Setting up an Online Learning Experience

Before beginning a course, the instructor has to take time to think and prepare his/herself and the learners for an online experience. There are several things to consider before the course begins.

• What is the significance of knowing the technology available to learners?
• Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?
• What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?

 Knowing the technology that is available to you is significant because various amount of tools are used in an online environment. As an instructor, you want to pick online tools that would benefit learners and the objectives of the course. The instructor should also keep the technology that is used simple at the beginning and eventually progress to challenging technology. The types of technology that would be beneficial to online courses are email, course announcements, turnitin, blogs, and discussion forums.

Instructors also have to tell the learners what are the expectations from the course from day one. Students need to know everything from what time are assignments due, category weights, how to turn in assignments, on down to what do I need to do to be success in an online course. Instructors can communicate these things in the course syllabus and in course announcements. "Clear and unambiguous guidelines about what is expected of learners and what they should expect from an instructor make a significant contribution to ensuring understanding and satisfaction in an online course." (Boettcher and Conrad p 55)

 Finally, the instructor must take learners background, community building, and social presence into consideration when setting up the online learning experience. All the students that will be participating in the online course come from different areas, cultures, ethnicity, and different backgrounds in learn and/or online learning experience. The instructor has to be certain to meet the needs of all learners and try not to loose any students in the first two weeks.
The instructor has to also make the first step in getting the learners in the course to create a learning community. Online learning is different from traditional learning. It can get very lonely. If the students and the instructors develop a community from the start no one will get left behind.
Social presence can tie right in with community building. The instructor has to establish a presence in the course. He/she has to make themselves available to the students. Instructors can do this by posting a getting acquainted post and posting announcements.
Student success in an online course is almost depended upon the set up of the online environment.

Reference
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.