Sarah Muroski

Multiple sources of evaluations are required to fully determine whether or not the course is effective for the learners. Self-assessment is very important, as well as thorough review of all course materials, content, objectives. It can be useful to provide the students with an opportunity to participate in a discussion about some ideas they had throughout the course.

Assessment plans are important and rubrics should be mandatory for all assignments, otherwise I believe the student does have a right to argue their grades aren't accurate or that they weren't aware of a certain requirement. To ensure efficient communication, all assignments should have a rubric. More assessments regarding the efficacy of courses would be beneficial and an exit ticket is a strategy I would consider implementing.

Scaffolding is important to build on concepts from previous courses/experiences and enhance learning in the current course. With efficient communication and participation on the instructor's end, there are more opportunities to prevent misinformation and support the students as they work toward the course learning objectives.

Proper planning of the course framework will support course learning objectives and provide a better learning environment. It's an ongoing process that needs to be relied on in order to maintain high quality instruction in an online learning environment and also can be used to organize materials for efficient instruction in the future.

Managing conflict can be an opportunity to demonstrate presence as an instructor by letting the learner know their interactions or lack there of are not meeting the expectations of the course. These modules go hand in hand, as creating a relationship early on in the course by demonstrating presence with a welcome message can make it easier to intervene later on in the course. The welcome message sets the instructor tone/intention for the course by letting learnings know different areas of support they can ask about.

Engaging learners can help the instructor to gauge the level of understanding of each learner, which can be used to self-reflect on strategies being used to deliver information and continue to engage the students. Synchronous discussions can be useful one on one but shouldn't be relied on for multiple students or delivering important information. Student engagement starts with the instructor, it's the instructor's responsibility to lead by example.

As an instructor, projecting presence is another way of encouraging engagement from the learners, which supports their success. It provides instructors with more teaching opportunities and students who feel supported are usually more motivated and perform better.

It's important for instructors to essentially be experts in the CMS, as well as the course material. They should be able to navigate the CMS and assist students in doing so and ensure everything is functionally properly in order to facilitate a success online course following the module/lesson structure. Without this kind of knowledge and preparation, the instructor will start their course at a disadvantage and be less equipped to support the success of their students.