Debra Hall

Making a plan and gathering data by using the ADDIE Model will be important in evaluating the outcomes of the course.

In order to keep students involved in the participation to keep them engaged, form smaller groups & post problems to be solved, have students give critique, start a debate on a topic in your lesson, etc that will encourage participation from students.  Just posting a question for students to answer may not be very engaging. 

Managing and modeling great time management skills are needed from day one in the online course.  Communicating expectations & setting boundaries is also key for a work-life balance.

It is important for both teachers and students to have good time management skills while participating in online classes.  Teachers should watch for procrastinators early in the class & reach out to them so they know you are monitoring your work.  Keeping time management schedules, limiting the workload within a specific time period and great organizational skills will make online teaching more effective.

Reviewing "Netiquitte" rules up front with students will reinforce acceptable ways of communicating and respecting others via the internet.  Introducing instructors to the 7 Principles of Learning should provide a positive online learning environment to help students have a positive and rewarding virtual classroom experience.

There are many technology tools that an online course can incorporate into both synchronous and asynchronous classes.  Incorporating a variety (email use, wikis, blogs, discussion boards, and video conferencing ) can keep the students engaged in the class

This module reinforced that when students are involved in the communication venues within the class they should feel more engaged.  There will always be students who don't like to participate in a class.  A virtual classroom will give them a place to "hide" and not participate.  Again, communication will be key in getting the expectations out to everyone.  A Small group activity is a great way to get more people to participate within the classroom.   Jigsaw activities can get the small groups to feel like a part of the "whole" class.  

Communiction will be key in getting the expectations to the students early in the course (first day or two).  The challenges in an on-line course will be the varying abilities of the students in the same class (high achievers vs the procrastinators, high intelectual level vs students with IEPs & 504s, etc).  And not having F2F contact every minute of the class will all learners will make it more difficult to keep the special needs student motivated & on-task with the rest of the class. Extra communications to those with special needs will be needed

It is important to give students a rubric prior to the studentss tarting to work on a project or assignment so they know up frotn what is expected of them.  I use rubrics all the time to assess their knowledge on a topic, i.e. if we covered a lesson on how to follow a recipe & measure ingredients correctly, I have the students go through stations to practice measuring flour and brown sugar (which are not measured the same way), liquid ingredients & also using measuring smaller amounts with measuring spoons.  I give them a rubric & they practice measuring… >>>

Communication again will be key in setting up the virtual classroom the first few days.  By establishing student & teacher expectations up front will help keep everyone "on the same page" and will hopefully reduce conflict and mis-communication issues later in the class.