work better. Take a couple of minutes to create periodic surveys on how tools are functioning, how they are managing the work, whether they are meeting the course objectives, etc.
Delivering online courses can be even more time intensive for teachers than on-site classes. Decide beforehand how often you will check in and when you will participate in discussions. However, sometimes you will need to address and correct problems as and when they arise
Students may be anxious to know you are paying attention. Clearly indicate how and when you are available; teaching online does NOT mean you are online 24/7
Schedule online office hours for students. As far as possible give them a range of platform options to connect up with you. State your policy on answering emails (within x hours, on y days, etc)
Keep a log of what works and what doesn’t work and what you might do to fix it.
Got any tips of your own to share?
