24.2: Collect Feedback Before the Course Begins
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Few people are born with an innate ability to teach effectively online. If you have not taught online before, it is a good idea to take a workshop, or to work with someone to plan or create the online environment. If you have just begun the process, you can also explore free online workshops, such as:
Ask a peer to let you review an online course to see what you like or do not like about how it is constructed, how the instructor(s) provide feedback, how students are assessed, and so on. If you are inheriting an online course from someone else, try to get feedback about what has already been done. Before your course begins, you should ask a peer to tell you about how appropriate the learning objectives are for the topics, as you might do for a face-to-face course.
Depending on your school district or campus, seek additional people who might provide comprehensive feedback in a faculty development centre or an academic technology unit. You might also try to find a fellow teacher who has supplemented face-to-face instruction, taught a hybrid course, or taught a fully online course. Even if this person works in a different department or unit, it is helpful to share your online teaching experiences with someone who has gone through the process.
If this is your first time teaching an online course, or using online components for your face-to-face or hybrid course, you do not have to use every online tool or strategy. Instead, choose one or two strategies based on your learning objectives
Writing personal teaching goals is one more practice you can try as you prepare the online environment and the materials and activities to go in it. Creating an online teaching journal allows you to track your thoughts and actions over time. Including personal teaching goals among the first entries will get you off to a good beginning.