DE Oracle @ UMUC

UMUC is changing the length of courses so that some will be shorter by several weeks while others may be longer. How can faculty best handle these changes so that courses retain their coherence, quality, and integrity?

When an instructor is accustomed to teaching an online class of a particular size, and is asked to teach a class appreciably larger, he or she may notice an increased level of activity and time needed for daily review, reading, and feedback. These simple tips can assist instructors in fine-tuning the course for a greater number of students while still adhering to the course learning objectives and to UMUC's commitment to student-centered, interactive online classes.

We all know that teaching online requires a significant investment of time. Learn tips to create a rich environment for your students while making the most of your time.

This third installment is devoted to approaches for carrying the momentum generated at the beginning of the class throughout the duration of the semester. Once again, our veteran faculty share their best practices,strategies and techniques devised through trial and error over years of experience.

Effective online classes tend to be ones where communication is Inter-Active and where expectations are clearly and consistently specified and reinforced of what both instructor(s) and students will do or not do.

In this article we inaugurate a multi-part series devoted to keys to success for effective online teaching. This first installment is devoted to preparations you can make even before you're staffed to teach a particular WebTycho class section.

This sample FAQ for students supplements the article, "Managing Student Expectations of Your Class." It was composed by Dr. George Gordon Harding over a period of several years, based on typical questions asked by his students as well as typical misconceptions or areas of difficulty they experienced. He posts it in his classroom Content area and refers students to it both at the beginning of the semester and as needed during the course of the semester.

Working within the online classroom requires students to feel confident about their learning environment. Dr. Medina continually strives to instill confidence in her students by constructing and managing courses that incorporate the "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education."

Dr. Berkowitz has discovered that there are five habits that are key to the effective management of her online classes.

In this second article in a series, CSI Instructional Support Specialist share some of the very effective practices they have noticed on the part of the faculty as regards managing the online classroom.