Online Pedagogy: Best Practices in Internet-based Education

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Online Pedagogy Best Practices in
Internet-based Education
Jennifer Herzog Assistant Professor of
Biology Herkimer County Community
College herzogja_at_herkimer.edu
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What is meaningful learning? -leads to
alterations of brain composition -develops ones
knowledge base -can affect ones life In order
to accomplish this, learning activities should
be -active -constructive -collaborative -context
ual -conversational -reflective (Boettcher J.
2000. Designing for learning what is
meaningful learning? Syllabus 14(1) 54-56.)
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• Todays student demands a flexible learning
  environment
• 3 million students enrolled in at least one
  course with online content
• Many degree programs offered via distance
  learning
• How do we as faculty meet the demand of our
  customers without
• sacrificing the quality of education we provide?
• (andwithout faculty burnout!)

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Make your teaching student centered -what is the
student thinking? -how much are they
learning? -what tools do they have the ability
to use? -keep high standards, but make
objectives realistic
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Think about the delivery of your course -open
versus exact due dates? -allow full access to
the course or work in modules? -proctored versus
timed versus open tests?
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Orientation -use an Ice Breaker session as a
trial period for the student to see how the
technology works if they have reliable technology
available what is expected of them in the
course -during this time, you may want to quiz
the student on the information provided in this
section ask them to answer a questionnaire ask
them to provide an introduction to the class
(which you can print out!) create an FAQ area
for students
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Provide consistency and clarity throughout the
course -clear deadlines -clear, concise
directions -clear, assessable objectives -clear,
thorough syllabus -REPEAT yourself throughout
the course -demand good grammar from your
students and make sure you are using it, too!
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• Let your students do the work generating
• social presence and cognitive presence
• -require that students lead discussions, at least
  in part
• -provide areas for out of class discussion for
  students to help each other
• Interactivity is the heart and soul of effective
  asynchronous learning B. Pelz

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Be an involved instructor (A.K.A. add teaching
presence) -participate in/monitor
discussions -provide feedback to all
submissions -quick response time is a MUST (if
anything check email/question areas) -make
frequent announcements/updates HOWEVER do
unplug, being available 24/7 is a duel-edged
sword!
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Dont forget the A word ASSESSMENT -use
rubrics and make them visible to students -show
them examples of graded discussion posts -use MS
word to mark up edits on essays -use pre/post
testing -give midterm updates -use end of
course evaluations for student feedback
(reflection on the course) -use your electronic
grade book to effectively collect data for
assessment
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Let your teaching personality shine through the
modem! -use Powerpoint presentations with
voice/video or full podcasts -use blogs or
social chat areas -use Second Life -use webcams
via AIM or Skype
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Use technology to achieve your objectives -addres
s multiple learning styles i.e. YouTube to
create lab demos i.e. iTunes to post audio files
of lectures i.e. web-based games i.e. wikis for
cooperative interactions i.e. student projects
that let them be creative with technology -consid
er offering a course as a HYBRID (61 of
institutions cite a need for these!) Use your
expertise in the classroom and take the time to
creatively modify your effective on campus
experiences for the digital world!
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Improve your teaching each semester! -employ
self-evaluation, reflection -seek available
training opportunities -talk to other
instructors, view their courses -have others
review your courses and provide constructive
criticism