Training and Professional Development

  • Online Course Management & Facilitation Tips

    Second week of Summer Session 2 & Alt. Session 2

    Online Course Management & Facilitation Tips

    Now that Add/Drop is over and your students are settling into a routine, keep the following facilitations tips in mind throughout the remaining weeks of your summer session.

    1. Formative Survey:  Week 2 is the perfect time to solicit feedback from your students in the form of a short and anonymous survey. This feedback will help to inform and improve your in-progress teaching and allow you to make course improvements that impact current students. To view the results of your survey, go to the survey column in the Grade Center and from the drop down menu, select Attempts Statistics.

    1. General Course Questions:  Faculty should consider creating and subscribing to a General Course Questions forum in their online courses. A General Course Questions forum provides class members with a place to ask questions about the course as well as the kinds of technology-related questions that arise, especially for first-time online students. It is an efficient alternative to emailing the instructor individually as the entire class receives the benefit of the answers. The forum might also prove useful in reminding you of any necessary course modifications needed in future iterations.

    1. Announcements Tool:  The Announcements tool can be used to notify students of important upcoming due dates, assignments, and activities or for basic feedback.  This is also a great tool to use when wrapping up discussions at the end of a module. Use judiciously though, as too many announcements (several in one day) may lose its effectiveness.

    1. Discussion Facilitation:  Part of being “present” in an online course includes your facilitation of group or class discussion forums.  Model feedback techniques for students early on in the semester. You do not need to respond to every post made by each student.  Rather, jump in when you need to steer the conversation to keep it on task or when a student makes a particularly relevant connection to the topic or material.  

    1. Adding students to Groups – Now that Add/Drop is over, check to make sure all of your students are assigned to a group (if using groups).  To do this:Click on the Groups link (under Control Panel > Groups and Users) To do this:

      • Click on the Groups link (under Control Panel > Groups and Users)

      • Under the Group Set column, select any title and use the drop down menu to select ‘Edit Group Membership”

      • Choose a group that has the fewest members and select the ‘Add Users’ button.

      • Select a student to add to the group and Submit.  Submit a second time on the Groups page.

    1. Feedback & Grading:  Remember to provide regular and responsive feedback to your students on an ongoing basis.  Grades and feedback, when provided promptly, help students to incorporate your suggestions into their next graded assignment and lead to overall success.  HuskyCT’s Assignment tool has a built in editor for providing feedback directly into a submitted text document. Finally, try to keep to the response time and grading expectations you set within your syllabus.

    1. Communication:  Either in your syllabus, or within your course, you should have set the expectation for how and when you will communicate with your students.  Keep to the tools and times indicated to avoid confusion. Keeping the communication within the course (using Course Messages and Announcements) will provide a permanent record of your correspondence with students. More important, having correspondence within the course makes it easier for students to find all the information they need in one place, rather having to log into multiple platforms. In addition, the record of communication can be used to evaluate the course for revisions needed in future iterations.

    1. ProctorU: Faculty who are using ProctorU need to remind students to create an account on ProctorU, test their system, and sign up for a time slot.  This must be done at least 72 hours (3 days) prior to the exam start time to avoid a user paid late fee.

    1. Instructor Presence:  Multiple studies suggest that maintaining a presence in your online course is an important practice for creating successful student learning outcomes.  Being visible to support, guide, motivate and respond with prompt feedback will provide a more engaging environment and positive experience for all.

    For assistance using any of the HuskyCT tools, please select the Instructor Help link at the top of the HuskyCT site.

     
    For more information, contact: ecampus at ecampus@uconn.edu