How do you adapt your teaching style and methods to different online learning platforms and formats?

Adapting teaching methods for online learning platforms involves a comprehensive approach. Educators must familiarize themselves with the features of each platform, such as discussion forums, video conferencing, or learning management systems. It's crucial to center instruction around student preferences and needs, tailoring content and activities to maximize the platform's strengths. Incorporating interactivity, such as quizzes and discussion boards, enhances engagement. Ensuring accessibility by offering alternative formats and adhering to guidelines is essential. Additionally, ongoing assessment and feedback analysis enable instructors to refine their methods, keeping them responsive to the evolving online education landscape.

In addition to getting to know your students and tailoring communication and feedback to their needs, it’s crucial to consider accessibility. Making sure that the content and tools used are accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities, is an important aspect of developing online courses. This promotes inclusion and ensures that all students have the opportunity to actively participate, regardless of their abilities or limitations.

Definitely knowing your audience is important. Depending on the modality, fully asynchronous provides fewer opportunities for engagement, however, you can build in discussion and response posts into the assignments to increase engagement. Offering optional Zooms that are recorded and posted provide a synchronous opportunity for discussion and questions. Get to know the platform and functionality to leverage it.

A key way I adapt my teaching methods is by getting to know each student's interests, backgrounds, and learning styles. Then I can incorporate relevant examples, hands-on activities, role playing, visuals, and technology as fits their needs. I ask students questions to gauge understanding and encourage participation. Flexibility is key - no one method works for every student. My goal is to spark their curiosity, empower their learning process, and help each feel capable to apply their new skills.

Durch die Vielfalt der eingesetzten Unterricht Tools, die vor allem der p?dagogischen aber auch der fachdidaktische Ausrichtung unterliegen, erh?hen in jedem Fall das Engagement des Publikums, sowie die Bereitschaft nicht nur wissen aufzunehmen, sondern dieses auch in die Umsetzung zu bringen, sprich nach Nachhaltigkeit kann wir.

While new tech tools emerge, blended learning’s core is neither novel nor inherently beneficial. Reinforcing the importance of taking a close look at tools, an effective approach to blended learning is one that doesn’t seek a single best model but, instead, works to match tools with a program’s specific purpose and people. My comments about this at the pandemic’s outset are here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/christopherongaro_possibilities-amid-pandemic-mapping-interactions-activity-6648627095809335299-sy9N?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

It is critical to address the security and privacy of student data. Ensuring that personal and academic information is protected from potential breaches and that students feel safe sharing their work and interacting online is a critical aspect of online teaching. When choosing communication tools, it is essential to also evaluate the security and privacy measures they offer to protect student data.

A really good place to start is with the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) project. Their website is tilthighered.com

Many online facilitators struggle with audience engagement in online learning, whether synchronous or asynchronous. Some even avoid it, for fear of the unknowns. “What if my audience doesn’t engage at all?” “What if they engage in a way that I am unprepared for?” My advice is to invite engagement early and often and to begin with easy opportunities for quick wins appropriate for the methodology, and then build up to more involved activities that require more effort and mindshare. For example, a one question poll that builds a word cloud in real time works well at the beginning of a synchronous course; whereas a case study or peer feedback may work better toward the mid to latter part. Then, consider the ‘what if’s’ and have a Plan B.

The best way to seek feedback is to start by having clear expectations and then asking if those expectations were met. I prefer to get feedback using a variety of modalities. Specifically, while written feedback is available, a conversation enables two way communications and its often helpful to talk.