Most people have their own idea about what distance education is. Usually, people understand it to be a way of teaching that is characterized by using technology and the separation of the teacher from the learner. This separation poses specific challenges that are often absent in face-to-face learning environments. Adair and Diaz (2014, 12) point out that “Because learner support provides a foundation for student success, a quality educational experience includes processes and resources that are customized to the needs of the online learner.” Along these lines, we seek to anticipate problems prior to the start of class, design curriculum and activities to encourage active participation, and find ways to establish community and a sense of rapport with each other in the online environment.
Tailoring the online experience is largely about applying experience and understandings about student performance and anticipating student needs as we prepare to teach and facilitate student success. I’d like to share strategies and practices that I’ve found to be effective with students in the online learning environment, that you may also choose to apply. These can be modified to fit your instructional situation.
Prior to the Course Beginning
Be proactive. As soon as you see that the course “shell” is loaded by your institution, prepare it for class. Nothing is scarier than the unknown. The more students know in advance, the greater their comfort level. As soon as the class roster is available, send the students a pre-course, welcome email. Include the following in the email or as an attachment:
- Book information – After introducing yourself and providing contact information, include information about the books needed for the course. Add a link to the college bookstore. Be clear that it is the student’s responsibility to have a textbook prior to the start of class.
- Course Syllabus – The earlier students get this, the better. The more they know up-front, the smoother the course will go for them, and you.
- Policy letter – This letter should outline the expectations (e.g., the course entails extensive reading and independent work, academic rigor will be applied, assignments are to be submitted prior to the deadline date). Provide the protocol for requesting permission to submit a late assignment. Outline penalties for submitting unauthorized late work. Include important grading policies.
- Assignment Matrix – Originally developed to keep me on track – I quickly found the Assignment Matrix to be a great tool for students. Provide the basic information about assignments and their due dates in a one-page, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Having the assignments listed with their due dates weeks before a course starts, allows students an opportunity to digest exactly what the workload entails. This in turn allows students time to process and plan, lessening anxiety. Some students even get a head start on their assignments!
During the Course
Garrison et al. (2000, 96) write about teacher presence. The practices associated with teacher presence typically fall to the course instructor. The instructor designs the educational experience by analyzing, judging, and selecting course content, organizing those materials, and presenting them in the form of content delivery, activities, and assessments. The second function, facilitation, may be shared with another instructor or with students. After having taught a course, we know what tasks and assignments students find difficult, what the skill-deficit areas are (e.g., APA formatting), and what supporting resources are needed. This allows for a proactive stance to compensate for those deficit areas by providing students with resources, advance warnings, and other items to assist them. These are delivered via the LMS (leaning management system). This delivery mode may be referred to as “News” or “Announcements” or some other term, depending on the LMS used. They can also be sent on an individual basis, based on student needs.
Listed below are some of the supplemental resources and practices that you may want to incorporate:
Video Tutorials
Prepare short video tutorials that show students exactly how to accomplish a specific task. I use a user-friendly program, ScreenPal, for this. Two videos I commonly post are on the topics of writing in-text citations and locating quality primary journal articles.
Templates and Answer Documents
The reasons for creating templates and answer documents are two-fold. For one, you can guide the students as they write papers and complete assignments. I’ve found that usually, providing templates results in higher scores. Secondly, the template is a way to standardize the assessment. This in turn makes scoring student work more objective in nature. Answer documents make it easy for students to record their answers and make it easier for you to score them. Always a plus!
Examples
I’ve heard teachers debate the pros and cons of providing students with examples my entire professional life. Personally, I like examples. Professionally, I’ve witnessed the clarity and confidence that having examples affords students. Examples provide a concrete model for students to learn from and emulate. I provide examples of what quality discussion posts look like, as well as what poor quality response posts look like. If you’ve noticed that students have struggled with a past assignment, you may want to provide an example of how to complete that assignment.
Weekly Announcements
At the onset of each academic week, post an announcement for that specific week. Include any additional helpful information and attach templates, rubrics, or other resources as needed, as well as the portion of the Assignment Matrix that pertains to that week.
Advance Notice
If your experience indicates that a specific assignment is hard for students to understand or complete, post an item in the news forum, well in advance of the assignment due date. Mine start with the subject line “Looking Ahead.” For instance, a week or so prior to the end of a course, send an email reiterating what the last day of the course is. Encourage students to not wait until the final hours of the class to submit their final assignment. Point out that when that is done, there is no time for correcting an assignment or re-submitting the assignment if the student has accidentally submitted the wrong thing. This practice has prevented several of my students from going wrong at the end of the course and obtaining a letter-grade reduction in their final grade.
Resources
Providing students with pertinent resources provides them with the tools they need. It is important to streamline the resources. Experienced teaches know in general what resources students need. As we work with students in a class, we learn what individual needs are. All posts should be short and concise, but complete. Extraneous posts and information should not be posted because students will often skip an announcement that is too lengthy, repetitive, or unnecessary.
Fast and Detailed Feedback
We know from Vygotsky’s (1978) work, that to be effective, feedback must be timely and specific. During the first two weeks of class, instead of waiting for all assignments to be completed at the end of the academic week, score student work as it is submitted, and send the feedback to students immediately. Don’t just point out what is incorrect. Be specific about exactly what the error is, show the student the correction, and provide the exact page(s) in the APA manual (if applicable) that discuss it. This practice encourages students to immediately start applying the feedback to subsequent assignments.
Frequent, Meaningful Communication
Communicate frequently and have high availability. I let students know from that initial email that I am already available and that they can email me. Anything that can be clarified prior to the start of the course is beneficial for everyone. At the first hint of an issue or problem, email a student. I’ve found that most all problems in the online teaching environment can be mitigated or eliminated entirely by good communication. One practice that has proven beneficial is to send all students an email at the end of the second academic week, inquiring about their comfort level and whether they need more clarification or resources. Some instructors find email to be impersonal, though it is my preferred mode of communication. For one, it is easier, faster, and more reliable than phone calls. For another, an email provides an electronic record of communication. This is very helpful when you need to go back and refresh your memory about something. Also, if there is a dispute or issue, you have evidence of your communications with a student. Emails aid and protect the student as well as the instructor.
Provide Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles and Pre-Formatted References
I provide six to nine peer-reviewed, recent journal articles that I’ve located on each week’s academic topic(s). I attach these as links in the weekly announcements and paste the pre-formatted references for the articles in the body of the announcement. This practice provides examples of what scholarly, primary source material looks like. Because the references are pre-formatted, it allows the students to focus on the assignment, proper paraphrasing and quoting conventions, and creating correct APA in-text citations. I store all of this on my device and simply retrieve and use it each time I teach the course.
After the Course
As a student, I’ve had instructors that seemingly just disappeared the minute the class was over! That doesn’t convey caring or connection to the student. In addition to the farewell post sent to the entire class in the course announcements, send each student an individual email and personalize it. Point out something complementary, such as an area that the student has displayed growth or improvement. If their skills are already exemplarily, complement them on their work ethic or submitting assignments on time. There is always something that every student does well or has shown improvement in. Even though they can see it in the LMS, it’s a nice touch to share the student’s final course GPA and letter grade. Comment on something that the student shared in the “Coffee House” forum, such as “Good luck with the new teaching position!” You may want to share your positive feelings about teaching the class or your wish to see the student in future classes. The final email is not just a nicety or matter of professionalism but serves as a bridge to continue the rapport built with a student, in the event you have them in future classes.
Adair and Diaz (2014, 13) point out that “Quality online teaching requires processes to develop and support faculty skills and abilities to manage the online classroom and provide effective online instruction.” By preparing to teach, and through planning and preparation, we can implement procedures and practices that build and strengthen online relationships and facilitate student success.
Dr. Belinda J. Lowman is a retired public-school teacher and online, adjunct instructor for the School of Education at Greenville University.
References
Adair, Deborah, and Diaz, Sebastian. “Stakeholders of Quality Assurance in Online Education: Inputs and Outputs.” In Assuring quality in online education: Practices and processes at the teaching, resource, and program levels, edited by Kay Shattuck, 3-17. New York: Stylus Publishing, 2023. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003443124
Garrison, Randy D., Anderson, Terry, and Archer, Walter. 2000. “Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education.” The Internet and Higher Education, 2 (2-3): 87-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6
Vygotsky, Lev. Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1978.