Getting Started with Teaching Online
#OpenTeach Project Draft Resource
(version 3)
March 2020
Catriona Ni She, Orna Farrell, James Brunton, Enda Donlon, Eamon Costello,
Samantha Trevaskis
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Anchoring Concepts:
Four Key Elements of Teaching Online
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Getting Started
Introducing yourself
The key to getting started in the online environment is to introduce yourself to your students
in a friendly, sociable way. Make a short video about yourself, let the students see what you
look like, hear your voice, and know how to contact you. Follow this by having an activity that
engages all the students in an informal way, an icebreaker.
Follow this link from the University of Wisconsin for some icebreaker examples.
Read the quote below from an expert, Susi Peacock, on how she begins her online
courses.
‘As a module leader of postgraduate studies ... over 40 students, Peacock provides a short
introductory video outlining her course and ensuring that learners know who she is, what she
looks like, and how she can be contacted. Her language is informal and friendly; she
concentrates on establishing a welcoming tone from the outset. She then launches an
icebreaker activity within the online discussions area, wherein learners frankly share their
current learning experiences pertaining to the subject and their apprehensions in relation to
forthcoming tasks. Soon, they can build their confidence in online discussions, establish
meaningful connections with peers, and develop personal relationships.’
(Peacock, S., & Cowan, J., 2019, Pg 73)
Getting Students Going
The online environment may also be a new adventure for your students. Make sure they
know how to navigate the Learning Management System (LMS) and how to get help with
technical and other institutional supports.
Follow this link to the Humanities student hub in loop and familiarise yourself with the
students supports.
Read the quote from the literature.
‘Faculty are expected to ensure learners’ overall readiness by directing them to various
institutional resources ranging from advising to technical requirements to library resources.
In addition, students should be offered a learning management system (LMS) orientation
which will explain the course’s navigation and flow’
(Abdous, M. 2011, page 66).
Setting the rules of engagement
It is important to make clear to your students the time commitment, deadlines and input
required of them. The quantity and quality of inputs to activities such as discussion forums
and wikis need to be made explicit. Clear ground rules need to be established and agreed
by all students. Online etiquette or Netiquette is very important.
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Follow this link from the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Wiley Education for some
examples.
Check out the Guidelines For Online Interaction in the OEU Humanities Tutor Hub
Read the quotes below that emphasise the importance of the ground rules.
‘... faculty should welcome learners to the learning environment and should clarify
expectations, weekly time commitment, and deadlines. During this phase, faculty should
help learners take responsibility for their own learning, articulate their expectations, develop
effective work study habits, stay organized, and remain focused on learning tasks (Bangert
2004). After they establish the ground rules of the course (including communication and
feedback protocols), faculty should provide their students with clear guidelines and
expectations in terms of the students’ contribution and participation.’
(Abdous, M. 2011, page 66-67).
‘Instructors should describe clear ground rules for forum behavior at the outset and design
group forums—rather than class-wide forums—for particularly large classes (Ravai, 2007).
In addition, it is important that instructors refrain from being the center of attention or mass-
posting in the forum space (Mazzolini & Maddison, 2007)’
(Trammell, B. A., & LaForge, C. 2017,n.p)
Characteristics of an effective online tutor
Students rated one of their tutors in an online course very highly and the other tutor not so
good. When comparing the two tutors activity within the online course it was found that the
higher rated tutor had the following attributes:
1. Active and passive participation was significantly higher
2. Social presence was significantly higher.
3. Teaching presence was significantly higher.
4. Cognitive presence was similar, though there was a lack of cognitive based tasks overall.
5. Instructor response time was significantly shorter.
(Gorsky, P., & Blau, I., 2009, Page 15-17).
The community of inquiry model
The Community Of Inquiry (CoI) model is used to describe how the three elements of social,
cognitive and teaching presence are used to facilitate learning in an online environment .
Social presence is the ways in which students and teachers interact in the online community,
allowing their individual personalities to come to the fore in a trusting environment. Cognitive
presence allows the facilitation of students in constructing meaning using the online course
materials and activities. Finally, teaching presence refers to the ever present teacher
facilitation of the social and cognitive processes.
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Social Presence
Social interaction is known to facilitate cognitive development. In other words, students learn
well in social environments. It is influenced by the quality and quantity of interactions
between students and teachers and helps establish a favourable learning space. It can be
difficult to establish social presence in an online environment, as standard physical cues and
interactions are not available. However, with careful consideration and management of the
interaction in both asynchronous and synchronous online sessions, a good rapport can be
established.
Follow this link from Brigham Young University for some tips.
Read these quotes from the literature
‘Interestingly, the highest number of recommendations shared by experienced online
educators fell into the “presence” theme. Online educators commented on the importance of
connecting with students, helping students connect with each other, and helping students
feel they are members of a supportive learning community.’
(Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R., 2018, page 84).
‘Establishing a sense of a learning community among participants is a prerequisite for
meaningful and in-depth interaction. This aspect is critical in overcoming some of the
reported drawbacks of online teaching, including students’ feeling of isolation and their lack
of motivation and interaction (Bernard et al. 2009; Mullins-Dove 2006).’
(Abdous, M., 2011, page 67)
‘Instructors in all online classes must work to increase “social belonging in the course
(Picciano, 2002)... Swan and Shih (2005) noted that social presence is an important
component to online success but that perceived connection to the instructor is even more
important than peer connections. Student satisfaction correlated with knowing the instructor
(Thurmond, Wambach, Connors, & Frey, 2002), yet many students express dissatisfaction
with a lack of contact ...’
(Trammell et al., 2017, n.p )
‘... took a nurturing approach and responded to students individually, encouraging them, and
supporting their participation on the discussion boards...’
(Coker,H.,2018, page 134 )
‘...tries, as an online tutor, to be the first to visit any shared online learning space. He
informally leaves a short, welcoming greeting and quickly departs. This corresponds with
and amplifies Wildflower’s advice (2010, p. 393) to check in on online realms frequently, if
only briefly...“You cared enough to come to meet us (online) before we arrived. That set the
tone for my course experience.’
(Peacock & Cowan, 2019, page 72)
‘The content of … messages shows careful listening to the individual students as they
acknowledge individual contributions and provide specific positive feedback.’
(Smits, A., & Voogt, J., 2017, page 109)
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Facilitating discussion
Managing Discussion Forums
Discussion forums can go off track and/or stagnate. It is up to you, the tutor, to keep it on
track. Use well structured prompts that elicit the types of responses you require. But don’t
hog the forum yourself.
Follow this link from the Colorado State University for some examples:
Read the quotes below from experts in the field
‘If the lecturer stays out in the early stages the conversation reaches consensus and stops,
the job of the lecturer in an online discussion is to take it outwards, to bring in a new idea, to
ask a question and in some cases to share opinions, disclosure is really important in there
as well … it’s also being responsive to what’s going around, what the students are interested
in.’
(Coker, H. ,2018, page 136).
Subsequently, during the actual teaching of the course, facilitation, interaction, and feedback
become the core activities of online teaching…During this phase, faculty are encouraged to
initiate and keep discussions open, focused, and relevant. To this end, they need to share,
listen, answer questions, and show enthusiasm, while paying careful attention to students’
needs, providing direction, and drawing students toward active engagement and
participation in the discussion. ‘
(Abdous, M., 2011, page 66).
‘Vary the participants’ amount of contribution. If there is a participant who appears overly
outspoken, ask that person (privately) to wait for a few others’ responses before contributing.
Similarly, at some point, it may be appropriate to ask less-outspoken individuals to
participate more actively.’
(Berge, Z. L., 2008, page 411)
Managing the workload
Responding to all discussion forums posting may become onerous in large classes.
Encouraging students to respond to each other posts may help alleviate the burden. But
make sure you give guidelines.
Follow this link to the association for psychological science blog with five tips for improving
online discussion forums. See tip 4 for the 3C method.
Read the quote from the literature
Encouraging peer-to-peer interaction will help manage an instructor’s workload in a large
class while also meeting student’s preferences.
(Trammell et al., 2017, n.p.)
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Supporting Students
There are many different aspects to enabling student success in an online environment. We
have already considered how to; ensure students are familiar with the technology, establish
social presence and facilitate discussions. Academic support in the form of valid learning
activities is also required. In the online environment student interaction and collaborative
activities are key to effective learning.
Take a look at this diagram that illustrates these four elements (Roddy et al, 2017)
And remember that students supports are available in the link to the Humanities
student hub in loop provided through loop.
Student Interaction in learning activities
Read the quotes from award winning online tutors
‘…. mentioned interaction or community as a key element in designing learning activities.
They gave examples of collaborative projects, discussion forums, or peer review activities as
necessary for students to interact with each other and the course content in different ways.
The structuring of student interactions with one another and their creation of digital content
that demonstrated their learning was also important to faculty.’
(Martin, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Kumar, S., & Budhrani, K., 2019, page 39).
‘Another advantage of the online medium is its ability to connect students with each other.
This may seem to be no different than an on-campus class, but the faculty felt the sharing
done in online discussions was different. In the online setting, students could share their
experiences and, especially important for older students in the professional programs, their
experiences on the job or in the workplace. For example, in the safety management
program,...’
(Meyer, K. A., & McNeal, L., 2011, page 44).
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Collaborative Activities
Collaborative activities are commonplace in higher education. Students form groups whose
responsibility it is to engage in a project that has defined objectives.Online collaboration
requires a bit more orchestration by the teacher, but the benefits to students are worth the
effort. These types of activities reinforce the social presence required in online environments
and enable the sharing of skills and the construction of knowledge.
Follow this link from the eLearning Industry for a few collaborative project ideas.
And consider using Group Discussion Forums within Loop
Read the quotes from the experts.
When asked about the nature of online collaboration...highlighted its pedagogic potential:
The nature of collaboration, I think I’d start by saying it’s not instinctive and therefore it has to
be contrived. The importance of collaboration, if we start from the point that collaboration is a
part of this relationship of learning and teaching then to collaborate is about developing
knowledge, learning, and constructing knowledge in a group.
(Coker, H.,2018, page 134)
‘students should be offered concise and practical guidelines for collaborative activities to
reduce the level of frustration with these activities’
(Gómez-Rey, P., Barbera, E., & Fernández-Navarro, F., 2018, page 126).
Creating collaborative assignments, rather than simply cooperative assignments, is crucial.
Collaborative assignments require the students work together to develop ideas together and
create a cohesive piece of work, whereas cooperative assignments simply allows each
student to work on his or her part and then piece them all together at the end (Curtis &
Lawson, 2001).
(Trammel et al., 2017. n.p.)
Feedback as part of learning
It is essential that regular feedback is given to students while completing the learning
activities of the course. This feedback should be delivered as soon as possible after the
student completes the activity. Actionable feedback is required to ensure that it is meaningful
for the student.
Follow this link in the Faculty Focus for feedback strategies that work in the online
environment.
Read the quotes from the literature.
‘Faculty are expected to give timely feedback about a variety of aspects of the course.
Students anticipate prompt and high-quality feedback about assignments and questions,
complete with detailed explanations and justifications (Brindley et al. 2009; Rovai 2004).
Faculty who provide constructive criticism and reassurance will motivate and engage
students, particularly when the response is worded in a friendly and conversational tone.
Along the same lines, faculty are encouraged to collect regular (weekly, mid-semester)
feedback from students and to address issues promptly. Data collected from students
provides a practical appreciation of the effectiveness of the course content and activities.
(Abdous, M., 2011,page 69)
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‘When asked about their day-to-day routine when teaching online courses, all eight faculty
stated that they checked in to the course at least once a day. Six of the faculty specified that
they began their work day by reading student messages or responding to student discussion
posts in the morning, and then checked in again later in the evening and sometimes during
the day. Timely responses and feedback were important to all the faculty – four faculty
specified that they would respond to student messages within 24 or 48 h, and graded
student work within 48 h
(Martin et al., 2019, page 40)
‘Providing feedback helped students to learn by identifying errors in their thinking… One
thing that I did very early . . . is to design reading quizzes using Blackboard (Blackboard calls
them quizzes, but they are really guides to the reading, concepts and arguments that they
should pay attention to). And the way I use those quizzes is students have to submit them by
a certain deadline, which is usually right after the class period that we discussed the reading
. . . they submit them and they are automatically graded by Blackboard but if they miss a
question they can do a rewrite. On the rewrite they need to explain why they originally
thought their answer was correct and then why they now understand what the correct
answer is and why it is a better answer than the one they gave originally.’
(Meyer et al., 2011, page 47)
Creating Rubrics for feedback
Using rubrics can be effective in enabling students understand the criteria required for their
posts to discussion forums. In addition it can facilitate quicker grading of student work.
Follow this link from Yale for creating and using rubrics.
Look at how to create these within Loop
Read the quote from the literature.
‘Meyer (2006) reviewed numerous methods for creating rubrics, frameworks, and scoring
criteria for forum assignments. He highlighted the importance of determining the purpose of
the assessment—interaction, critical thinking, or content knowledge—before creating an
evaluation method (2006). This maximizes the chances that students receive effective
feedback and the instructor will have good assessment data for the course.’
(Trammell, B. A., & LaForge, C., 2017, n.p.)
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The Online Classroom
15 tips to bear in mind for your online classroom.
1. Check out the technology well in advance, make sure you are familiar with the
software and that your mic and camera work.
2. There are three standard pre-built layouts available in Loop Connect – Sharing,
Discussion and Collaboration. Start with one and stick with it until you are
comfortable moving around.
3. Have your document or powerpoint up and ready to go, opened on an introductory
slide welcoming the students to the class.
4. Log in 10 to 15 minutes prior to the class, you can be on mute, but just let the
students know you are there.
5. Record the class, put a reminder on your first slide.
6. Be prepared to talk students through setting up their mics and cameras.
7. Remind the students about the audio wizard for mic setup, familiarise yourself with
this feature. Once mics are working ask students to mute them when they are not
speaking. This prevents ‘noise’ in the classroom.
8. Sometimes audio feedback still persists. Try changing the audio settings in the
Meeting menu. Select Preferences, Microphone and uncheck ‘Use Enhanced Audio’.
9. Ask students to turn on their webcam, at least for the initial introductions.
10. Start the first class by asking everyone to introduce themselves one by one, or try an
icebreaker activity!
11. Remember the Chat box. Put a reminder in your slides to check the Chat box every
second slide or so, until it becomes a habit.
12. Create a friendly environment, allow students interact, create polls and other
activities that will encourage student interaction.
13. In order to encourage student interaction, use the breakout feature and divide the
class into smaller groups to complete short group activities.
14. Leave a few minutes at the end to allow for questions and to summarise the class.
15. Enjoy!
The Humanities Tutor Hub contains a number of resources that support online tutoring, one
section is on Loop Connect - Online Classroom
In here you will find a number of resources that you can access for more guidance.
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Reference List
Abdous, M. (2011). A process-oriented framework for acquiring online teaching
competencies. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 23(1), 60–77.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12528-010-9040-5
Berge, Z. L. (2008). Changing Instructor’s Roles In Virtual Worlds. Quarterly Review of
Distance Education, 9(4), 9.
Coker, H. (2018). Purpose, Pedagogy and Philosophy: “Being” an Online Lecturer. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(5).
https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v19i5.3312
Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2018). Online educators’ recommendations for
teaching online: Crowdsourcing in action. Open Praxis, 10(1), 79–89.
https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.1.721
Gómez-Rey, P., Barbera, E., & Fernández-Navarro, F. (2018). Students’ perceptions
about online teaching effectiveness: A bottom-up approach for identifying online
instructors’ roles. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(1).
https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.3437
Martin, F., Ritzhaupt, A., Kumar, S., & Budhrani, K. (2019). Award-winning faculty online
teaching practices: Course design, assessment and evaluation, and facilitation. The
Internet and Higher Education, 42, 34–43.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.04.001
Meyer, K. A., & McNeal, L. (2011). How Online Faculty Improve Student Learning
Productivity. Online Learning, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v15i3.169
Peacock, S., & Cowan, J. (2019). Promoting a Sense of Belonging in Online Learning
Communities of Inquiry. Online Learning, 23(2).
https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i2.1488
Smits, A., & Voogt, J. (2017). Elements of satisfactory online asynchronous teacher
behaviour in higher education. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology,
33(2), 97–114. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.2929
Trammell, B. A., & LaForge, C. (2017). Common Challenges For Instructors In Large
Online Courses: Strategies To Mitigate Student And Instructor Frustration. Journal
Of Educators Online, 11.
Dublin City University
2020
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