To help them thrive in this new environment, give them an introduction to online learning, your association’s learning management system (LMS), and their online course.
The instructor’s introductory video should also review the learning outcomes for the course. These learning outcomes should be included in the course description so students know what to expect and whether the course is right for them.
Students must be able to easily navigate your LMS to find their course materials, discussions, assessments, and records. Everything they need should be right where they would naturally look for it.
Students should feel as if the instructor is right there with them. The course shouldn’t feel like it’s running on auto-pilot.
Researchers found that when an online course included an online community component, students were five times more engaged and 16 times more likely to finish the course.
Give students the opportunity to recall and review information, therefore committing it to their long-term memory, by spacing out content.
Help students cross the knowing-doing gap by having them immediately apply what they’ve learned. Each lesson should consist of a piece of information and student action.
Feedback helps students feel a sense of progress and rescues them from isolation. Instructors, TAs, or peers should provide feedback on all assignments with suggestions for improvement and kudos for good work. To convey a personal sense of connection, instructors should use video every now and then to deliver feedback.
Learning is a serious business—even life and death business for some professions. But you can make it an enjoyable experience your students will remember and talk about with others.
The learning management system of the online class should have an email notification feature with which students will be enabled to get notifications of schedule, the status of assignment submission and other things relate to their classes.