• Prepares the environment for learners
• Provides motivation
• Facilitates discussion

It is important to signify the time frame for each activity, when it will be performed and where or how. For instance, preparing the environment for learners needs to take place BEFORE the training or instruction begins. Providing motivation would be an activity that would be carried out DURING the training or instruction.

• Asynchronous versus synchronous communication
  • Appropriate uses of both modes.

  Back in 2001, I had a professor who had been teaching on ground for over 30 years and was one of the early adopters of web-based education, having taught online for a few years. But he was frustrated and asked me for help. His problem was managing the class when he was lecturing in the chat rooms(synchronous).

  I asked him to describe in more detail what he was doing. He was lecturing, as he would in the classroom, in the chat room, first with all 30 of his students in that class, and then not having found that to be a satisfactory experience, in smaller groups of 10. But he felt that they weren't getting it and he was spending a lot of time and energy trying to teach this course.

What is wrong with this picture?

1. He should not be lecturing in an online course. If he had material to present, if should have been put into a web page that could be accessed by the students when they were ready and needed it. They did not need him present to direct them in covering the course materials.
2. He should not have more than 6 participants in a chat session. But with a class of 30 that means he would be conducting 5 weekly sessions covering that same subject matter. Is this effective use of the technology? Is there a better way to do this?

Why do you think he was using chat to conduct class?

Because he was trying to do online what he does in his classroom, which is lecturing, real-time to the entire group. No wonder he and his students weren't having a good experience.

I advised him to put his materials into a fixed format (web pages) and only use chat for online office hours or when a small group of students needed to all meet together online at the same time. In most web-based education, everything can be done asynchronously through web pages and discussion boards. There is hardly ever a true need to conduct synchronous sessions.

• E-mail guidelines

1. Subject lines should be clear
2. Instructor should establish clear guidelines on response time
3. The instructor need not be copied on student-to-student communication

The response time guidelines should be in the syllabus. This is a basic MUST HAVE for effective online teaching. My policy says that I will respond to email within ????

1. Provide an opening question to discussions
2. Monitor the discussion to ensure netiquette is followed and everyone participates, but no one dominates the discussion
3. Chat requires multiple sessions at various times during the day in order to provide adequate access for learners who are logged on at all times of the day. Only use this is absolutely necessary and all participants can be present.
4. Structure chats in order to minimize chaos. Lead the chat with a clear outcome in mind.

   I am basically opposed to synchronous activities in fully online courses or training. Why? Because one of the big advantages of distance education is the flexibility that it allows.You can log on when it fits your personal schedule and not have to worry about working around a fixed schedule to attend the chat sessions. This is particularly evident when you are working with students from around the world. Once you introduce a synchronous mode into a course, it limits the flexibility of the learning for the student.

• Instructor needs to set the tone of the environment.

  How do I set the tone for this class? I do this through the language I use in my bio and in my welcome message to the new students. I also do this as I welcome students into the class.

• Provide a means to establish groups after the learners have had an opportunity to meet online – use an introductory activity or encourage the students to develop information pages.
  1. Group size - best practice is 4 - 6.
  2. Promoting collaboration
     • Equitable workload
     • Participation
     • Peer feedback
  3. Time management

  The most effective means that I have found to accomplish this and get the groups working together efficiently, effectively, and quickly, is using the learning team charter.

1. Creating an appealing and easy-to-use course site
2. Providing an “Outage Plan” which outlines what “back-up” system is in place in the event the institution loses the ability to provide student access to the course site. For example, assignments may need to be faxed or mailed if e-mail is not available.
3. Students need to be encouraged to manage their own technology responsibly --- making backups of homework and discussion comments

1. Often helps to make decisions about continuing programs or continuing to use materials
2. Can be used to evaluate the ultimate worth of programs or materials
3. Helps to determine which materials are helping the students learn and which ones are not.
4. Helps identify if there is a hole in the instruction, points not covered that need to be covered in order for the student to complete the assignments.
5. Identifies areas for continual improvement of the learning materials.

• Use of experts' judgments (e.g., analyzing alignment, content, resources)
• Use of field trials
• Comparing what the students were able to accomplish with what the instruction said they were supposed to accomplish.