What are effective ways to support students in an online course? (2024)

Online courses put students in a different position with respect to the material, the instructor and their peers. The online isolation removes many valuable feedback loops. That's why planning them requires being more explicit about what happens next, when and who is involved:- Provide clear, structured communication and instructions to compensate for the lack of context- Build in opportunities for social interaction and community- Check in frequently with students to gauge engagement and struggles- Design courses to minimize cognitive load and disorientation- Have support roles dedicated to student relationships and troubleshooting issuesMore in my article "No back row, no corridor: Metaphors for online teaching and learning"

It's crucial to consider all those factors while delivering online training. The training should be meaningful, memorable, motivational and measurable, in order to achieve the desired outcome. It's also important to integrate a mix of cognitive domains like behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism for the best results. Lastly, creating the need for learning is a key factor, as it encourages learners to engage and take ownership of their learning journey rather than being pushed into it.

For the opening week one discussion, give students a chance to share information about themselves, their background, career goals, hobbies and interests. Reply to their posts with some supportive ideas of your own, sharing your own interests and asking them follow up questions. In a opening discussion like this, students have a chance to meet each other virtually.

One thing that I've found helpful is to encourage the students to share a bit about themselves.Building a community is more than just knowing each other's name. Learning more about your colleagues will strengthen bonds and encourage more collaboration.

Based on our discussion with students learning online, one of the things they miss is interaction and learning in informal settings - like discussions before the class begins or sharing plans after it ends. We have tried the following strategies to address this:1. To include opportunities for informal discussions, the online session link is open 20 min before and after the scheduled time. 2. We start slow to go fast, and therefore the program starts with many types of small group discussions - in pairs, in triads, and larger groups. This builds the community and the learners start feeling more connected with each other

During COVID, all classes were online and I faced the issue of student engagement at start. After one or two classes, I realized that in order to engage students, I need to change the way I interact with them. So, I started using polls and reactions first and it increased the attentiveness of students. But the most effective way of engaging them was calling out the names of students and asking them for inputs on the topic. So, I always gave them mic rights and I asked students randomly for their inputs. Also, while I was using Microsoft whiteboard, giving them rights to write something also made the session more interactive.

While active engagement is essential to any form of learning, it's especially relevant for online courses where it's easy for students to disengage or "switch off." Besides asking questions that provoke discussion, a skilled facilitator may continually elicit responses from students to ensure that they are alert, active and absorbing information through a critical filter.

When I was teaching at college, I taught teachers (many of them were gifted specialists) how to differentiate their instructions in regular classrooms, so to fit not just the "regular" students, but also gifted & talented students, as well as students with special needs, such as ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, or socially & emotionally troubled students. One thing is critical for instructors to know is, one-size does NOT fit all. You cannot assume a video is certainly better than a word Doc to all students, or a PDF written Doc is less important than a fancy PPT. You have to do some "Pre-Work" to get to know students better, like you need to do in face-to-face classroom. It's very important to know their personal learning styles & preferences.

Begin by ensuring that feedback on assignments and assessments is both constructive and delivered promptly. Additionally, offer clear guidance on areas that need improvement.Diversify learning experiences by including interactive elements like discussion boards, group projects, quizzes, and simulations to maintain engagement.Lastly, establish regular virtual office hours and Q&A sessions to give students the opportunity to seek answers, ask questions, and gain further clarification.

Let your student know what is expected of them and how they can meet those expectations. It’s important to add these to your syllabus, but students will appreciate being reminded of the expectation within the course. Consider adding discussion etiquette guidelines to discussion forums or being specific about attendance requirements before a virtual class meeting.

Create assessments with purpose. Quizzes are a good way to check new knowledge and retention. Level up by providing meaningful feedback that will help learners understand what they missed by answering incorrectly. Quote the parts that will remind them of the correct answer or let them figure out by themselves, but make sure you do not make it too complicate. After all, the main purpose is learning. Unless it is an exam leading to certification, you should be helping them, not complicating their life.

There is so much to be said about having teacher presence in an online course, especially in asynchronous lessons. It is crucial that your students feel adequately supported and guided through the learning experience. This can be achieved by using avatars that provide textual or audio guidance to your students. Moreover, it is crucial to include sections where your learners regularly reflect on their learning. Metacognitive exercises have been proven to improve learning.

The formulae is - teach, assess, evaluate, motivate and tell your student where he/she is right now. Prepare your student mentally to face real-life situations. Train your student like a true trainer. Your student should feel your instructions. Explain to them why and how.

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I taught an online course for several years. In order to keep my students engaged I had to add meetings on Zoom. Students wanted to feel like they were part of a real community and not just the online class. We started off meeting live 4 times during an 8 week semester and after course evaluations I changed to meeting in the Zoom room each week for 8 weeks. The students really enjoyed that interaction and the discussions that we were able to have . They also enjoyed being put in break out rooms to work on things in smaller groups. So now when I teach the course I include weekly Zoom sessions so I can support the students and get to know them a little better.

Have communication outside of the online course that motivates and encourages progress, this could be emails or another type of communication.