Tips On Teaching Online In The Age Of Covid-19

Innovative use of digital methods can help educators instruct students effectively

- Bill Schiano and Espen Andersen

Online Learning may be a more convenient way for the modern student to gain an education, but the effort instructors must invest in an online course can prove quite the opposite. We’ve learned through experience that online teaching can take lots of preparation time — perhaps far more than you would think.

But don’t let that discourage you. Hard work upfront pays off in later semesters. Here are eight intuitive but important tips for preparing, maintaining, and teaching online.

PREPARING AND MAINTAINING YOUR ONLINE COURSE

Get to know your online Learning Management System (LMS) before students arrive

Just as it’s important to be familiar with your physical surroundings while teaching in a classroom, you need to become comfortable with the LMS you use for your online class prior to the start of the course. Most systems have mechanisms set up to post your syllabus and assignments, interact with students one on one, and communicate with the entire class through a messaging or chat feature.

Often you can frontload your work and schedule posts to become available within the LMS on certain days or at certain times. Knowing how to navigate the LMS your course resides in before it begins will make things much smoother throughout the semester as you can then focus on the students and their learning rather than technical glitches.

Make your LMS look professional and inviting

This might seem like a small detail compared to preparing a lecture or debriefing a case, but an electronic space can make as big an impact on a student as a physical space.

As much as your LMS is customisable, spend a little time choosing how class materials are organised, a font that is professional and easy to read (pro tip: sans serif fonts are easier on the eye if you’re reading on a screen), and clear navigational directions to get to the most important information.