Course Management Strategies

Before Starting

• Learn about your resources -- what workshops, books, online resources are available to help you get started?
• Ask questions and work with experienced faculty -- who else is teaching your subject area at another college or teaching online in your college?
• Start slow -- don't plan on doing everything your first semester
• Consider hybrid courses (where some meetings are in the traditional classroom and some learning takes place online) first
• Planning is essential to successful online teaching. It is much more difficult to rush through a lesson plan just before heading into the classroom. Spend some time thinking about the course architecture before developing your course content.

Production

• Don't try to develop all new content -- think about what you are already using in the classroom
• Word process, then copy and paste into Blackboard
• Use a style of writing and a word choice that is appropriate for your student body
• When writing technical instructions, assume that your learner knows nothing about the technology -- write to the person who knows nothing and needs lots of direction
• Keep a back-up copy of everything
• Have a student read through your material before posting to make sure it makes sense
• Establish specific times to devote to your course development

Assisting Students

• Learn about their resources by asking them what they already have and know
• Consider face-to-face introductions at the college for students who are less computer literate
• Make you expectations explicit and in writing
• "Quiz" students to make sure they have read critical documents even if they aren't part of the course content, such as the college's statement on plagarism and citation
• Advocate for institutional technical assistance that is available at the times that online students are working on their courses -- in the evenings and on the weekends

Good Practice

• Prompt non-participating students through email -- establish a system to track student participation
• Use Announcements in Blackboard to capture student attention
• If you receive a question concerning an assignment from a student post the response to Blackboard so that even students who haven't asked can benefit from your answer
• Set firm deadlines -- online learning doesn't have to be self-paced learning
• Involve learners in team projects

Discussion Forums

• Start early in the semester with discussion requirements
• Start easy with an introductory discussion
• Divide large classes into smaller discussion groups
• Hold off on your own posts and explain why
• Start group exercises early in the semester

Assessment

• Schedule projects to be due on the same day of the week
• Provide group feedback in addition to individual
• Assign projects or papers in stages
• Build a question bank by asking students to submit questions