Moving Your Course Online: Where to Begin (FAQ)
An FAQ for Those Who Are New to Online Literacy Instruction
Online-JIT Hub | Walk-in Webinars | Just Ask GSOLE Forum
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In some ways, designing an online course can parallel the design process for a face-to-face course. For instance, you’ll want to begin by identifying the learning goals for the course and then decide how students will show their achievement of those goals. Because online learning is more flexible than face-to-face learning, you should answer the following questions after you have identified the course’s goals and major assignments:
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Will your course be synchronous or asynchronous?
- Synchronous timing requires students to log onto a shared learning space during a scheduled class time.
- Asynchronous timing requires students to complete work by particular deadlines but students do that work according to their individual schedules.
Where will your course materials be housed?
Many institutions have contracts with learning management systems (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, D2L, among others). If your institution has an LMS, you can house important course files and assignments in that space as well as learning activities that will help students work through concepts, such as discussion boards, quizzes, or low stakes writing assignments. It is helpful for students if courses have a digital homespace where students know they can go to find materials for the course.
If you don’t have an LMS, you can use a free learning management system like Moodle, or you can use a file storing system like Google Drive to organize your course materials. When considering non-LMS options, you’ll want to keep student privacy in mind. If you work in the United States, you should consult your institutional guidelines, as well as federal regulations like Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and state regulations.
If you don’t have an LMS, you can use a free learning management system like Moodle, or you can use a file storing system like Google Drive to organize your course materials. When considering non-LMS options, you’ll want to keep student privacy in mind. If you work in the United States, you should consult your institutional guidelines, as well as federal regulations like Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and state regulations.
How will you organize your course materials so that students can easily navigate and find resources?
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Once you have a home for your course materials, you’ll want to ensure that students can easily find things as they need them. There are different methods to organizing materials. For instance, some online instructors use a module function in the LMS to organize their files. Modules can be designed to organize materials into learning units or weekly materials, as pictured below. Other instructors organize files in the file sharing space of the LMS by labeling and arranging folders by dates, as Figure 2 illustrates. Still others create hyperlinks in the course calendars that link students directly to different materials, as seen in Figure 3. You can learn more about file organization by reading this resource from the Online Writing Instruction Community.
Figure 2: A Folder-Based Organizational Structure. Each week has its own folder which organizes the week’s activities.
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Figure 1: A Modular Organization Structure. Each module is organized into a unit and sub-categories give students a weekly breakdown of their tasks.
Figure 3: A Hyperlinked Course Calendar Structure. The calendar is organized with individual activities embedded and hyperlinked. The (C) symbol denotes that an assignment needs to be accessed or submitted through Canvas, the LMS.
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How will you instruct your students?
Our job is to teach students, but if you are used to having a face-to-face course, thinking about how you will teach students online can be a challenge. Some instructors make videos to teach students. Here are different kinds of videos you might make and the technologies that can help you make them. You can see a full list of technologies by visiting GSOLE’s list of resources.
- Some instructors record their presentations so that students watch slides on their screen while the instructor’s voice plays over the slides. This video replicates the lecture presentation. If you choose to use this method of instruction, you can use a technology like VoiceThread so that students can intersperse their questions throughout your presentation. Learn more about using VoiceThread, specifically, by reading this ROLE article. See sample instructional videos from Florida State University’s College Composition program.
- Instructors might also create recordings that show them speaking to students. This can be particularly helpful if the instructor needs to write on a board to explain a concept. If you have a device with a forward-facing camera, you can typically use it to record these videos; a web camera can also be purchased. Learn more about making these videos from this Open Literacy Open Resource (OLOR) resource.
- Instructors use screencast recordings when they want to display their screen to students with the option to speak over the screencast so that students can hear their voice. Screencasting platforms, like Screencastify or Screen-o-Matic, can be helpful when you want to model how to do something digitally, like submitting an assignment on the LMS or explain difficult concepts. Learn more about screencasting from this OLOR resource.
How will you support interaction with yourself and among students?
Instructors also create announcements so that they can “talk” to their students through a regular course announcement or class email. These announcements can be helpful in sending weekly reminders and addressing common questions or concerns, as they arise. Most LMSs have an announcement function, but if you have access to students’ email addresses through your course registration system, you can also email students.
As with any learning environment, you’ll want to also design low-stakes learning activities to scaffold course concepts and major assignments. In an online space, these take many forms, such as
As with any learning environment, you’ll want to also design low-stakes learning activities to scaffold course concepts and major assignments. In an online space, these take many forms, such as
- Small group discussions held on discussion boards or shared discussion spaces (like course pages that students and instructors can contribute to or Google docs). Read more about asynchronous discussion board interaction in this ROLE article.
- Individual assignments that ask students to complete concept charts or annotate readings and then upload complete versions.
- Low-stakes quizzes or freewrites that help students test their understanding of a concept.
- Collaborative work that asks students to work together to create an artifact, such as a presentation slide, infographic, written response, etc.
- Peer reviews wherein students review and give feedback to each other.
- Reflective writing prompts: these prompts can take many forms, but reflective writing encourages students to make connections, describe their experiences, reconsider their choices, and critically think about concepts as they are applied to different spaces. Learn more about reflective writing from this resource from Auburn University.
- Checkpoints that ask students to complete larger tasks in segments or chunks and receive feedback from their instructor or peers along the way.
How will you hold office hours?
Office hours provide students with an important opportunity for one-on-one assistance. However, when you teach online, it is unlikely that every student can drop into your physical office. Instead, you can hold digital office hours. Digital office hours can give students the opportunity to type, talk, or video conference with you. Some video conferencing technologies like WebEx or Zoom allow students to use a web-enabled address to connect with you over the internet or call in using a telephone. If your students don’t have access to phones or stable internet connection that can support video, a chat space can give them the opportunity to type to you in live time.
Technologies that support these efforts include Google Hangouts, Zoom, WebEx, or GoToMeeting. There are some free scheduling apps, like Calendly (example) or Doodle, that allow students to “claim” a meeting time, helpful for irregular online office hours. Your LMS might additionally support you in scheduling and holding digital office hours, so be sure to ask your Teaching and Learning Center or Office of Technology.
Technologies that support these efforts include Google Hangouts, Zoom, WebEx, or GoToMeeting. There are some free scheduling apps, like Calendly (example) or Doodle, that allow students to “claim” a meeting time, helpful for irregular online office hours. Your LMS might additionally support you in scheduling and holding digital office hours, so be sure to ask your Teaching and Learning Center or Office of Technology.
How will you give students feedback?
When giving students feedback on assignments, you want to make sure you are following federal, state, and institutional regulations on student privacy. Make sure that students receive graded feedback through secure channels. If you have an LMS, using feedback and gradebook features within the LMS is one instance of a secure channel. If you do not have access to an LMS, you’ll want to be sure that graded feedback is delivered through a secure and private channel. Because of FERPA, email is not a secure channel for graded feedback, nor is a shared class space like a course Google Docs or Google Drive folder.
You also have options for the way you format your feedback. Online learning can certainly support typed, written feedback, but instructors can also make feedback videos or audio messages that share feedback with students. If you and your students have shared availability, online instructors can also use one-on-one conferences to provide students with substantive feedback--this is particularly helpful with larger assignments that include revision.
Instructors typically give two kinds of feedback: formative and summative. Formative feedback is given mid-process and helps the student continue to develop their assignments. Summative feedback is given at the end of the assignment.
You also have options for the way you format your feedback. Online learning can certainly support typed, written feedback, but instructors can also make feedback videos or audio messages that share feedback with students. If you and your students have shared availability, online instructors can also use one-on-one conferences to provide students with substantive feedback--this is particularly helpful with larger assignments that include revision.
Instructors typically give two kinds of feedback: formative and summative. Formative feedback is given mid-process and helps the student continue to develop their assignments. Summative feedback is given at the end of the assignment.
How can you find support for technology for yourself and your students?
Your local institution might already have robust support for you. Be sure to reach out to resources like offices of online learning (example), teaching and learning, accessibility, and technology. If your institution has a contract with an LMS, most LMSs also provide support for instructors and students through company websites (example).
If you do not have access to local tech experts, you can learn a lot through online support communities. These are communities of practitioners (like yourself) who have developed resources that answer common questions or solve common problems. For example, Canvas has an LMS Community. To further support instructors during the COVID-19 outbreak, GSOLE will be offering office hours and an email response hotline meant to support instructors with all aspects of online learning. Although we aren’t experts in every LMS, we can help you think through how to set a class activity up in an online space and might be able to provide you with further technical guidance, depending on the issue and expert available. Your local institution may have or be developing a response to classes moving online in case of emergency (example).
When assisting students with technology, be sure to inform them of all of these technical resources. When problems arise without an immediate answer, you can respond to students with honesty and explain the situation. Phrases like, “I don’t have an immediate response to that question, but give me a day or two, and I’ll do some research,” can be helpful. No one can know everything about technology, so there is no need to feel pressure to have all of the technology answers, all of the time.
If you do not have access to local tech experts, you can learn a lot through online support communities. These are communities of practitioners (like yourself) who have developed resources that answer common questions or solve common problems. For example, Canvas has an LMS Community. To further support instructors during the COVID-19 outbreak, GSOLE will be offering office hours and an email response hotline meant to support instructors with all aspects of online learning. Although we aren’t experts in every LMS, we can help you think through how to set a class activity up in an online space and might be able to provide you with further technical guidance, depending on the issue and expert available. Your local institution may have or be developing a response to classes moving online in case of emergency (example).
When assisting students with technology, be sure to inform them of all of these technical resources. When problems arise without an immediate answer, you can respond to students with honesty and explain the situation. Phrases like, “I don’t have an immediate response to that question, but give me a day or two, and I’ll do some research,” can be helpful. No one can know everything about technology, so there is no need to feel pressure to have all of the technology answers, all of the time.