The Teaching Commons Team is working hard on adding more content from the backlogs of CLEAR’s many past workshops, trainings, and events. The existence of this backlog is what partially inspired the beginning of Teaching Commons – we have all this relevant content on teaching and learning, but no single location for sharing it with UNT instructors. Thus, we have added two new Teaching Essentials, the section of our website that houses curated and new content on time-tested and new developments in teaching and learning scholarship. The two new Teaching Essentials are Online Course Design and Online Teaching.
The Role of Design in Online Education
One of the more significant differences between face-to-face teaching and online teaching is the role of course design. We firmly believe that good course and instructional design leads to more effective teaching and learning, but this is especially the case for online education. To quote one of our articles, online classes lack the “physical peer presence and direct sensory feedback” of the face-to-face or blended/hybrid course which creates “uncertainty and insecurity in online learners.”
An online course that is designed for easy navigation by students means less time teaching the logistics of the course and more time spent on actually teaching the content. Or from the student perspective, it means less time learning to navigate the course and more time spent on learning the course content. Basically, when it comes to online course design and online teaching: you can’t have one without the other. For example, in the Online Course Design Teaching Essential, you will find resources on organizing your online course, while in Online Teaching, you will find resources on how to help your students navigate the online course you have carefully designed. You will also find resources for building and enhancing online community, providing personalized feedback to students, assessing student learning, and more. We encourage you to explore our resources for online and face-to-face regardless of the kind of course you teach. The ubiquity of teaching technology has made it where most classes incorporate technology regardless of modality.
All of the ideas and strategies in the articles in the Online Teaching and Online Course Design Teaching Essentials come from the knowledge and experiences of CLEAR’s Online Teaching Consulting Team. As you explore these two new Teaching Essentials, don’t forget that we CLEAR has a team of people you can discuss your ideas and concerns with. It’s what we are here for.
Finally, if you are interested in developing an online course and/or program, we encourage you to read this overview of our online course review process, as well as these tips on beginning online course design.