Teaching Your Traditional Course Online

Have you ever considered teaching your traditional course online? If not 100% online, you might consider a hybrid course; classroom lecture and facilitated online discussions or classroom discussion based on online slide and lecture notes. To keep things simple the term "course" is intended to include education as well as commercial trade or service industry specific training.

One of the first steps when considering moving a traditional course into an online environment is determining whether or not the instruction lends itself to the online environment. If the objectives of the course can only be met in a traditional setting then a 100% migration will not be possible. However very few courses require 100% face to face interaction with instructors, so there is a strong possibility that the course can be taught as a hybrid, traditional teaching supplemented with online learning.

If you are unsure as to whether it is possible or practical to teach your course online a great research tool is the Internet. A search will quickly display whether or not someone else is already teaching the course online. Don't be daunted by the volume of instructor/presenters you discover who provide the course you teach in an online environment because competition is a good thing.

To begin with look at other practicing professionals in your field as colleagues not competitors. This will enable you to interact with them on a more professional level and gain from their experience. With Internet users nearing the billion persons mark, there will be no scarcity of learners.

Examine your colleagues' websites, course syllabi and supported text. Contact them and ask about their delivery methodology. Is their course completed in real-time using video-cam or slideshow supported conference room lecture discussion, or do they deliver the training in an asynchronous manner with posted web assignments and interactive discussion groups. Perhaps they use another method or combination of methods not yet discussed. Keep in mind that the closer you get to real-time training/information delivery the more technical you and your students must be and the more expensive the initial costs are likely to be.

If you are a private provider or independent contractor you must become comfortable with a range of technology. In some cases you will need to attend specialized training to obtain the skills needed to interact in an online environment. Under most circumstances the basic knowledge you possess will be sufficient for the delivery of high quality training without denting your budget. Some software you should already be familiar with includes PowerPoint® or Openoffice.org (Ooo) Impress; you should be comfortable with Microsoft Word® or Ooo Writer; and be very familiar with searching the Internet for credible, peer reviewed, scholarly information.

If you are an instructor or training/information content provider you need only familiarize yourself with your organizations' learning management system (LMS) (Angel™, Blackboard ® Moodle™, Sharepoint™, etc). Any technical issues that arise can be addressed and corrected by the organizations' technical support or information technology (IT) team. The advantage of working for an organization is the established professional support offered which allows you to focus on the subject matter. As a private provider or independent contractor the onus for resolving IT issues rest with you.

If this is your first exposure to teaching in an online environment it is strongly recommended you begin with a phase-in approach as opposed to an all-out shift. Understand that moving from tradition to online involve more than simply dumping all your instructor notes and slide presentations into an LMS. A key component to any instruction is student/learner interaction and feedback. The greater the interaction and feedback the more likely the student/learner will be successful.

In transitioning to online a key component is the syllabus. Here is where every aspect of the course, student/learner expectations, course interactions, content and assignments are provided. It is essential this information be provided up front in as clear and concise a method as possible. Replacing the face-to-face instruction with a computer screen is a significant paradigm shift for student/learners. To ensure a smooth transition; you should expect to hold "virtual" office hours at various times. Where your traditional office hours would coincide with campus operating hours, your online office hours will need to meet the student/learner's availability. In some cases this may require multiple time slots for student/learners in different time-zones; Eastern, Central or Pacific.

An excellent way to transition from tradition to online would be to include a short video clip of you introducing the course the same way you would in a traditional setting. If video is not available at your organization consider an audio-driven slide presentation discussing the course content and syllabus. Add this to the LMS and direct your students to visit the presentation. If yours is a hybrid course during your face-to-face session solicit feedback about the presentation and make adjustments for the next iteration.

Integrate video presentations, audio-driven slide presentation and assignment and online discussions with traditional instruction and solicit feedback. You may determine that there are no significant obstacles preventing full implementation of the online course, or you may determine that student/learners require more or less information in order to meet the course objectives as outlined. A simple chapter reading assignment can be supported with a one page reaction paper delivered through e-mail or the LMS communications port. This would serve to underscore the student/learner's grasp of the course content and increase the relevancy of the online learning.

These are a few simple ways to begin the transition from traditional face-to face instruction to teaching in an online environment.