This document provides guidance for instructors on transitioning classroom teaching to an online environment. It discusses key differences in online teaching, including knowing your audience, online course organization and design, building an online learning community, using technology for communication and multimedia, encouraging participation, and collaborating with others. Tips are provided on instructional design, activities to enhance learning and critical thinking, self-reflection and evaluation. Resources for online instruction are also included.

1. “How do I recreate what I do in the classroom online?” The Differences in Teaching Online Lisa Cala Ruud Associate Director for Curriculum and Instructional Technology Mildred-Elley Albany, NY

2. Innovating Instruction OnlineHow can you light a fire of learning in your students in a non-traditional environment? Do you have the right stuff? Who is your audience? Can you teach this old dog new tricks? Online Organization and Design. Building a community. Instructional Design and Delivery Effective uses of technology. Encouraging participation Are two heads better than one? Let’s Collaborate. Have you learned ANYTHING???? Reflection and Evaluation Tips and Resources.

3. Do you have the right stuff?Characteristics of an online instructor In your classroom you are dynamic and engaging. You have a mastery of course content. You are a leader. How will you translate these skills online? You may consider… Are you willing to change how you teach? Are you an introvert or extrovert? Are you able to process and reflect information internally? Are you willing to give up some control in the classroom in order to promote learning communities? Are you able to collaborate using different learning techniques and ideas? Can you use real life experiences and examples in the context of your instruction? Are you willing to reflect, open to new ideas and flexible to change?

4. Who is your audience?Know your students. Who is taking your course? Why are they taking your course? Most likely, your students will not be the same traditional students who take your on site college course. In the traditional classroom, extroverted students participate and excel in discussions and class activities. Your online classroom provides the opportunity for introverted students to participate in an non intimidating atmosphere. How do you engage all of your students?

5. Can you teach this old dog new tricks? Online Organization and Design. The first step in re-inventing your instruction is how you organize and design your content. Course navigability and organization: Is your course organized, clear, any easy to navigate? Do students know what to do next? Syllabus: Does your syllabus include faculty contacts, course objectives and explicit level of mastery, requirements, expectations, and a timeline? Aesthetic Design: Appropriate use of typeface, images, themes. Consistency: Clear navigation, concise written material. Universal Accessibility: Accessibility concerns are addressed, Alternate formats provided when possible.

6. Building a community. Instructional Design and Delivery Your challenge in the online classroom is to create a community with people in physically different locations. Will your courses be static, in which material is placed online and left unchanged, enabling the student to access the information at any point? Will you use technology to create an asynchronous environment in which students can read, reflect, and add life experiences to your concepts?

7. Instructional Design and Delivery Promote interaction in the learning community Students and instructor introduce themselves and are encouraged to respond to other introductions. Students are required to respond to other student assignment postings. Student participation is tracked and addressed by instructor. Students are prompted to expand on relevant points. Assign students a “study buddy”

8. Instructional Design and Delivery Goals and alignment to learning objectives Manage the pace and delivery of course content. Reading an writing requirements are constant with student abilities and course load. Content is “chunked” for manageable learning Is your design self paced or group paced? Deliver a pre-survey asking student to identify expectations or concerns.

9. Instructional Design and Delivery Learning Objectives and activities are integrated Reading assignments match learning objectives. Activities lead to learning desired concepts. Instructional material may be reviewed. Frequent summaries.

10. Instructional Design and Delivery Activities to enhance learning and address multiple learning styles: Video Clips Historical Audio Clips Screen animations Online journals or reports Reviews of web based resources Word puzzles Game Show Style Trivia Online Scavenger Hunt Annotated bibliography Guest Facilitators Flash Simulations

11. Instructional Design and Delivery Activities to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills: Discussions Compare and contrast exercises Case studies Role Playing Critiques Collaborative assignments Portfolios Online presentations

12. Effective uses of technology Communication Aides: Discussion Boards Synchronous Chat Email List Serve Teleconference Instant messaging Online Office Hours Announcement Area Designated discussion area(s) course and non-course related.

13. Effective uses of technology Multimedia Elements Flash Illustrations Audio and Video Clips CD-ROM or DVD supplemental materials Low-tech alternative available All technology applications are optimized for multiple transmission speeds.

14. Encouraging Participation Set clear course expectations. Orient your students to online education. As an instructor, you should model the level of participation which you expect from your students. This includes frequent logging on an contributions to discussions. You are a guide rather than a traditional instructor. In order to achieve the desired learning outcomes, you must set limits or redirect students. People are attached to the discussions they post. Monitor participation and encourage those who have dropped back. Try to create an online environment which promotes the students sense of self within the community. How can you humanize this environment?

15. Are two heads better than one? Let’s Collaborate. How can you create an online classroom in which students are willing to engage with creatively, critical thinking and dialogue? Your students share a goal for their learning process. Using a personal motivating problem, students may work together as a method of inquiry, supporting the development of critical thinking skills. Problem Based Learning is an example of a teaching methodology which used collaboration at it’s core.

16. Let’s Collaborate. Can I use this in my online classroom? Problem-based learning: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences. Characteristics of PBL are: Learning is driven by challenging, open-ended problems. Students work in small collaborative groups. Teachers take on the role as "facilitators" of learning. Accordingly, students are encouraged to take responsibility for their group and organize and direct the learning process with support from a tutor or instructor. Advocates of PBL claim it can be used to enhance content knowledge and foster the development of communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skill.

17. Let’s Collaborate. Can I use this in my online classroom? Problem based learning is one teaching methodology that may be used to transition your tradition course online. Below are some additional sources to help you get started. http://pbln.imsa.edu/ http://www.udel.edu/pbl/ http://www.studygs.net/pbl.htm http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/pbl/info.html http://www.pbli.org/

18. Have you learned ANYTHING???? Reflection and Evaluation Self reflection is an important component in the learning process. How have your students connect course content to their life experiences? Have they grown? Have you grown as an instructor? Are your learning objectives, instructional and assessment activities aligned? Do you offer multiple assessment strategies? Do you provide regular feedback to your students? Do you require student to provide feedback on your course and instruction? How do you use that information?

19. Tips Establish clear guidelines Mandate participation Promote Collaboration Encourage peer feedback of assignments Set up an organized, well paced class. Set up areas for students to discuss issues. Encourage students to use life experiences in their studies. Stay actively involved. Know your technology inside and out. Facilitate rather than lead and lecture. Open yourself up for change.

20. Resources 834 tips for online instruction: http://www.elearningguild.com/pdf/4/guildtipsbook-final.pdf Instructional Design Tips for Online Instruction: http://www.humboldt.edu/~jdv1/InstructionalDesignTips.pdf http://its.sdsu.edu/blackboard/instructor/docs/handouts/InstructionalDesignTips.html Faculty Perspective: Training and Course Development for the Online Classroom http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no2/ray_0609.htm Co-Authoring in Online Problem-based Learning: Collaborative Approaches and Challenges http://jolt.merlot.org/vol5no2/ortiz_0609.htm

21. “How do I recreate what I do in the classroom online?” You need to re-think the way you teach. You will not re-create, rather form something entirely new. The Differences in Teaching Online Lisa Cala Ruud Associate Director for Curriculum and Instructional Technology Mildred-Elley Albany, NY