Distance Education - Best Practices for online Learning (synchronous and asynchronous)
Prepare the platform: Set up an online space that is simple and easy to navigate, with clear language and visuals. Numbering 1-2-3 leads students through activities and icons identify subjects and apps. Keeping it consistent throughout the term is important.
Plan less: Plan less content to cover and allow more time to navigate technology, interact and complete activities. When teaching online everything takes longer. Preparing for this saves time and unnecessary heartache for teachers, students and families.
Practice more: Try out every activity and assignment before delivering it. Teachers know their content well. Transferring it to an online setting with variables, such as technology access, digital literacy skills, learning styles, and language barriers creates new barriers to learning.
Know your audience: Conduct a needs assessment to get to know students - digital literacy skills, home situation, educational functioning level, language proficiency, technology access, etc. – and adjust instruction based on identified needs.
Teach the approach: Teaching at a distance (online) is not just another approach. Online learning has become part of the curriculum. Teach students how to do it. This a critical step in the success of education this year.
Include strategies: Research-based instructional strategies are as useful at a distance as they are in-person.
