Introduction to Online Teaching and Learning

Welcome to the world of online teaching and learning! The purpose of this textbook is to provide guidance and advice for instructors who would like to develop an online course. The overall goal is to provide clarity about many of the steps required to design a course. This book will explore the basics of distance education and online teaching. Furthermore, the book will explain how to structure an online course, create a syllabus and design activities, content and assessments.

“It is not about the technology; it’s about sharing knowledge and information, communicating efficiently, building learning communities and creating a culture of professionalism in schools. These are the key responsibilities of all educational leaders.”

– Marion Ginapolis,  Superintendent & Blogger

Online Teaching Readiness Survey

Designing and teaching an online course requires additional skills that an instructor may not normally use when teaching face-to-face, in-person classes. The Eastern Connecticut State University  (2022) survey from the link below will let you check your technology, pedagogy, and organizational skills and attitudes related to teaching online:

• How Ready Are You to Teach Online?

How did you do? Use your results as you read this week’s chapter. Focus on what you would like to work on in this course to prepare you for designing and teaching an online course.

What is Online Learning?

Watch this video to get started:

Online courses generally take much longer to develop than most people realize. The information in this book is important in that it is based on practical experience gleaned from those that have designed and offered successful online courses.

New online instructors often have ideas about what an online class should be based on what they have heard and seen from colleagues. One of the biggest myths about online classes is that they are just “correspondence courses online” where an instructor puts something together before the semester starts and then walks away for a few months before coming back to submit final grades. Successful online courses are more than a textbook, slide decks or lecture notes, and automatically scored quizzes. They include instructors actively teaching and supporting student learning, providing helpful and timely feedback, designing opportunities for students to learn and work together, and challenging students to be better communicators, problem solvers, innovators, and community contributors.

Myths about Teaching Online

Watch this video about myths about teaching online:

Other misconceptions about online classes include:

You do not get to know your students. Because you do not meet in person, many faculty believe that you cannot get to know your students in an online class. Experienced online faculty report that they often feel they know their students better than the students in their in-person classes. This is because students who would never speak up in a classroom can feel much more comfortable participating in an online discussion forum, where they have more time to think about what they want to say.

Everybody goes at their own pace. A standard “everyone progresses together” course is much more efficient and enjoyable for both students and faculty. This is due to the need for ongoing interaction between students, the nature of collaborative work, and the simple issue of logistics. While go-at-your-own-pace online courses exist, they require more work on the part of the instructor to remain engaged with all students and make sure it does not follow a correspondence model.

I have to be available 24/7. Just because students may email you in the middle of the night does not mean you need to respond to them in the middle of the night. While student questions should be replied to in a timely manner, an immediate response is an unreasonable expectation for both students and faculty. Your syllabus should explain your availability and turn-around time for messages (replying within a 24 hour period is recommended) and your preferred contact method.

Everything has to be written. Online courses are different from paper correspondence courses in many ways, one of which is the use of audio and video, by both instructors and students. Using phones, tablets, and webcams, faculty can interact with students (asynchronously or synchronously) including activities ranging from video introductions and video-based feedback to interactive group presentations.

Adapting to Online Teaching and Learning

When you start to teach online, you will have to adjust to a new way of instruction. The following section includes a few points for new online instructors.

Communication takes longer. One issue that new online instructors may not consider is the impact of the time delay that is inherent in asynchronous communication. Writing a clear explanation often takes longer than simply saying it verbally. It is easy to use video or audio to explain things, but, for most faculty, writing will come more naturally.

The workload is more diffuse. With an in-person class, your teaching activity tends to be concentrated around your class meetings. The first thing many faculty note when teaching online is that activity is continuous. Communication happens when students have questions, which may be any day of the week. The need to check in with students frequently is something that it can take time to get used to.

Students really do want to hear from you. Student feedback consistently shows that they want to hear from the instructor. Whether you use discussions, announcements, or the inbox, being visible in the course is important for both student learning and retention.

You do not have to think of your class in MWF 10:00-10:50 blocks. In an in-person class, you may regularly run out of time to finish discussing or explaining something. You may choose to start the next class by finishing the previous class session or you may choose to let it go and move on to what you had planned for the next class. In an online class, all of your explanations and examples are there in a module for your students so you won’t run out of time. While this isn’t an open invitation to put an unlimited amount of content into the course, it does mean your students have a better chance to not miss out on things that “drop off” the end of the course for lack of time.

Chapter Questions

1. What aspects of online teaching and learning does the textbook aim to address?
2. Predict how the guidance provided in this textbook will help a new online instructor develop an effective online course.
3. List two myths or misconceptions about online teaching and learning.
4. Compare and contrast the workload for online instructors and traditional in-person instructors.
5. Explain two challenges that a new instructor could face when adjusting to online teaching.