Teaching Online?

A recent posting at Inside Higher Education by a psychology professor may speak to some of the challenges of teaching online courses. Amy Overman, fresh upon arrival as an assistant professor of psychology at Elon, agreed to teach a summer course between her first and second years. A little extra money? No problem, right? After all, summer was a long way off. She felt confident, despite limited experience teaching online. She writes, “As an avid user of Blackboard, I felt more than well-prepared for the task of teaching online and I thought it would be fun to challenge my teaching skills by depending entirely on the Internet to communicate class material to my students.”

The summer approached. She attended training meetings covering a variety of topics including new technology integration and online course pacing. And then, “it began to dawn on me that I had underestimated the time and preparation required for my online course.” Of course, she’s not alone. Many of us may have confronted the reality that teaching online is hard work and may even be more difficult that face-to-face environments. Those of us with experience using Blackboard as undergraduate or graduate students may think we “know enough” about discussion boards, threads, etc…to teach successfully. Teaching with, instead of being a student with, these technologies is a totally different ballgame. Plus, blackboard is now sort of old news. Odds are that our students know more about technology that we teachers do.

Dr. Overman ended up having a good experience with her course. She did what good teachers do: devoted time, thought and ingenuity into her course design, preparation and attention to student needs. Having gone through the experience, she now appreciates the challenges and rewards of teaching in the online environment.

For those teachers who want to teach online, professional development may be needed. The Carolina Online Teacher program (COLT) is one program worth considering. The program is available from LEARN North Carolina. Here is a brief description: “In five core courses and two electives, totaling a minimum of 17 CEUs, you’ll master the component skills of online teaching: effective collaboration and facilitation, creating learning communities, navigating the virtual classroom, and developing student-centered instruction.” This kind of preparation is invaluable before you step into the online environment; in addition to having a better sense of the complicated terrain of online teaching and learning, you’ll be a more attractive candidate for online teaching positions. Online teaching isn’t something to just step into; it requires a range of skills, from organization to communication, and also knowledge about the unique challenges of the online environment.