Trina Polston

Organization is also an important consideration in preparing content for online instruction

The instructor, as a facilitator, needs to evaluate student learning to determine if learning occurred and if the academic, social, and pragmatic needs of the learner were met.

Accessibility is a huge factor not only for students in an aysnchronous learning environment, but also for instructors who need to provide discussion and feedback in a timely manner. 

When a technology tool is difficult to learn or use or it is not used for the proper function, teaching and learning are inhibited. The technology tool should support, not hinder, the teaching and learning process. Assessment of each technology tool provides essential feedback as to whether to continue to use it or to investigate another technology tool to better serve the instructor and students.

 It will take multiple tools, from your multiple stakeholders, to provide the feedback that you will need to make continuous changes that improve your online course and close the loop!

When the feedback is connected to the learning objectives and meaningful feedback is provided to the students, learning is improved.

Sustaining an online learning community is also essential to ensure learning.  Creating a sustainable online learning community involves developing forums in which students feel comfortable sharing ideas, opinions, and facts with others in synchronous or asynchronous environments.

Chunking is defined as creating smaller units of information that are also coordinated with larger units, module, or courses.  This is beneficial for student learning as the learner typically loses focus while watching a video that is longer than 5-10 minutes. 

Remind learners to complete their assignments offline and keep a back-up on an alternative storage medium. When they are ready to submit the assignment, they can either copy and paste or attach the document for posting into the course.

Control the pace of your text chat by maintaining a continual flow of information between you and the participants. Segment long responses and present one segment at a time. This way, participants will know that you are in the process of composing your reply to their questions