Electronic education (e-education) is a generic word that covers various systems of providing education that depend on Information Technology.
E-education may use audio or video conferencing, computer programs, or website lessons. It often depends on chat-room or telephone support.
The more sophisticated versions are not really within reach of the amateur. Preparing and teaching lessons is a specialized field, usually requiring:
Subject matter experts
Education and communication specialists
Graphic designers
Technical support personnel (e.g. programmers, systems maintenance personnel)
Instructors, who interact with students by chat rooms, e-mail, telephone, or videoconference.
Generations
E-education evolved through several generations. The first generation was little more than correspondence courses put on-line with email support, and using existing Internet sites and Internet searches. They did not have much interactivity. The more recent generations use more interactive gadgetry such as three-dimensional simulation games, blogs, wikis, PDAs, video-phones, etc. etc. Some are very effective and some seem to be "techy-toy" experiments and fads.
The current generation mostly uses specialised software called Learning Management Systems, which allow various online interactions between tutors and students, such as chat, wikis, video clips, and quizzes. Most have built-in assessment sytems, but don't have full-featured academic databases, called Student Management Systems. That is, tutors still tutor groups of student, but they do it through an LMS.
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs)
In about 2012, MOOCs came onto the scene. Their purpose is to provide very large numbers of students with an intense, interactive, sequenced learning experience. MOOCs are generally categorized as two kinds. In a cMOOC, students generate lots of discussion from which they can draw their own focussed conclusions according to their purposes for studying. An xMOOC is quite different; it comprises recorded content with automated online quizzes and exams. To this could be added the mechanical MOOC, which integrates resources from separate sources; for example, the course could comprise content from one provider, study group hosting at another, and interactive tools from yet another. Even so, there are many other characteristics by which MOOCs could be categorized, and no categorization is yet definitive.
The first generation of MOOCs failed in some important ways. They generally lacked a business model, muddled their educational design (despite some of the hype), and suffered huge dropout rates because they did not engage most students. They have also failed to democratize education by providing it to those who least need it. A recent study reported that over 83 percent had done some higher education, with most of them having done graduate studies. Moreover, nearly 40% of MOOC students were from either the US or the United Kingdom. (John Swope. "What Do We Know About MOOC Students So Far?: A Look At Recent User Data", MOOC News and Reviews Nov 25, 2013.) This is much the same as publishing a book to educate poorly educated people, and finding that only educated people want to buy it. This is not unusual in marketing terms. For some commodities, the buyers tend not to be people who most need it but people who already have it.
They are convinced of its worth, have accepted its assumptions and methods, and are accustomed to its medium of communication.
MOOCs already have a history of very poor completion rates. The thinking was "Considering that with a truly massive course, the raw number of students who complete the course may be more useful than the rate of completion compared to the number of registered participants. If 150,000 people registered for your course and you only had a 5% completion rate, that is still 7,500 people who completed your course. 7,500 is a lot of people, even if it is a small percentage." (Google Course builder)
The next generation of MOOCs are resolving some of these problems in order to survive, and will probably develop new characteristics.
They increasingly have a clear business model with defined income streams and a proven rationale for at least recovering costs. Some MOOCs simply charge fees, with the result that they are no longer really MOOCs. Others allow advertizing, charge fees for assessments, or arrange college credit.
Some use MOOCs to reduce costs or risk in other parts of their operations, while others can monetize their student data. Some are already being used for formal recognition.
They should have developed a proven educational design, with less empty hype, but evidence is not so easy to find. It was easier to look at the good and bad examples from any era.
MOOCs still have the power to reduce dropout rates:
Program writers should be able to better define target populations and the factors that engage them.
Field-testing should measure dropout rates and causes.
Course developers will field-test new courses to check that they maintain student engagement and give students optimal chances of successful completion.
They will not be completely open access. They will separate "taste and see" students from committed enrollees, and a pretest will probably channnel students into the level of course complexity where they can succeed. (Notably, WGU has a selection criteria so that it accepts only students who are likely to satisfactorily complete their courses.)
They will provide better systems of tutor support.
What makes good online ed?
Collaboration and a sense of community
When students arrive in their traditional classroom they are automatically provided with a community with whom they are learning. In an online environment it is important to create a similar community in order to garner and keep student interest in the course.
This can be done by creating a discussion board for students to introduce themselves to each other, holding synchronous class meetings, and by giving multiple opportunities for students to collaborate with one another. Consider adding a listserv component to your e-course so students can respond to course-related questions and interact with each other. These additional features will make your e-course more dynamic.
Collaboration is essential to the success of an online course. Not only does collaboration help create a sense of community, but it adds diversity to class activities, ensures student participation, and allows students to express themselves as they would in a traditional classroom. Collaboration can be offered through discussion boards, group activities and projects, peer-evaluation, and breakout sessions.
Programs like Basecamp offer project planning for collaborative work e.g. Task lists with tickboxes to show completion, discussion topics arising. "The Daily Progress timeline lets you watch things as they happen across all your projects. New messages, comments, files, and to-dos magically appear in real-time." To-do lists automatically email group members when someone completes something you’ve assigned them. The program becomes a record of daily project activity from start to finish.
Frequent and consistent deadlines for work
Due to the asynchronous nature of online learning, it is important to give students frequent and consistent deadlines for work. Consistency in deadlines, such as requiring students to finish their discussion board posts by 5:00pm of every Monday, is similar to those in a face to face classroom. Frequent deadlines ensure that students consistently participate in class activities.
Contact with the instructor
The perception of contact with the instructor is crucial to student success. An instructor can increase this perception by creating a FAQ discussion board, holding virtual office hours, posing questions and comments to student posts in discussion boards, holding synchronous class meetings, giving announcements, and by responding quickly to student questions that are not answerable in a whole-class discussion board forum.
Consider offering "office hours" when you'll be available via instant messenger or telephone.
Online teaching is not simply about posting your lessons and sitting back. Expect lots of student contact. They’ll probably e-mail and contact you with questions, concerns, and calls for help:
You need to actively check messages and respond. So budget your time accordingly and accept it as part of online learning.
And the volume of contact can easily overwhelm the new instructor. For example, an instructor might get over 120 messages from students in a single class, which is quite time consuming. But it's something that must be done because you are the instructor and are there to assist.
Tips & warnings
Online teaching can be very rewarding and fun. But it can also be lonely because you're sitting in front of a machine.
Online teaching can require lots of time, especially when it comes to checking messages and answering student questions.
Lesson planning
With good design, content experts can give students more access to the best instructors in less time and eliminating ‘bad instructors.’
Student characteristics
What are students’ levels of motivation, current knowledge, and language skills?
What are students’ levels of computer literacy? Online students may or may not be computer literate. Many students are extremely good at computers, but many others are novices.
Adjust for slow internet speeds Some schools may say that online classes require students to have broadband or high-speed internet. But in my experience, there are still some who won't have that, yet are in class. So I adjust for it.
Update your course regularly, usually each time you offer it.
Course layout
Decide on a standard layout that is as easy as possible for everyone to find things (even if they're very computer literate):
Make navigation easy for students, regardless of their computer skills. Students must be able to find things easily. Having frustrated students in your class won't make your job easy nor fun, and they don’t learn when they’re frustrated.
Some online schools set up a standardcourse layout and you simply use it. Others allow you to customize things as you see fit.
Nothing in your course should be more than three clicks away. (How many clicks does it take you to find your favorite book on Amazon?)
Lesson planning: Normal procedures
Some lesson preparation procedures are no different between on-line and classroom units:
An online class course syllabus is similar to a classroom course. There'll be lessons, assignments, tests, and perhaps discussions.
Decide the most important items the students must learn. Focus on the goals: What needs to stay, what needs to go, and what needs to be added?
Divide your written information into neat chunks and present them in an easy-to-read format.
Make sure your sequencing works.
Give a summary at the end so students understand the right focus of each segment.
Decide how you will motivate students
Keeping students motivated is a large part of your work.
Modern syllabii often use threats and bribes as motivators. They imply that the student will not do anything unless bribed by grades or forced by threats. Students coming to class unprepared? Start each class with a quiz based on the readings. Students missing classes or coming late? Take off points for absence and tardiness. Students missing due dates for assignments? Take off points for lateness. Students not participating in discussions? Assign points to whoever speaks and, if you want to get really fancy, adjust the number of points to reflect the quality of the contributions. And so on.
You can do better than use "threats and bribes."
Exploit interactivity.
Use shortened time frames to maintain momentum and efficiency.
Use strong problematization.
Thought: What can we learn from broadcasting to maintain motivation (e.g. "Keep listening for our interview with Fred Bloggs, owner of the slowest sloth in the world.")
Lesson planning
Gather an appropriate choice of examples for anything you teach. Gather more than you expect to need so you can choose those that will work best for you.
Keep a log of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to anticipate frequent student questions ("Will this be on the test?").
This prevents your email or user forum flooding with requests for basic information, helps you to manage your workload, and cuts down on repeating the same answers to the same question over and over.
When a student asks a question, add it to your FAQ.
Distribute your FAQ to students each term and refers students to it if their answer is there.
Assess progress regularly to identify problems early and give corrective actions quickly. Survey students three times during the course: the first day of semester, mid-semester, and towards the end of the semester.
Make sure your lessons are easy for students to comprehend. They won't have the benefits of asking you questions right then and there. So writing online lessons can be harder.
Many of the things we'll take for granted in the classroom, or explain with a visual, must be written out when teaching online. And keep things brief.
Planning materials
Create the entire course in a word processing program first. Some entire courses consist of reading assignments, links to websites, discussion questions, detailed instructions for assignments, and instructions for the instructor on how and when to post various components of the course.
Create it for the format in which is will be presented (and, more than likely, repeated or recycled). For example, you could present a lecture the first time as a real-time live webinar with call-in chat, but record it as a podcast (downloadable audio) or as a video/audio DVD.
Design and develop your complete presentation or storyboard. This includes not just writing a script, but noting the location of media (e.g., illustrations, photos, charts, video, podcasts, etc.) and points designated for student interaction or input.
Make sure your lessons are easy for students to comprehend. Many of the things we take for granted in the classroom, or explain with a visual, must be written out when teaching online. And keep things brief! Remember, students won't have the benefits of asking you questions right then and there. So writing online lessons can be harder.
Record and create your presentation, remembering to refer to specific media or visuals, and adding pauses (or click instructions) as necessary.
When you have the entire presentation in the right format and in the proper order, map the final contents to a timeline (e.g., 00:03:52, Lesson 2 begins; 09:12:25, Explanation of Chart 3) for a "table of contents."
Keep presentations simple, short, precise and to the point. You should design and present material to teach but not to impress.
Give a written transcription of the presentation for ESL students.
Avoid using ready-made digital materials sold by publishers without adaptation. You need to plan your lessons to work for your perspective and approach. You need to feel a sense of ownership over your course, even though you’ll certainly need help from course designers.
A resource is only good if it’s used for an assessed activity. Everything should connect back to an assignment, discussion question, etc.)
Type up short versions of your lectures to introduce each segment.
You can make your lessons very detailed and packed with lots of info. They should be equivalent to what you would offer in an actual classroom. The only difference is in how that information is presented.
Consider using short videos (no more than five minutes) along with reading assignments. Video is good for explaining information in overview, and written text is better for detail. Students can read fairly long sections on paper, but computer screens are seldom good for presenting long readings.
Include downloadable documents for readings. When listing them, make sure that they are clearly marked for each class that you are teaching. Check your chunking; students usually don't like to read lots of text in one sitting.
For text, consider which format would work best for your students. A PowerPoint full of animations might slow down the computer.
Exploit your range of communication tools in order to keep your class running smoothly e.g SMS, skype, facebook etc. Consider blogs, RSS, video, chat, wikis, branched lessons, 3D classrooms, and podcast.Have these on when working at your computer so that you can quickly and easily answer questions for your students when they arise. Use various media to make your point clear e.g. diagrams, animations, video, etc.
Note: Copyright is different in online courses. When you share digital resources online, you’re publishing. Librarians can help you avoid copyright problems.
Tips & warnings
Choose options that will give you the most flexibility in the future should the information need to be updated, edited, or rearranged.
Keep your presentation materials as timeless as possible (e.g., say " next spring " rather than "spring of 2018").
When recording, ignore minor mistakes or hesitations as you speak or read; edit them out later.
Give yourself enough time to edit.
Setting assignments
Choose assignments that students can perform entirely online.
Give your students assignments of independent research. E.g. an essay of four or five pages on a major issue that is covered in several chapters of the textbook, but requires additional research from a minimum number of other sources. This also helps to prepare your students for their exams.
Avoid busywork. Engage students in meaningful activities. We cannot just transfer information when teaching online.
Be results-oriented.
Be clear about your expectations because students can’t raise their hand when they have a question. Develop good guidelines and rules for discussions and assignments.
To avoid cheating and plagiarism, vary assignments from one term to the next. You can use software to lock a person’s browser so that they can’t Google or cut and paste during tests. The best way to prevent cheating is to get to know your students and their writing style.
Setting tests and exams
With many blended or hybrid online classes, tests may actually be taken on campus. But with 100% online learning, students take exams online.
Tests should be based on the course syllabus, which should be posted for all to see. Some students will look at it, while others will not. But definitely make your it available to everyone right at the beginning of class.
Perhaps the hardest thing with online teaching is creating exams, because of the tendency to make them too long or too tough.
With online classes, you can be quite flexible in terms of how much time you want to allocate for students to take exams. You may be able to schedule exams to take a couple of hours or even a week. With others, it might be an hour. That's something totally new to those who haven't taught online before. How much time you decide to give students for exams is up to you. But you should view it the same way you would with a classroom class. Does your exam test what needs to be tested? Is it fair to students? Is it at an appropriate level? Are the questions clear enough?
You may also be able to set various testing options. For example, allowing students to take it multiple times with the highest score being their grade. Or allowing them to take it one time only. Or allowing multiple attempts with the grades averaged together. This is also something that you may not have encountered if you haven't taught online before.
Plagiarism is a problem when work is submitted online. You can verify whether your students' work has been stolen by running it through plagiarism detection software like CopyCatch.
Tip Use the text-making software in the LMS to make easily graded tests accessible by online students. Students log on to the tests much as they log into the classroom.
On-line tutors
These skills are essential for on-line tutors:
Don’t let the website go stale. People give up quickly on community websites when there is nothing new. Keep the website fresh; as a rule, have a completely new lesson each week.
Go on-line at least once every working day. It’s a good policy to turn around all student questions within twenty-four hours of the working week. Students get frustrated very quickly if they try to contact you and you don't respond.
Give feedback frequently. Students are isolated and depend on you to know how they are going. If they don't get feedback, they might only remember their wrong answers.
Follow good netiquette. It is easy to have misunderstandings when you don't meet face-to-face.
Be very positive and encouraging; distance students easily get discouraged.
Follow up on minimal responses by asking open-ended questions. It’s a little like leading a discussion in a group of quiet people; they need to right kinds of questions so that they can respond easily and gain confidence.
Teaching
It shouldn’t take more time to teach online. Although initial development takes time and thought, if you’re working harder teaching online than you did face-to-face, you’re doing it wrong.
Remember that not everything will work the way you plan. Technology fails. Always have an alternative plan and be prepared to use it. If one tool doesn’t work, move on to the next.
First lesson
Do not give any passwords to anyone until they have paid the tuition. Once a course has ended, change the passwords for the next time you offer it.
Several days before your course is scheduled to begin, send a welcoming email to students. Include the course schedule so they know what to expect.
The first lesson of each unit will be very different from the first day of class in a traditional school setting. Spell out the unit plan clearly:
A bio to get the students to know you better
Your contact information, including a phone number. (Some students might be more comfortable asking you questions over the phone than through the Internet.)
A course description or syllabus (but don’t make it sound like something that might be handed to a prisoner on the first day of incarceration).
A course rationale. Say why the subject is worth studying or important or interesting or deep
course structure and organization Develop a good schedule and work plan; students like to see the big picture and it helps them plan their time.
measurable learning outcomes or expectations
grading policies
Students’ responsibilities
Study tips based on the experiences of unit graduates
Their first reading and homework assignment.
You can also give links to extra resources e.g. where to get copies of books or journal articles on the current topics.
Meet with your students. You will probably need to go over any technical problems on the student end. It may be a good idea to have the students complete a simple assignment on the first day in order to rectify technology problems. This will help prevent a student from doing poorly on a major assignment because of a technology glitch or misunderstanding.
Keeping the lines of communication open
Develop an early warning system. Ensure that students log on to their course each week, and email or phone them if they don’t.
Ask students to identify themselves in their emails.
Consider using chat; students are more likely to use it than email in an online course. Ask yourself how you feel about students using text message grammar. How far do you want to go in becoming an English teacher? A good yardstick is, is the message readable?
Set virtual office hours with your students at times that work best for them.
You won’t get everyone to attend synchronous chat sessions so record and share the transcript. Label it clearly.
Challenge students to commit to a time for live sessions to discuss assignments. Although not everyone will attend, you’ll usually attract enough students to hold a good discussion.
Maintain professional communication with students and other faculty members. In an online environment, it can be easy to feel anonymous and forget there is a person receiving the email or message you are sending. Remember, if you would not say it to a person's face, do not send it in an email. Keep all communication polite and professional.
Using discussion as a tool
Whether live or not, online discussions can make students feel more like members of a class instead of individuals separated by the net. Discussion ensures that students get into their course every week, and helps students make those deep connections.
You need to be seen to interact with students, so be pro-active in leading discussions. Don’t just lurk and observe.
"Real learning usually takes place on the side track, not the main track."
Discussion should build from one post to the next.
Online, you don’t always know what your students know. Discussion helps you find out. A good technique is to ask students to clarify their muddiest point.
You don’t need to respond to every post. If you usually respond only to the best, this helps signal your expectations to everyone.
The most successful online courses engage teachers and students in active discussion, whether in real-time or self-paced; otherwise, students will lose interest and focus, and feel isolated from the learning environment.
Leave space on the discussion board for fun discussions to help people make connections and form a community in their class. It could be the hook that keeps them in the course.
Give feedback often. Respond to questions and homework within a day or two. Because there's no classroom setting, your prompt response is partly what keeps the course going. If weeks lag without interaction from you, your students might feel like they are doing work without an audience.
Netiquette
Successful online discussion depends on appropriate attitudes and Internet etiquette (Netiquette). This applies to discussion posts, but still also applies to email:
Try to cultivate a sense of friendship. The group may represent a diverse range of practitioners, researchers, and educators, with widely different experiences. It might also reflect other cultures. No one cultural worldview is dominant. Avoid attempts to make the list over in your own ideological image.
Presume that writers have good intentions. Avoid personal attacks or questioning another's credentials or motives. Email is notorious for easily creating misunderstandings because people too often write without the benefit of a delay between drafts or an independent editor. Give others the benefit of any doubt. If you want to use sarcasm or irony, identify it clearly.
If a message upsets you, think about an appropriate response before answering. Delay your answer until you are less emotional. Email might not always be the best way to respond.
Spend time to make sure that your e-mails will say what you mean, and will not easily be misinterpreted. Before you send anything, re-read it as if you were receiving it. A conversational tone can be helpful.
Check the order in which you say things; it can reflect on the meaning.
Reply with new ideas or suggestions rather than simply responding to what others say and criticizing it. Seek to complement what is said by adding new knowledge or showing how you or your culture sees its differently. The group should recognize and reflect a variety of perspectives. If you must make a critique, do so gently and respectfully.
Do not shout. (USING CAPITALS is shouting.)
Consider how much or little you need to tell about your own situation. Too much information hinders your communication.
Give others the freedom to reply. You don't have the right to the last word on a topic.
Don't quote others or pass on their comments without their permission.
Freely thank people for their contributions, and affirm their strong points and insights.
Speak from your own perspective, or acknowledge any perspectives you borrow.
Explain abbreviations the first time you use them.
Do not disclose confidential information.
Avoid or prevent discussions that overly depend on having read particular books that aren't in the assigned reading for class. Perhaps most group members are unable to buy them. Summaries or précis of appropriate sections might be valuable. (Of course, an academic program may use assigned reading as basis for its discussion.)
If using emails, be forgiving if they get lost. (Internet service providers, email services, and servers occasionally have technical problems.) And the sender usually doesn't know that the email is lost.
Discussion rules
The basic rules of discussion are:
Keep on the issue at the time.
Avoid in-house abbreviations and jargon that new participants would not understand.
Use the list only for messages that are of value to all participants. Handle all personal or logistical matters with the list host, and/or other participants directly via personal email.
Send message for each discussion item or group of related items, as reflected in the topic.
Do not send spam or chain letters.
Do not pass on other participants' email addresses to anyone outside the group.
Do virus check all files before uploading.
Don't abuse, harass or "flame" other students or staff.
Don't seek romantic involvements.
Don't do multi-level marketing.
Don't attempt to raise funds in any way.
Don't upload or swap music files.
Don't do anything illegal or potentially dangerous; i.e. upload viruses, exe files, pif files, scr files, pornographic material or copyright material, or share such files with others.
The program and its supervisors cannot be held responsible for the actions of third parties (e.g. other students, spammers, ISP's or those who post offensive material.
Sources
Justin Long, Jay Gary and AIBI / Cybermissions.Org. Contributions are herein adapted, with many thanks.
"Teaching Online: Tips and Tricks Part 1" Teaching by Design. University of Florida, March 2nd, 2008.
Singham, Mano "Death to the Syllabus!" Liberal Education. Association of American Colleges and Universities, Fall 2007.
"Tips for teaching online" Random Mind: learning, technology & other randomness. November 25, 2007 (http://randommind.wordpress.com)
"How to teach an online class" http://www.ehow.com/how_2172379_teach-online-class.html
"How to Set Up an E-course" http://www.ehow.com/how_2104743_set-up-ecourse.html