Tag: online education

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Three Quick Tips: Neurodiversity in the Online Classroom

The first week of school is an exciting and chaotic time for teachers. The thought of adding, yet another task to the plate can be overwhelming. Here are three quick and easy ways to make the online classroom more welcoming for neurodiverse learners:

  1. Consistency: Create a format and stick with it throughout the online course. As a bonus, this makes it easier for teachers to stay organized throughout the semester.
  2. Clarity: Imagine a room full of students in front of you. What questions would they ask about an assignment? Answer those questions in your instructions online. It will save you several emails too!
  3. Create Options: Build in variety and student choice in your assignments. By doing so, you allow students to leverage their strengths and show you what they know!
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A Lesson from a Pandemic: Flexibility

During the pandemic, flexibility became a key component of education. Due to unpredictable circumstances and factors beyond the learners’ control, courses were built so that students could still succeed even when daily life challenges emerged. Even after the pandemic, flexibility will remain important, especially, for adult learners. When juggling family, career and finances among other responsibilities, adult learners find support in increased flexibility.

Three ways to incorporate flexibility into course design:

Due Dates: Quality work is more important than work that is submitted by a certain date. Provide guidelines for submission to help students stay on track, but allow students the flexibility to adjust dates to meet their individual schedules.

Assignment Choice: Provide students with options for assignments. Allow students to choose between options so that they can complete work that is matched to their available resources and learning styles. By listing two or three assignment options, instructors can rest assured that students will be completing work that demonstrates mastery while still providing students with flexibility.

Group vs. Individual Assignments: Allow students the freedom to choose if they will complete assignments in groups. Especially for students with outside responsibilities, group assignments can add an extra layer of challenge due to the need to coordinate schedules.

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Categories of Online Education

Online education uses a variety of terms to describe the parts of an online course and the operations of online learning. Below are common terms used:

Virtual Course: When a course is considered to be “virtual”, often the courses are taught synchronously via Zoom or another video conferencing tool.

Blended: Courses that are blended are taught partly face-to-face or synchronously and partly asynchronously by using a learning management system.

Asynchronous Online: Courses that are asynchronous online, students complete work on their own time while following a schedule. The course work and materials are presented by using a learning management system.

Learning Management System: Programs such as Blackboard or Canvas, are designed as a place to create online courses. Students and instructors access all the course materials, submit assignment, communicate with classmates and record grades.

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Instructional Design, Defined

Instructional Designers:

Innovate by identifying challenges in higher education, teaching and student learning and by responding to the challenges with solutions that help instructors utilize best practices and help students master learning objectives.

Educate by providing instructors and subject matter experts with a toolbox of resources and techniques that help support the student learning experience.

Evaluate by maintaining a process of continuously collecting data on mastery of learning outcomes, the student experience, instructor engagement and user analytics.

Create courses that are are visually appealing, easy to navigate, and accessible for all learners.

Celebrate all learners and all styles of learning by incorporating universal design and diverse perspectives.

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Teaching Writing Online

It is possible to teach writing just as effectively online as it is in a face-to-face classroom. With a little innovation, lots of feedback and instructor presence, teachers can provide students with an engaging digital writing classroom.

When I design and teach online writing courses, I build in as many opportunities for students to receive feedback as possible. Peer review is a great strategy to use to provide students with a sense of collaboration and an opportunity to submit a first draft without the pressure of writing for a grade. But, remember, peer reviewing is a skill that needs to be taught. Provide students with exemplars by posting a sample paper and examples of helpful comments that provide positive feedback that points to specific examples and explanations of why something is working well in the writing. Also be sure to include examples of comments that highlight opportunities for growth and suggestions for revisions.

In order to create a sense of collaboration and a course composed of a community of writers, be active in the course as an instructor. Post helpful tips and strategies. Give resources that speak to common themes you have seen in student writing. Respond to students in the discussion board. Writer personalized feedback and comments that show you have carefully read the student’s work.

Teaching writing online is about more than grading papers and posting assignments. Teaching writing online is a chance to create a community of writers striving to grow as readers, writers and communicators. In order to achieve that outcome, instructor presence, communication and feedback is a key component to the course.

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First Day of School: Online Classrooms

The first day of school comes with a mixture of excitement and anxiousness for both students and teachers. This year, students and teachers are facing even more uncertainty on their first day of school. For many, the first day of school will be online or at least partially online. Below is a list of techniques that teachers can use for a strong start to an online school year:

  1. Create a community of learners: Provide students with the opportunity to meet their peers. Host a Zoom meeting to provide students with the chance to interact synchronously with their classmates.
  2. . Learn students’ names: Respond to student posts in discussion boards, and be sure to start your response by using the student’s name, just as you would respond to a student by name in a face-to-face classroom.
  3. Model respect and engagement: Demonstrate for your students, as early as the first day of class, how to be respectfully engaged in an online classroom.Create guidelines for discussion boards and online interactions in order to keep the conversations respectful and productive.
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Assessment Ideas for Online Education

Many of the assessments that teachers use in the face-to-face classroom can be utilized in the online classroom. Plus, there are creative ways that are unique to online education to effectively assess student learning.

  1. Oral Exams: Have students orally respond to exam questions synchronously by using technology such as Zoom. Oral exams can also take place asynchronously by using technology such as Voicethread.
  2. Traditional Formal Exams: Utilize the technology that is built into a Learning Management System to draft traditional formal exams. Remember to utilize a healthy mix of true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answer and essay in order to utilize multiple levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
  3. Student Choice: Provide students with the freedom to demonstrate their mastery of skills by creating their own projects. Ideas could include a student-created video tutorial, a visual graph or display of knowledge, creative writing or spoken word.
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Student Success Strategies: Online Learning

Many students will be learning online this fall. Course design and teaching strategies can support student learning and success in the virtual classroom. Below is a list of three strategies educators can implement to help students succeed:

  1. Check for student understanding: Utilize assessments and assignments that are low stakes and provide an opportunity to assess student learning. Address any misconceptions or gaps in learning before students take a formalized assessment.
  2. Consistency: Keep the online classroom consistent across each unit so that students know what to expect and where to find important information.
  3. Lived experiences: Allow students to bring their personal worldviews and lived experiences to the online classroom. Discussion boards and reflection papers are great opportunities for students to connect what they are learning to what they have experienced.

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Three Best Practices: Online Education

The start of school is just around the corner for many students. Education and classrooms may look different this year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online education is a viable option for quality learning experiences. Below is a list of three best practices for those who are teaching online this year:

  1. Engagement: Create opportunities for collaboration. Utilize discussion boards, group work and learning technology that allows for students to interact with peers.
  2. Communication: Provide clear expectations and instructions to reduce confusion. Reach out to individual students to check for understanding, clarify misconceptions and provide feedback.
  3. Instructor Presence: Connect with students by posting a welcome video, giving timely feedback and hosting virtual office hours.

What best practices do you use in your online classroom? Join the conversation by leaving a comment.