Online Teaching Portfolio

Teaching online is not just a change in delivery and modality.  As stated in the National Education Association's, Guide to Teaching Online Courses (2006),  "Good [online] courses require good teachers. This is where the online opportunity provides the greatest opportunity, and the greatest challenge. Online teaching shares much with face to face teaching, but it also has a unique set of skills and requirements if educators are to teach well online."

Teaching well online can be assessed through many recognized tools. I created this portfolio to demonstrate mastery of the iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Teaching.  These standards are a result of research and survey of online course quality criteria. Below are some of the elements of my online courses that align with the iNACOL national standards.

It is essential to clearly communicate expectations and guidelines in an online course.  This is necessary because, unlike the traditional classroom, an instructor is not physically present to ensure reinforcement of guidelines. In my classes, I do this by providing all course policies at the beginning of the course including policies for communication, feedback and response time, course withdrawal and late work. In addition, students new to online are often unaware of the necessary skills and attitudes to be successful online. Students often have a hard time recognizing the amount of hours spent in an online course and; therefore, have trouble committing the time necessary. I try to demystify and clearly explain those requirements, skills and attitudes through a short orientation video.  You can watch the video below.

Often students come into an online class with a lack of study skills necessary to succeed in this different environment.  During the first week of class, I have the students participate in a Learning Styles Inventory that identifies the type of learning (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic) from which they most benefit.  After identification, students are provided study strategies that work best for their learning style. Given these strategies, students are to reflect upon these findings and explain which strategies they plan to incorporate through the term of the course. This activity not only provides the students an opportunity to identify their learning style and preferred study strategies, but it also gives them an opportunity to become comfortable with the technology tools that will be used throughout the term. It also provides the facilitator (me!) with some additional information about the student!!

Every one of my students deserve an equitable learning experience.  Therefore, I design my online course materials with accessibility in mind.  To prepare myself for creating accessible materials, I have used knowledge and skills acquired from participating in trainings on content accessibility and webinars on how to make PowerPoint and PDF documents accessible. As a result of my learning experience, I make sure that all images have appropriate alternate text html tags, use headings and body text to allow for smooth navigation and evaluate the accessibility of my materials using tools like FAE and the Firefox Evaluation Toolbar. In addition, my colleague and I created a webinar training others across the California Community Colleges on how to caption video using instructional media development tools.  Take a peek at my CCC Confer Webinar on Do-It-Yourself Captioning and a captioned course tutorial video explaining course navigation (created with Camtasia Studio.) 
 

Online learners don't have the benefit of fellow classmates in the confines of a brick and mortar classroom.  Instead, online learners communicate through a computer monitor, reliant on strong time management and a willingness to engage. Unfortunately, most learners aren't prepared to thrive in an online environment. Instead, when they meet learning barriers (technical, situational, etc), they often become frustrated with the lack of physical support, uncomfortable with the sense of being alone, and withdraw both mentally and officially.  Students need the on-campus classroom support system for which they've become quite familiar.  They need to feel as if part of a community-supported by one another to break through some of those barriers.  As a facilitator, I have created a learning activity to help establish community in the online classroom. Watch the video for a review of the 2 Truths 1 Tale icebreaker.

Managing online courses requires more than technical competency.  It requires effective time management, proper tool integration, content design based on best practices and regular contact, interaction and feedback.  I showcase these attributes in Blackboard 9.1 by effectively and regularly using communication tools like announcements, email and the discussion board.  I develop effectively designed learning units using Learning Modules and folders. These learning units have a consistent look and feel which helps student navigation. I incorporate collaborative tools like blogs and wikis and media through YouTube and Flickr mashups. I create varied assessments using multiple question types, sets, and random blocks.  I use the quizzing tool for developing lower level knowledge recognition (practice quizzes) and critical thinking and analysis (essays). I provide timely feedback and post new grades regularly using the Grade Center.  I have been training other faculty on how to use Blackboard for nearly 10 years.  I am also certified (certificate on left) by Blackboard, Inc for Advanced Teaching and Learning using Bb 9.     

Source: Guide to Teaching Online Courses. (2006). National Education Association. http://www.nea.org/technology/onlinecourseguide.html