Implementing the Principles of Good Practice in an Online Course
By Scott Vigallon

1. Good Practice Encourages Effective Contact Between Students and Faculty
Instructor-student contact is a key component in the teaching/learning process. Technology can foster contact, providing additional vehicles for student/faculty interactions and placing the information in an appropriate context. Technology has given us additional tools to foster interaction in a student-driven manner adapted to the technology used.

Examples:

• Virtual office hours in chatrooms
• E-mail between the instructor and students. Let students know how long you will take to reply to their messages. Let students know what types of questions should be answered by you, by other students, and by the college technical support desk. You can also email periodic progress reports to students.
• Listservs
• Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Bulletin board discussions between the instructor and students
• Blogs
• Journals
• Twitter
• Instant messaging
• Webconferencing
• Social networking
• You can also use the telephone, fax machine, on-campus office hours, web phones, etc.
  

2. Good Practice Develops Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students
Education in a learner-centered model can be enhanced technologically by giving more team-based projects that create working situations for collaboration. Team-based projects can be between members of the same course and/or class, or it may connect similar learning environments to create an even larger learning community.

Examples:

• Use e-mail to work together.
• Use chatrooms.
• Use blogs.
• Use group-based bulletin boards.
• Use wikis, which allow users to freely create and edit web page content using any web browser.
• Use Google Apps.
• Have students find relevant web sites that the instructor can use with the class.
• Have students work virtually with students from other classes.
• Have students work collaboratively on documents, spreadsheets, web sites and presentations using Google Apps.
• When students work collaboratively, they can conclude by presenting their finished product to the class (i.e. via a web site or a PowerPoint presentation).
• As a preview strategy, have students work in groups of three to do the following: Student 1 writes a paragraph-long draft answer to a key question, then e-mails the draft to Student 2 for refinement. Student 2 then e-mails it to Student 3 to further refine the paragraph. Student 3 then has to negotiate consensus approval with Students 1 and 2, and submit the paragraph on behalf of all three students.
  

3. Good Practice Uses Active Learning Techniques
Active learning has been shown to be most effective when the learner is engaged. Technology, when used well, can tailor the instruction and learning experience. As students become more involved in their learning, they assume greater responsibility for that learning.

Examples:

• Links to other web sites
• Web site assignments
• Blogs
• Wikis
• Games
• Interactive lectures
• CD/DVD lessons
• Simulations
• Virtual reality/virtual worlds
• Research on the Internet
• Collaborative learning that results in group projects

4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback
Individualized technology-mediated instruction has the capability of providing prompt and frequent feedback to the learner.

Examples:

• Virtual office hours in a chatroom
• FAQs
• Prompt response to e-mail. You can give feedback to an assignment, and you can also send a quick reply, letting students know that you received the assignment.
• Collaborative writing activities
• Objective test results, with remediation, can be returned immediately.
• Assignment results can be returned faster because students don't have to wait until the class meeting to see the results.
• Student self-evaluations on topics such as readiness for taking an online course or determining learning styles can be done quickly.

5. Good Practice Emphasizes Quality Time on Task
Not only can technology extend the time on task, it can also increase the quality of that time. The use of technology can provide learning directed and meaningful assignments and activities. Technology extends classroom activities beyond formalized meeting times.

Examples:

• Provide links to information on the web so students won't spend too much time searching for it. This can be especially beneficial to students who need help with certain assignments.
• Provide links to information on the web that students otherwise could not find in a library.
• Post model assignments on the web. This way, students will be able to see what an excellent (or average, lousy, etc.) paper or other assignment looks like prior to them beginning.
• Use computer-based simulations of topics that might be difficult or time-consuming to set up in class. For instance, have students dissect a virtual frog instead of a real one.
• Have students attend a virtual field trip instead of planning, organizing, and getting students to attend a real one.
• Set deadlines.
  

6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations
The same high standards used in the traditional classroom should also be used online. Be sure to communicate these standards.

Examples:

• State your learning outcomes and objectives.
• Provide examples of model assignments, model postings, etc.
• Provide rubrics for writing assignments.
• Praise outstanding work to the rest of the class.
  

7. Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Modalities of Learning
Varied learning styles, multiple intelligences and multi-sensory inputs can be addressed through various delivery methods including technology mediated instruction. Students have varied learning styles, and many traditional campus-based delivery methods emphasize a single modality, such as the lecture. Various technologies can provide an array of delivery techniques that can match the diverse learning styles accommodating the auditory, visual and kinesthetic, or various combinations when appropriately designed.

Examples:

• When possible, provide students with a choice of how to access online material. For example, provide a transcript for a video clip, or input an audio clip that reads textual information. Maybe post a handful of URLs on the same topic, with one URL being mainly text, another being mostly visual, and another containing lots of audio.
• Add multimedia to short lectures.
• Create content that can be downloaded onto students' mobile devices so they can learn whenever and wherever they want.
• Allow students a choice of submitting an assignment in text, as a presentation, or as a web page. Presentations and web pages can include graphics and other multimedia elements.
• Allow students a choice of selecting their own topics for a project.
• Instead of having students just read a lecture, make it interactive so they can make choices and learn more about given topics. These types of assignments allow students to work at their own pace.
• Narrate your lectures, and post them for students to view and review.
• Create accessible web pages so all students, including those with disabilities, can access them.

8. Good Practice Uses Appropriate Tools
Technology Mediated Instruction can be used to improve access and to provide alternate learning modalities, to reach individuals that might not readily make it to a campus, or who might have difficulty with a traditional campus approach.

Examples:

• Use e-mail, Twitter, social networking to make yourself more accessible to students.
• Use ePortfolios to assess student learning.
• Adapt your content to be viewed and/or listened to on mobile devices.
• Try to ensure that a traditional section of your technology mediated class is offered so students who don't have the proper technology can take the class.
  

The guidelines and some of the examples in this document are adapted from "Guidelines for Good Practice: Technology Mediated Instruction" by the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges.