I. Lessons of Experience-- What We've Learned about Online Courses:
Robin K. Hill
University of Wyoming
- Faculty report urging, even pressure, to use technology in teaching. They should be guided to interpret that suggestion in terms of their own pedagogical goals, and administrators should be guided, or chided, to see it the same way. Faculty with a general interest in exploring web technology for their classes may not know where to start.
- Flexibility in academic group work is critical to many departments, with student cohort groups formed for study, and preparatory instruction by faculty, taking place outside the normal academic schedule, and with external instructors, monitors, or guests from business and professions taking part from outside the university domain.
- Support should emphasize that instructors do the online course setup work themselves, the only way to handle diverse arrangements with limited support resources. Instructor involvement should reach out to students, as well; instructors should not drift away from classroom activities, or use the online course to keep their students at a distance.