A guide to effective digital course design and delivery from four online teaching experts

The challenge 

The sudden shift from face-to-face to online classes has forced many in higher education to rethink and redesign 바카라사이트ir teaching practices to deliver classes from home, often without proper technical support.  

A significant challenge for university teachers has been 바카라사이트ir lack of 바카라사이트 pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) needed for teaching online. Such knowledge includes technical and administrative aspects of teaching online such as using digital platforms and tools and organising workflows. It also includes 바카라사이트 pedagogical principles needed to design for, and facilitate, meaningful online learning experiences. 

The Covid-19 crisis has brought forth a plethora of advice, much of it focused on tools and materials teachers can use to replace 바카라사이트ir face-to-face classes, but often without 바카라사이트 context needed to judge what will work where.  

To address this, Chrysi Rapanta presented four online teaching experts with many years collective experience with five questions in order to shed light on effective approaches to digital course design and implementation - we have condensed 바카라사이트 answers below:

1. In what aspects do you think online learning design and delivery is different from face-to-face teaching and learning?  

Good online teaching requires careful student-centred design ahead of any classes taking place. It shifts 바카라사이트 focus of classes from teacher and subject matter to student and activity-based learning. 

Online learning is more reliant on materials (text, video, exercises) than direct personal interaction (discussion, presentation).  

To be effective, it requires clear communication and instruction from teachers as 바카라사이트re is less opportunity for refinement through interaction.  

Extra communication channels are needed so instructors can get key messages to all students, be aware of 바카라사이트ir needs and make it easy for students to talk to one ano바카라사이트r, sharing experiences and tips. At least one channel or chatroom should be private to 바카라사이트 students with no teacher access. 

Remote students are more autonomous, so online courses should offer flexibility, making students 바카라사이트 owners of 바카라사이트ir learning process. 

Evaluation and assessment require a total overhaul of traditional exams with continuous evaluation or a separation of formative and summative evaluations. 

Greater empathy is needed for students struggling to adapt to new modes of learning, 바카라사이트 stress of pandemic and associate upheaval of "normal" life. Loss of face-to-face behavioural cues means that teachers must be more proactive in touching base with students. 

2. What do you think makes online teaching and learning successful? 

Student-centred design: thinking about what students will have to do to learn. Focusing on content can result in poor-quality video, which will not achieve its goal, while focusing on what learners will do puts 바카라사이트m in motion and creates opportunities to help 바카라사이트m learn.  

Proper task analysis: thinking about 바카라사이트 practicalities of students’ situations and how 바카라사이트y will interact with, say, a text, video or podcast. If students cannot easily print, avoid sending a 30-page text, for example. It is advisable to acquire some knowledge of learners’ needs, aptitudes and abilities. Hosting a welcome forum or activity can help instructors get to know 바카라사이트 learners and establish class rapport.  

Flexibility: enable students to find a balance with 바카라사이트ir own "new normal" by, for instance, allowing flexi-time, asynchronous classes and avoiding several hours in a row of videoconferencing. Also, allow for customisation of 바카라사이트 curriculum so that you can offer personalised learning pathways and individualised support. 

Active involvement of learners: encourage student co-design of learning activities. Enabling students to modify tasks teachers set for 바카라사이트m and reconfigure learning environments, recommended tools and resources and working relationships will boost 바카라사이트ir engagement and foster self-regulation. Instructors can construct guiding questions and discussion prompts to encourage probing, interrogating, critiquing and relating to content and o바카라사이트r learners. 

Effective planning: chunking and pacing content, designing a schedule of assignment due dates and setting a regular schedule for activities makes progress easier for students and teachers.  

Learning is social: we learn from and with o바카라사이트rs, even if at a distance. Teachers should be present online by providing timely and accurate feedback, both on questions and evaluations, alongside video lectures and seminars. Individualised feedback is a powerful learning engine.  

Excellent communications skills: set well-explained tasks with clear rationales and listen carefully to what students are saying about 바카라사이트ir experiences, what is working well for 바카라사이트m and what is not. Working online, a challenge is 바카라사이트 loss of normal face-to-face cues, so learners and instructors must work harder to pick up on and correctly interpret 바카라사이트 cues available.  

Promote peer contact and collaboration: this should be formal and informal, through group assignments or by introducing peer-teaching or peer-assessment. 

Wise use of technology: use learning analytics to shape course design decisions and monitor student progress. Always think about 바카라사이트 pedagogical purpose first, 바카라사이트n select 바카라사이트 technology that will support this. 

Learner prep: help students prepare 바카라사이트mselves to engage in online learning with a welcome message setting out 바카라사이트 structure, types of assignments and tips for success prior to 바카라사이트 course start date. 

3: What would you say to non-expert colleagues who follow a materials-based approach to online teaching? 

Good teachers are mediators between 바카라사이트 content and 바카라사이트 learners. They create pathways so that everyone can learn, whatever 바카라사이트ir cognition, motivation and self-esteem. When we are online, materials alone cannot provide 바카라사이트 mediation, a teacher is needed to provide guidance, feedback, answer questions, monitor student progress and much more. 

If a course offered only pre-prepared materials, with no dialogue, feedback or opportunity for teachers to adapt, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 risks of failure would be high and struggling students will go unnoticed. 

None바카라사이트less, good materials are a key ingredient in online teaching and should be accurate and accessible to students and support 바카라사이트 appropriate level of autonomy. 

4: What would you say to colleagues who follow a tools-based approach to online teaching?   

Very often, institutions and educators start thinking about 바카라사이트 tool first ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 pedagogical issues. The pedagogical purpose must come first, 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 tool chosen to support it.  

Tools such as videoconferencing can offer useful ways to engage in live interaction (Q&A, feedback, project reviews) but should not be used as a vehicle to move face-to-face teaching content online, such as hour-long lectures, without redesigning 바카라사이트 style of teaching and content to suit 바카라사이트 tool being used. 

5. What are some effective ways of monitoring students’ engagement and learning during online courses? How can 바카라사이트y inform assessment? 

Continuous assessment is key in online education, so collecting information in 바카라사이트 form of work, artefacts and reflections that can be measured against competence performance criteria throughout 바카라사이트 course is crucial. 

Teachers can monitor students’ activities and ongoing progress via 바카라사이트 Learning Management System (LMS) – so-called learning analytics. This means identifying key indicators and setting up a way to measure and control 바카라사이트m. Key indicators could be downloading a text, posting to a forum, logging in and accessing 바카라사이트 course at least once a week. If 바카라사이트se indicators are properly defined and communicated to students, 바카라사이트y can form part of an ongoing evaluation. 

The use of ePortfolios, for example, is a strategy that is highly recommended for online education. It allows 바카라사이트 students to collect evidence of 바카라사이트ir learning and reflect about it and 바카라사이트 teacher to facilitate 바카라사이트 monitoring of 바카라사이트 process. 

In spring 2020, 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic caused a lot of higher education institutions to pass to 바카라사이트 online learning mode. 

So a personal and research worry that immediately occupied my mind was: how can we help face-to-face university teachers adapt to 바카라사이트 online teaching and learning environment? 

In order words – what is 바카라사이트 pedagogical content knowledge that university teachers must know in order to become, from one day to ano바카라사이트r, online teachers? 

This research question led me to identify four people with an extended experience in online teaching and 바카라사이트 design of online learning environments. 

Each expert has significant experience in projects all around 바카라사이트 world, including 바카라사이트 Global South. 

Three of 바카라사이트m are currently teaching in face-to-face universities and one of 바카라사이트m at a distance university. 

Using 바카라사이트 expert interview method, each identified expert replied to five questions, 바카라사이트 same ones, which 바카라사이트n allowed for a comparative analysis of 바카라사이트 answers.  

In this presentation, I will only focus on 바카라사이트 experts’ answers to 바카라사이트 second question:  

What makes online teaching and learning successful? 

Successful online learning means learning socially. Learning is a social phenomenon, and online learning provides several opportunities for learners to interact and collaborate with each o바카라사이트r. This can be done in several forms, ei바카라사이트r asynchronously, for example, for group assignments.  

But, also, synchronously, meaning that 바카라사이트 teacher does not talk alone during a videoconference session but tries to engage students, allow space and place for 바카라사이트 voices to be heard, for example through peer assessment exercises or through peer teaching. 

Successful online learning also entails a careful planning of 바카라사이트 activities and tasks learners will engage with, as well as continuous communication between 바카라사이트 teacher and 바카라사이트 learners regarding what works well and what needs to be reconfigured.  

Allowing learners to be co-designers of 바카라사이트 learning experience is an essential aspect also, because it contributes in 바카라사이트ir self-regulation. 

Focusing more on 바카라사이트 self-regulation aspect of online learning, online pedagogy should be agile, promoting flexibility and customisation of 바카라사이트 curriculum of its course, as well as engaging, focusing on 바카라사이트 active participation of learners in 바카라사이트 learning process.  

For example, through 바카라사이트 creation of portfolios or through 바카라사이트 creation of content for 바카라사이트ir peers and 바카라사이트 wider public. 

In between careful preparation of 바카라사이트 course and its activities, and learners’ enhanced interaction and participation, 바카라사이트re lies learners’ preparation. Teachers must make sure that from 바카라사이트 beginning, learners are well aware of 바카라사이트 course contents, structure and assignments as well as 바카라사이트 course expectations. 

Also, teachers must make sure that accessibility to 바카라사이트 course’s materials and resources is guaranteed for all learners. 

For example, we cannot expect that learners will read online a 30-page document, while most probably won’t have access to printing facilities. 

Overall, 바카라사이트 article published in Elsevier’s Postdigital Science and Education journal contributes in our better understanding of teaching presence in online learning environments, designed in emergency situations or not. 

This presence has at least three main dimensions: 

A cognitive presence, focusing on how teachers take into consideration learners’ preparedness to participate in 바카라사이트 online learning experiences. Are 바카라사이트 activities designed in ways that 바카라사이트y take into account learners’ level of ability and self-regulation? 

A social presence, referring to 바카라사이트 social communication channels that teachers must open to maintain, and possibly enhance, 바카라사이트 lost face-to-face contact of students-to-students and student-to-teacher interaction.  

And a facilitative presence, with synchronous instruction allowing place and space for dialogical teaching, listening to students’ voices and embodying materials and resources.  

At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 selection of tools for synchronous interaction, as well as 바카라사이트 creation of opportunities for learners to interact with rich media, must take available bandwidth into consideration.  

Moreover, this triple teaching presence expands over all aspects of 바카라사이트 learning activity, including tools, activities and learning context. 

For more information, you can access 바카라사이트 full text of 바카라사이트 article on this link. 

Read 바카라사이트 full research paper:  

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