Organizing Course Content

Many programs at NLU have developed course masters that are copied into CRNs (or "live courses") each term. This provides instructors with a foundation of course content (learning materials/resources, activities, and assessments) that were designed and develop with intention to align with course learning outcomes.

The course master typically includes

• Get Started Here. This module includes a course overview, syllabus document, required course materials, library and learner support, and communication expectations. It also includes a page that instructors can edit with their contact and biographical information.
• Modules. Course masters are designed with the understanding that students complete one module each week (10 modules = 10 weeks). Each module includes learning objectives, materials and resources, assignment and information. Since all of the content in the modules is carefully aligned to the module learning objectives, instructors should work closely with their program leaders if they want to make any changes to the content in the modules.
• Instructor Guide. Many course masters also include an Instructor Guide, which provides instructors with guidance on how to facilitate the course. It may provide additional information about the course design, additional resources an instructor may provide students, and ideas about how to facilitate an in-person or online synchronous class meeting.

If you are designing your course for an upcoming session from scratch, we would recommend the same type of structure (you can even ask for a copy of the Getting Started menu to easily include in your course!). Moreover, we would recommend the following set of tips for designing your course:

• Start from the end. Review the knowledge, skills, and/or dispositions that students should develop throughout the course. These are identified by the program and appear on on the University Course Outline (UCO) or Catalog Information Sheet (CIS)/Master Syllabus. Once you know where students should be at the end, you can begin to think how you can develop the course to scaffold students' learning (with multiple opportunities to learn about and apply instructor feedback).
• Define acceptable evidence. Consider how you will know that students have achieved the course learning outcomes and what evidence you would accept as evidence of this achievement. Here is where you will identify assessment methods to use in the course that will give students opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do. Ideally, you want to provide multiple opportunities for students, so they have a chance to apply feedback you give on earlier assessments.
• Plan learning experiences. Instructors tend to jump to this step first and try to figure out what activities students will do in the course. However, it is critical to clearly understand the learning outcomes and the acceptable evidence of achievement of those learning outcomes before you plan learning activities and identify/create learning materials and resources. It is also important to know who your students are, particularly what prior knowledge and experiences they may bring to the course, so your learning activities build on those.

Design Considerations

Website: Quality Matters (QM) (https://www.qualitymatters.org)

• QM is a nationally recognized, faculty-driven peer-review process used to ensure the quality of online and blended course design. The faculty at National Louis University adopted these standards to ensure the design of high-quality learning experiences for all students. Take some time to learn about the standards and why they are important, particularly to the development of online and remote learning experiences.

Website: The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework (http://udlguidelines.cast.org)

• The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Review the three three principles of UDL and think about how these guidelines may help you reduce barriers and maximize learning opportunities for all learners.

Course Readiness

Whether you are getting ready to meet the pre-term deadline for courses to be active here, or are finishing preparing your course for students to ask, this page has some helpful links and ideas to personalize your online course to set the stage for a meaningful and engaging learning experience for you and your students.

Remember that at NLU, we ask faculty to have their course "pre-term ready" two weeks prior to the first day of class. Some programs may ask you to do this just a bit earlier so they can assist you in your set-up, but, generally, midnight the day before your class is what you should target to have completed each of the these pre-term readiness tasks.

At a high-level, "pre-term ready" means the following have been completed in your course:

• The syllabus has been customized and uploaded back into D2L with the dates that match the official course schedule, your information, and the major due dates in the course.
• If applicable, updating the Instructor Information page in the Get  Started Here module. You can include contact information and a personal/professional biography (in either a text-only or multimedia format). Be clear about how and when students can contact you for assistance.
• Ensuring the required materials listed for the course are those listed in the online bookstore. Need access to a text? Register your NLU email address at VitalSource to see if you can get instant access to it.
• There are assessments (assignments, discussions, and/or quizzes/tests) assigned to the Gradebook.
• Checking that each assessment’s point value equals what is in the syllabus (and that each is represented in D2L and the Syllabus).
• The course has been made “active”. You can watch the video "Activate/Deactivate a Course in D2L" on the OIT tutorials YouTube channel to learn how to do this.

One thing that many instructors also do at the time of bringing their course active by the pre-term deadline is to hide their content modules until a few days prior to the course starting to give them more time to prepare the content and/or to discourage students from participating in the course prior to it starting. We leave that decision in your capable hands!

As the first day of class approaches, you will want to set aside time to finish preparing your course. Items that faculty often complete during the days leading up to the first day include

• Testing each URL in the content pages to be sure they are still working. While we strive to use external resources that are likely to remain active, sometimes the web address for the link changes, causing the link to break in your course.
• Entering due-dates for all graded items. You can watch the video "D2L Due Dates Tutorials" on the OIT tutorials YouTube channel to learn how to do this.
• Augmenting content in the course with any current event in the discipline.
• Posting a welcome announcement. You can watch the video "Post and Delete News Announcements" on the OIT tutorials YouTube channel to learn how to do this.

Preparing to Open Your Course

After you’ve met your pre-term readiness protocols outlined by the university and your program, it's time to start thinking about ways to forge a relationship with your new students.

Just like teaching a face-to-face course, first impressions are important. Additionally, the first outreaches to your students will set the tone for the course, so when thinking about how to engage your students and what to say in these first messages, think about the tone you want to set and how you want to communicate your personality.

It’s always a good idea to show your students who you are, so you can humanize yourself and let them know that a human being is on the other side of the screen. Below are a few ways to engage your students.

Welcome Announcement

A few days before the official term starts, you can post a welcome announcement in D2L and send that announcement to the students via email. In this welcome announcement, you can drive the students to take a look at some of the specific elements of the course, especially the syllabus, and invite the students to engage on the welcome discussion board. You may also want to give them a glimpse of what’s to come during the term ahead by briefly describing upcoming topics and projects in the course.

It’s also good practice to connect the course content to the student’s life by connecting the content to other courses in the program or current events. Some instructors also post pictures of themselves or pictures of the content to help bring these messages to life. Others choose to communicate the message with a video rather than text. No matter the mode you choose, you want to excite the student about the course content as well as provide them basic navigational information so they can access and engage with the course.

Welcome Discussion Board

The welcome discussion board is often the first way students engage with you and their classmates. As the instructor, you probably want to go first so you can model to the students the information to include in the welcome post. You’ll want to humanize yourself in the content in the post by providing personal information that you’re comfortable sharing like hobbies and interests or family information, to name a couple general topics. It’s important to be specific, so if you mention that you like to travel, you might want to provide a couple specific places you have traveled recently or your most favorite travel destination.

It might even be a good idea to share what sparked your interest in the subject matter you’re teaching by telling a brief anecdote to communicate your passion for the course content. Like the welcome announcement, many instructors include pictures to augment their introduction post, and some instructors prefer to post a video rather than text.

After students begin posting their introductions, it’s very important that you acknowledge their posts. It’s best practice to welcome every student to the course by responding to each post. You don’t have to respond with a great amount of detail, but to help the student feel welcome, you should welcome the student to the course and comment on a detail or two from their introduction.

Ice Breakers

Ice breakers can be fun ways to get people talking, and they can be used in a synchronous class meeting or on a discussion board. Some instructors employ them during the first 15 or 20 minutes of an entire online synchronous class meeting. You can also trot one out later in the course, too, as a way to mix it up and have the students share some more information about themselves. There are many variations of ice breakers, and a quick Google search will return numerous ideas. 

Time Management

While there are many things you can be doing to be efficient as an online teacher, here are some "tried and true" items that you may be able to incorporate early on in your online teaching that will create an engaging experience for your students and allow you to balance your time and energy.

1. Prepare your class ahead of the pre-term deadline and be sure to check that the book in the online bookstore is accurate and that all your links work.
2. Enter due dates for every graded item in your course, in D2L and in the syllabus.
3. Subscribe to your Q&A Discussion Board (i.e., set up notifications) so you receive an email when a student posts a question.
4. Start thinking about one-to-many communication early.
   • Send a welcome email to your students a few days before your class opens.
   • Create your Weekly Announcement with text and video about important deadlines, to-do's, and any important advice/information they should have to be successful. Be sure to inform students that questions about due dates, content, assignments, etc., should always be posted in the Q&A Discussion Board.
5. Download your Classlist (un-check everything but User Details) into a Google Sheet and create a column for information you gather about them week-to-week ("Student Info") and one for every week the course is in-session.
6. Welcome every student in the Introduction Discussion Board (yes, every one of them), but just as important, jot down notes you learn about them into your Student Info boxes for each student.
7. Schedule an optional Zoom on Day 4 to do a "live" Q&A of how the course works.
8. Start your weekly routine.
   • Day 1 - Post your Weekly Announcement and start grading any assignments from the previous week.
   • Day 2 or 3 - Finish grading. Post a wrap-up email of themes and observations from the discussion last week and your grading. Record any remediation videos you feel may be necessary for next week. Refer students in Retain for tutoring or writing support, as necessary.
   • Day 4 - Start facilitating the discussion forum (if you have one) by co-constructing knowledge, asking questions, posting videos or articles. Use information from your Student Info sheet while commenting to students to personalize your approach.
   • Day 5 and 6 - Respond to any posts on the Q&A Discussion Board and light discussion facilitation. Post reminders in an announcement about upcoming assignments that are due, directing them to where they can find information about the assignment in the course. 
   • Day 7 - Respond to any posts on the Q&A Discussion Board.

Optional Synchronous Meetings

Hosting an online synchronous class meeting during the first week of the course is another best practice for forging a relationship with your new students. You can do this in a few different ways, and it’s a good way to go the extra mile to establish the relationship. If your course doesn’t have an allocated day and time to meet synchronously online (using a tool such as Zoom), some instructors offer a few different optional times during the first week for students to drop-in and say hello and meet other students who are also meeting.

Essentially, these are drop-in, remote office hours that are available to all students. Some instructors who like a bit more structure may want to have students sign-up for these sessions, so they know who is going to attend. Other instructors skip the synchronous meeting, and instead have students sign up for a 10- to 15-minute phone call slot and call each student to personally welcome them to the course. A synchronous welcome to the course can show your students that you care about them and are invested in forging a relationship.

Helpful Videos

Time Management for Educators

Charlie, an online English teacher, offers five tips to manage time more effectively when teaching online. Which of these have you tried already? What other tips have helped you manage time more effectively?

^{Rasbuary, C. (2018, November 22). Time management tips for online teaching [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EScBoJ3cyeM}

Lessons Learned from Teaching Online

In this video, experts in the field share their insights on best practices for teaching online. As you watch, think about your own experiences in an online course—as an instructor or as a student—and how these lessons learned can help you continue to improve your online courses.

^{EDUCAUSE. (2013, May 6). 8 lessons learned from teaching online [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bp4BG4Me7TU}

Scenario #1

Angelica just finished all her grading and noticed that many students seem to be struggling with a key topic in the subject-matter.  She is worried about how she is going to fit in remediation since she is teaching a templated course and a new week has already started with all its pre-loaded learning activities already.  What are some of the things she could do to reach her students efficiently with this reteaching?

Scenario #2

Jorge is new to online teaching and is really excited about his subject-matter, and it is a course that students struggle with because it is math-based.  He is having trouble engaging about 5 students who are not participating very highly in the Discussions and seem to not be reading his feedback.  What quick things could he try to engage these learners that will not take away time from the other learners in the course?

Scenario #3

Ana is new to online teaching and has a large section of a writing-intensive course.  Even though it is 10 weeks long, each week has a Discussion, an auto-graded quiz, and a 5-7 page paper.  She is overwhelmed on the Monday of Week 2 when she sees 30 papers and 30 discussions to grade.  What advice would you give her?