{"id":9528,"date":"2016-03-28T12:54:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T17:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=9528"},"modified":"2019-03-11T13:59:19","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T18:59:19","slug":"what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-to-teach-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-to-teach-online\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Expect When You&#8217;re Expecting to Teach Online"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Janice Florent<\/p>\n<p>Being prepared is a must for teaching online. In addition to using <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/7-deadly-sins-of-online-course-design\/\">better practices for online course design<\/a> you should be thinking about how to deliver your online course for maximum success. <\/p>\n<p><div align=\"center\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/tlpdc\/Teach_Program\/Images\/TeachingOnline_Logo.png\" title=\"teaching online\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/tlpdc\/Teach_Program\/Images\/TeachingOnline_Logo.png?resize=240%2C280\" alt=\"globe with a computer mouse and teaching online text\" height=\"280\" width=\"240\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.iddblog.org\/?p=2114\">IDDblog blog post<\/a>, Alex Joppie listed a few tips for keeping your online course running smoothly. I\u2019ve combined his tips with a few of my own to provide you with suggestions to help your online course run smoothly. Those suggestions are as follows: <\/p>\n<h3>Before the semester starts\u2014touch base with your students<\/h3>\n<p>Send an email to your students before the first day of class. In your email, <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure students know they\u2019re enrolled in an online class. Some students take online classes because they think it will be easy. When in fact, <a href=\"http:\/\/evolllution.com\/revenue-streams\/distance_online_learning\/students-struggle-online\/\">some students struggle in online courses<\/a> because they do not have the skills to be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.missiontolearn.com\/self-directed-learning-success\/\">self-directed learners<\/a>. You should let the students know that online classes take time and self-discipline.<\/li>\n<li>Inform them of technology requirements, textbooks, and other required materials. This will help them hit the ground running.<\/li>\n<li>Let the students know when your Blackboard course will be available.<\/li>\n<li>Let the students know you\u2019re there. This email can also serve to ensure to students that even though the entire course is going to facilitated by computers and networks, that there is a human being involved who cares about their success.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure they got the email (and read it). Ask students to respond to the email. You may need to pursue other means of communication if a student doesn\u2019t seem to be getting your email.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The first week\u2014setting the tone<\/h3>\n<p>Follow these steps to set a healthy culture for the course and make sure everyone gets off to a good start.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make sure students log in to your course. Use the <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-131-performance-dashboard\/\">Performance Dashboard<\/a> to check to make sure everyone has logged in sometime within the first few days of class.<\/li>\n<li>Create a welcome <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-138-videos-redux\/\">video<\/a> for your course. Using a short video clip of yourself helps the students to have a picture of you in their mind. This video will help you to become a \u201creal\u201d person to your students.<\/li>\n<li>Add a <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-149-add-profile-avatar-to-humanize-course\/\">profile avatar<\/a> to <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/humanize-your-online-courses\/\">humanize your course<\/a>. Humanized learning increases the relevance of course content and improves students\u2019 motivation to log-in to your course week-after-week. Your profile avatar will create an inviting space for your students.<\/li>\n<li>Create a more personalized learning environment in your course by using <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-124-you-can-personalize-blackboard\/\">template variables<\/a>. Template variables allow you to create personalized messages for your students. A personalized welcome message, for example, will make your course feel more inviting to your students.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/improve-online-discussions-using-abcs\/\">Be active in introductory discussions<\/a>. Your introductory discussions will set the tone for the entire course. Make sure there\u2019s a positive culture in your discussions by being engaging in the first one.<\/li>\n<li>Encourage students to utilize the <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-84-global-navigation-menu\/\">Global Navigation Menu<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-129-course-calendar\/\">Course Calendar<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/en-us.help.blackboard.com\/Learn\/9.1_Older_Versions\/9.1_SP_12_and_SP_13\/Student\/180_Notifications\">notifications<\/a> to keep up with critical and timely course related information and assignments.<\/li>\n<li>Utilize <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-155-keeping-students-on-track\/\">Blackboard tools to help students stay on track<\/a>. Students are more likely to be successful in an online course when they check-in regularly and keep up with their coursework. If a student falls behind early, they may never catch up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Mid-course\u2014checking in<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Give your students an <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-113-get-feedback-from-your-students\/\">anonymous survey to get feedback<\/a> from them on how the course is going. Do this sometime after you feel your students should have gotten a sense of the rhythm of the course but you still have time to make meaningful course corrections based on the feedback. This is especially important the first time you teach a new course.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Every week\u2014the routine<\/h3>\n<p>Provide students with weekly communications that recap the previous week\u2019s activities and prime students for the following week:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Highlight insightful discussion posts \u2013 Draw students\u2019 attention to important points made by their classmates. It\u2019s positive reinforcement for students and shows that you\u2019re engaged.<\/li>\n<li>Respond to gaps in student learning \u2013 Did everyone miss a question on the quiz, or skip over an important point in a discussion? If so, address it.<\/li>\n<li>Contextualize the week\u2019s main topics \u2013 Tie the week\u2019s activities back to the learning goals of the course. Why is what we did this week important?<\/li>\n<li>Prime the students for the next week\u2019s main topic \u2013 Give some context about why they should care about what\u2019s coming up next.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are a few more <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/ideas-to-keep-your-online-course-interesting\/\">ideas to keep your online course interesting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>End-of-semester evaluation\u2014develop your teaching persona<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>An end-of-semester evaluation is a good opportunity to <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-113-get-feedback-from-your-students\/\">get feedback from your students<\/a> to help you <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/new-twist-on-end-of-semester-evaluations\/\">develop your teaching persona<\/a>. Getting a \u201clearner-sighted\u201d view of the course-experience can add to your understanding of the learning environment, including aspects of your teaching persona that have framed it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Studies show that students withdraw from online courses at a higher rate than in face-to-face courses. There are many reasons for students withdrawing from an online course. Some reasons are beyond the instructor\u2019s control. Educators do not like to see students withdraw from courses for the wrong reasons. The suggestions in this blog post will help you to <a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/improve-student-retention-in-online-courses\/\">improve retention and reduce attrition<\/a> by making sure that your students are prepared, that they get off to a good start, and that they\u2019re engaged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Janice Florent Being prepared is a must for teaching online. In addition to using better practices for online course design you should be thinking about how to deliver your online course for maximum success. In an IDDblog blog post, Alex Joppie listed a few tips for keeping your online course running smoothly. I\u2019ve combined <a href=\"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-to-teach-online\/\" class=\"more-link\">...continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \"What to Expect When You&#8217;re Expecting to Teach Online\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8],"tags":[120,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-9528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-teaching","7":"tag-elearning","8":"tag-online-teaching","9":"h-entry","10":"hentry","11":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-2tG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13673,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-to-teach-online-redux\/","url_meta":{"origin":9528,"position":0},"title":"What to Expect When You&#8217;re Expecting to Teach Online Redux","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Being prepared is a must for teaching online. In addition to using better practices for online teaching you should be thinking about how to deliver your online course for maximum success while avoiding the 7 deadly sins of online course design. In an IDDblog blog post, Alex Joppie listed a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"globe with oversized computer mouse draped over it","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/mouse-306274_640.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12277,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/strategies-for-online-classroom-management\/","url_meta":{"origin":9528,"position":1},"title":"Strategies for Online Classroom Management","author":"Janice Florent","date":"June 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One key to a successful online course is instructors\u2019 ability to manage their online classroom. Yet many online instructors don\u2019t realize that the best practices in traditional environments should not be discarded simply because the participants are interacting online. The students still need to be managed as a cohesive group\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"online classroom management","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.insightsintoimpact.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/LearningCultureHero.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17890,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/tips-for-starting-the-semester-teaching-remotely\/","url_meta":{"origin":9528,"position":2},"title":"Tips for Starting the Semester Teaching Remotely","author":"Janice Florent","date":"January 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"As we start this semester, you may find yourself shifting to remote teaching due to the surge of the COVID-19 omicron variant. In an Intentional College Teaching blog post, Dr. Bridget Arend suggests that if you are shifting to remote teaching, it is beneficial to do thoughtful planning about how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"students typing on laptop keyboard","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/1469\/25392365893_ee41ff7e3a_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/1469\/25392365893_ee41ff7e3a_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/1469\/25392365893_ee41ff7e3a_b.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6426,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/moving-from-in-person-to-online-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":9528,"position":3},"title":"Moving from In-Person to Online Teaching","author":"Janice Florent","date":"April 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Are you thinking about moving a face-to-face course to online? A recent Faculty Focus article suggests five steps to quickly transition your in-person curriculum into a creative and successful online course. Those steps are: Start by Chunking: Simplify your content by breaking it up into smaller, more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1792,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/xula-online-real-faculty-real-learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":9528,"position":4},"title":"XULA Online:  Real Faculty, Real Learning","author":"Karen Nichols","date":"August 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Did you know that over 350 students participated in summer session I online courses? Not one online course had to be canceled this summer due to low enrollment\u2014students enrolled with very minimal on-campus advertising. Summer online courses give both students and faculty the flexibility and mobility to pursue other projects\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18222,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/brightspace-tip-316-course-design-suggestions\/","url_meta":{"origin":9528,"position":5},"title":"Brightspace Tip #316: Course Design Suggestions","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I usually get a lot of questions from faculty related to setting up their Brightspace courses. In the spirit of starting the summer session with less stress, I offer the following course design suggestions to reduce your course setup and management stress: Setup Grade Book First Setting up your Grade\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brightspace Small Plates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brightspace Small Plates","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/brightspace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"singing bowl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2015\/03\/11\/04\/59\/healing-668178_960_720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2015\/03\/11\/04\/59\/healing-668178_960_720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2015\/03\/11\/04\/59\/healing-668178_960_720.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9528"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13492,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9528\/revisions\/13492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}