Online Course Primer

Online Course Primer For Teachers

This primer reflects the development, teaching, and maintainance of my online courses, CNIT 132 (Intermediate HTML and XHTML) and
CNIT 133 (Interactive Webpages - JavaScript and DHTML).

Developing an Online Course:

Construct a well designed and organized schema.

Clear and simple homepage
Online Orientation
Syllabus
Content Modules
- Lecture notes
- Reading assignments
- Self-test review questions
- Exercises
- Tutorial URLs
- Homework assignments
- Extra credit assignments
Tests and Surveys
Discussion Board or Forum
Email
Chat Room
Calendar

Homework assignment due dates
Chat session dates

Compile

Construct an indepedent overview mini-site, on the fog server to show prospective and registered students the following information:
- Course Description
- Online Orientation
- Registration
- Course Advisory or Prerequisite
- Face-to-Face Meetings
- Course Resources
- Past Student Comments
- Weekly Tasks
- Course Schedule
Construct an independent website on the fog server with various related pages of interest, tutorials, and other resources.

Teaching an Online Course:

Reply to student emails PROMPTLY.
Give positive feedback on homework assignments that are above average.
Encourage students to email each other for support and propose that they meet face-to-face in study groups.
Use both internal and external email.

Discussion Board

Post an introduction to each topic in the course.
Post tips about the course content and pitfalls about the homework assignments.
Post FAQs about the homework assignments.
Encourage students to post questions, comments, and tips about the course content and homework assignments.
After completing a homework assignment, require students to post an 'After Completion Report', and encourage students to respond to these posts.
Post relevant problems concerning the course content, and encourage students to solve them and then post their answers. I call these postings 'What do you think?'.

Chat Room

Use as an office hour for answering questions and connecting with students (twice per month).
Encourage students to use the chat room without your presence.

The homework assignment problems and the examples in the course content notes should work cross-browser and cross-platform, unless otherwise noted.
Constantly track all students and email those who are not participating in the course or lagging behind.
Strive to include occasional humor in your email responses, discussion posts, and chat sessions.
If possible, recruit a few good teaching assistants to handle problems that students are having with the homework assignments.

Maintaining an Online Course:

Elicit student feedback at the end of the course and then upgrade the course with the best suggestions.

Modify the course content notes for clarity and better organization.

Delete weak, out of date, or irrelevant topics from the course content.

Add in new topics to the course content that are relevant, up to date, and challenging.