Ashley Slaughter

Unless the course is conducted in a synchronous method, communication is essential for student success. In an asynchronous environment, students take on the responsibility of their learning since it isn't happening in real time. The instructor must find and utilize forms of technology to help aid in their learning process. 

Utilizing different strategies and technologies to teach is important, but the teacher must first understand the function of the technology and how to use it. Students learn in different ways, and teaching in the online environment requires the teacher to incorporate different teaching strategies to meet the needs of the students in the class. 

My greatest take away for this module is ensuring students know that their input is important for the future of the course. We want student feedback to allow our teaching methods, design, and use-friendliness of the course to grow. 

When having students submit work, it is important to either have them self-grade their work based upon the rubric or to have their peer grade their work. This allows for self reflection on the objectives and whether or not they were met. If done in a peer-format, then students who are assessing the work can evaluate as a third party and also learn how to ensure their work meets the objectives. 

I didn't realize that the syllabus should be different for online vs. on ground learning. It makes sense now that you would want more detailed instruction and more information available for the online students because you aren't readily available to them when questions arise. 

The greatest take away from this lesson is the importance of consistency and a desired template to follow to ensure that students can understand and easily navigate the site. 

Managing an online learning environment means that the teacher needs to understand the different types of students and their different types of learning personalities. Managing personalities and ensuring that learning is taking place requires discipline and consistency with students. 

When teaching in the online format, it is important to be timely with feedback and to ensure that your message is clear and easily understood. With discussions, you must still monitor the content being posted and be concise and consistent with responses. You must guide the discussion and respond appropraitely. 

Since we don't have the pleasure of being face-to-face with students in the online environment, it is important to provide information about our qualifications, teaching history, and even our hobbies and interests to help build rapport with our students. Another way to engage conversation and encourage learning is to get to know your students as well. They can post a biography on themselves. 

Online learning is a different platform than in class learning. The role of the teacher is to present the necessary information in an easily understood format. The layout should be consistent and easily navigated for the students. Teachers can send announcements and manage the class online.