How can you support new learners in online and blended environments?

1 Establish clear expectations

Before the course starts, communicate clearly with your learners about the course objectives, outcomes, and requirements. Provide them with a detailed syllabus, a schedule of activities and deadlines, and a list of resources and tools they will need. Explain how you will assess their learning and give them feedback. Also, let them know how they can contact you and how often you will respond to their queries. By setting clear expectations, you can help your learners plan their time, manage their workload, and avoid confusion and frustration.

2 Create a sense of community

One of the main challenges of online and blended learning is the lack of social interaction and support. To overcome this, you can create a sense of community among your learners by designing activities that promote collaboration, communication, and peer feedback. For example, you can use online forums, chats, or video calls to facilitate discussions, debates, or group projects. You can also encourage your learners to introduce themselves, share their experiences, and celebrate their achievements. By creating a sense of community, you can help your learners feel connected, valued, and motivated.

3 Use diverse and interactive content

Another challenge of online and blended learning is the risk of boredom and disengagement. To prevent this, you can use diverse and interactive content that appeals to different learning styles, preferences, and needs. For example, you can use text, images, audio, video, animations, or simulations to present your content in various formats. You can also use quizzes, games, polls, or surveys to check your learners' understanding and involvement. By using diverse and interactive content, you can help your learners stay interested, curious, and challenged.

4 Provide timely and constructive feedback

Feedback is essential for online and blended learning, as it helps your learners monitor their progress, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and improve their performance. To provide effective feedback, you should follow some principles, such as being specific, relevant, and actionable. You should also provide feedback in a timely manner, so that your learners can act on it before the next task or assessment. You can use different methods to provide feedback, such as emails, rubrics, comments, or video messages. By providing timely and constructive feedback, you can help your learners feel supported, encouraged, and confident.

5 Offer technical and emotional support

Finally, online and blended learning can present some technical and emotional challenges for your learners, such as difficulties with accessing or using the online platform, or feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or isolated. To offer support, you should be proactive, empathetic, and responsive. You should provide your learners with clear instructions, tutorials, or troubleshooting guides for the technical aspects of the course. You should also check in with your learners regularly, ask them how they are feeling, and offer them tips or resources to cope with stress or challenges. By offering technical and emotional support, you can help your learners feel comfortable, safe, and satisfied.