Tips from an Online Teaching Amateur

A friend of mine is looking toward the fall semester and the possibility of teaching through distance learning.  He knows that I have participated in distance learning since March 13, 2020, (but not one second before that).  Because I have almost two months of experience, he asked me for my advice as if two months made me an expert.  Here are my comments. 

I've been watching some webinars about teaching online and you can certainly pick up hints and tips now and then.  When you watch a webinar, you'll figure out quickly whether it is going to be beneficial for you.  Stay with the ones where you feel that you will benefit.  

I think it is important to start off with the right mindset.  I like the quote, "Fall in love with the problem, not the solution."  I think that type of attitude helps an awful lot.  I know a lot of people who start off with, "I'm just going to hate this."  And, surprise, surprise, they hate it.  In life, attitude is everything.  Never feel that you have grown so old and boring that you are not ready to take on a challenge. 

Main pieces of advice.

--Communicate often with your students but don't be too wordy.  They need to hear from you (a few sentences) virtually every day.  However, they are not looking for a sermon or a lecture.  A little guidance and encouragement will go a long way.

--Be encouraging but make sure they know you are not reducing your standards.  Online education has a bad reputation for being watered down learning.  Starting with the first email on March 13, I wanted my students to know that I was not going to tolerate that kind of thinking.  "Do what I ask you to do and you'll learn just as much as you would sitting in my class" is something I chanted like a mantra.  

--Give them very specific things to do and give them deadlines.  It is easy for them to get confused about what you want or expect and when.  Most of them don’t have other students to give them direction if they need it as in a face-to-face class.  

--In everything you do, give them some way to respond so you keep them engaged.  Anything that lasts for more than a few minutes without a specific response from them is probably going to put them to sleep.  

--I gave a lot of assignments where I established a fairly low benchmark grade simply to measure effort.  "There are 10 questions now available on Blackboard.  If you get six of them right, I'll add a point to your effort grade."  I always felt that if I had good materials and could get a decent effort, then we would be okay.

--This is not about adapting.  It is a different system of education.  Rethink everything. 

--Learn as much as you can about Blackboard or Canvas or whatever Learning Management System your school has.  No one uses all of those tools but you want to figure out what fits into your style.  Think about what you want to do and then see if someone can show you how to do that in the system.  Other professors are willing to provide help.

--Mix things up so the students are seeing different types of learning experiences.  For example, I used a lot of True or False questions for learning purposes.  They are quick and easy to write and they tend to focus on specific factors.  They are like a toggle switch.  One way is false.  The other way is true.  You are focusing the student's entire attention on that one factor and which way the switch is set.  I thought that worked well in distance learning when it would never work in my live class. 

--Set up a series of PowerPoint slides and use them to make a video.  I try to keep them under 8-10 minutes.  Keep the words on each slide down to under about 25.  I always address a problem and give it to the students in advance and ask them to solve it.  Again, you want them to do something.  You want there to be a back and forth between the material and the student.  You don't have to be Steven Spielberg but a video does give you a way to talk directly to the students.

--Whenever you give them an assignment, tell them how long the assignment should take.  They never seem to know whether something is a 5-minute effort or a 60-minute effort.  They'll likely give you 70 percent of what you ask for in terms of time so keep that in mind.

--Don't get obsessed by whether they are cheating.  I know that is always a risk in distance learning.  Do what you can to prevent it but it is easy to spend too much of your time worrying about that.  

--Ask the students now and then, "What is working?  What is not working?"  They are actually getting a lot of experience in online education and can give you some interesting pointers.

--Whether it is Zoom office hours or just use of email, give them an easy way to contact you so they know they can get help when they need it.