I have recently started to prepare to offer a course entirely online. My initial thoughts were that I would take the syllabus from my face to face (F2F) course, and apply it to some online format. Wow, was I wrong about that. The more I engage in online discussions about online teaching (only fitting), the more I realize that transitioning to online teaching takes a great deal of effort. So far, most of my time has been spent in exploring technology resources that I might be able to use to enhance engagement in my courses.
A concern I have about utilizing different technologies is that students may have difficulties with each one I employ. I struggle with the following question: can we assume that students attracted to an online program are naturally tech-savvy (i.e. digital natives)? I don't know if that is a safe assumption to make at this point. My inclination is to move forward with whatever tech tools I can round up that seem to have potential for enhancing engagement, and hopefully in turn positively affect learning.
As I prepare for the online course, I have found myself thinking critically about my F2F courses. In the F2F venue, I rely almost exclusively on classroom discussion. While online courses regularly feature discussion boards, they do not seem to be inherently interactive. The key (at least for my approach) is intentionality. But why should intentionality be the key for online, but not F2F? As I explore various tech tools for my online course, I am thinking about their application in my F2F courses.
I am at least a little bit nervous about going online, and about being the guinea pig (I am designing the first online course for my program), I am very excited about the possibilities. I am excited that we could reach an audience who want training at the master's level in higher education and student affairs, but do not have close access to a F2F program. I am excited about what the online teaching experience can mean to my teaching overall.
I have created a spreadsheet in Google Drive to capture the resources I am finding regarding tech use in online teaching. Visit if you're looking for ideas, or if you have resources to share.
http://bit.ly/TPsMl5
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