Online Learning & Teaching

Who's doing this at UT?

Jeff Hellmer, Music, utilizes Cerego in his online synchronous course, “Jazz Appreciation.” Through Cerego, students are given instant feedback and an adaptive, customized learning path. Unlike traditional tests and quizzes, where students often guess answers and never return to the ones they didn't understand, students earn credit in the course by making progress in Cerego over time.

How Can I Do This?

Building an effective online course requires paying careful attention to both the materials of your course and how you will teach it. Give yourself plenty of time to identify the “big picture” ideas and knowledge that you expect students to learn and translate them into the online environment. As you assemble your ideas into a course structure, consider the technology requirements that you expect students to meet and how that impacts the ‘pacing’ of the course.

Broaden the ways you check student learning.

The role of assessment in an online course can make your students feel more connected to the material and give you more insight into their learning. Online tools can open up new possibilities for different (perhaps even more efficient and effective) ways to engage and assess your students as they journey through the course.

In an online course, create assignments that tie directly to course learning outcomes so that students see clearly the connections between what they are learning and how they are learning.
While using the Canvas quizzing feature is a valuable way to frequently check student learning, think of using alternate online tools to help students deepen their understanding.
Low stakes, frequent assessment

Utilize different forms of content and content delivery in online environments.

In a face-to-face class, you have the advantage of communicating directly to your students and making adjustments based on their responses. Although you cannot be present with students in the same way when teaching online, there are many different ways of conveying information and guiding the exploration of ideas that help students build knowledge.

While you can create many of your own materials for an online course, the Internet offers a wealth of resources to explore.
Choose a “curate or create” strategy that fits your ability to generate or find online course materials.
In an online course, students benefit from using materials that are tied quite closely to learning activities.
“Chunk” your course materials into smaller units that fit into shorter, sequenced learning modules.
Developing materials and fixing problems in an online course can take time.
Consider the hidden costs of the technology and develop support strategies for when technological issues arise.

Adjust your role as a teacher by maintaining an active and engaged online social presence.

At first glance, an online environment can seem to disconnect students as they are separated by space and time. But in reality, teaching online offers us many, and even unique ways to build the kind of connections and community that encourage collaborative learning.

In your syllabus and throughout the semester, clearly articulate how and when you will interact with students in an online environment so that they can develop a regular connection with you and their classmates.
Set good examples and model the behaviors you’d like your students to adopt.
Set student expectations for how you will participate in the course by being both a “speaker” (e.g., providing course materials or short lectures) and “listener” (e.g., exhibit curiosity and ask questions).
Each group of students is different, both in how they interact with you and with each other, and how they engage with various activities.
Offer students regular opportunities to provide you with feedback on how they feel they are doing throughout the semester.
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Design Checklist for Online Courses

Online Learning & Teaching