Strategies For Effective Online Teaching And Learning

Practitioner Document Abstract

Attendees of the 15th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning were asked to Tweet (http://www.twitter.com/sloanconsortium) strategies for effective online teaching and learning. Highlights from these responses are compiled below. For information on upcoming OLC conferences and events, please visit /attend/.

Tips and Techniques (Sample):

Start each online course with a “Module Zero.” Module Zero tests student technology and introduces them to the course. If they get through Mod 0, you will know (and they will know that you know) that they are able to navigate the course, access all the technology, and understand all expectations. You will know this because they have demonstrated it to you. This will result in a much higher retention and success rate.

Let students see your face! Each week I post a short 4-5 minute video (made with a Flip Ultra Video camera) discussing the upcoming week’s assignments and explaining the most frequently asked questions that I received that week via email. This allows students to see that there is a real person behind the course…

Have students complete a reflective online journal. Every other week, I ask students to reflect upon the week and answer two questions in the online drop box: (1) How do they think they are doing in the course thus far? And (2) what do they think they need to do to improve? This gives me the opportunity for virtual one-on-one counseling with each student and to offer helpful suggestions on how they might improve…

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application/pdf iconALN_tips_techniques.pdf