Hello,

See my new article: Supporting Your Students During Times of Uncertainty

Good Morning!

 

My name is Dr. Claudette L. Tolson

My session is The Joys and Challenges of Teaching Online

 

Online teaching does not have to be overwhelming! It is actually quite rewarding! During this session, I will discuss my transition from a face-to-face classroom to an online classroom. I will highlight the techniques I have used along the way to engage my students in a digital environment. I will show how other instructors can also make this transition and enjoy the process.

 

# First Picture (world)

I love teaching history.

I have been teaching history online since 2006. I have been teaching online full-time for 10 years since I began at Perimeter College then known as GPC. My transition from the classroom to the online environment was a bit challenging but very rewarding.  You can do it as well.

 

#Second Picture (crown picture)

 

In college, I took some history courses and my teacher was so inspiring that I was really excited about history. I decided that I would teach history as a career. I took every education course I could because at that point I was certain that I would teach history in a high school setting. One of my education professors told the class something one day that I would remember for the rest of my life:

You are the King or Queen of your classroom

I live by that! You set the tone at all times. You must do that on day one.

So after I took all of my education courses except observation I decided that I would go to graduate school so that I could teach in a college setting. Those classes have been extremely valuable to me as a college professor. I have always thought it was strange that professors were never encouraged to take courses to learn how to teach.

Graduate school was so challenging as you well know that I stopped with my master’s. Once I finished my master’s at 24, I began teaching college history.

#Third picture- Me

I thought I would stop with the master’s degree until I began teaching and realized my career would be limited without my Ph.D. so back to school I went.

 

#Fourth picture purple DNA

Later on, in life, I connected with my Dad again after several years and he told me something I found absolutely fascinating! My father told me that the only course he liked in school was history and this was very significant to me since we were estranged from the time I was about 2 until my mid-30s. That just showed me how powerful genes are. So I have to thank my Dad for my love of history.

 

#Fifth Picture-Transition Classroom

I taught in the classroom for 14 years before I made my transition to online. I was actually applying for a full-time position and I was pulled to the side and told you will not get this job however I am going to recommend you to teach online. I was grateful-I really didn’t a choice. So I applied and I started teaching. I took several online teaching education courses-many of them for free. Those courses really helped with my transition and I would encourage you to take as many as you can. You will learn important skills that will help you become a better teacher. It’s so good to know that you do not have to be perfect and you do not have to know everything. 

 

#Sixth Picture -Joys

So, I am definitely nerdy because there could not be a more perfect career for me.  Technology and history are so awesome and I could not have envisioned this career when I was in grad school.

I can work anytime I want. Which for me equals several hours every day of the week.

I get to play around with technology every day.

I get to connect with my students daily. My students and I connect online as well as on the phone because they all have my cell phone.

I get to collaborate with my colleagues at Perimeter.

I get to go to conferences and trainings.

I challenge myself with new ways to engage my students.

I get to create new courses and enhance courses that I might teach or that others might teach.

#Seventh Picture-Challenges

Never Give Up!

-Give it a chance. You might just like it. It’s true that online learning is not for everyone you won’t know for sure until you give it a try.

-Your colleagues may not respect what you do because they do not understand it.

-You might have students who attempt to take over your classroom in your discussion forums-stop that immediately.

-You might need to find various ways to encourage students to avoid plagiarism. If you use a tool like turn-it-in use it so that it is a learning tool and not a tool to penalize them. One way you can do that is to allow them to upload drafts that they can work with before they turn in the final assignment.

 

-You can get lonely. Isolationism is real.

#Eighth Picture Seven-Dogs

Take extra effort to interact with your colleagues. Volunteer for committees. Talk to them on the phone and via email. Attend events on campus. If you live alone get a dog or a cat. I have two!

 

 

Some Techniques To Use in the Online Classroom

#Ninth Picture New Skills

Course Design and Instruction

Educate yourself

Take courses to develop your skills in online education

Many of them are free here through CETL

 

-Use Visuals to make your course stand out

I do this by working with CETL. Ask them to set up a sandbox course for you and schedule at least one on one with one of the technicians. Yes, that will probably mean you need to go downtown but it will be worth it.

-Repetition

Repetition throughout your course is important because your students are sure to get lost. My Mom told me once everything is easy for you but not for everyone. So keep it in mind that the way you look at the course is not the same as all of your students. If you have 35 students you have 35 different versions of your class.

-Create Announcements that mean something

How often do you ask your students how well they are doing? How often do you reach out to them and let them know you are available for assistance? Many of your students are hesitant to reach out to you. I think it has something to do with the fact that they do not “see” you a few times a week.

Additionally, you should make an announcement at least once a week to let them know you are there.

#Tenth Picture Love to Learn

What type of energy are you bringing to the classroom? Your students pick up on that even in an online setting. What are you thinking about as you set up your course and interact with them throughout the semester?

 

#Eleventh Picture Did you know

Assessments

-Different ways to complete assignments

-good rubrics

Syllabus agreement

Early Assessment –Extra Credit

-Show your students how much you enjoy your discipline

-Demonstrate that you want them to succeed but your class is no easy A

-Free Textbooks or other resources

-Show them that history can be fun and why they should want to learn

-Discussion questions that engage them to interact with each other. Require them to post first before they can see others’ posts.

-My entire course is writing. I changed because I wanted to avoid a lot of cheating and I want them learn how to write.

A lot of students hate history. Why? History is boring because of how it is taught sometimes and I think the same can be said for other disciplines, well maybe not as much. I want to change that perspective. I recently had a student that did not do as well as she wanted to but told me how much she learned.

 

Make it personal.

Let students know who you are. What do they really know about you?

Give them your cell phone number or a google voice number or

Set up your email to go to your phone

You might want to engage them on social media

Make sure they have lots of resources.

 

#Twelfth Picture Trust Yourself

Always believe in your capabilities. Give yourself a break if you make errors. It’s a learning process. In fact, you should challenge yourself to do better every day.

Good Luck and The End

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