Online courses allow educational institutions to reach students with family, work or transportation issues that make traveling to a brick and mortar building a hardship. Teachers can provide instant access to experts and address diverse learning styles. Internet marketers also benefit by using free online courses as incentives to entice customers to join email lists. Paid courses supply extra income to experts in their field. Preparing your own online course begins with as little as an email account and a large amount of course preparation and organization.
Instructions
1. Write a two to three page syllabus. A syllabus is an overview or guide to show your students what the course will cover and in what time frame. Email the syllabus to students a few days prior to class start. Include links throughout the syllabus that send students directly to key websites to study before each new lesson.
2. Prepare online course material. Organize any printed handouts or exercises and email to students in advance. If necessary, provide detailed instructions on how students are to save those files on their computers.
3. Choose online tools. Email is easy and relatively free to use. Through email, you can deliver your online course, receive homework assignments and send updates. Create a mailing list or roster of your students' addresses. In return, students write to the list to share questions, resources and debates with each other. Autoresponders are handy in that you can program them in advance to send lessons to your class list at a certain time and day.
4. Provide a discussion forum. Conference calls and web chats work well for interactive exchange. Live web conferencing is excellent but will involve webcams to be seen as well as heard.
5. Present a course evaluation. Course evaluations are usually provided at the end of the class and are invaluable to improve your next online course. Include ratings on teaching experience and ease of material comprehension. Offer a space to add personal opinion. Give students plenty of time to fill this out. A day or two before the class ends is optimal, or you could consider mid-course evaluations. Be willing to learn from your students.
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