Dawn Bourget

One important aspect to an online course is student feedback. Feedback can be both formative and summative. Formative feedback would allow an instructor to change a dynamic object such as making changes to a syllabus. It is also important to use the formative and summative feedback to make course changes to help make the course better.

It is important for students to learn effective communication boundaries. This should be set in the syllabus at the start of a course. It is also important for an instructor to set virtual office hours. This will help students that may have questions they need answered for the course. Virtual office hours help students feel a part of the community. Feedback on assignments should have a 24 hour turnaround. 

Time management is key to having a successful online course. It is important for the instructor to set up good time management practices. Make sure students know how long it will take to answer emails, provide feedback on assignments. It is also important to set boundaries between work and personal life and stick to it.

It is important to be highly organized as an online instructor. WLMS helps the instructor to become better organized for the class. It is important for the instructor to have good time management and organization skills but to also help students develop good organizational and time management skills so the student will be successful in the course.

An instructor of an online course should help students develop realistic goals that will help the student pursue and succeed in achieving his or her educational goals. An instructor can help students by explaining the role of the instructor and expectations of students that follow the 7 Principles of Learning.

It is important as an online instructor to have an understanding of student’s technical skills. It is a good idea to have students complete a survey so the instructor knows the technology skills of the student. It is helpful for the instructor to create short “How to” videos that will help students that need to learn certain skills. It is also important for the instructor to use different mediums of technology so that students can focus on learning content and not technology tools.

In an online class effective communication is important. It is important for students to understand the expectations involving effective communication. Instructors have to model for students what effective communication looks like. It is also important that students learn how to communicate in different ways in an online environment. Creating a CoP allows students to feel a part of a community while working on communication skills.

It is important for students and instructor to complete a self-analysis to determine the success of being online. It is also important for students to realize that online can sometimes be more time consuming than a F2F course. Students should prepare to spend between 3 to 5 hours per week on class readings, discussions and assignments. The instructor should also monitor student motivation and to guide the student to success where possible.

Effective communication is important in an online class. It is important for the instructor to create an introductory discussion post. This will help students feel like they are part of a community. It is also important to create a rubric so students know the expectations and how they are being graded. 

Communication is key in online learning. It is also important for the instructor to create an intorductory disussion post for student and instructor to introduce themesleves. The introductory post will help create a sense of community.  Rubrics are also an important part as the student knows the expecatations and requirements of the coruse.