For a number of years now, many colleges and universities have been promoting themselves as great for adult learners or working adults. Why? Because their instruction is primarily or exclusively online. Distance learning has been around for over a hundred years with correspondence courses. In fact, some would say it started in the 1700s. But when we talk about distance learning now, we primarily mean online instruction. Many students attend college using online instruction, but many others don’t because it’s not what “going to college” means to them. But if you don’t have any alternative, such as during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, are online courses okay then?
Quality Control for Online Instruction
Most online instruction these days is asynchronous, meaning instruction is not offered or taken by every student at the same time. So, there are no “class times.” This provides maximum flexibility for students, but also forces students to make time for their course. If they aren’t accustomed to that, online courses will be tough.
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a great posting about best practices in online instruction. They give advice to faculty members on methods to engage their students effectively, how to keep their instruction fresh and how they should be directly involved in their “classroom.” The Chronicle encourages faculty members to redesign their courses for online learning, since the traditional lecture classroom doesn’t work for online delivery.
For those students who are new to online instruction, they should still be able to interact with faculty, receive assistance in the form of consultations, meetings and tutoring, and feel engaged in the class. They should also be able to submit papers for evaluation and participate in class discussions, perhaps through a bulletin board function. In short, they should be able to do just about everything they can be in a face to face class, it just won’t feel the same.
Students should also know all course requirements, and where they stand in the course at any time. Transparency is important for all courses, but even more so for online courses since the students don’t have regular face to face contact with their instructors.
Ways to Make Online Instruction Work for Your Student
I won’t sugar-coat it: taking a course online isn’t the same as a face to face course, and students need to take a breath and approach these courses differently. Northeastern University makes several specific suggestions for students taking online courses. I also communicated with my students encouraging them to “go to class” every day as though they were still going to a classroom, and to use the same study schedule they used while on campus. It’s far too easy for students to put off academics because there are so many other things to do at home. I also suggested that they spend more time on their reading than before so they have a better grasp of the material. This site has offered tips beforehand on ways students can use their time wisely, and this is even more important for online courses. Take a look at both this site and Northeastern’s list to help your student prepare for online instruction. I also suggest that students:
●Be jealous of their time. College is a full time job with lots of overtime. Even when they’re home, they should make academic a priority.
●Limit social media. Since students will likely be at their computers, they need to turn off social media or reserve it for a short specific time per day.
●Remain active. Taking a brief walk around the neighborhood will refresh their minds so they can return to studying.
●Beat the deadlines for the class. Turn everything in early or on time. If assignments are turned in early, they should ask the instructor for feedback.
●Be “that student”—the one who emails or holds regular chats with the instructor to chart their progress and make sure they understand the material. Faculty appreciate students who ask thoughtful questions, whether face to face or online.
●Take a deep breath. An unfamiliar form of instruction is likely to be stressful. Taking it day by day is the best approach. Don’t get overwhelmed, and if they do, they should ask for help.
This is New for Many of Us
For all those students who say they chose to attend traditional college or university, not an online college, I remind them that their faculty probably feel the same way: they chose to work at a traditional college because of the face to face interaction. So being required to shift to using online means of instruction only is tough for them, too. Yet they have no choice but to work as hard as they can to learn teaching strategies that will continue to engage their students. Please encourage your student to have patience with their instructors, while also asking for what they need to learn. The more engaged the student—whether online or face to face—the better.