Many forward-thinking professors at universities across the world are seeing the potential of the online environment to provide high-quality training to those who would otherwise have limited access to higher education. In education, we are living in an exciting and complex period. Online education is putting collaborative learning front and center, and it’s influencing how traditional courses are taught as well. Online education, to put it simply, refers to courses that are delivered through the internet.
The instructor’s role is critical in the e-learning process. That is because it is in his hands to encourage, inspire, and ensure that students do not feel alone as they embark on their learning journey. It ensures that students are tracked and given appropriate feedback throughout the learning process. Moreover, they don’t retort to “online course help” services. Learning Management Systems (LMS for short) include resources such as peer-to-peer instant chat, email, and other tools. These tend to guarantee that the student and lecturer are only a click away from one other.
What are the basic pillars of any online course program?
Students must have access to a computer, the Internet, and the desire to achieve in a non-traditional classroom to enroll in an online course. Online courses offer an effective form of course delivery that is not constrained by time or place, allowing students to receive education at any time and from any location. Let’s take a look at some of the key aspects of an online course program:
Uncompromised quality of Content
The content stays outclass throughout the courses. Aside from the simplicity and appearance of your LMS, the content is the second most essential factor in keeping students happy. The curriculum’s purpose is to set the tone for an organization’s course design and to provide a set of rules for both teachers and students. So, while a system must be well-designed and efficient, the content quality must match the overall image you want the LMS to convey.
It has been observed in the recent pandemic situation that despite the high-quality content given to students in the pre-Covid19 Era. However, there has been a slight decline in its quality. Considering education and that too when a teacher is not physically present to facilitate and interact with the student is already a challenge. The lack of high-quality content would divert the already distracted pupils and they won’t be able to perform better in their respective future careers.
The Base of Any Course – The Curriculum
The curriculum is the key as it reflects through the progress online curriculum has two important factors, process, and outcomes. The process of curriculum design should integrate different facets drawn from life, work, and educational experiences. With that, they should generate meaningful dialog, draw a link between the learned concepts and practical experience. They should also include ample time for the completion of the assigned work, utilize a minimal amount of memorization. Overall the curriculum is supposed to maintain a balance between the teacher, and the students, technology, and incorporate group and team activities.
The learning outcomes designed mustn’t be too difficult for students to comprehend. They should be more attainable. Additionally, they should offer a practical demonstration in different aspects of life so that students would understand what they are studying better. An online program’s curriculum must be tailored to the short-term, collaborative character of the medium. An on-the-ground curriculum can be used if it has been extensively adapted to work in an online setting. Modules should be used to arrange course content, with defined deadlines for each part’s assigned tasks.
Professors should provide straightforward and obvious assignments rather than overly difficult jobs. Lectures should be shortened, and open-ended statements that stimulate replies and demonstrate a variety of perspectives should be substituted. The application of the information in the actual world should be emphasized in online courses, as well as the development of critical thinking abilities and the exchange of views.
A trained Teacher works as the bridge
In an online class, a skilled teacher is essential. The teacher is frequently the online course’s creator and monitor and therefore has a significant impact on the program’s success or failure. The online environment is affected by the teacher’s training, personality, and attitude. A good teacher knows how to bring life experience, professionalism through active communication, and information into the classroom. The teacher’s personality plays an essential role in virtual classrooms since it sets the tone. Students will rapidly get comfortable in the online setting if the teacher is supportive and pleasant.
Teachers have two important tasks they should be mindful of – a proper curriculum design and effective academic facilitation. Online education is not the same as classroom instruction that has gone digital, audio, or video. The teacher-student interaction, his/her management of the class interaction, and student-learning materials are significant in online education. In a teacher-centered classroom, a teacher’s traditional position of “disseminating knowledge” is lost when they go from on-ground to online.
Therefore, an instructor’s energy should be directed into being the vehicle through which students may find learning in a student-centered atmosphere. The online instructor is no longer the center of attention, rather, he/she is assisting others in discovering and synthesizing the learning content. To do this, the teacher must believe in the efficacy of the online paradigm as well as the importance of critical thinking. As a result, given the changes in the learning environment, traditional teaching approaches simply do not work.
Technology plays an equally critical role
A good online program must include technology as a final component. Due to the rapid rate of change and the creation of new Internet-based tools that may be utilized in online courses, choosing appropriate technology becomes particularly difficult. Chat rooms, e-mail, electronic forums that arrange discussion answers in a variety of ways. Plus rapid access to the Internet for research is also included in certain software packages.
Technology should be chosen based on the online programs’ goals and objectives, and it should be user-friendly, accessible, dependable, and low-priced. Large graphics, video, and music have long download times, and complex applications frequently obstruct rather than help the learning process. The optimal technology for delivering course information should be chosen.
The simplicity of use, the degree to which it stays a tool rather than the focus of learning. Most importantly, the technology’s transparency all contribute to successful technology usage. Technology is a tool for delivering education, and it must be as smooth as possible in order for good learning to take place.
Conclusion
Teachers must be comfortable with a specific technology before adopting it in their courses. You can also encourage students to attend an orientation program before the course begins to become familiar with the software used in class. As an instructor or teacher, the students must be engaged in your classes. Since, if they are bored, they will ultimately seek someone for “do my test” services. That is something you don’t want.
A planned curriculum that is brimming with interesting content and activities makes your students stick to your classes. The key elements of education ensure that everything stays in place. So before you conduct a class or two make sure you have a checklist on you. So that it would be easier to effectively apply various strategies combining all the key facets of education along the way.
