Best Practices for Online Teaching

In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital education, adhering to best practices for online teaching is crucial for fostering an engaging and effective learning environment. It is not just the content that affects student learning and retention but also the design of the course, Faculty are encouraged to develop and deliver interactive and engaging courses. Faculty should prioritize clear and consistent communication, utilizing various tools such as announcements, discussion boards, and timely feedback to maintain a strong presence in the virtual classroom. Research shows, and our students consistently comment, that students are more successful and engaged in an online class when the instructor is present. Some effective, but simple, ways to improve consistent instructor presence include regular announcements, prompt responses to student inquiries, and active participation in discussion forums. Course design should be intuitive and accessible, incorporating multimedia resources and interactive elements to cater to diverse learning styles (Sanger, 2020). Additionally, fostering a sense of community through collaborative activities and regular check-ins can significantly enhance student engagement and retention.

Some effective ways to improve instructor presence in your online classroom include:

Videos

Creating a short welcome video is an excellent way for faculty to introduce themselves to the class (Blackboard Inc., n.d.). A quick faculty video helps students feel welcome and connected.

Student Lounge Area

Some students enjoy meeting each other in social discussion threads. Faculty might consider setting up a discussion thread with a name like Café, Campfire, or Lounge, or give students a fun prompt to introduce themselves and share interests (Hambacher, Ginn, & Slater, 2018).

Help Me

Students can be a great resource for each other. Creating a thread for posting questions about assignments, due dates, or clarifications fosters a collaborative environment. Often, classmates will answer questions before the instructor (Blackmon, 2012).

Announcements

Weekly announcements are an effective way to demonstrate faculty engagement and encourage regular student check-ins. These can include alerts for upcoming projects, grade notifications, or commendations for excellent work. However, to avoid overwhelming students, it’s important to plan announcements thoughtfully (Mattanah et al., 2024).

Here are some guidelines for faculty to consider:

1. Timing and Frequency: Schedule announcements at regular intervals, such as weekly updates, to provide a consistent flow of information without overwhelming students. Avoid sending multiple announcements in a short period unless absolutely necessary.
2. Content Relevance: Ensure that each announcement contains relevant and essential information. Group related topics together to minimize the number of separate announcements.
3. Clarity and Conciseness: Write announcements in clear and concise language. Use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight key points, making it easier for students to understand and retain the information.
4. Engagement and Interaction: Encourage student engagement by including interactive elements in announcements, such as questions, polls, or prompts for discussion. This can help students feel more connected and involved in the course.
5. Visual Aids: Use visual aids like images, charts, or videos to complement the text and make the announcements more engaging and easier to comprehend.
6. Accessibility: Ensure that announcements are accessible to all students, including those with disabilities. Use accessible formats and provide alternative text for images and videos.
7. Feedback Mechanism: Include a way for students to provide feedback or ask questions about the announcements. This can help clarify any confusion and ensure that students understand the information provided.

Checklists

Providing a weekly checklist can keep students organized and on track. The checklist may include each of the activities for the week: readings, class discussions, mini-assignments, project scaffolding, and so on. Faculty can also use the checklists to make sure that feedback has been given where and when appropriate.

Low-stakes Assignments

Courses that require students to complete a few high-stakes projects often put undue stress on the student and do not necessarily promote deep learning and retention of information. Faculty should consider assigning low-stakes assignments that give students the opportunity to test out ideas, scaffold their work, and engage with their classmates. These do not all have to be “graded” the same as a test or a major project. Students might receive participation points or receive a pass/fail grade.

Regular & Substantive Feedback

Whether it’s in a face-to-face class or an online one, students are often anxious to receive feedback on their performance. Faculty can alleviate this anxiety by commenting on and/or returning feedback to students on a regular schedule. Sometimes this feedback may be extensive, but other times it may be quick. Faculty can let students know when to expect feedback to help mitigate questions about the timeline.

Early Alert/Navigate

The Early Alert Program is an initiative between faculty, advisors, counselors and staff to assist students who are struggling early in a semester. Please submit an early alert for any student you are concerned about as soon as possible so that outreach to support that student can begin. In the beginning of each semester, the Early Alert coordinator will send emails to faculty teaching freshman- and sophomore-level courses. Those faculty will be encouraged to issue an alert for any student who has:

• Four or more absences
• Incomplete or missed assignments
• Failed or missed exams
• Not logged into an online class in three or more days
• Not logged into a winter mini course

Once an alert is issued for a student, the Early Alert coordinator will attempt to contact the student to assess potential issues and provide strategies and campus resources designed to boost the student’s success.

Additionally, ASU CARES is an umbrella of care-related programs and resources dedicated to fostering a caring Ram Family. It takes all of us as faculty, staff, students and friends to care for one another.

The goal of ASU CARES is to Build a Community of Care by doing our part to help connect Rams in distress to appropriate resources. The CARES Team provides individualized support and guidance for ASU students encountering significant difficulties. This is done through advocacy and supportive endeavors to empower students and help promote their success in school and in life. The team uses a care-coordinated approach involving assessment, intervention plans, and referrals to resources.

Live Sessions

Unless students are aware in advance of the expectation, faculty should not require students to be available at a certain time and/or location. However, providing the occasional opportunity to meet with the faculty member or with other students can increase student engagement. Using synchronous software enables students to meet with faculty during office hours, participate in group work such as peer reviews, or make presentations to a live audience. Faculty should keep in mind that students may be logging in from locations across the world, so time zones will play a factor in students’ availability.

Live synchronous class sessions should be recorded so that students can review the material later. These sessions should not be used again in another class due to FERPA regulations. Office hours and team meetings should not be recorded and shared with the course.

Formative Feedback

Student feedback is a valuable tool that helps faculty improve their courses and instructional strategies. While end-of-semester summative evaluations are used to enhance future iterations of a course, formative assessments enable current students to benefit from positive adjustments during the course.

Purpose: Formative feedback is intended to provide ongoing insights into students’ learning experiences, allowing instructors to make timely adjustments that enhance the effectiveness of their teaching and improve student outcomes.

Examples of Formative Feedback Methods:

1. Mid-Semester Surveys:
   • Description: Conduct anonymous surveys midway through the semester to gather students’ feedback on various aspects of the course, such as the clarity of instruction, the pace of the course, and the usefulness of course materials.
   • Example: “Please rate the clarity of the lectures on a scale of 1 to 5 and provide any suggestions for improvement.”
2. One-Minute Papers:
   • Description: At the end of a class session, ask students to spend one minute writing down the most important thing they learned and any questions they still have.
   • Example: “What was the key takeaway from today’s lecture? Do you have any remaining questions or areas of confusion?”
3. Peer Feedback:
   • Description: Encourage students to provide feedback to each other on assignments or presentations. This can help students learn from their peers and gain different perspectives.
   • Example: “Exchange your draft essays with a classmate and provide constructive feedback on their argument structure and clarity.”
4. Interactive Polls and Quizzes:
   • Description: Use interactive tools like clickers or online polling platforms to gauge students’ understanding of the material in real-time.
   • Example: “Let’s take a quick poll to see how many of you feel confident about today’s topic. Please select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.”
5. Office Hours and Informal Check-Ins:
   • Description: Hold regular office hours and encourage students to discuss their progress and any challenges they are facing. Informal check-ins can also be done during or after class.
   • Example: “Feel free to drop by during office hours if you have any questions or need additional support with the coursework.”

Requirement or Recommendation: While formative feedback is highly recommended to enhance the learning experience, it is not mandatory. However, incorporating formative feedback methods can significantly improve student engagement and course effectiveness.

Course Accessibility

Just as in a face-to-face course, students with a range of abilities will enroll in online classes. In addition to wanting all students to have access to course materials and activities, Section 508 of the American with Disabilities Act requires us to do so. Blackboard Ally is a tool designed to evaluate and improve the accessibility of courses that is available to all faculty.

Angelo State University offers online courses and content that are accessible and in compliance with federal, state, and local policies/statutory requirements. Examples of materials that need to be accessible include:

• Videos that have audio need captioning and/or text transcripts.
• Audio files need text transcripts.
• Images must have alternate text or descriptions set for them to convey meaning.
• Color alone cannot be used to communicate information.
• HTML tables should use the <th> tags to designate column and row headers.
• Content that flickers or flashes should not be used.
• Required applets, plug-ins, etc. should include links.
• Unless specifically necessary to the course instruction, content should be posted in universal formats so it can be viewed in any browser and doesn’t require opening a specific desktop application.
• Electronic forms and worksheets should include detailed text directions.

Students should be given advance notice of timed tests so they can contact disability services if needed.

Providing Extended Time for Online Quizzes and Exams

Instructors may receive notification from Disability Services that a student requires extended time on assignments, and you will need to extend this option on assessments. There are a variety of other accommodations that may be provided to a student based upon their individual needs. These notifications typically come at the beginning of the semester and will provide detailed information about the students’ accommodations and what additional accommodations need to be provided to the student throughout the semester. Students need to request accommodations through the Disability Services Office to receive any special accommodations.

Additional information and resources to help support the accessibility of your courses can be found online or through contacting the Disability Services Office for assistance.

Disability Services Faculty Resources

Due Dates and Times

Because many online students work or have other obligations, consider setting due dates at a time that reduces anxiety for students. Late in the evening, perhaps 11:59 p.m., and on the weekend allows online students a bit of flexibility for completing their work. If you are teaching an online Dual Credit Class, you may want to consider having due dates during the week (Tuesday – Thursday) as that group of students tends to work during the school week on assignments but keep the 11:59 p.m. due date in case they need to finish up an assignment after the school day has ended.

Outside Events and Activities

Faculty should remember that Angelo State Online students may be in the area, across the United States, or anywhere in the world. Students should not be required to come to campus to conduct business or attend class-related functions on or near the Angelo State University campus unless that is a condition of a particular program and is announced at the time of acceptance into that program.