Justin Shewell - Fifty Ways to Teach Online: Tips for ESL/EFL Teachers

Online education is exploding in many parts of the world. In the United States, according to a survey conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and sponsored by several online education companies, at least 1 in 4 students are taking a course online. Another study by the University of Washington showed that many people in developing countries have much greater access to online courses than to more traditional education settings. As institutions push to get more of their course offerings online, many teachers find themselves having to teach online.

One of the biggest myths in online teaching is that it is easier and less time-consuming than teaching face-to-face. Many institutions, in fact, assign online teachers extra workloads because Hey, theyre only teaching online. The truth is that teaching online takes more time and effort than face-to-face teaching because you have to work harder to engage your students and support them to be successful in your course.

This book provides ideas to help you succeed in teaching online no matter your level of technical expertise or teaching experience. This book will help you design effective online courses by creating communities of learning, encouraging interaction, and creating better discussion board assignments. Youll also find tips to help you set clear expectations, support students, and deal with student complaints.

As you read the tips in this book, keep a few things in mind.

1) First, not all online teaching situations are the same. Some courses are small, with only a few students, and some courses have thousands of students. Some of the tips may not apply as well to large courses, while others may not work as well with smaller courses. Remember to consider your teaching context when applying any of these tips.

2) Despite the obvious differences between online and face-to-face teaching, many of the same skills and principles necessary for successful teaching still apply in both settings. Things like emphasizing time on task, developing reciprocity and cooperation among students, encouraging active learning and participation, communicating high expectations, and respecting diversity among students are just as important in online settings as in successful face-to-face teaching.

3) Generally, instructional activities take more time online than they do in a classroom. That is because it takes longer for students to communicate and work together when they are not meeting face-to-face. If you are adapting a course typically taught in a face-to-face setting, you may want to reduce the number of assignments you give out, or see how assignments could be combined in order to fit them into an online format.

4) Extrinsic motivation is key. In face-to-face settings, the look a teacher might give a student who didnt complete an assignment, or having to face other students in classroom discussions when they havent read the material is often enough extrinsic motivation to get students to do the coursework. In online settings, however, much of that is gone, and students may skip assignments that are not graded or that they do not see as important. Include any assignments or activities that are essential for student learning in the overall course grade and give deadlines to keep students on track.

5) Not all students are cut out for online learning. Just like teachers who are new to online learning, some students underestimate the amount of time a course will require and are surprised by how much work they have to do. Successful online students are often very independent people, people who are self-starters and active communicators. Students who cannot function well independently and need someone standing over their shoulder to keep them on task generally do not do well in online educational settings.

This book gives you ideas to help you improve your online teaching. The tips are divided into seven main categories:

• Designing Instruction
• Creating Online Communities of Learning
• Encouraging Interaction
• Discussion Boards
• Setting Clear Expectations
• Supporting Students
• Dealing with Student Complaints

While you may read through it sequentially, the tips are not organized in terms of importance or effectiveness, so make sure to read each section carefully.

Not every tip will work in every online context. Thats why there are fifty. I feel sure that many of the ideas presented here will bring you results if you try them sincerely and practice them regularly.

Here is a suggested method for using this book:

1. Read through all of the fifty tips without stopping.
2. Read through the tips again. Choose five or six that you think might work for one or more of your online courses. Decide when you will try them.
3. Choose different types of ideas, perhaps tips from different sections of the book.
4. Each time you use one of the tips, make a note about how well it worked for you and why. Remember that most of the tips will work best if you use them several times and adjust them for your teaching context. Dont try a tip only once and decide its no good for your online setting. Give the tips you try at least a few chances.
5. Every few weeks, read through the tips again, and choose some new ones. Discontinue using any methods that are not working for you after several attempts.

Finally, consider trying some of the other books in the 50 Ways to Teach series. The series includes special volumes for teaching different skill areas, young learners, teenagers, and for using technology in the classroom. Improving your skills in these areas can only help you improve your online teaching experience.

Here are some terms used frequently in this book that may be unfamiliar to you, especially if you are new to online learning and teaching. While some of the terms may have varying definitions, or be used differently by different people in the field, these definitions are the ones that make the most sense in the context of this book.

Asynchronous When students are online and accessing course content at different times from each other and the instructor. Most online courses function using an asynchronous model.

Audio conference Using a microphone along with a network connection to allow people in different geographical locations to hear and speak to each other. Audio conferences are often conducted over the Internet or via telephone technology.

Blended learning A model of instruction where online and face-to-face instruction are combined in a single course or context. Students will often complete a certain number of online learning activities before meeting in person with an instructor for additional learning activities.