Resources for Teaching Online

Getting Started 

• Shifting from a face-to-face setting to an online classroom requires not only a different skill set, but a different mindset. Georgian College hosts Center for Teaching and Learning, which features several excellent resources specific to instructor and faculty skill development. Reading the article Five ways online learning is enabling changing in post-secondary education is a good start for instructors making the transition to online teaching as is, A New Pedagogy is Emerging.. And Online Learning is a Key Contributing Factor.

 

• The most comprehensive free resource for teaching online is the award winning COFA series on YouTube, produced with University of New South Wales (UNSW).  It delivers excellent strategies for teaching online that rely on sound teaching pedagogies. Planning your Online Class, is an excellent place to start.

 

• Thanks to University of Minnesota State Colleges for this (open) list of resources for faculty teaching online, novice or experienced,  Online Learning Development.

Presence in the Online Classroom

• Teaching presence in the online environment occurs when students feel that the instructor is ‘there’. Though online presence sounds vague, it’s instrumental in supporting meaningful learning. This slideshare Understanding Teaching Presence Online provides an overview of how to establish presence, and outlines why it’s essential.
• The framework for teaching presence, the Community of Inquiry, provides instructors  with solid principles for addressing the needs of online students. It's a comprehensive, proven model I've worked with extensively. 

Evaluating Quality of Instruction & Course Design

• Chico University created this site for instructors and designers of online courses.  The site is best known for its Rubric for Online Instruction (ROI), an excellent tool for educators to evaluate the design and quality of an online course. It's a helpful tool to use upfront, during the course planning phase. 

Giving Students' Feedback

• Giving feedback and interacting with students in the online classroom is no less important in the virtual realm than in face-to-face, yet doing so requires instructors to be strategic and purposeful in their communication with students. It also requires a different perspective. This youtube video by the COFA Council provides a good overview of using audio feedback for online students. 

Resources for Designing Online Courses