Supporting Your Students During Your Online Course
Instructors sometimes focus heavily on preparing the course and neglect other aspects of teaching online, which include planning for and monitoring student development and success. A digital learning instructor must focus on creating a learning environment that fosters curiosity and effort. In addition to identifying the strategies and tools you plan to utilize to successfully facilitate your online course, another important consideration is identifying at what point in the course you plan to implement these. The accordions below provide course facilitation strategies grouped by when they would take place and by categories that align with and support the Community of Inquiry (COI) model. Please note that the strategies listed below are not exhaustive. Consider referring to the Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository for additional research-based course facilitation strategies.
Establish a weekly course routine for yourself and your students. Consistency will ensure that students will know how to access the course content and complete assignments on time. Another consideration is to have all of your assignments due on the same day of the week (e.g., Monday) and time (e.g., Midnight) throughout the semester.
Use a course quiz to entice students to read the syllabus, schedule, and expectations/policies.
Visit UCF’s Pedagogical Repository to learn more about how UCF faculty members designed their syllabus quizzes.
Provide samples of assignments to assist students in their learning.
Create a pre-test activity to help you identify student knowledge gaps.
Provide practice opportunities for students to assess and reflect on their current knowledge.
Encourage reflection with guiding questions or thought-provoking questions during or after learning content.
Incorporate and create materials and activities that the students are likely to care about, to see as relevant, and/or can relate to.
Provide content that students find interesting or activities that pique students' curiosity so that you can attain, and more importantly, maintain, their attention and focus.
Provide technical support information (e.g., LMS support contact, third-party tool instructions).
Notify Students Before Classes Start -Send an advance notification to students, including an introduction to yourself and the course, a reminder of class meeting times and locations, a list of required materials, or even possible prerequisites for the course.
Set Your Instructor Availability Expectations- although learners have access to your course 24 hours a day, when can they expect responses from you in regards to student questions and assignment feedback.
Clear Instructions - Since you are not available to students at all hours of the day to answer student questions, you must take extra care to provide comprehensive and clear instructions.
LMS tools - Utilize tools such as the syllabus, announcements, chat, and rubrics to help with your communication strategy.
Digital Learning Feedback - Provide clear, constructive, and timely feedback to students.
Create and implement a mid-course andend-of-coursesurveyto gather student thoughts and feedback. Publish the most pertinent questions and answers in a "Tips for Your Success" section located in your course for future semesters.
First Week of the Course