teaching online
The three most important things that I think are most important in teaching online is
1) communication: because it's not face to face, it is imperative that the lines of communication stays open.
2) build a community and family together so that they can stay encouraged and have a sense of pride
3) bringing real life situations to the classroom so that students can relate our weekly topics to the outside world
Telicia,
Communication, community, and classroom real life content. Excellent choice of three things. Thanks for your input.
I cannot agree more with all three of these points. Having taught online and face-to-face for the last 15 years, communication is key! I think far too often we take our time and effort to design our materials, yet don't take the time to keep the lines of open communication open. I always want the students to have that sense of pride in their work, because when I release them out into the work world, they need to be prepared. The last and I feel most important are those life lessons that I can share with the students. I hold a unique role in have worked over 22 years in operations along with 15 years of higher education teaching, and sharing what has worked and what has not, is one of the those things that not every instructor has the opportunity to make happen.
Martin,
And, if you put it together, it's communicating those life lessons and other course content well that enhances student learning
. Thanks!
I like the notion of community. This is big in any classroom--on ground or online. I sometimes find it is easier to establish this in the online setting as there is an intimacy that emerges when we are writing to communicate with each other as opposed to speaking with one another.
I find there are fewer "issues" between students online than on ground--though I've only been teaching online for 4 years!
Mica,
Very interesting. Keep teaching and learning and sharing your ideas. Thanks!
