Being engaged with your online learners throughout the course is one of the three biggest weaknesses of online teachers. It is also one of the three biggest ways to take your online course to the next level, making it a superior learning experience for your learners.
Come experience how to do it from the creator of the concept and practice of ‘continual engagement’ in teaching. Discover how to build student success through your interaction, how to give online learners feedback, communicating with them about everything from subject matter to delicate issues to grading.
You will come away with advanced, practical, how-to tips from one of the foremost authorities on fostering online discussion. And you will see how your instructor models great interaction and engagement in the online environment.
One month course, Mary Dereshiwsky, COI, instructor
Optional graduate credit available for an additional $40 paid later for graduate credit from the University of South Dakota.
Course Outline
Unit 1
How Continual Engagement Helps You Foster Effective Online Discussions
- What is continual engagement?
- Why is continual engagement important?
- Breaking down the barriers to effective continual engagement in your discussion interaction
Unit 2
Building Your Students’ Success through Your Interaction
- Why continual engagement in online discussion is important to your students’ success
- Choosing your words carefully in discussion interaction
- Strategies to use at the beginning of your term
- Strategies to use as the term gets underway
- Strategies to use when things get hectic
Unit 3
Assessing Your Students’ Performance
- Giving effective feedback
- Communicating with students about grades
- Some special challenges of group work and how to overcome them
Unit 4
Keeping Your Communication Skills Sharp
- How networking with your peers can build your skills
- Using break times effectively
- Working with an assistant
- How online interaction enhances your face-to-face instruction
Ave. hours 16, 1.6 CEUs
About Your Instructor
Mary I. Dereshiwsky, COI, is a leading authority on online teaching and creator of the concept and practice of ‘continual engagement’ in teaching. She has taught thousands of faculty about teaching online, has critiqued hundreds of online courses, and heads up the advisory board of the Certified Online Instructor (COI), the leading designation for online faculty in higher education. Dereshiwsky is a Professor of Educational Leadership at Northern Arizona University. She has taught thousands of students in both credit and noncredit situations. Her new book.Continual Engagement: Fostering Online Discussion, is the leading book on the subject.
Course objectives
- Understand how your continual engagement maximizes your online students’ success
- Learn how to keep your online course communication momentum going strong throughout the term
- Learn strategies for continuing to develop your online communication potential
Course outcomes
After attending this course, you will:
- Become a more effective online communicator with your students
- Be able to model the benefits of continual engagement for your students
- Understand how to assess your students’ online performance in meaningful ways
- Know how to foster effective online discussion