While you convert your class into a blended learning experience is the perfect time to spring clean.
Clean up your content
Broken links are a show stopper for any online portion of a course. Consider investigating if your Learning Management System (LMS) has a link checker, such as the one Canvas has. If you are working of a self-hosted WordPress site there are a selection of tools to use; I use Broken Link Checker.
Now is a good time to look through your text with fresh eyes. Typos stand out better after some time away from the text. You might also read it with that one student in mind this year – clarifying language is always an upgrade, especially if it shortens the text.
Also consider your chunking of text and/or directions. You want to avoid a scroll-fest yet provide logical chunks of information to each page. Check out
Consider adding a Help Module with the most frequently asked questions from your students and parents. Make sure students know this is not a required online component, but do review it in class to show how useful it is. Consider showing it to parents at open house, or referring to links to it in parent communications. The help must be easy to find, clear to understand, and monitored by the facilitator or teacher. If any class is part of a larger organization of classes/school hopefully there is a standard, predictable place to go in any of the classes to get help.
Clean up your student products
No doubt you have collected some examples of student projects to excite and provide guidance to future students so far this year. This is the perfect time to take a nice collection of pictures to post in a suggestion page for students who constantly need examples. It is also time to clear out any ‘dated’ looking pictures. Dated pictures are an immediate turn off to students.
A good rule of thumb is to take pictures of just the products. Do so in a well-lit place, once you get a good place stick with it for as many photos as possible, and mind any stray items creeping into your photos. If you take pictures of students with the products include hands, back of heads, but avoid faces or identifying items.
Clean up your teaching techniques
Check in with which content you deliver online. Do you still feel those are best online? Is there other content which needs to try an asynchronous platform?
Consider providing predictable patterns within your content. For instance be predictable with: order/number/type of items in a module or unit, the types of items online versus face-to-face, submission guidelines, your expectations for their troubleshooting responsibilities.
If your modules or units each have a similar number of items, representing a similar amount of work, your students will learn how to pace your online work as they do your face-to-face work. For more tips on Teacher Presence within the Online Classroom.
2016-10-27 at 9:48 pm
As a Newbie, I am constantly browsing online for articles that can help me.
Thank you