(Author's note: many of the links below are now out of date. if you come across sites that are suitable replacements for the dead links please let me know and I'll update accordingly. - Michael Coghlan. March, 2008)

prerequisite skills - lecturers/teachers
prerequisite skills - students
induction
getting started
keeping the momentum

Prerequisite Skills - lecturer/teacher

• Familiarity and facility with Internet environment

• search and navigate the Internet using a browser
                 http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
• use bookmarks
• send and receive email and attachments
• download files

• knowledge of basic terminology (bulletin board, forum, chat, browser, etc)
• see this online checklist of a range of necessary skills and aptitudes: http://www.onlinelearning.net/InstructorCommunity/selfevaluation.html

• Familiarity and facility with any delivery platform used on your course

• Will you be using a delivery platform? (eg. WebCT, Topclass, other?)
• What email program will you and your students use?
• If you're going to be using a forum/bulletin board or chatrooms, get familiar with them.
• Is part of the course on CD ROM? Are you familiar with its navigation?
• Can you find your way out of trouble when problems arise?

• Prior online experience: chats, bulletin boards, forums, email (It is desirable that you have some experience of being an online student.)

• Love the Technology! (though not essential this certainly helps). You need to enjoy the challenge aspect of this medium. There WILL BE technical problems to be solved.

• Available time  Online teaching is time consuming. Initially it is much more time consuming that classroom teaching.

• Good written communication skills (For a brush up try http://thenode.canlearn.ca/studybuddy.shtml#grammar)

• Knowledge of course content – how is it sequenced? Is it linear? Are there multiple entry and exit points?

• Netiquette Most successful online courses depend on successful interaction between all parties. Brush up on your netiquette at http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

• Ability to communicate technical information in plain English. Ability to answer basic technical questions is pretty much compulsory. For more difficult questions ensure you’re able to refer students to someone who knows ie. Have access to a support team!

• Familiarity and facility with Internet environment

• search and navigate the Internet using a browser http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html
• use bookmarks
• send and receive email and attachments
• download files

• Self-motivated
• Good independent learning skills
• Time management skills

• Make sure there is one!

• Point students to to online learning guides (TAFE SA:  http://www.tafe.sa.edu.au/top/induct/. For another see http://www.open.uoguelph.ca/resources/skills/hints.html)

• Provide course specific induction package that addresses

• content
• navigation tools of delivery platform
• assessment methods
• deadlines
• where to find help - student services,
• background info on yourself and lecturing/support staff.

• Provide an FAQ page (FAQ = frequently asked questions)

• Set some easy introductory exercises to get students to practice the course technology (post a message; send an email; visit a website, read a welcome message, etc)

• Checklists indicating state of readiness (to be returned to teacher)

• Occupational Health and Safety concerns:http://thenode.canlearn.ca/studybuddy.shtml#ergonomics

• Working offline to save money (especially important for rural students, or those who pay for their Internet connection by the minute) – email; downloading course files

• Read online or print out? This (and other issues) could be addressed via a discussion of online learning styles/strategies in a class bulletin board/forum, or chatroom.

• Verifying authenticity/suitability of web resources (Necessary if students are required to do web based research.) (http://www.ialc.wsu.edu/eslint/eirevs/revsystem.html)

• Hold a face to face meeting if possible

• Questionnaire to gather information about student background, goals, etc; photos

• Share personal information (brief biographical background via website, email, or forum; preferably with photographs)

• Have everyone introduce themselves in the forum (including yourself) or via email.

• Emphasise interactive nature of the medium; make it known that you will assess contributions to online class discussions

• Ensure that everyone is ‘techno-comfortable’(at ease with course navigation, software, and communication tools)

• Ensure that instructions, processes, content, navigation, assessment, dates, and any other FAQ’s are answered and clearly understood. (This can be done via a checklist.)

• Awareness of cultural implications "Be sensitive to different communication styles and varied cultural backgrounds. Remember, for example, that students may have different language skills, and that humor is culturally specific and won't be perceived the same way by all." (from the University of Idaho’s online guide)

• Answer all initial emails and forum postings

• Be encouraging

• Foster inter-student communication

• Make a class web page

• Use online games (chess, scrabble, etc) - http://games.yahoo.com/

• Use humour, emoticons (http://www.netlingo.com/smiley.cfm) and Net shorthand (http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm)

• Have weekly real time meeting if possible (chat room)

• use ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Instant Messenger (or similar) for individual contact with students

• Create online groups for joint projects

• Mark work quickly or at least let students know when they might receive assignments back (online students tend to expect a quicker turn around between submitting work and getting the feedback. It doesn’t have to be this way but let students know what your system is.)

• Be proactive and PROMOTE discussion

• play the devil’s advocate if necessary
• ask individuals for responses/opinions
• take advantage of your anonymity - assume a pseudonym and make provocative statements

• Use open questions in emails and forum postings

• Invite a guest online lecturer/facilitator

• Have strategies to handle dominators/troublemakers

Posted by Sivasailam Thiagarajan on Sun, May. 30, 1999, 10:09 in Learnscope Forum

Subject: re: RESPOND TO THIAGI - Interacting with a computer is dumb.
 

How do we ensure that an ego-centric, headstrong individual does not dominate the Internet discussion and become tiring? Since I spend most of my time "facilitating" rather than "instructing" or "teaching", this problem has real-world analogues: How do we stop the know-it-all, self-aggrandizing individual from showing off and preventing a true dialogue among participants? In my corporate training sessions, there are times I have felt myself wanting to regress to "sit-down-and-shut-up" mode of teaching. Before we address this interesting question, perhaps we should ask a prior question: "Should we attempt to control and discipline participants in a threaded discussion?" Obviously, the correct answer is, "It all depends." My preference is to let go and see if the group or the community or the system "corrects" itself. Here are some random thoughts on this question: How do we set up the apparently paradoxical controlled-freedom environment that exists in many face-to-face learning environments? How do we discipline on-line?   I have tried establishing some groundrules at the beginning of a web discussion.  I suggest that we stick to the topic and try not to dominate.  I also invite other participants to suggest additional guidelines. I wait patiently to see if the group brings peer pressure on the dominating participant. I suggest "air-time" limits to participants: For example,you may not post a message unless at least three people have commented on your previous post. I sometime ask specific "back-to-the-mainstream" questions and address it to specific participants or to specific groups of participants ("What do people in remote areas think about this situation?") Link tangential statements to the main topic. (Example: "Does the use of rhymes or provocative comments encourage more participation?") Politely explain to the disruptive participant that it is important to hear from everyone. Assign the role of gatekeeping to peers and to other participants. Summarize other people's on-task contributions and ask for comments and additional thoughts. Tell the disrupter (if possible) through a personal (non-public) e-mail note that his comments are tangential. Suggest other avenues for demonstrating theatrical talents. Repeatedly model productive participation by making targeted comments. Try the silent treatment. Don't bite on tangential or disruptive remarks. Ignore them. Conduct a mid-course debriefing. Point out to the participants that you feel uncomfortable and would like to discuss some ground rules.

• Use radio/Net media/Net phone/audio conferencing/voice mail tools
• Use 3D environments (Interspace, Active Worlds)