Scenario 1

When teaching online for the first time…

As the new semester is fast approaching, Dr. Smith starts to feel clueless. He is assigned to teach a course online as part of a program degree online offering, and he is nervous about what the first step might be. Dr. Smith is an expert in his subject area. He has been teaching for two decades. This is the first time for him to teach online. "Will my face-to-face teaching strategies work well in the online environment?" Dr. Smith is very confused. "I don't know how to gauge students' understanding without seeing their faces. In my face-to-face classes, I can easily diagnose students' conceptual problems from their facial expressions. If I see a problem, I give immediate feedback to help them understand the concept better. How can I do this online?"

Scenario 2

That didn't work out the way I expected…

Dr. Mendoza spent a lot of time and energy in the summer preparing materials for her first online course, which was a required one for the major of an undergraduate degree. She was passionate about the subject topic because that was her area of interest. She collected a number of online materials that are inherently interesting to her. She thought students would love and appreciate them too. But now she is puzzled. Students hardly engaged in the discussion forums, and they did not seem creative in choosing research topics. She tried to create a classroom environment that had engaged her face-to-face classes, but she found difficulty in presenting her genuine enthusiasm for the materials in an online environment. "I believe enthusiasm can be contagious." Dr. Mendoza expresses her concern: "My students can understand the benefits of knowledge acquisition in my face-to-face classes through my enthusiasm. They engage better in my face-to-face classes, but it's hard to translate my teaching style into my online course."

Are you an instructor who has a similar challenge as Dr. Smith or Dr. Mendoza does? You are not alone.

Many of us find ourselves in this state of concern when we agree and are assigned to teach a course online. We hope you will find this course addresses some of your concerns and challenges. Within this course, you will find best practices, tips, and suggestions for how to deliver an effective and satisfying online course.