Lee Williams

It is very important to test everything out and to provide students with the information they need to be successful in the course. Planning is important and does take a lot of time on the front yet, but it provides a better experience. Having a Plan A, B, C, etc. is important as technical issues do arise. Additionally, students need to see the relevance of the activities, the "why", and have a little fun to be engaged. 

Even though students are responsible for their own learning, they still need guidance. It's still a partnership. 

Active learning requires the students are responible for their own learning. Active learning requires instructors to be less rigid and hold on to just one style of teaching, instructors must be more open to learning activities and opportunities to provide students with a more immersive, interdependent, and self-directed experience.

This training is so good! I have been worked for for-profit schools most of my career. I know I certainly made some mistakes back in the beginning. I am in a position now to draft our copyright policy and train our facult (F2F and online) and course developers on how to appropriately use materials, how to seek permissions to use copyrighted and licensed materials, etc. 

One area I don't feel there is enough clarity, is on the different types of creative commons licenses. The "non-commercial" is tricky. I don't think for-profit educational institutions should fall under commercial, so I… >>>

Be proactive and teach everyone at your institution to be a good digital citizenship. 

Fair use is explained well. Determining the "necessity" of the work can be tricky.  However, fair use doesn't apply to online learning in for-profit schools, as is my understanding.  

Copyright is so very important, especially in the educational realm. Many course designers and instructors want to add images to presentation material and often do, as it is easy to just download or take a screen shot of images found on the internet. However, this is not always legal or appropriate depending on the type of license. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. 

Private sector, for-profit educational institutions do not have the same rights as public sector, non-profit educational institutions. It's unfortunate because the goal of all educational institutions should is to educate. 

Virtual Internships offer both advantages and disadvantages. The social aspect and networking needs to be built in for virtual interns, as this is a very valuable aspect of an internship and the job world. Virtual internships offer opportunities for those who may need accommodations, as well.

The information on potential scams is very important. In fact, a good friend of my, who has her doctorate, was scammed for a full-time job. It ended up costing her more than $7,000, in addition, to the mental toll. 

The seven soft skills are important, as well, as being sure to create space, boundaries, and a schedule.

Conistency and layout are important. Don't make things complicated because you can. Don't use a bunch of bells and whistles if they will distract from the content and learning.

An online instructor plays many roles. One of the most important, is the "guide on the side". Provide students with the tools, content, and support necessary for success. Feedback is key!