That’s the key to how I teach online. Instead of trying to replicate lectures or other standard forms of face-to-face classroom teaching, I try to take advantage of the strengths of online teaching platforms (known as Learning Management Systems, or LMSs). This site explains this approach in further detail by outlining my online teaching philosophy and how I implement it.

There are some key concepts that will come up again and again in these pages. They are the cornerstones of my approach to online teaching:

• facilitation - instead of teaching students, let’s guide them towards learning

• independence - I want my students to leave my courses being more independent learners than when they started

• simplicity - straightforward course structure, judicious use of technology, and uncomplicated assignments reduce everyone’s anxiety

• flexibility - options and choices let the students stay on track while assuming agency for their learning

• engagement - between students and the content, between students and their peers, and between students and their instructor

• reflection - giving the students opportunities to reflect on their learning aids in mastery and retention

I assembled these materials in March/April 2020 in response to a need. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, universities in Canada had to make the Great Pivot to online teaching overnight. Most instructors had never taught online before, and so I created this site to help instructors at the University of Waterloo and elsewhere make that transition. If you have any comments or need more information, please get in touch through my contact page. Happy to help any way I can.

And a final note: please remember, I’m describing my approach, not prescribing an approach. I think it works well in the context of the courses I teach, but I know that won’t be the case for everyone. I’m of the opinion that all educators benefit from considering the practices of others - even if we reject those approaches, doing so serves to solidify our own understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish with the methods we choose to employ.

My thanks to Sara Ghaffarian for reviewing this information and providing suggestions.

Contents.

Overview of my approach to teaching online.

Let’s dig a little deeper into some of the key features, advantages, and adjustments associated with this approach to online teaching.

Structuring and curating.

Students in online courses crave good organizational structure. I’ll show you how I do it in my courses, plus give you an idea how to create and/or adopt content from various sources.

Learning through discussion.

One of the key features of my online courses is that discussions are not add-ons or extras - they’re central to the learning experience. My job is to facilitate those discussions by providing good content and assigning useful discussion tasks.

Tasks and assignments.

I take you through the lower order learning tasks and higher order assignments that make up the assessment portion of my courses. In most of my courses, I rely on three types of assessment: engaging with knowledge through discussion, developing knowledge through writing, and solidifying knowledge through reflection.

FAQs.

Here you’ll find information on various aspects of course planning. Of special interest is the section on how to flatten the email curve - the bane of many online courses.

Resources.

The University of Waterloo has set up a website, Keep Learning, to provide some general and some UW-specific information for instructors as they shift online. I provide some extra resources, especially in the realm of open education, that you might well find useful.

Webinars.

In summer 2020 I facilitated a number of workshops at the University of Waterloo and elsewhere. The Waterloo webinars are linked here; you’ll find recordings of the webinars, extra resources, and some very helpful Q+As. For webinars held at other institutions, see my presentations + webinars page.

Simple and Effective Online Teaching

With Victoria Feth and James Skidmore
Wednesday April 8, 2020, 11am EDT

Simple and Effective Online Teaching - Grad Student Edition

With James Skidmore
Wednesday June 18, 2020, 1pm EDT

Reducing Cheating Online: Examples and Tips

With James Skidmore, Pia Zeni, and Victoria Feth
Wednesday July 15, 2020, 2pm

Fostering Student Engagement Online: Examples and Tips

With James Skidmore, Pia Zeni, and Victoria Feth
Thursday July 16, 2020, 2pm