The final report on my Fellowship is ready and only a few days late! I am going to attempt to post it on a page here – as soon as I read through the rather complex hoops WordPress requires of Mac users to create another page.
The key word for successful online teaching is: flexibility. Be non-linear not linear.
Remember, the internet is by nature a non-linear environment that allows individuals to surf – one does not read the net from beginning to end… but dips into it at different points. The task of the online instructor is in a great sense, to guide this surfing in order to make meaning grow from the experience.
Here is a list of ideas that give a sense of the nature of online teaching as being non-linear:
post industrial
a face not an interface
a community
be accessible
be flexible
be imaginative
your own voice
have a facebook page
have a blog
tweet
allow students to surf
be yourself
The Instructor's Voice 