Week 3- Try number 3

William Knopf- Blog entry week 3

Getting started in a course that is run in the online environment will be different in many ways then the traditional first days that I have come a custom to. However in other ways the experience will be the same, but with different and new techniques. One important item to consider and know is the technology that is currently being used by the students. This is extremely important due to it sets limits to what you can do. One thing that I think is great about the way Walden does their courses is that you know the technology prerequisites upfront. This way it allows the students to know the minimum amount of technology that they will need to be successful in the courses. Also this has a benefit to the instructor, because they know the students at least have the minimum technology for the course. Additional software, hardware, and accessories can be added later if needed, for example when I had to purchase the CS5 suite for the second course.
Communication is always the key to any healthy and productive relationship. This is true in the traditional classroom as well as the online environment. I major difference that has to be known is that the non-verbal communication will be lost in the online environment due to no face-to-face time. So communication has to be concise and to the point. One concern that I have is that sometimes written items such as emails, can be read with different attitudes. I am always careful to not make the tone of my communication negative or harsh. Vice versa if I read an email and feel upset or angry, I don’t response immediately. I walk away from the communication and come back to it later. This way I can be surer that it was the true tone of the communication and not my “reading” into it.
Variety of instruction is another thing to consider when setting up an online course. Like the authors Boettcher & Conrad (2010) stated that making different group sizes for projects is a good way to vary instruction and peer to peer learning. Another method that I use in my classroom that can be effective is modeling. For certain tasks and projects having an example or even a short tutorial video on how to do it can help the students. Another important thing to consider for setting up a course is to have good discussion questions and limited instructor responses (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). The learner focused style of instruction allows the peers to help teach each other. In discussions this can be halted or interrupted by too much instructor presence in the discussion boards.


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