Florence Martin
Educational Leadership, Cato College of Education
In an effort to shed some more light on the measures faculty members are taking to assure the online courses they teach this fall align with students’ learning needs and expectations, we reached out to Martin to see how she is approaching a few of her courses this fall semester.
What steps are you taking to create an effective online learning environment for your students?
I am an instructional designer and I believe that sound instructional design principles make an effective online course. My courses include measurable objectives, aligned instruction and activities and assessment designed for the online environment.
I have learned to use the canvas learning management system and the various functionality that is available in Canvas. For example, I use the announcement feature to send periodic announcements to my students. I post my syllabus online and create weekly modules with interactive activities. In addition to designing the course, as an online instructor, I also spend a considerable amount of time facilitating it. And I respond to student questions and I post feedback so students can access it through the online gradebook.
From a previous study, I found that for a faculty member to be ready to teach online, one has to be prepared with course design, communication, time management and technical skills. I make sure that I use these skills to teach online. I make sure that I have these competencies to be successful.
What should students do to be successful in your online classes?
Based on one of my research studies, I recommend the following 20 competencies as important for students to be successful in my courses.
- Set goals with deadlines
- Be self-disciplined with studies
- Learn from a variety of formats (leatures, videos, podcasts, online discussion/conferencing)
- Be capable of following instructions in various formats (written, video, audio, etc.)
- Utilize additional resources to answer course-related questions (course content, assignments, etc.)
- Devote hours per week regularly for the online class
- Stay on task and avoid distractions while studying
- Utilize course schedule for due dates
- Complete course activities/assignments on time
- Meeting multiple deadlines for course activities
- Use asynchronous technologies (discussion boards, e-mail, etc.)
- Use synchronous technologies (Webex, Collaborate, Adobe Connect, Zoom, etc.) to communicate
- Ask me for help via email, discussion board, or chat.
- Ask a classmates for support (accessing the course, clarification on a topic)
- Discuss feedback received (assignments, quizzes, discussion, etc.) with me
- Complete basic computer operations (e.g., creating and editing documents, managing files, and folders)
- Navigate through the course in the Learning Management System (e.g., Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard, etc.)
- Participate in course activities (discussions, quizzes, assignments. synchronous sessions)
- Access the online grade book for feedback on performance
Access online help desk/tech support for assistance
How are you prepared to navigate the unique landscape of this fall semester?
As a professor in the Learning, Design and Technology program within the Cato College of Education, it is my job to not only prepare myself but other educators to know how to navigate the online learning environment. Much of my research centers on designing and integrating online learning environments to improve learner achievement and engagement.
How will you create a sense of classroom community within an online environment?
Building a sense of community online is very important. I utilize a number of engagement strategies such as:
- Students introduce themselves using an icebreaker discussion
- Students sign up to moderate discussions
- Students post audio and/or video files in threaded discussions instead of only written responses
- Students interact with peers through student presentations (asynchronously or synchronously)
- Students work collaboratively using online communication tools to complete case studies, projects, and reports.
- Students peer-review classmates’ work
- I create a forum for students to contact the instructor with questions about the course
- While I teach primarily asynchronously online, I also host synchronous sessions which helps students meet each other in real-time to interact with each other