25 Tips For Successful Online Course Facilitation (筆記)

Teaching in the online environment is quite different from teaching in the classroom and as such has a number of unique characteristics and limitations. The following guide (based on my experience) is designed to help you before, during and after an online teaching event.  

Nowadays online course facilitation is extremely important to teachers, educators, and professors. At this post you will find a total of 25 Tips For Successful Online Course Facilitation separated in the following 4 sections:

1. Before The Online Course Starts
2. At The Beginning Of The Online Course
3. During The Online Course
4. After The Online Course Finishes

Do not hesitate to share with me your Tips for Successful Online Course Facilitation

How To Succeed As Online Course Facilitator?

1. Before The Online Course Starts
   1. Familiarize yourself with the course delivery structure and the site/platform
   2. Develop an online delivery plan/schedule
   3. Check that all resources, activities and links work (i.e. they open in a new window), are current and relevant to the learning experience
   4. Update your contact information
   5. Contact learners, welcome them to the course and provide clear log-in instructions
2. At The Beginning Of The Online Course
   1. Check that learners can log-in and provide support and troubleshoot as needed
   2. Facilitate introductions and community-building activities at beginning of the course e.g. have everyone introduce themselves in a café style forum
   3. Set clear expectations
   4. Confirm contact/turnaround times
   5. Emphasize the importance of interactions and that online communication between participants is key to building community and contributes to the course outcomes, profiles, forums, chats etc.
   6. Encourage sharing of experiences
3. During The Online Course
   1. Be a positive online role model
   2. Send some sort of meaningful weekly communication, but, don’t overwhelm learners
   3. Ideally respond to learner’s communication within a reasonable time frame to resolve any difficulties/queries to ensure their learning is not interrupted e.g.  phone calls, email, messaging, and forum posts
   4. Provide guidance and direction to learners when needed
   5. Encourage online communication between participants
   6. Relate to learner experiences and ask thought provoking questions
   7. Promote learner independence/responsibility and learner collaboration
   8. Provide technical and other learner support as required
   9. Online learning can be isolated and lonely so provide positive encouragement and feedback
   10. Monitor learner progress, participation in activities and completion of assessment tasks and follow up as required
   11. Provide informative developmental feedback
4. After The Online Course Finishes
   1. Wrap-up the course, thank learners for their participation
   2. Review learner feedback and make recommendations for improvement
   3. Engage in your own self-reflection for improvement and consolidation