Online Learning and Teaching Skills PDF

Online learning causes a pedagogical shift in how we teach and learn. There is a shift away from top-down lecturing and passive students to a more interactive, collaborative approach in which students and instructor co-create the learning process. The Instructor’s role is changing from the “sage on...

Online learning causes a pedagogical shift in how we teach and learn. There is a shift away from top-down lecturing and passive students to a more interactive, collaborative approach in which students and instructor co-create the learning process. The Instructor’s role is changing from the “sage on the stage” to “the guide on the side.” Constructivism maintains that people actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their environment. This is a student-centered approach in which students “co-create” their learning experience. This approach empowers students as active learners instead of just passive recipients absorbing information and reproducing it for standardized tests. Derived from the work of Swiss philosopher, Jean Piaget, constructivism emphasizes: The learner as a unique individual. The relevence of the learner’s background and culture. Increased responsibility for learning belongs to the student. Motivation for learning comes from successful completion of challenging tasks. Instructors as facilitators helping learners develop their own understanding of content. Learning is an active, social process. The dynamic interaction between task, instructor and learner. Constructionism Constructionism asserts that learning is particularly effective when constructing something for others to experience. This can be anything from a spoken sentence or an internet posting, to more complex things like a painting or a presentation. For example, you might read this page several times and still forget it by tomorrow - but if you were asked to explain these ideas to someone else in your own words, or produce a slideshow that explained these concepts, you would gain a deeper understanding that is more integrated into your own ideas. Collaboration As an instructor, you focus on the experiences that would best generate learning from the learner's point of view, rather than just publishing and assessing the information you think they need to know. Each participant in a course can and should be a teacher as well as a learner. Your job changes from being the sole source of knowledge, to being a guide and role model. You connect with students in ways that address their own learning needs by moderating discussions and activities in a way that collectively leads students towards the larger learning goals of the class. https://www.wlac.edu/online/documents/otl.pdf Online Teaching Meaning : Online teaching is the process of educating others on virtual platforms via the internet. This type of teaching involves many methods like live classes, video conferencing, webinars, and other online tools. How Online Teaching Works: To teach online, you need to be reasonably comfortable with computers and the internet.This is because interactions with students will take place through messaging platforms, email, and video calls. Also, many online teachers need to create digital resources to share with their students, such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, audio lectures, and pdf guides. Advantages of Teaching Online: Teaching online courses can: 1. Offer the opportunity to think about teaching in new ways: Online teaching can allow teachers to experiment with techniques only available in online environments, such as threaded discussions and webliographies. 2. Provide ideas and techniques to implement in traditional courses: Online email discussions, a frequently-used practice in online learning, can be incorporated into traditional courses to facilitate group work. Other techniques, such as web-based course calendars and sample papers posted on the Internet (with student permission) can easily be incorporated into a traditional course. 3. Expand the reach of the curriculum: Online teaching can expand existing curriculum to students on a regional, national, and international level. Professional satisfaction: Teachers often cite the diversity of students in online courses as one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching online. 4. Instructor convenience: Teaching online can offer teachers conveniences not available in traditional classroom settings; for example, at-home office hours and flexible work schedules. 5. Providing a lot of freedom for teachers to arrange their schedule to suit their needs: Teachers don’t have to wake up early every day and you can take time off to look after your children. 6. There’s no dress code : There are no rules against shorts and flip-flops! But sure, teachers need to look presentable if they are on camera. 7. Providing an opportunity for teachers to improve their technology skills: Learning online platforms gives teachers the confidence to explore other tools and software that could be useful for their sessions. Challenges of Teaching Online : Some of the challenges for instructors of teaching online include: 1. Familiarity with the online environment. 2. Capacity to use the medium to its advantage. 3. Being available to students on an extended basis electronically. 4. Providing quick responses and feedback to students. Qualities of successful online teachers: 1. They provide a safe climate for their students by providing reassurance and support to new online learners. 2. They invite student input regarding the goals and agenda for the course. 3. They give frequent individualized feedback, using a variety of communication tools. 4. They help students connect with one another. What is Online Learning? The term online learning (or, as it is sometimes called, distance learning) includes a number of computer-assisted instruction methods. Online teaching and learning is faculty-delivered instruction via the Internet.Online instruction includes real- time (synchronous) and anytime, anywhere(asynchronous) interactions. Approaches to Online Learning Two approaches to online learning have emerged: synchronous and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning is instruction and collaboration in “real time” via the Internet. It typically involves tools, such as:live chat ,audio and video conferencing ,data and application sharing ,shared whiteboard, virtual "hand raising ,joint viewing of multimedia presentations and online slide shows. Asynchronous learning methods use the time-delayed capabilities of the Internet.It typically involves tools, such as:e-mail, threaded discussion ,newsgroups and bulletin board sand file attachments. Advantages of Online Learning: Online learning offers a variety of educational opportunities: 1. Student-centered learning : The variety of online tools draws on individual learning styles and helps students become more versatile learners. 2. Collaborative learning :  Online group work allows students to become more active participants in the learning process. Contributing input requires that students comprehend what is being discussed, organize their thinking coherently, and express that thinking with carefully. 3. Easy access to global resources : Students can easily access online databases and subject experts in the online classroom. 4. Experiential learning through multimedia presentations: New technologies can be used to engage and motivate students. Technology can also be used to support students in their learning activities. 5. Accessible for non-traditional students: Online delivery of programs and courses makes participation possible for students who experience geographic and time barriers in gaining access to higher education. 6. Draws on student interest in online learning: Many students are interested in online learning. Important Questions for New Online Instructors to Consider: How can you accommodate different learning styles online? How might you convert the learning activities you use in the traditional classroom to the online environment? Is it possible to use your materials “as is” or will you need to rethink how your material is presented? Lecturing is the most common method of presenting content in college classrooms. Why is lecturing a less productive method of teaching in the online environment?  In the virtual classroom, lectures are short and few. With this being the case, where are the students going to get the information they need to obtain the learning objectives? Are video, audio, and real-time activities a benefit in a text-based asynchronous online course? Why or why not? How will you inform your students of online expectations and realities and help ensure their success? What problems can you anticipate that students might have when beginning your course? How might you smooth the way for your students? Online teaching is demanding. EFL teachers might feel uncomfortable teaching online courses due to the multiple roles and responsibilities of teaching online. Online teaching skills and competencies have to be determined in order to help design professional development programs for online instructors. These skills and competencies are classified into six categories: 1. pedagogical skills, 2. content skills, 3. design skills, 4. technological skills, 5. management and institutional skills, and 6. social and communication skills. Online EFL teachers can use these sets of skills to self evaluate their abilities to teach online and identify their training needs. Pedagogical Skills: Effective online instructors should understand the fundamentals of online teaching and pedagogy. They must demonstrate this understanding through applying a large number of principles and strategies. These principles and strategies include: Learning theories, such as learning styles, the learner-centered approach, and collaborative learning; Designing and implementing appropriate instructional strategies, as well as classroom assessment and student engagement techniques; Organizing and facilitating students’ participation and providing guidance and support as needed; Using criterion-based assessment to evaluate individual and group performance;  Motivating students and showing enthusiasm and interest; Encouraging knowledge construction based upon learners’ prior knowledge and life experience. Fostering learners’ self-assessment and reflection; and Promoting group interaction, collaboration, and teamwork. Content Skills: Online instructors must be able to do the following: Expressing and mastering extensive knowledge of the content; Stating learning goals and objectives that coincide with learners’ levels and characteristics; Drafting and developing learning and assessment activities that align with learning goals and objectives; Developing a course outline that includes all course components and elements; Designing a teaching proposal at the general level and identify each of its phases or elements; Developing and selecting appropriate and varied learning resources that accommodate different learning. styles and preferences; Linking the subject and content with scientific, social, cultural, and any other relevant phenomena; and Developing an inventory of existing content and resources and any additional content and resources that will be needed. Design Skills: Designing and developing online courses is a demanding task. It requires having a design and production team, which consists of an instructional designer, instructional technologist, graphic and media designers and production team, and librarians (Abdous, 2011). These individuals work collaboratively to produce high- quality online courses (Haughton, Sandt, & Slantcheva-Durst, 2014). However, online instructors must be able to do the following: Understanding and applying instructional design principles, models, and theories. Organizing and presenting the learning materials in different formats; Cooperating with the production team to design learning activities and select appropriate tools and techniques to present these activities; and Using students’ previous feedback to develop and design new courses and assess the course design quality by using quality assurance tools and instruments. Technological Skills: Although online learning relies heavily on technology, there is no imperative need for online instructors to be technologically advanced. Online instructors have to possess adequate technological literacy skills to be able to do the following: Accessing various technological resources and tools, such as email, Internet browsers, LMSs, text and video chat applications, and productivity software and applications; Understanding the learning and teaching capabilities and limitations of these tools Being aware of the technical potential of, and procedures used to create, e- content, such as e- books and instructional videos; and Being alert to the latest updates and renovations of educational technology and software. Management and Institutional Skills: As classroom management is an important aspect of face-to-face education, managing courses and learning is essential in online learning environments. An awareness of institutional policies and norms is also an important aspect of being a successful online instructor. Skills and tasks related to these two aspects include the following:  Being able to clarify the roles and expectations of the instructor and the learners; Managing the course time and applying time-saving techniques; Demonstrating leadership, management, mentoring, and coaching skills, as well as knowledge of administrative qualities and procedures; Tracking course and students’ progress on a regular basis; Establishing and declaring rules and regulations for participation, submission of assignments, timeliness, Sending and seeking feedback, and communication protocols; Conducting research on classroom teaching then interpreting and integrating research findings and results; Understanding and demonstrating commitment to institutional policies; Maintaining contact and networking with online teaching and administrative teams; and Complying with legal, ethical, and copyright issues and standards. Social and Communication Skills: Active communication and social presence are vital to engaging online learners. Using different communication tools (e.g., email, video chat, text messages, etc.), online instructors have to efficiently communicate and promote interactivity among the learners. Some activities to achieve this include the following: Facilitating and maintaining interactive discussion and information exchange; Using sufficient and commonly understandable language; Respecting and considering cultural differences; Clearly requesting information and asking questions; Clarifying the purpose and meaning of messages and feedback; Emphasizing the important points using font colors and effects; Ensuring the quality and accuracy of written messages and feedback and detecting typographical andgrammatical errors;  Personalizing messages and feedback and making them more lively by adding the appropriate sense of humor when possible; Using different communication methods to ensure accessibility among the instructor and learners, and thelearners with their peers; Maintaining a warm, friendly, and inviting collegial atmosphere; Creating and developing respectful relationships and a sense of community among the learners; Showing sensitivity and empathy when communicating online; Resolving conflicts and misunderstandings amicably; and Offering advice and suggestions and clarifying doubts and suspicions.