Teaching online can be a rewarding experience once you are familiar with the technology and pedagogy involved in a web-based learning environment. The key to any online teaching experience is to make participants feel comfortable; remember that a good number of your students may be learning online for the first time (possibly not by choice). The following ideas can be easily applied to most online courses:

• Feedback - Provide ongoing feedback to students and clear policies on when and how you will be available. Students need to be reassured that a real instructor is available on the other end of their computer.
• Facilitate - Provide opportunities for student-to-student interaction, which can be just as valuable as teacher-to-student interaction and can save you time and work.
• Empower learners - Make students responsible for summarizing the week's discussion, taking the lead on a discussion, or teaching others a concept. This approach will empower them and save you time.
• Demand participation - Make class participation a weighty part of student grades.
• Encourage the quiet ones – It is easy to find the ‘back of the class’ in an online environment. Keep track of wayward students and send them a private email asking them to rejoin the discussion.
• A schedule matters, even online - Design your units within some time frame. Students then know what to expect and can get into a weekly routine.
• Use technology sparingly - You want students to spend their time learning the course content, not tinkering with new technology.
• Your participation matters too - An online student is unable to "see" the instructor. Respond promptly and effectively to student posts. Time delays in a threaded discussion can be frustrating for students. This is especially true if the response was misunderstood and the students have attempted to clarify. Online instructors should try to post daily or on a regular schedule that has been communicated to the students.
• Organize discussions - Create easy to follow guidelines for where students should put their posts. Organize distinct topics into separate forums to keep the information manageable and understandable. Also, provide the first post within a forum to give additional guidelines for that chat space beyond what is suggested by the title.
• Put participants at ease - Provide clear and concise instructions for all activities and assignments. A good number of your students may work on and hand-in assignments at the last minute when you may not be available to answer questions. By providing clear instructions and making sure everyone is on the same page early on, you can avoid any last minute jitters.
• Evaluate us too! – Let us know of any problems or suggestions you may have relating to your online experience. Keep a list of layout and design suggestions and send it to the Program Coordinator. This will help us improve future offerings of our courses.
• Report problems right away – If you or your students are experiencing any problems, let us know right away. The sooner we know about an issue, the sooner we can work to resolve it. Remember, we are here to help!

Many of the ideas found above came from simple searches.

If you are interested in more online ‘tips’, please visit the following websites:

Western Online Support

Teach Online presents pedagogy, techniques, and examples of teaching online for hybrid and fully online courses

Strategies for Encouraging Active Online Learning

Tips for Successful Online Teaching in Traditional Universities

The Role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator

Frequently asked questions

WebCT Training

We are offering WebCT Vista training again this year. Whether a new instructor or a returning one, you will benefit from attending one of our training sessions for online teachers.

The two-hour workshop will be an interactive and engaging experience focusing on tools for effective online instruction, as well as a practical demonstration of how to use the system. Choose from either an afternoon or evening session:

Wednesday, July 26, from 6 pm - 8 pm
or
Wednesday, August 16 from 1 pm - 3 pm

Space is limited. To sign up for a training session, call 519-661-3658 or e-mail cstudies@uwo.ca.

Reminder of Western Payroll Procedures

• All UWO faculty and staff must now go online to change their personal information. Please see below for instructions.
• Faculty and staff are also encouraged to review their payroll statement online rather than receiving a paper copy. Please see below for details.
• Direct deposit for staff pay is preferred. Please include your banking information when you return your signed contract.

Manage Your Personal Information
myHuman Resources is a suite of online applications that give Western faculty & staff access to their personal information (e.g. earnings statements, pension and benefits details, emergency contacts).

(View a narrated demonstration)

When you were appointed at UWO, you were automatically assigned a UWO Personal Computer Account. It consists of a Username and Password. It is most commonly associated with your UWO corporate e-mail address.

(Example: jdoe@uwo.ca - where "jdoe" is the username.)

The password was assigned to you by ITS (Information Technology Services).

For more information regarding your UWO Personal Computer Account, please contact the ITS Support Centre, Second Floor of the Natural Sciences Centre, 519-661-3800 (ext.83800)

Thank you for your cooperation with these changes. If you have any questions please contact Mary Paterson (mpaterso@uwo.ca ) or 519-661-2111 x85663.

Do you have a question, need textbooks or materials for your class, but are not sure who to contact at Continuing Studies?

Aimee Froude is your primary contact. She will be happy to help you with any question or concerns pertaining to the matters below:

Course Material including;

• course outlines
• handouts for photocopying
• custom course packages
• textbooks
• copyright clearance
• Ivey cases

Payroll discrepancies

Missed classes or cancellations

Instructor resources

• desk copies
• CD-roms

Grade reports and letters of attendance

Scheduling make-up exams

Grade submissions

Copyright issues

Aimee can be reached via email at afroud@uwo.ca or by calling 519 661 2111 x 85203 Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm

If you are using WebCT to augment your face-to-face instruction, you have most likely decided to add some version of your lecture notes on the web.

Many of you have selected PowerPoint to be the media vehicle to deliver your face-to-face lectures. So the problem is how do I take my PowerPoint lecture and convert it to a form that my students will find useful and I will find easy to do? You have several possible choices. I have tried several methods and this is what works for my students and me. I take my PowerPoint lecture and convert it to a PDF file. This process is very easy. The software you will need is Acrobat by Adobe (there are several other programs that are available that will do this conversion). Hint: if you are using a Macintosh with OS X you do not need any other software as you can print to a PFD file directly. You will need to decide within PowerPoint how the student will view the PDF file. I usually select three slides per page as this allows space to the right of each slide image for students to add notes during the class. This PDF file can then be uploaded to WebCT for your students.

Kim Holland
Instructional Designer, TSC