What makes for a great online course?
May 24, 2010 7:56 AM Subscribe
I've been hired to teach on online course next semester. What makes for a good online course?
I will be teaching history, in a BA degree program offered by a large and relatively prestigious brick-and-mortar school (this is not for Kaplan or University of Phoenix or any self-described for-profit university). My students will probably be adults, and this is a core course for the degree.
Problem is I've never taken an online class or taught one, though I have taught lots of lecture and seminar classes in real life. I know how to give a lecture and how to lead a discussion in person, but I'm a bit hazy on how a lecture can be given online (or should it?)
So, those of you who have taken classes, what do you think works? What did you hate?
I will be teaching history, in a BA degree program offered by a large and relatively prestigious brick-and-mortar school (this is not for Kaplan or University of Phoenix or any self-described for-profit university). My students will probably be adults, and this is a core course for the degree.
Problem is I've never taken an online class or taught one, though I have taught lots of lecture and seminar classes in real life. I know how to give a lecture and how to lead a discussion in person, but I'm a bit hazy on how a lecture can be given online (or should it?)
So, those of you who have taken classes, what do you think works? What did you hate?
It is likely that your students have not taken an online course just like you have not taught an online course. Be sure to manage expectations. Let students know all of the basics that you take for granted in the classroom. Such as how to contact you, (maybe you could have virtual office hours), how long it will take you/ or when will you respond, how to interact with other students, how to submit assignments. Plus have sound pedagogy. What are your goals? What is your grading rubric?
As far as lectures go, I hate powerpoint but others love it. If possible try giving your lectures in multiple formats - since there are multiple types of learners. Some people like podcasts, others would prefer to read.
posted by turtlefu at 8:30 AM on May 24, 2010
As far as lectures go, I hate powerpoint but others love it. If possible try giving your lectures in multiple formats - since there are multiple types of learners. Some people like podcasts, others would prefer to read.
posted by turtlefu at 8:30 AM on May 24, 2010
I work in the department that creates online courses for our classes at a Community College.
We create the entire course with a teacher of any particular course. (assignments, quizzes, activities, content, etc) This teacher then debugs the course for one or more semesters before anyone else can take it over.
We also hand the new teacher a manual that explains and lays out the course in detail and we have a course that they can enroll in that teaches them our LMS (blackboard) and basics of online teaching.
I agree with griphus, discussion board management is very important. I would contact yopur place of learning and ask them what systems they have in place to help you teach this course. What LMS are they using? Do they have any training you can take? Is the course already to go or do you have to create the content?
posted by royalsong at 8:41 AM on May 24, 2010
We create the entire course with a teacher of any particular course. (assignments, quizzes, activities, content, etc) This teacher then debugs the course for one or more semesters before anyone else can take it over.
We also hand the new teacher a manual that explains and lays out the course in detail and we have a course that they can enroll in that teaches them our LMS (blackboard) and basics of online teaching.
I agree with griphus, discussion board management is very important. I would contact yopur place of learning and ask them what systems they have in place to help you teach this course. What LMS are they using? Do they have any training you can take? Is the course already to go or do you have to create the content?
posted by royalsong at 8:41 AM on May 24, 2010
Response by poster: Yes, there will be training from the university. But each course is created by each individual instructor each time it is taught, much like a live course.
posted by agent99 at 8:46 AM on May 24, 2010
posted by agent99 at 8:46 AM on May 24, 2010
nthing consistency. I took a class once and you had to be constantly checking the schedule. Tuesday this is due, Wednesday part 1 of this is due, Thursday don't forget to add a comment to the post above yours with regard to assignment #4, on Friday the peer review to paper #6 is due. Bla bla bla. It was so exhausting and felt more like a lesson in paperwork than anything to do with the actual class content.
On the other hand, I've had online classes where every Wednesday something was due (or whatever day). That was so handy. I didn't need to micromanage it. If I felt like procrastinating all I had to remember was Tuesday night look at the assignment board.
Minimize the pointless point accumulation. I hate being treated like a child and having to jump through hoops just to prove I am 'participating'. If participation is required, make it real participation, not just an arbitrary test to see if you can follow directions.
posted by ian1977 at 8:54 AM on May 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
On the other hand, I've had online classes where every Wednesday something was due (or whatever day). That was so handy. I didn't need to micromanage it. If I felt like procrastinating all I had to remember was Tuesday night look at the assignment board.
Minimize the pointless point accumulation. I hate being treated like a child and having to jump through hoops just to prove I am 'participating'. If participation is required, make it real participation, not just an arbitrary test to see if you can follow directions.
posted by ian1977 at 8:54 AM on May 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
One important thing to remember about online learning is that meaningful engagement with other students is not necessarily inherent. If you want your students to have interaction with each other online that actually go well, you may want to build in some activities during the beginning of the course that help them to get to know each other as people. If on the other hand you just want to have them read stuff and then post back independently, that's less of an issue.
I've found that online classes that do have interaction in them as part of the curriculum are more meaningful for me personally and easier for people to stay motivated about the course material. You will have to figure out a way to incentivise that--typically by making online engagement part of the final grade.
posted by Kimberly at 9:04 AM on May 24, 2010
I've found that online classes that do have interaction in them as part of the curriculum are more meaningful for me personally and easier for people to stay motivated about the course material. You will have to figure out a way to incentivise that--typically by making online engagement part of the final grade.
posted by Kimberly at 9:04 AM on May 24, 2010
What ian1977 said is huge. A printable word or PDF syllabus with all assignment and their due dates spelled out works wonders. And seriously, I hated the "tuesday comment on this, thursday comment on that" when I was working long hours and pregnant. Set it up so that there is flexibility - all assigments due on Sunday was really easy for me and the other working folks in my class. You shouldn't have to sign on 3x/week for busywork to take the class as long as you spend the right amount of hours on the assigments.
My worst online classes were when the instructor used multiple folders and subfolders under that for multiple assignments, and it would be past due or at the due date when I realized that I didn't see a folder and the assignment within. It was frustrating. Even worse was a terrible system for sending assignments also located in individual folders. Just emailing them to the professor or having one place within the online course to send assignments is best.
posted by kpht at 9:41 AM on May 24, 2010
My worst online classes were when the instructor used multiple folders and subfolders under that for multiple assignments, and it would be past due or at the due date when I realized that I didn't see a folder and the assignment within. It was frustrating. Even worse was a terrible system for sending assignments also located in individual folders. Just emailing them to the professor or having one place within the online course to send assignments is best.
posted by kpht at 9:41 AM on May 24, 2010
About half the classes I took for my MLIS were online, and these are the two things that really bothered me:
1) For some reason, the people in my courses never wanted to actually have a discussion on the discussion boards - we were usually required to post once a week, and the prof would supply some questions to think about and for the basis of the discussion. Most of the students would post their answers to the questions, never read others' answers, and never come back to the board. I ended up deciding that I would only post in reply to other people in an attempt to stir up discussion, but it didn't work very well. So if you find yourself in this situation, try to foster interaction on the discussion board.
2) Avoid using midnight as a deadline for uploaded assignments. There's too much confusion over whether something due at midnight on Friday is due on Thursday, Friday, or even stretching to 12:01 Saturday. You'd think it would be easier than that, but no. I highly recommend that you pick a time OTHER than midnight if your course software allows it, even if it's 1 AM Saturday morning. (And you need to specify "morning" because someone will ALWAYS assume that "1 AM Saturday" means Saturday night/Sunday morning.) I had a prof who messed that up herself and closed the uploader 24 hours early, leading to much frustration on the students' parts.
posted by telophase at 9:51 AM on May 24, 2010
1) For some reason, the people in my courses never wanted to actually have a discussion on the discussion boards - we were usually required to post once a week, and the prof would supply some questions to think about and for the basis of the discussion. Most of the students would post their answers to the questions, never read others' answers, and never come back to the board. I ended up deciding that I would only post in reply to other people in an attempt to stir up discussion, but it didn't work very well. So if you find yourself in this situation, try to foster interaction on the discussion board.
2) Avoid using midnight as a deadline for uploaded assignments. There's too much confusion over whether something due at midnight on Friday is due on Thursday, Friday, or even stretching to 12:01 Saturday. You'd think it would be easier than that, but no. I highly recommend that you pick a time OTHER than midnight if your course software allows it, even if it's 1 AM Saturday morning. (And you need to specify "morning" because someone will ALWAYS assume that "1 AM Saturday" means Saturday night/Sunday morning.) I had a prof who messed that up herself and closed the uploader 24 hours early, leading to much frustration on the students' parts.
posted by telophase at 9:51 AM on May 24, 2010
There is lots of great advice above. Having gotten my MLS mostly online and having helped administer an undergraduate course i would add:
1. All of the materials need to be well organized. Students should not have to wonder where some information is or how they should submit an assignment.
2. Try and do some interactive lectures. I have used Camtasia myself and had professors use Elluminate. They both work well but you can always just do a narrated powerpoint. One advantage of Elluminate is that you can do a presentation at a preset time and students can join in. Those who can't make it at that time can view a recording later.
3. Discussion is really important. It is up to you to ensure that it is not just "I agree" types of posts.
posted by nestor_makhno at 10:04 AM on May 24, 2010
1. All of the materials need to be well organized. Students should not have to wonder where some information is or how they should submit an assignment.
2. Try and do some interactive lectures. I have used Camtasia myself and had professors use Elluminate. They both work well but you can always just do a narrated powerpoint. One advantage of Elluminate is that you can do a presentation at a preset time and students can join in. Those who can't make it at that time can view a recording later.
3. Discussion is really important. It is up to you to ensure that it is not just "I agree" types of posts.
posted by nestor_makhno at 10:04 AM on May 24, 2010
Having completed an online certificate (and currently in another non-online program part-time), I second Kimberly's comments. You need to build in the interaction. Also, yes, consistency and simplicity.
Blackboard is a heinous of crap that you will no doubt be forced to use. Know how to use it and set it up to minimize the pain to yourself and your students.
posted by canine epigram at 10:36 AM on May 24, 2010
Blackboard is a heinous of crap that you will no doubt be forced to use. Know how to use it and set it up to minimize the pain to yourself and your students.
posted by canine epigram at 10:36 AM on May 24, 2010
I'll add to the chorus about moderating the discussions. I've taken several online courses, many of which were good because there were ongoing discussions about particular points and the instructor would pipe in from time to time to guide the discussion, or ask a pertinent question. That worked great.
Clearly laying out your expectations, syllabus, assignment due dates, and the like are very helpful and will go a long way into making the class a productive one. Interaction is important to keep the students engaged. Feedback on their points in the discussion forums as well as on other assignments will also be helpful.
Some things that didn't work in past classes I've taken: the instructor would take the discussion forum offline Saturday night and respond to each post individually in ALL CAPS instead of contributing to the discussion throughout; the instructor wanted us to post in the discussion forums between Thursday and Friday instead of anytime during the week; the instructor did not have readings and assignments uploaded at the promised time and was sometimes days late in uploading them, yet still wanted us to complete papers or other assignments based on the readings on the original due date; the instructor poorly coordinated group assignments. Those were all from one class. Don't be that instructor.
posted by bedhead at 12:46 PM on May 24, 2010
Clearly laying out your expectations, syllabus, assignment due dates, and the like are very helpful and will go a long way into making the class a productive one. Interaction is important to keep the students engaged. Feedback on their points in the discussion forums as well as on other assignments will also be helpful.
Some things that didn't work in past classes I've taken: the instructor would take the discussion forum offline Saturday night and respond to each post individually in ALL CAPS instead of contributing to the discussion throughout; the instructor wanted us to post in the discussion forums between Thursday and Friday instead of anytime during the week; the instructor did not have readings and assignments uploaded at the promised time and was sometimes days late in uploading them, yet still wanted us to complete papers or other assignments based on the readings on the original due date; the instructor poorly coordinated group assignments. Those were all from one class. Don't be that instructor.
posted by bedhead at 12:46 PM on May 24, 2010
Have a..
- Syllabus (.pdf format)
- Course Calendar (both online in your course, and consider a printable .pdf)
- Video Lectures. We actually go through a whole production process; but you can use a program like Camtasia or Jing and do narrated power point presentations.
- Downloadable/Printable (.pdf) of power point presentations.
- Encourage discussion boards to post twice. Once to your topic and then once to another student. Make that second post part of their grade.
- Don't assume all students are computer savvy. Be very clear in instructions. (ie. instead of "[Link]Here[/Link] Is your Assignment." use something like: "[Link]Click Here[/Link] to download your assignment."
posted by royalsong at 1:22 PM on May 24, 2010
- Syllabus (.pdf format)
- Course Calendar (both online in your course, and consider a printable .pdf)
- Video Lectures. We actually go through a whole production process; but you can use a program like Camtasia or Jing and do narrated power point presentations.
- Downloadable/Printable (.pdf) of power point presentations.
- Encourage discussion boards to post twice. Once to your topic and then once to another student. Make that second post part of their grade.
- Don't assume all students are computer savvy. Be very clear in instructions. (ie. instead of "[Link]Here[/Link] Is your Assignment." use something like: "[Link]Click Here[/Link] to download your assignment."
posted by royalsong at 1:22 PM on May 24, 2010
I have taken numerous online courses, and there are two major things that I hate hate hate in an online course.
1. Group work. It's fine in real-life classes, but a total pain in the ass for online groups where students are often scattered around the country and often are taking online classes specifically because they have weird schedules. As a full-time 9-5 worker, I had a hell of a time coordinating a project with a daytime SAHM who waitressed nights.
2. Idiotic due dates. I take online courses because I work full time. The worst instructors I've had would provide assignments on Monday evenings and put the due date as Saturday morning. Give me the weekend to do the work! Most instructors, however, are awesome and will provide assignments Monday morning and give at least until Sunday evening to submit them.
posted by tastybrains at 2:33 PM on May 24, 2010
1. Group work. It's fine in real-life classes, but a total pain in the ass for online groups where students are often scattered around the country and often are taking online classes specifically because they have weird schedules. As a full-time 9-5 worker, I had a hell of a time coordinating a project with a daytime SAHM who waitressed nights.
2. Idiotic due dates. I take online courses because I work full time. The worst instructors I've had would provide assignments on Monday evenings and put the due date as Saturday morning. Give me the weekend to do the work! Most instructors, however, are awesome and will provide assignments Monday morning and give at least until Sunday evening to submit them.
posted by tastybrains at 2:33 PM on May 24, 2010
Over the past 13 years, I've probably taken about 60 of my credits online.
N-thing having due dates posted in advance for everything and stick to your schedule. People can and will plan vacations and medical events around the tests, papers, and projects, if they know about them. That is probably the major thing, in addition to a syllabus that tells what percentage of the grade everything is worth.
No ridiculous due dates (Monday assigned, Saturday due, as mentioned above).
Not having a ton of pointless points for "participation" and discussion board posts is good, too. I am just not a class participator, particularly if there is no value gained in doing so. There will likely be value in book discussion. There is virtually no value in making us all post on how hard we're finding it to adapt to the new Visual Studio GUI while we're learning C#. Always have a discussion board available, for folks with questions or those who enjoy interacting, but requiring it for inessential things feels a lot like high school (plus, then you have to grade those piddling points).
Reply to all reasonable questions on the discussion board as soon as you can.
Put everything into reasonable folders and don't have too many of them.
Make sure deadlines and submission instructions are clear. (Does "on Monday" mean by 12:00 am on Monday? By 5:00 pm? 11:59 pm? Should it be turned in as a .doc file? .pdf? Where should the file be sent? etc.)
posted by wending my way at 2:50 PM on May 24, 2010
N-thing having due dates posted in advance for everything and stick to your schedule. People can and will plan vacations and medical events around the tests, papers, and projects, if they know about them. That is probably the major thing, in addition to a syllabus that tells what percentage of the grade everything is worth.
No ridiculous due dates (Monday assigned, Saturday due, as mentioned above).
Not having a ton of pointless points for "participation" and discussion board posts is good, too. I am just not a class participator, particularly if there is no value gained in doing so. There will likely be value in book discussion. There is virtually no value in making us all post on how hard we're finding it to adapt to the new Visual Studio GUI while we're learning C#. Always have a discussion board available, for folks with questions or those who enjoy interacting, but requiring it for inessential things feels a lot like high school (plus, then you have to grade those piddling points).
Reply to all reasonable questions on the discussion board as soon as you can.
Put everything into reasonable folders and don't have too many of them.
Make sure deadlines and submission instructions are clear. (Does "on Monday" mean by 12:00 am on Monday? By 5:00 pm? 11:59 pm? Should it be turned in as a .doc file? .pdf? Where should the file be sent? etc.)
posted by wending my way at 2:50 PM on May 24, 2010
Agree about due dates, but consider Tuesday. What if a student leaves it to the last minute and has a question at the weekend? Do you really want to be answering those emails?
I work in a community college system and we have been pushing our colleges to adopt Quality Matters and their rubric as a framework for evaluating the quality of online courses. If there's any way you can get your hands on their material, it's worth it. It's quite likely your institution has a subscription.
I guess it's too late to take an online course yourself, but if you can, please do so.
If your institution has an Educational Technology department, they would love for you to contact them and ask for help, training, support.
There are ways to put lectures online (it's termed "Lecture Capture") and there may be resources to do so, but online lectures != online course.
posted by idb at 3:31 PM on May 24, 2010
I work in a community college system and we have been pushing our colleges to adopt Quality Matters and their rubric as a framework for evaluating the quality of online courses. If there's any way you can get your hands on their material, it's worth it. It's quite likely your institution has a subscription.
I guess it's too late to take an online course yourself, but if you can, please do so.
If your institution has an Educational Technology department, they would love for you to contact them and ask for help, training, support.
There are ways to put lectures online (it's termed "Lecture Capture") and there may be resources to do so, but online lectures != online course.
posted by idb at 3:31 PM on May 24, 2010
Don't just moderate the discussions, but participate in them as well. Be a part of the discussions as much as your schedule allows. I've learned much more in online classes led by an instructor who posted good information in the forums and kept up with our posts.
This.
Also, unthreaded discussions seem to better foster actual communication - but, being a Mefite, you probably already know this.
posted by joshuaconner at 12:57 AM on May 25, 2010
This.
Also, unthreaded discussions seem to better foster actual communication - but, being a Mefite, you probably already know this.
posted by joshuaconner at 12:57 AM on May 25, 2010
I am almost finished with my online degree and have two major suggestions. First off, if you have any say whatsoever about the layout/design of the class online utilize it. Try to make the class assignments, syllabuses, etc... as accesible and convenient to access as possible. Explain how and where and what the student will be doing on discussion boards. That can be very confusing, especially when classes at the same school use it differently. Secondly, make yourself as available as possible to your students. Some of my teachers have been outstanding in this area. If your students know they can ask a quick question and get a fast answer it will be greatly appreciated. These are simple suggestions, but take it from an online student that they are very important. Best of luck teaching your courses!
posted by gibbsjd77 at 11:29 AM on May 25, 2010
posted by gibbsjd77 at 11:29 AM on May 25, 2010
Many good points above. I will add that since your students won't have direct feedback from you as they would in class, detailed and timely feedback on assignments is important. After all, the feedback from you is a big part of what makes an online course different then just studying something on their own.
I've often wished for more interaction from the professor on the discussion boards.
nthing clear deadlines. My last class had a lot of confusion becasue of the deadline of "by midnight xxx".
A clear schedule with due dates and what should be worked on when is great. never leave people wondering what they should be doing.
posted by nalyd at 5:46 PM on May 25, 2010
I've often wished for more interaction from the professor on the discussion boards.
nthing clear deadlines. My last class had a lot of confusion becasue of the deadline of "by midnight xxx".
A clear schedule with due dates and what should be worked on when is great. never leave people wondering what they should be doing.
posted by nalyd at 5:46 PM on May 25, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by griphus at 8:06 AM on May 24, 2010