TEACHER GUIDE

TO ONLINE LEARNING

20 17
V E R S IO N 1, FA LL

MICHIGANVIRTUAL.ORG
INTRODUCTION
Michigan Virtual™ and the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute® (MVLRI®) have
produced a series of guides for those who provide support to students choosing to learn
online: The Parent Guide to Online Learning (https://mvlri.org/resources/guides/parent-
guide/), the Student Guide to Online Learning (https://mvlri.org/resources/guides/student-
guide/), Mentor Fundamentals: A Guide to Mentoring Online Learners (https://mvlri.org/
resources/guides/mentor-guide/), and the Teacher Guide to Online Learning, all of which are
available as free downloads. The guides were written specifically for those who have little or no
familiarity with online learning and who are interested in resources to help online learners be
more successful.

The Teacher Guide to Online Learning is intended to support those new to teaching online. It
is based on two Michigan Virtual courses: the first an orientation course for iEducators (new
teachers who are recent graduates of Michigan teacher preparation programs who have been
selected for a two-year digital learning teaching assignment with Michigan Virtual); and the
second a Professional Learning Services course for online facilitators.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Teacher Guide to Online Learning would not have been possible without the guidance and
valuable contributions from many experienced and dedicated professionals in the field of K-12
online learning. Special thanks to Michigan Virtual’s Student Learning Services (SLS) leadership
and the many authors of Michigan Virtual’s iEducator course and Professional Learning
Services online learning facilitation course whose expertise and experience helped direct
the structure of this guide. Michigan Virtual lead instructors and other staff as well provided
valuable feedback during the review of this resource.

We are especially indebted to the members of the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA)
who contributed their time, attitudes, artifacts, and expertise through personal interviews,
group discussions, and written responses that were used to bring this guide alive through
voices from the field. Specifically, we would like to recognize and thank the following online
teachers for their contributions: Carrie Madden and Mallory Kirkland (Georgia Virtual School);
Robert Selzler (Idaho Digital Learning); Kristen Koch, Annette Gleason, and Adam Knapp
(Michigan Virtual); Caitlyn Skinner and Jenny Lovering (Montana Digital Academy); and
Annette Walaszek and Jon Oestrich (Wisconsin Virtual School). Additionally, special thanks
to Dana Breed (Stevens Point), Erik Hanson (Appleton eSchool), Dawn Nordine (Wisconsin
Virtual School), David Parr (Arise Virtual Academy), Janean Ranis (Cameron), and Dan Tenuta
(Kenosha eSchool), and members of the Wisconsin eSchool Network and Wisconsin Digital
Learning Collaborative (WDLC) for their valuable contributions to the teacher guide.

Lastly, many thanks to MVLRI fellow, Rebecca Parks, for gathering and selecting quotes and
original content from the interviews she conducted with our experts: the teachers who are
teaching online learners in Michigan and across the country.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Meeting Secondary Students’

Special Needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
504s and IEPs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Table of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Using Different Modalities to
Reach Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
What Is Online Learning and How
Does it Work?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Teaching Culturally Diverse Students. . . . 28
A Working Definition of Netiquette Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Online Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Copyright and Fair Use . . . . . . . . . 30
Differences and Similarities . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for
Why Students Choose Online Learning. . . 6 Teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Why Teachers Choose Online Teaching. . . 6 How to Cite Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Online Learning Environment. . . 6 What Is Not Copyright Protected?. . . . . . 31
The Online Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 What Is Copyright Protected? . . . . . . . . . 31

The Online Teaching and Learning Plagiarism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Detecting Plagiarism Online . . . . . . . . . . 32
Your Online Work Environment . . . . . . . . . 7 Preventing Poor Choices Like
Responsibilities of the Cheating and Plagiarism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Online Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Standards for Online Education. . . . 33
Relationship Building. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Setting the Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 On the Same Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Individualized Communication (email,
messages, phone, and texting) . . . . . . . . 17
Guidelines for Facilitating a Class
Discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Communication Through Social Media. . . 21
Teacher Quote
Engaging Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Motivating Learners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Best Practice Tip
Assessment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Resource
Grading and Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Caution

Tech Tool Tip

WHAT IS ONLINE LEARNING AND HOW
DOES IT WORK?

Additional ways that online learning is

A Working being used in the K-12 space:
Definition of • expanding the range of courses available to students, especially in
small, rural or inner-city schools, beyond what a single school can offer;

Online Learning • providing highly qualified teachers in subjects where qualified teachers
are unavailable;

The International Association for K-12 • providing flexibility to students facing scheduling conflicts;
• affording opportunities for at-risk students, elite athletes and
Online Learning (iNACOL) describes performers, dropouts, migrant youth, pregnant or incarcerated
online learning this way: students, and students who are homebound due to illness or injury to
continue their studies outside the classroom;

Online learning is characterized by • providing credit recovery programs for students that have failed
courses and/or dropped out of school, allowing them to get back on
a structured learning environment, track to graduate;
to enhance and expand educational • helping students that are currently performing below grade-level to
begin catching-up through blended learning;
opportunities, providing instruction that
• addressing the needs of the millennial student;
is teacher-led, and may be synchronous
• providing on-demand online tutoring;
(communication in which participants
• increasing the teaching of technology skills by embedding technology
interact in the same time space such as literacy in academic content; and
videoconferencing) or asynchronous • providing professional development opportunities for teachers,
(communication that is separated by including mentoring and learning communities.

time such as email or online discussion

forums), and accessed from multiple
settings (in school and/or out of school buildings). From A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning v.2
(http://www.inacol.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/iNCL_NationalPrimerv22010-web1.pdf)

The online learning environment allows teachers to impact a much broader demographic of students, as
opposed to the neighborhood kids within the surrounding district. This makes the real-life experiences
and connections so much more exciting and enriches the learning experiences for everyone.

Differences and Similarities

Although some educators believe
that “anyone” can teach online or that
it’s easy, it takes a different skill set Whether the students are in front of you in a
classroom or behind you in an email, they all have
and practice to be a proficient online different personalities that you need to hone in on
instructor. In fact, many profess that and work with to meet their learning needs.
teaching online makes them an even
better face-to-face teacher.

4 Teacher Guide to Online Learning / Version 1, Fall 2017

 Many online learning
experiences provide
students with the same
What are the similarities between learning opportunity as
face-to-face and online teaching? face-to-face instruction,
but with a different delivery method.
In online instruction, students are
• You are an expert in your field.
given the chance to work one-on-
• You build relationships with students and create a learning one with their instructor such that
community. both can focus on the individualized
needs of that student. Students
• You evaluate student performance through written
are able to work at their own pace,
assignments and assessments. allowing them to have ownership
• You create supplemental resources for your students’ needs. in their learning. This is not always
• You seek to connect classroom lessons with the real world. possible in a face-to-face classroom.

What are the differences between

face-to-face and online teaching?
• Students will contact you individually.
• You develop relationships in a different way.
• There are more opportunities for individualization.
• Students will communicate with you and work on their courses at all hours.
• Students may begin the course at different times of the calendar year and not progress through the
course all together at the same time, depending on the online learning program model.
• Students may have greater discretion concerning the order in which they complete their lessons
so may skip around in online content and need to be redirected to go back and complete tasks,
depending on the online learning program model.
• You may not physically see your students. Unless you use video conferencing, for example,
communication will be primarily via email, the learning management system (LMS) message system,
graded feedback, phone, texting, etc.
• Michigan students have an onsite mentor to help support them and act as a liaison among students,
parents, and you if need be. (See more about mentors on page 15.)
• The content is often already created for you, depending on the online learning program model.

In the online classroom, I do not have the luxury of reading students’ body language to gauge their level of
understanding while teaching. Instead, I have to rely almost entirely on tangible data points like assignment
submissions, discussion posts, questions, and other work to inform student mastery. But this takes practice and lots
of open and honest communication between me and each student. It takes time, but it is time well spent when the
students find great success in their online class.

I can develop a much more personal relationship with my students in the online environment. In a face-to-face
classroom, you can easily get the surface relationship in a 45 minute period before they move on to the next class,
but the online environment allows me to meet individually with a student in need for whatever time is needed to
address academic concerns and personalize growth.

Teacher Guide to Online Learning / Version 1, Fall 2017 5

Why Students Choose Online
Learning
Students want to learn online for a variety of reasons. You may not know
why your students are in your online course, but what brought them Each student has a unique
there has an impact on their motivation and often on their success. reason that led them to
The Foundation for Blended and Online Learning along with Evergreen online learning, but together
Education Group published a report based on surveys, focus groups, we find commonalities within
and interviews with students along with other data. Why Students the learning environment
to build a healthy and
Choose Blended and Online Schools distinguishes three primary reasons supportive community of
students pursue online and blended learning (using both online and face- learners.
to-face learning in the same course): academics, social-emotional health
and safety, and interests and life circumstances.

Why Teachers Choose Online Teaching

Today’s teachers have many reasons for entering the online learning environment. Many teachers choose
online teaching for one or more of the following reasons:

• Life changes (pregnancy, young children, relocation, health concern(s), family concern(s), etc.)
prevent them from working outside of their home;
• Their home location is in an area with an unreasonable commute to a school;
• They have a desire to be challenged with a new modality of teaching;
• They aspire to reach a wide demographic of students who are interested in a specialty area of
learning that the teacher can provide;
• They’ve been encouraged to teach online by a school/district leader to expand their professional
growth and experience or to participate in a district online program; and
• They are looking for more flexible hours or supplemental income.

Whatever the reason, many teachers openly embrace this new challenge and find great satisfaction and
success in this new teaching modality; however, new online teachers quickly learn that there are additional
skills and knowledge required for this position. This guide is intended to provide new online teachers—or
those exploring the possibility of teaching online—support in making that transition.

ARNING ENVIRONMENT
THE ONLINE LE

Despite the many positive aspects of online learning, certain hidden, unknown, and invisible forces that you
may or may not be aware of can affect your ability to teach and your students’ ability to learn in the online
environment. As with any relationship or situation, the online learning environment presents challenges for
both students and teachers.

Why Students Choose Blended and Online Schools—http://www.blendedandonlinelearning.org/wp-

content/uploads/2017/01/FBOL-Why-Students-Choose-Blended-Online-Schools-Jan-2017.pdf

6
The Online Student
• Students come with various academic levels.
• Students come from a variety of backgrounds and have various life experiences.
• Students have various levels of technological ability, and their access to technology and the
internet varies.
• Students are used to working in a very different educational environment and may not have all
the skills required for successful online learning.
• Students probably have no previous experience with their online instructors.

The asynchronous teaching and learning challenges of the online classroom can require
a great deal of organization and flexibility on the behalf of the teacher. In some online
programs, students are allowed to enroll at random times during the course, complete and
submit work at different times, and ask questions that may be behind or ahead of where
the teacher is at the moment. When this happens, the teacher needs to address each
student exactly where they are in the course to value the individual learning process.

The Online Teaching and Learning Environment

Because of the asynchronous delivery of courses:
• Students may work at a different pace than the instructor.
• Students may work at a different pace than other students.
• Giving and receiving timely feedback can be a challenge.

It isn’t always easy for an instructor to see:

• Evidence of learning,
• Evidence of struggle, or
• Evidence of understanding.

Students have ultimate control over their time and attention, therefore:
• How does the instructor help students stay engaged with their learning?
• How does the instructor help students become successful thinkers and learners?
• What are the limits of the instructor’s ability to help students stay engaged and be successful
thinkers and learners?
Recognizing these potential sources of friction can help a new and/or seasoned online teacher prepare
positive solutions or employ methods to minimize or avoid these pitfalls and create a positive learning
experience for everyone. This guide addresses these potential challenges while also providing numerous
suggestions and best practices to make the online teaching and learning experience exciting and positive for
instructors and students.

Your Online Work Environment

Being efficient in managing your time when working online may be the key to balancing your work and
personal life. Prepare to be physically, digitally, and mentally organized so that you are not only efficient, but
can enjoy that balance between work life and home life. Begin by securing a workspace conducive to being a
productive instructor.

7
Tips for Organizing Your
Physical Workspace
Because you will be spending the majority of
your day working on a computer, repetitive
motions such as wrist pain can be a common
ailment. Your physical activity level will be
Tips for choosing your location: reduced if you choose to sit most of the day, and
eventually you may notice a negative impact on
your energy level. You must carefully structure
• Set up a space that is separate from your your remote work environment so that it is not
family life and area. only conducive to productivity, but is conducive
to your health and welfare at the same time.
• Choose a closed off space that will allow
for quiet and privacy.
• Consider a door with a lock or a “do not
disturb” sign if you live with others. Get enough sleep, eat healthy, and exercise.
This is sedentary work so rest your eyes,
Design your space to allow you to wrists, and back. Stretch periodically.

minimize distractions and help you

focus:
• Find a private space in your home (preferably with a door) that can be dedicated to your work as
a teacher.
• Set up your computer in an area with good light. Lights should be directed toward the side of or
behind your line of vision.
• Make sure you have high speed internet service with antivirus and malware protection software to
protect you and your students’ systems.
• Consider a desk you can raise and lower to avoid the negative health effects of sitting for long
periods of time.
• Use a comfortable, supportive, and perhaps ergonomic chair as you will likely be sitting for long
periods of time.
• Have computer paper, pens, and notebooks on hand.
• Do not slump or round your shoulders as fatigue will quickly set in.
• Consider using a foot rest that allows you to push
back into your chair. I always make sure my office is clean and
organized because I find it helps keep me
• Communicate proactively to those sharing focused on the students and not the “other”
your living space of the need to respect your things that need to be done around the house.
workspace and work hours.

Organizing Your Digital Space

Today millions of pieces of information bombard us at lightning speed. Just as you reduce chaos by
organizing your physical workspace, you want to achieve the same goal of keeping your digital world
organized. In order to relieve stress and be a more productive online teacher, it is essential for you to develop
and maintain an organized digital workspace that promotes maximum efficiency and helps you locate files
and items more readily.

Habits for a Productive Digital Workspace

Business experts offer these tips for making your digital workspace a productive place to work:

• Clear your virtual desktop. Get all those icons off the startup menu that makes your system run
slower.
• Scan paper documents, when possible, and place them in folders.

8
 • Use clear file names so you can easily retrieve them later. Alphabetize file names and be
consistent in your filing system.
• Get the folders for all the classes you teach set up and organized as soon as possible.
• Archive emails in folders labeled with the course
name and term.
• Create shortcuts on your desktop for programs, Before a new course begins, I prepare my
Google Docs and run through my check lists to
folders, and websites you use frequently. be sure I am fully prepared for the first day of
classes.
• Create bookmarks for common internet sites.
• Use a calendar with deadlines and note priorities.

Organizing Your Email

Email will likely be the primary way you
communicate with your students, their mentors, I am very organized, keeping track of all
and parents/guardians. You likely already have important dates within my Outlook Calendar.
In the past couple of years I have converted my
years of experience using email, but using it
documents over to my Google Folder so I can
as the primary means of communication for continue to work on them from any place at any
online instruction requires an organizational and time. Keeping my inbox cleaned out each day is
workflow strategy conducive to this type of work. also important. I have several email folders so I
The better you are able to plan and stick to a solid can easily locate a message when needed.
email management strategy early on, the better
you will be able to stay engaged with students
and others on a daily basis. This is critical to establishing and maintaining good relationships with all those
involved.

Organizing Your Calendar

In addition to email management, schedule
management is another tremendously important Before the start of a new course, I fill in my
Outlook Calendar that I share with all the
skill for an online teacher in order to stay in
stakeholders I will be working with over the next
sync with everyone in your virtual environment. few months. I add in my designated office hours
Scheduling and coordinating time to meet with with my contact information; I enter in my general
your students, mentors, and colleagues and course outline, due dates for assignments, quiz
blocking out appropriate time to attend to your and test dates, and anything else that is pertinent
to my students, mentors, and parents. I find that
instructional duties all take place within your
doing this ahead of time helps me feel organized
calendar. When used effectively, your calendar and prepared each week and also keeps me
can be one of your best allies in making sure you accountable to my own schedule.
stay on top of your schedule.

Having an intentional and deliberate set of routines and boundaries while working from home will also allow
you to be as productive and energized as possible:

• Maintain a routine
• Set a schedule
• Establish mental goals for the day
• Get dressed for work

Maintain a Healthy Life Balance and Manage Your Workload

Because we live in a “connected” world, there is a danger of not being able to disconnect from your work life,
so it may interfere in other aspects of your personal life. A few helpful hints can assist you in avoiding these
potential pitfalls and provide you with the healthy life balance needed for a happy and successful career.

9
 • Create a manageable work schedule that clearly defines your working hours and non-working
hours for your students, parents/guardians, and yourself. Be diligent in maintaining these working
hours, and do not feel guilty about taking advantage of your non-working hours. Set boundaries.
Clearly post your office hours in your course and on your webpage.
• Prioritize your tasks so the most important critical tasks are done first when your energy is the
highest. Learn to say “No” to noncritical tasks. Map out weekly goals and to-do lists and put them
where you can see them during your workday. Using electronic to-do lists can help keep you on
track.
• Be sure to remain focused on and diligent about your designated work schedule when you are
working. When you are “off,” be sure to disconnect and do not feel guilty about not checking
email or texts. Resist the tendency to work all of the time. Your personal time is just as valuable
as your professional time. Do not feel guilty for leaving the work behind during your “down time,”
and help yourself by walking away from
your electronic devices when you are
“off.”
Establish Professional Connections
• Give yourself a timeout to help you
refocus your energies and reflect on the Teachers can experience isolation just like their students do when they
move away from a face-to-face environment. You can address the stress
work ahead. of feeling like you’re all alone and on your own in several ways.

• Reach out for help when things get • Build relationships with fellow online teachers in your online school
tough. Identify others at your school, via through chatrooms, video collaborations, phone calls, and other
resources that allow for open and honest communication and sharing
social media, or in an online professional of ideas. Consider the EdWeb.net Community, the ISTE Standards
Community, The Educator’s PLN, Classroom 2.0, Teacher Square, and
learning network (PLN) who can provide Twitter. These sites offer incredible opportunities to connect with
support. other educators around the globe and to begin developing your own
professional online identity.
• Open separate email accounts, texting • Ask questions and share best practice ideas with other teachers. Be
open to sharing resources to enhance student learning. Often your
numbers, and other social media modes colleagues can be your best resource.
to balance your personal life with your • Actively engage in professional development opportunities and
professional learning communities.
professional life. This will help keep you
from checking your course-related email
and feeling like you need to react to
student issues during your designated personal time.

I intentionally close my computer down at the end of the day and do not return to it until the next
morning. I have found that I do more successful work when I allow myself to be with my family on my
off days and avoid working during that time.

Some of my best resources came from my fellow colleagues. I quickly learned to ask questions and
seek ideas from those who are even a few months more seasoned than me.

I quickly learned that I needed to set up a routine for reading assignments, grading, responding to
emails, and addressing gaps that I see students having in the class.

10
Setting a Daily Routine
Having a plan of attack for the day will help you mentally prepare for the day’s events. Below is a common
routine that successful online instructors have used to manage their time efficiently.

Daily Instructor Tasks

• Check and answer email.

• Compose a weekly group email to the entire class via the LMS message function. For the first
week, request a response to ensure your messages are received and get students started
interacting with you via email.
• Check and answer messages within the LMS.
• Grade student work.
• Make phone calls to parents/guardians, mentors, and students to build support for helping the
student be successful.
• Send regular updates to parents/guardians and mentors.
• Track student progress.
• Help students learn time management skills through use of any pacing elements available in your
course.
• Make expectations clear.
• Reach out to a PLN or colleagues to seek the wisdom of those who have lived and breathed
online teaching before you.

Establishing Classroom Rules and Procedures

Making your classroom expectations clear from the onset of class will save time and energy down the road.
Remember that many of your students are new to the online learning environment, so you will have to guide
them in terms of appropriate behavior, your expectations, and protocols required in your classroom.

Providing structure to your classroom helps eliminate stress on students. Help provide them that structure
so they can become independent, disciplined learners. Ultimately, you also want to create a safe learning
environment, one that is conducive to learning and in which students are respectful of the online instructor
and each other.

I keep our classroom rules positive, short, and to the point.

1. Participate Enthusiastically
2. Work to the Best of Your Ability
3. Be Honest and Let Your Personality Shine
4. Use Encouraging and Positive Language
5. Ask Questions and Communicate Effectively.

These rules are always posted on the course homepage and listed as
a box in my weekly newsletter. It keeps everyone focused and acts
as a constant reminder of my expectations.

11
Classroom Rules

1. Establish a consistent method and

format for submitting assignments
Basic Tasks for Reaching Every
within the LMS. Emailing assignments Student Successfully
outside of the LMS classroom is not a
Start of Course
good practice. Some LMSs time and • Reach out to students who haven’t started the
date stamp each individual student course, as well as the mentors and parents/
assignment, validating that it was guardians of those students, at least twice before
drop deadline.
submitted and when. There will be
instances when parents/guardians • Learn how to pronounce students’ names, or find
out what nicknames they prefer to use.
refute a claim that their student did
• Bond with the student so they see you as a real
not submit an assignment. The LMS
person who is there to help them.
usually contains a course database
• Create a personal welcome in the course LMS, and
that collects all login data, click
introduce yourself to students.
information, amount of time spent
• Make navigational materials readily available.
in certain areas of the course, and
• Make fun videos to keep students engaged and
course assignment submission logs to
interested.
provide individual student data.
• Reach out to students who haven’t gotten started.

2. Do not accept assignments until • Provide quick turnaround of assignments while

students learn to submit them material is fresh in students’ minds.

correctly in the first few modules. • Make contact just to see how students are doing.

Make this a teachable moment. • Build relationships with online learners’ mentors.
Students and parents/guardians may • Call students who have not completed the first unit
push back, but the goal is to make of work for a phone conference.

students accountable for their own

learning, and that goes hand-in-hand Mid-Course
• Contact students who are lagging behind.
with having a disciplined approach
• Encourage students not to give up.
in following the classroom rules and
procedures. Consider some practice • Acknowledge bright spots.

activities before getting into the • Set up times to meet to discuss challenges.
modules themselves. Mentors may • Provide “re-navigation” to get back on pace.
already be working with students on • Start talking about end of course date several
these kinds of new skills. weeks in advance.
• Acknowledge the time crunch: Send out calendars
3. Make directions clear. Provide an with remaining weeks for students to re-organize
additional tutorial if need be to clear the remaining work and make a plan for
up any confusion about what is completion.

required. Explain the assignment in • Create a course countdown.

a different manner, use screenshots, • Verify when students’ schools need their grades,
make a video, provide an audio and create custom end dates as needed.

recording or even meet in real time • Maintain a high level of encouragement to

complete the course well.
with the student via the LMS or a
Google Hangout, for example, to clear • Get grades in as soon as possible once students
finish the course.
up any misunderstandings in how to
• Ask for student feedback at end of each unit.
proceed. Simple but complete rubrics
can help to clarify expectations and
provide clear concise directions.

12
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ONLINE
TEACHER

Relationship Building
One distinguishing feature of online learning is that
all interactions must be sought out intentionally
The Adolescent Community of Engagement
and supported. Online learning environments
(ACE) Framework focuses on areas of
do not have the affordance of natural social student, teacher, and parent involvement
opportunities that fully face-to-face environments that can deepen relationships within online
do. Online facilitators don’t have the ability to read courses that will foster both safety and
body language, see students visibly struggling, or learning. See The Adolescent Community
informally build rapport with a “How’s it going?” of Engagement Framework: A Lens
check in. We must develop and refine instruments for Research in K-12 Online Learning
that aide the teacher in engaging with students in Environments for more information.
ways that promote deep learning fellowship.
https://goo.gl/dCgSrq
Creating a human-to-human bond with your online
students, as well as with their parents/guardians
and the student’s local online mentor, is critical in
determining student success in your online course. This can be accomplished through effective individual and
group communication, encouraging engagement in the course, productive and growth-focused feedback,
and multiple opportunities for students to ask questions and learn in a way that is meaningful to them.

Communication
Effective communication promotes an effective learning environment, whether face-to-face or online, and is
arguably the most important (as well as most frequent) activity online instructors engage in. Communication
can make or break your students’ experience.

Communication skills are the most important teaching skills and instrumental to becoming a successful
online instructor. In fact, effective and positive communication skills may be more important than
instructor content knowledge. Communication is the make-it or break-it key to letting students know
that we are real people who care about their success.

Why Is Communication Important?

We know that how a student feels about learning greatly affects the student’s retention and performance in a
particular subject, so we want students to feel positive about as many aspects of their learning environment
as possible. Unlike in the face-to-face learning environment, in some programs, teachers simply do not control
many aspects of the online environment, for example, which LMS is used, the look and feel of the course, the
specific course content, and in many cases, how the student work is graded. However, you do have control
over a foundational element in students’ online experiences: communication.

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 The number one key to being a great online teacher is to be an excellent communicator. You do not
need to be an extrovert to be a good communicator; instead, you need to have an online relationship
with someone. You can be an introvert and have a huge impact on your students through your computer.

Creating a human bond with your online students is critical in determining their success in your online course.
It takes skill, time, energy, and heart to build a professional academic relationship with each and every student
and maintain the positive connection throughout the course that contributes to their success. As a facilitator
of online learning, you will quickly realize that you simply cannot leave anything unsaid.

Setting the Tone

In your online course, you will want to be the first one to communicate because you are responsible for
setting the tone for the type of experience students will have. The first contact is when and where that begins.
An instructor must take a number of actions to officially welcome students, mentors, and parents/guardians
to the online experience.

Welcome Letter
Instructors should send their students and the
mentors who work with those students a welcome
letter containing at least the following:

• Instructor contact info

• Office hours
• Course start and end dates
I start the course with a welcome letter and a • Course requirements and expectations
few pictures of me in a casual environment.
This helps my students see me as a real • A professional-looking instructor picture
person, not just 26 letters behind a keyboard. Keep in mind that your students and others involved
I keep it light in tone but am sure to layout
my expectations, office hours, and any other
in their support will see you as a real individual if
pertinent information they may need to know. you share information about yourself, including your
interests and outside activities. Each recipient requires
different consideration.

Students
As you compose your first communication, consider the following:

• Kick off the learning experience with a positive and professional message. Show that you are
excited to work with the student and that you are approachable.
• Post the letter in the course info area of your LMS and in the announcements area, too.
• Send the welcome letter within five business days of the start of the course or within five business
days of a student joining the course. Remember to send the letter to each new student who adds
once the term starts.
As you create these opening communications, keep in mind how you want students to feel the minute they
sign into your classroom. In addition to a welcome letter, video announcements are an opportune way to
personalize your course. Remember, announcements are students’ first impression of you, your teaching style,
and your presence in the course itself.

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 Online teachers need to be comfortable enough to record themselves—not necessarily their face but
their voice—so that students can hear that they are a real person behind the keyboard and make a true
human connection.

At the beginning of a term, you will have many students to The first assignment in my online class
welcome. You may wish to set up a list (such as a class roster is for the students to read my welcome
spreadsheet) to indicate that you have sent a welcome to each letter and then respond with their own
student and mentor. As the term progresses, more students brief introduction. This serves a dual
may be enrolled. You can add them and their mentors to the purpose: I get to know each student
spreadsheet, too. Some instructors gather other info on these and their interests, and I can assess
same sheets from the students’ letter of introduction and their understanding of the classroom
exchanges with mentors, essentially creating a database about discussion board and submitting
their students for easy reference. assignments.

Parents
It is also a good idea to send a letter of introduction to the parents/guardians, if possible, because they are
a very important and often over-looked member of the students’ support system. This is your first chance
to establish positive contact. Remember that they may not understand anything about the online course
and may not even know their student is taking an online course. Encourage them to contact you with any
questions or concerns and supply all your contact information so they can communicate using the method
of their choice. Be sure to let them know that the student has a mentor at their school and who the mentor is
if you can. Contact the parents/guardians at least one additional time during the course to share something
positive about their student.

I send a welcome letter to both the student and the parent introducing myself. I briefly share my
interests outside the classroom, provide my contact information and office hours, and offer other
pertinent information about the class. Even if I do not make voice contact with the parents/guardians, I
like knowing that I have reached out to them and let them know I am available to help in any way.

Mentors
Michigan law requires that online students be assigned a mentor employed by the school from which they
enroll. The mentor’s role is to support the students in their online learning experience. Schools approach this
position differently, but mentor responsibilities often include everything from getting a student enrolled to
keeping students on pace to dealing with LMS challenges. Mentors often act as a liaison between students
and their teachers and help students learn to learn online. They are critical to student success and to helping
students stay engaged and on pace.

• Introduce yourself to the mentors and send a copy of your introduction and student welcome
letter to them.
• Email one student welcome letter to each mentor so the mentor is aware of what the students
have received from you so they can reinforce your expectations and directions. Personalize each
letter by indicating the students’ first and last names as well as which course they are in. Many

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 times mentors oversee many students, and it will help establish good rapport with mentors for
you to specify which of their students are in your course.
• Work with the mentors to understand what may be impeding a student’s progress, diffuse tense
situations, break down communication barriers, or address other unique situations that develop.
• Discuss student progress with mentors to keep them informed of the students’ work—and vice
versa.

If your course contains password-protected tests, consider having a separate mentor welcome letter
and student welcome letter. Include the passwords in the mentor letter but not in the student letter.
The mentors will thank you!

Announcements
The main way you will communicate with your
class as a whole is through announcements. The Tools to Enhance
announcements page serves as the homepage for Announcements
your course; it’s always the first thing that students
see when they come to class. The announcements There are many tools that you can use to present
information through announcements. Not every
are like a timeline that stays open throughout the tool is appropriate for every type of announcement,
semester. Students will be able to see the current but consider using one or more of these tools when
week’s announcement and all previously released providing supplemental information, a personal
introduction, or an important reminder for your class.
announcements, so remind them to check that area
of the LMS regularly. • Animoto—Create videos from images, great for a
personal intro video.
• Jing or Camtasia Relay—Create simple
screenshots or videos to present an alternative
explanation of content for students.
• YouTube or TeacherTube—Share an inspirational
or helpful video to supplement the course
content.
• Keynote, PowerPoint, or Google Slides—Create
I try to keep my announcements fun, comical, your announcement as a visually-appealing slide,
and encouraging. I also incorporate polling tools save it as an image file (.jpeg, .gif, etc.), and
into my announcements to give students the upload it as an image in announcements.
opportunity to voice their thoughts on topics • Pixton or ToonDoo—Create a comic strip to
illustrate a concept or provide a reminder of
outside of the content addressed. This allows course policy.
them to have fun conversations about things they • PowToon—Produce an animated video to
may be interested in. communicate important information.

Announcements are an opportunity to personalize your course and customize the experience for your
students. Share your passions and provide helpful supplemental materials according to students’ needs. Make
the announcements page an area that students are drawn to—consider how to keep it interesting so that they
will read, listen to, and view the important messages you are communicating to them. Include images and
video where helpful, but be sure to abide by principles of Copyright and Fair Use (see page 30).

Format your text in helpful ways, such as using bold, various text sizes, colors, and highlighting to
demonstrate the most important elements of your message. At the same time, too much of these techniques
can make your announcement seem unprofessional. It can also end up being distracting or hard to navigate.
Try to use formatting as a visual way to capture students’ attention and highlight important aspects without
being distracting and keeping accessibility guidelines in mind. The best announcements strike a balance
between attractive formatting, inspiration, and helpful information that together enhance the students’
experience in your course.

The Purdue Online Writing Lab – OWL – provides an overview of Visual Rhetoric, or how visual images
communicate meaning. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/691/01/

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 I send out a Sunday Announcement Update each week in my online class. These allow me to give
praise to the efforts of specific students or the class as a whole, provide tips or additional resources
to enhance prior learning, and share an overview of what will be discussed in the upcoming week.

Post a minimum of one announcement per week containing at the least a reminder of that particular
week’s pacing goals and a motivational message or supplemental content.

Make it as easy as possible for students to access any resource you include in your announcement.
Post a live hyperlink or embed it within the announcement. If you use an image, size it appropriately
so the content may be viewed easily but it doesn’t take up the majority of the screen.

Individualized Communication (email, messages,

phone, and texting)
Much of your communication as an online instructor will be highly individualized personal email or phone
calls to a student, mentor, or parent. Each time we communicate individually with another person, we are
sending multiple messages—some intended and some not intended. It is a common saying that 90% of
communication is nonverbal, such as body language, tone, the timing of the response, and the method of
the response. Since much of our online communication is lacking body language and often tone of voice, it is
crucial that we pay close attention to our delivery techniques.

As teachers, we have the privileged position of modeling a personal, polite, positive, and professional
communication style for our students to emulate. This is particularly important because most students do not
have much experience with or understanding of netiquette.

See On the Same Page on page 35 for a form used by teacher Caitlyn Skinner from Montana Digital
Academy to learn more about her students and improve communication.

Consider the Four "P's" of good communication:

personal, polite, positive, and professional.
Personal
Whether communicating via phone, email, or in person, show the recipients—mentors, students, parents/
guardians—that you are interested in their well-being and are happy to serve them. Use the person’s name,
and try to foster relationships whenever possible.

I start my email using the student’s preferred name, just as I would if we were in a face-to-face setting. This is
a small act that can make a huge impact on building a relationship with each student.

Polite
It’s important to remember that—like you—the person on the other side of the screen has joys and trials and
everything in between. As in a face-to-face environment, you will have tense moments of communication. It’s

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not a matter of "if," it’s a matter of "when." Resolve to treat the person with respect and dignity even when
you feel you aren’t receiving the same treatment. Never respond in a way that could be interpreted as curt or
rude. This can be more challenging when you do not have the advantage of seeing body language and facial
expressions.

When I receive an email from a frustrated student or parent, I do not respond immediately. I give myself
permission to wait several hours to construct a well-worded, positive response. This also allows me,
when needed, to contact the student’s mentor or another professional that may have an alternative
insight to the situation to give the student the best possible, positive, and polite response.

Positive
Keep a friendly “I am on your side” tone to all communication. Let your positivity influence those around
you. It’s likely your students will experience some negativity during their online learning experience, whether
it’s confusion over course content, difficulty navigating the course, or struggles with time management.
Each point of contact with you should leave a positive impression. How students feel about their learning
has a huge impact on the overall effectiveness of their learning experience. As you know from face-to-face
experiences, one negative point of contact can do damage that is very difficult to reverse, and it’s all the more
difficult to detect when you can’t see the individual’s reaction. One personal, positive communication with you
can completely stabilize the experience.

The tone of an email is critical. No matter what the situation, I am always going to assume the best of each
situation and avoid anything that might sound accusatory or judgmental.

Professional
Proofread and revise your communication in order to attain a professional tone and level of quality. Read
the message out loud to yourself to hear how it sounds. Once you hit the "send" button, it cannot be taken
back. Check for typos, lack of clarity, and areas of potential misunderstanding. Avoid sarcasm as it does not
translate well in online communication. Never use slang, texting lingo, or all caps. Model appropriate grammar
and mechanics; for example, follow capitalization rules and use proper punctuation. Above all, maintain a tone
that communicates value for the other person.

I use email as a way to coach students on the differences between social and professional communication.
If a student sends me an email that begins with "Yo," I might respond with "Sup Dawg," answer their
questions, and then use this teachable moment to instruct the student how to professionally and
effectively construct an email.

The same suggestions about formatting announcements (see page 16) applies here, e.g., using bold, italics,
color, etc., to demonstrate the most important parts of your message.

I quickly learned never to use red to emphasize a word or phrase in an email. Although red grabs
attention, it is almost always seen as negative or scolding. Green or blue are my best font color choices
when I feel I need to highlight with color.

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Finally, one of the greatest challenges of individualized communication is ensuring that the message you
are sending is the message the student, the parent/guardian, or the mentor is receiving. Since your facial
expressions and body language are not visible to your students, the tone you establish in your messages must
be clear to avoid misinterpretation.

When I write an email, I start by writing what I want to say. Then I re-read it with my student eyes or my
parent eyes to see if I am receiving the same message as intended. It takes time, but I only get one chance
to portray an accurate email, so that time is well spent.

Responding to an email as soon as it comes in almost never seems to be a good idea. I give myself some
"think time"—anywhere from 10 minutes to four hours, even if the initial email is positive. This allows me to
consider my words carefully, ask advice if necessary, and make sure my tone is positive, or at least neutral,
so as to not be interpreted wrong.

Phone Communication
Phone communication with a student or mentor is just
as appropriate—if not more appropriate—and more Caution: Some issues may warrant
efficient at certain times. Often a simple phone call can the precision and clarity of written
communication. Email and messages
clear up a lot of confusion, and a live conversation can
from the LMS and your work-related
allow for a much quicker and clearer resolution to a email create a paper trail which can be
detailed issue than several back-and-forth emails. Just referenced later if needed.
pick up the phone and call. The same basic principles of
the Four Ps — personal, polite, positive, and professional
— apply. Remember to document phone conversations, too, noting date, time, subject, and any important
details.

In the first week of each course, I set a goal to contact each student and parent by phone to introduce
myself, give them a voice to my name, and prove that I am not a robot. This one action has made a
significant difference in the positive relationship connection I develop with my students throughout
the rest of the course.

Texting
Some students—and parents/guardians—prefer to communicate via text. Meet students where they are
comfortable and likely to engage in communication, but always keep the Four Ps in mind. Many instructors
have realized the sheer power of harnessing the most accessible and comfortable format for students. Some
instructors, upon giving out a number for texting, start hearing regularly from students who have rarely (if
ever) made contact previously.

Some instructors have set up a Google Voice account to use for texting with students. This way, you
don’t have to give out your personal cell number. Texts can be routed directly to your Gmail account
and you can respond to them on any device you wish. See (https://voice.google.com/) for more
information on Google Voice.

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 I have a separate work text number that I give to all my students to use. Throughout the week, I send
random short messages of praise or encouragement to select students, reminding them that I am
truly an advocate for their success. I can also be a bit more casual in this form of communication,
allowing me to send positive emojis or gif’s to enhance my message.

Learn the students’ communication preference—email, LMS messages, texting, or phone. You can
collect this information using a Google form, for example. Note preferences where you can access them
efficiently, a student roster spreadsheet, for example, and use them when you contact your students.

Guidelines for Facilitating a Class Discussion

Many online courses also have discussion activities in which students post comments in an asynchronous
discussion board within the LMS. Some of these discussion activities are very simple (such as providing an
objective response), whereas others include providing carefully-written responses that demonstrate mastery
of complex concepts.

Many students see discussion boards as a hoop to jump through to earn points. An instructor’s goal in
discussion activities is to facilitate the conversation to keep it moving in the intended direction. An instructor’s
presence in the discussion board keeps students engaged in the content and classroom community. Take care
not to be too involved. It is not necessary to reply to each post, but be mindful of responding to every student
regularly. You will want to demonstrate principles of polite, professional communication while affirming and
correcting students’ understanding of the concept at hand. Please keep in mind that all posts, both yours
and the students’, are public, so any comments made on the discussion board should be positive while you
prompt and facilitate the conversation. Any individual feedback for students should be made in the grade
book feature of the LMS and kept private.

I use the "feedback sandwich" when facilitating class discussions. To build a meaningful discussion, I
start with saying "I really liked how you did this but have you considered (enter idea here)." Then I tell
the students that they can obtain extra points if they email me a response to this idea within a certain
timeframe. This tends to keep the discussion going and build in higher level thinking skills that meet
their level of growth.

• Provide a model response in the general discussion instructions/rubric initially to show students
what you expect.

• Adhere to the same standards of behavior online as you would face-to-face. Be honest,
respectful, and polite.

• Take time to think about your response before you begin typing. Re-read it before you post it. Be
brief but clear and concise. If you would like to share a long article, post the URL and citation for
it.

• Move the discussion forward by adding to or expanding on comments already made.

• Always monitor online discussions and contribute when appropriate. Your presence will help
maintain positive expectations for student behavior, circumventing instances of inappropriate
comments or bullying.

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 • Link to prior knowledge or make personal connections.

• Ask clarifying questions to encourage students to dig deeper into their understanding of a
concept.

• Incorporate key terms and other vocabulary from the content.

• Encourage students to support their opinions by linking back to the lesson content or citing their
sources.

• Teach students that if they agree or disagree with a comment, they should state why.

• Teach students to evaluate the validity of arguments.

• Use the online discussion as a tool to challenge students’ thinking and help the group generate
new or expanded ideas.

• Avoid generalizations about entire groups of people, including racial, ethnic, religious, gender,
sexual preference, or other stereotypes.

• Provide grading rubrics for discussion board posts that include all expectations and examples of
moving the discussion forward.

Communication Through Social Media

From the golden days of MySpace to the explosion of Facebook, teachers continually explore new methods to
interact, engage, and communicate with their students that seem most comfortable to them. As fast as these
modes of communication are changing, so are novel ways for using them.

Understanding that this generation is driven by social media, I created a private YouTube and Facebook
page that I share with my students only. I create videos, upload funny or motivational pictures, post
announcements or upcoming events, and give “shout outs” to students using this medium to make a
more personal connection with my students.

Caution: While it’s obvious that there are a lot of benefits to using various social media platforms in the
classroom, there are also many things that teachers must consider and be aware of when integrating
these resources into their learning environments.

• Get student permission before using names.

• Never share student grades or other personal information.
• Have parents/guardians sign a release form at the start of the year for sharing student images, names,
video, and/or work.
• Avoid sending personal messages to students in social media.
• Create a specific classroom/teacher account for sites like Snapchat and Instagram.

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ENGAGING STUDENTS

Were you a student who excitedly raised your hand to answer a teacher’s question, or did you avoid the
attention? The online learning environment can increase the likelihood of students’ responses, whether they
are extroverts or introverts. Online instructors can influence student engagement and bring back enthusiasm
for learning or inspire it for the first time.

The online learning environment allows every student to have a "voice" in the classroom, ultimately
enriching the learning from multiple perspectives.

When an online teacher recognizes and validates every student’s input in the discussion board, it allows
the individual to see value in their own ideas and opinions. This can be the best way to engage students
in their own learning process and build intrinsic motivation to continue to grow in the subject.

Motivating Learners
Think back to the aura of excitement during the first day of the school year. If we can capitalize on this
excitement in the initial impressions of our online courses, we can tap into a student’s intrinsic motivation to
learn.

Motivation depends on a student’s personality. Quiet students often share their voices more in an online
culture because they feel comfortable and not like the spotlight is on them. I typically individualize this
motivation in my personal feedback and emails and use bitmojis to add a little fun and excitement.

Motivation is an emotion or desire within a person that causes the person to take action. People will usually
take action for one primary reason: to achieve a goal. People motivate themselves; we are not able to
motivate others. However, as teachers and online facilitators, we can influence motivation through the
learning environment we create. We can encourage and support students and contribute to their motivation
through tangible extrinsic rewards for a job well done or more personal intrinsic rewards that will propel a
student to push forward and succeed. In the field of brain-based research, studies show that providing a
learning environment that is safe—where students feel comfortable taking risks and sharing their thoughts—
promotes learning.

Do you run a "not yet" classroom? Consider Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset research as portrayed in her
TED Talk. In a "not yet" classroom, we create an environment where it is acceptable for students to make
mistakes, use initial failures to learn more, and see the experience as a growth opportunity.
https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve

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 I am always surprised at how professionals are so quick to tell us how to motivate students. In my
experience, we cannot motivate teenagers to do anything, but we certainly can UNMOTIVATE students.
I can make them do the work in the course, but I cannot make them LIKE the course. Instead, I focus on
the things that I can control and be myself. I can show them how excited the content makes me and find
engaging ways to deliver the content while providing an open mind to their questions and choices to
prove their understanding. If I am too rigid, I will quickly lose them—and that is the kiss of death in an
online classroom.

ASSESSMENT

You are an educator, so by the very nature of your profession, you want to help others succeed. Assessment is
a powerful tool to support student growth and promote success in an online environment.

Consider these strategies for assessment as an online facilitator:

• Offer feedback on student written work in Google Docs (via comment feature), connected to task
learning objectives, during their drafting process.
• Embed short quizzes in between new learning modules to help you and students understand
where they are and where they need to be before moving forward.
• Set up a discussion board where students reflect on their learning and you respond with both
acknowledgments of evidence of their learning as well as questions to extend their thinking.

Online classes allow for many different ways to assess students. They are not only tested on their
expressive skills with special assignments where they create a script and sign it but also a midterm and
final where they must put together all the materials and use all the skills they have learned throughout
the course. I use discussion boards, quizzes, and practice assignments to formatively assess how the
students are doing and pinpoint areas for further instruction.

Grading and Feedback

Grading, providing feedback, and the communication that accompanies these two tasks are probably where
online instructors spend 90% of their time and energy. It’s also difficult to describe grading and feedback as
a discrete activity, as they incorporate so many facets of teaching: relationship building, coaching, instructing,
correcting, redirecting, encouraging, communicating with various stakeholders, and more.

One thing that many online instructors appreciate about the online format is that they are freed up from daily
lesson planning and content delivery because the courses often already contain those elements. Instead, they
can spend their time and energy individually coaching each student. This coaching role is manifested in the
activities surrounding grading and feedback.

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 Students need much more support and feedback in the online environment than in a traditional course.
This is because students may feel alienated in the virtual classroom and they are still getting used to
learning outside the face-to-face classroom experience. Using effective feedback strategies will
enable the instructor to identify and meet individual student needs as well as encourage students to
participate and continue to participate at a high level. — Illinois Online Network
http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/communication/feedback.asp

Meaningful Feedback
How can we stimulate our online learners to be actively engaged in class throughout the academic term?
Beyond an enthusiastic warm welcome letter, interesting and helpful announcements, and encouraging
participation in class discussions, grading and feedback can effectively result in students feeling motivated.

Components of Meaningful Feedback

The acronym REPLY is a practical way to organize • R=Responsive—Provide a timely response
the key components of quality online feedback on to student questions.
assignments and assessments: • E=Effective—Offer specific comments
aligned to the assignment’s objectives.
R = Responsive.
• P=Positive—Use words that give off a
Instructors should establish, publicize, and maintain positive connotation.
expectations for grading and providing feedback
• L=Learning—Include suggestions for how
for student assignment submissions. Timely the assignment can be improved.
feedback is critical because students may have
forgotten what they submitted if the feedback takes • Y=You—Make it personal and not just a
standard response.
too long. The idea behind timely feedback is to
capture and use the students’ connection to their
work while they still care about it. Capitalize on the
students’ interest in the work before they move on in the course. Timely feedback also allows the student to
incorporate that feedback into future work in the course.

E = Effective.
At best, an instructor reflects back to students a realistic picture of their progress. Therefore, feedback should
be very specific. Make comments that speak to the assignment’s objectives, keeping in mind the context of
what the student has been learning throughout the course. If your course incorporates the use of rubrics, use
them to assess the students work. Avoid general, broad comments such as “Good job.”

P = Positive.
Feedback should not be merely corrective. Always acknowledge when the student is making an effort and
what the student is doing well so that they continue with those behaviors. Make sure you maintain a positive
tone throughout your writing. Read (and reread) your comments to assure that a positive tone is maintained,
even if the nature of your feedback may be primarily corrective.

L = Learning.
Expand the learning opportunity for students. Point out a few suggestions for improving the assignment. Fill in
any perceived gaps in student understanding. At the same time, don’t overwhelm the student (and yourself) by
pointing out every little thing that can be improved. Make your feedback positive, helpful, and memorable by
focusing on a limited number of attainable improvements for the student to consider. Provide an opportunity
for growth by allowing students to learn from your feedback and try the assignment again. Remember, an
environment in which students feel safe to try alleviates the highly motivational fear of failure. Learning when
they understand failing is a positive aspect of learning and it’s okay to take risks as a way to move forward. The
goal is for students to master the content, not simply move on in the course.

If I was in the face-to-face classroom, I would be walking around and supporting students by answering
questions and guiding their work. The online environment doesn’t allow for me to do this as easily, so I allow
my students to submit most of their assignments in draft form first and receive growth-focused feedback
from me. Then they have the option of redoing their work for a final grade within a designated timeframe. This
is my way of providing “on the spot” guidance in an online forum and continuously encouraging best efforts.

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Y = You (Personal).
Personal feedback helps you build a relationship with each student. Students who feel you care about them
and their success are more likely to be successful. Use greetings and closings. Use their name. It makes
the students feel valued and communicates that you are speaking specifically to them, not using a canned
response.

Other Types of Meaningful Feedback

Praise and Encouragement
Much of your instructional tasks are reactive, such as answering emails and grading assignments. However,
the skilled teacher will be proactive, reaching out to students when instructor contact can be helpful and
taking time to celebrate student achievement.

Consider making a quick phone call or email each week to encourage one or two students who have done an
outstanding job on their coursework, have shown sound character, or who have made solid steps to improve
their progress. Or highlight excellent student work each week in an announcement and display the example
for other students to see so that they have a good model. You could schedule a task like this into your online
calendar as a recurring appointment so that you’re reminded to do it each week. Such tasks do not take long,
yet they may yield great results in terms of encouraging students to continue their focus and stay on pace.
This type of activity also helps to strengthen the teacher-student relationship, which in turn becomes an
important element in the students’ motivation to learn.

Many students know that if they are struggling, a teacher will reach out to help. However, most students
are not expecting a phone call or email from a teacher when they are doing something well. I find that
praising students for a job well done is just as important as reaching out to the struggling students for
help; therefore, I try to recognize the good work and efforts of at least three students each week.

Redirection and Clarification

While grading student work, you may find that students are missing some key knowledge or skills needed to
succeed in a lesson. Perhaps they are missing essential prior knowledge, there is an academic integrity issue,
or they seem to have some real difficulties in navigating the online course.

In situations like these, mere feedback isn’t enough. Don’t let a situation like this continue for long. Pick up
the phone or open your email and reach out to the mentor and student. When you take the initiative to reach
out to the mentor and student to address the issue early, it’s much more likely that the student will have a
successful and enjoyable experience in your course.

When I provide feedback, I encourage my students to respond back, even if it is a short message
confirming they received my message. If I do not hear back within two days, I find an alternative way to
communicate my message to the students to ensure that they received my feedback and answer any
questions they have. This also shows the students that I am committed to helping them succeed and
builds trust in our relationship.

Schedule regular time during your week to look for students who may be behind or skipping lots of
assignments. Reach out to them. Document that you reached out, and schedule a follow-up call in a
week to see if they have progressed. Contact their mentors to alert them to your action and enlist their
support. They may be aware of extenuating circumstances the students have not shared, too.

25
MEETING SECONDARY STUDENTS’
SPECIAL NEEDS

While the one-size-fits-all approach is still prevalent in many educational settings and may be what most
students experience, online options can be very personalized, and there are many technology enhancements
that assist students in learning.

504s and IEPs

Even though most student-centered educators truly believe that all students can learn, they are quick to add
the caveat that all students do not learn at the same pace, time, or in the same manner. The entire gamut of
online learners will arrive within your online classes, from gifted and talented learners to those with severe
learning disabilities. Understanding the struggles of those with disabilities or extreme challenges can be a life
altering paradigm shift in terms of how we apply our knowledge and instructional strategies to assist them.

IEP and 504 Learners: Speaking the Same Language

Some terminology often used in IEPs and 504 plans may not be familiar to many teachers.

Accommodation: makes the work accessible, but does not substantially change the work, e.g., testing in a
separate setting, reading the text aloud, reduced amount of work, etc.

Modification: the subject matter is changed by being significantly below grade level or changing what the
test measures. By making modifications based on the student’s IEP you are leveling the playing field, making
it possible for those students to have the same chance of success as students without IEPs.

Differentiation: planning instruction based on individual student interests, needs, and abilities to include
students with disabilities, gifted, etc. The instructor may, for example, provide real life problems, create a
new assignment, focus on visuals, use current events, create movies, review games, or use flash cards as
instructional strategies.

IEPs: the Individual Education Plan is written by the local school. The committee includes parents/guardians,
administrators, support personnel, and other student advocates. The plan identifies modifications to be made
based upon the student’s abilities and limitations.

IEPs are identified by the school district or mentor in my online program. I keep a separate,
private worksheet of the student and his/her accommodations. When I use one of these noted
accommodations, I make sure to note this with a date and short description of the accommodation in
my worksheet to keep accurate records for future reference.

504 Learners: Michigan Department of Education has prepared a quick reference guide regarding
learners with 504 plans. https://goo.gl/rXNSgd

26
Using Different Modalities to Reach Students
How Great Teachers Teach Struggling Learners
Great teachers share some commonalities in how
they approach teaching. They continually refine For more ideas about how to present
their teaching craft, devote energy and effort material in different modalities, visit:
http://vark-learn.com/strategies/
to their approach, and reflect on how to make a
lesson better and more accessible the next time.
Great teachers also present content in a variety of
ways to enhance student learning and make the
lesson come alive using authentic and meaningful Universal Design for
techniques. They may use videos, personal stories Learning
and storyboards, songs, or even art to enhance the
When differentiating instruction online, one of the
content and appeal to a variety of student learning frameworks to use is that of the Universal Design
preferences. When teaching struggling learners, you for Learning. It helps the instructor meet students
may want to begin with step number one below and where they are. Here are the key concepts for
applying UDL in your learning environment:
take the individual learner through a specific learning
process for success. Keep in mind that the intended 1. Principle I: Provide Multiple Means of
outcome is small steps of success, not giant leaps of Representation (the “what” of learning)
learning. 2. Principle II: Provide Multiple Means of
Action and Expression (the “how” of
1. Activate prior knowledge learning)
3. Principle III: Provide Multiple Means of
2. Make learning connections Engagement (the “why” of learning)
3. Manage the instructional learner level For more information about UDL, please
visit: http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/
4. Model the desired responses whatisudl/3principles
5. Provide opportunities for lots of guided UDL Scan Tool: http://centerononlinelearning.org/
practice resources/udl-scan-tool/

I often help my students beyond the content by creating videos with Jing. This allows students
to hear my voice AND see the concept taught in a different format, and I can go at a pace that is
appropriate for that individual.

Many struggling learners lack the prerequisite

knowledge required to be successful in the course Put together by the School of
in which they are enrolled. Particularly by high Education at William and Mary, here is
a comprehensive collection of different
school, many struggling students have been passed instructional strategies delineated by
on without attaining even a proficient level of discipline and/or learning disability
understanding of key concepts and learning building to help you help your students learn.
Visit https://education.wm.edu/
blocks required for success. They typically don’t centers/ttac/resources/articles/
know how to learn. That’s where your expertise as a teachtechnique/
professional educator comes into play.

27
 Practical instructional strategies used by online instructors Use the learners preferred
to help struggling students: write clear directions, provide communication method such
examples, create an assignment checklist with the pacing as: texting, email, phone.
guide, use rubrics to clarify, make the learning relevant They are more prone to be
to the individual student, provide alternative options to in touch and communicate
meet the desired goal, provide instruction using multiple using the communication
modalities, e.g., voice, video, written email, screen captures, method that’s more helpful
synchronous real-time sessions. to them.

Teaching Culturally Diverse Students

An online teaching experience may require a fuller understanding of the variety of culturally diverse
students you may provide instruction to online as well as the educational settings and expectations of the
learning experience and environment of their native culture. You may encounter students who are new to
the U.S. Not only are they adapting to a new language, but a new way of life and societal norms as well.
Build a relationship with these students, respect them, provide opportunities for them to practice their new
behaviors, and use guided feedback as they become acclimated to online learning.

Annie Shibata, Ph.D., a cross-cultural trainer, researcher, and lecturer, suggests these strategies for helping
students succeed in the online learning environment:

1. Keep the language standard and as much as possible, culture neutral. Avoid using slang,
idiomatic expressions and culture specific humor and references.
2. Make expectations about online learning clear. Some students may come from societies or
cultures where students are not expected to be responsible for their own learning.
3. Be accessible. Some students are used to hierarchical systems where the instructor is the
“expert,” thus these students are likely to feel more lost in the online (classroom) and need
more instructor contact.
4. Learn about other cultures, but remember that the linkage between culture and learning styles
are affected by age, gender, and individual experiences and preferences.
5. Avoid making generalizations about individuals based on superficial knowledge about the
group. Understand your own teaching and learning style preferences, and your assumptions
about learning. Cultural self-awareness by instructors is crucial. Uncover your own hidden
biases.
6. Understand your target audience. If the target audience is in America, then a reasonable
expectation is that students will make accommodations to the American learning process.

Students in the online environment will be learning new skills as they are learning course content. Be prepared
for challenges related to self-regulation, time management, accountability, and communication. The move
from face-to-face to online learning requires a lot of adjustment for students. Look to your students’ mentors
for support. Share your perspective with them and offer to collaborate on solutions because they’re working
with students on the same set of new skills.

28
 Consider having all students write an introduction to you. As we have seen, learning preferences and
culture have a number of variables involved.

Example:

a. My experience with online learning is_________________.

b. Having to put my ideas in writing and share them with other students on the discussion board
makes me feel ______________ because _______________ .
c. I’m taking this class online because ________________ .
d. In this course, I’m most worried about _______________.
e. In order to be successful in this class, I need the instructor to ______________ .
f. I do/do not prefer to work in groups.
From Annie Shibata, Ph.D.

Netiquette Guidelines
Online students may feel anonymous given the fact that they cannot see you and you cannot see them.
Their appropriate behavior online will need to be guided in this new environment to maximize the learning
potential of all students and provide everyone a safe environment. This is particularly evident when it comes
to communicating with their teachers and other students via email, text, and discussion boards.

Helping your online students realize that the expectation

of appropriate behavior in the online classroom is
no different than in a brick-and-mortar schoolroom
needs to be presented deliberately. There are certain
behaviors that are expected of everyone within the
confines of that classroom including the interaction Some teachers ask that their students sign
with instructors and their peers. Because this is a new and return guidelines to pledge themselves
experience for online learners, they need guidance and to following them. Some teachers go as far as
support to develop their own Four Ps of communication getting parents/guardians to sign as well to
say that they will check in with their students to
and feedback to learn how to be personal, polite,
ensure they’re following the guidelines and being
positive, and professional. You can find many samples respectful of others.
of netiquette guidelines on the internet. Select one and
share it with your students by placing it in the resource
area of your LMS, or check with the students’ mentors
and reinforce what they’re doing.

29
COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE

Have you ever copied part of an article, musical selection, picture, or movie not created by yourself to show
to your students? Most educators would not give these instances of using someone else’s work a second
thought because it’s for an educational purpose. However, teachers need to consider the legal ramifications
that may be attached to the use of some of these materials as the U.S. federal government takes copyright
infringement very seriously. A key question to ask involving the use of anyone else’s work is whether your
intended use is for commercial use or for a nonprofit educational purpose.

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers

To ensure you are following proper copyright protocol, consider the following suggestions before using and/
or copying materials within your online courses:

• Link to a copyrighted source that’s available online

unless that violates terms of use.
This job aid provides a quick
• Embed YouTube videos because embedding is a form of
reference specifically for teachers
linking and the YouTube license is sufficient for use. regarding copyright and Fair
• Use copyrighted material without permission if it is Use. http://education.ky.gov/
covered under Fair Use. districts/tech/ciits/Documents/
TeacherCopyright_chart.pdf
Fair Use is permitted under certain conditions when your use
contributes to society. See the resource box on this page to
learn the four factors of Fair Use.

When in doubt of a copyright infringement, ask the owner of the work for permission. Use Public
Domain resources whenever possible. Also, provide the appropriate attribution to the work such as
pictures you may use online. Creative Commons provides easy to use licenses to reuse materials at:
https://creative commons.org/. Check out royalty-free images to use in online courses:

• https://pixabay.com
• https://www.pexels.com
• https://www.flickr.com—filter search results by Creative Commons license
• https://commons.wikimedia.org—all images are either Creative Commons or Public Domain.

30
How to Cite Sources
What are the benefits of properly citing one’s sources of information?

• Gives credit where credit is due.

• Provides a trail so that other people can locate the sources you used.
• Provides evidence of your research.
• Helps you avoid plagiarizing and is a good model for students.

Many quick reference guides for properly citing your sources are available online. Provide several to your
students or create your own based on your favorite resources and post it in your course resources area in
your course LMS.

What Is Not Copyright Protected?

• Facts
• Ideas
• A joke that is not written down
• A song that is sung but is not written down
• Short names or slogans
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic
ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.
• Items that are common property with no original author such as calendars, rulers, etc.
• Works in the public domain or the federal government

What Is Copyright Protected?

• Websites, presentations, published music, reports, etc. — any original work created in tangible form
• Anonymous works until 95 years after publication
• The HTML code used to create web pages
• Graphics, pictures, or charts from other websites
• Commercial software

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PLAGIARISM

Typically, students do not get a lot of instruction about plagiarism and the consequences. Many people
suspect the online environment is rife with cheating and plagiarism. Post your expectations for original and
cited work in your course and provide guidelines or online sources students can use as a reference. Contact
mentors if you need support with particular students or assignments.

Detecting Plagiarism Online

• Conduct a web search by copying and pasting several lines of the document into the search
engine to find a match on the internet. Follow your teacher radar if an assignment doesn’t feel
right and raises a red flag with you.
• Check the time and date stamp of when the assignment was submitted. Most LMSs provide time
and date stamps for all assignments submitted within the course. If a student submits several
assignments within a very short time frame, this may be an indication of inappropriate assignment
sharing with another individual.
• Ask if the student is using a flash drive to save his/her work and then submits all work at the same
time.
• Ask the student if the author of the document is a relative who registered the software (like Word,
PowerPoint, etc.) on the computer the student uses for online classes.
• Ask if the student used a public computer such as at the school’s computer lab and forgot
to logout which may have allowed someone else to access the course without the student’s
knowledge. The mentors should be able to help you verify if the student was working on a
computer in an online learning lab.

When I see an assignment that does not appear to be the student’s original work, I assume that the error
is on my end and clarify by asking a few questions. In my follow-up feedback, I ask the student specific
questions that would expand on their work to check for true understanding of the material. I may also
ask for specific references and/or resources that the student used to help in completing the assignment.
This almost always clarifies whether plagiarism is a factor in the completed assignment.

Preventing Poor Choices Like Cheating and

Plagiarism
• Be sure students understand what constitutes plagiarism and how to cite sources.
• Provide students and mentors your expectations for the assessment setting (e.g., no phones,
browsers closed).
• Develop good relationships with students.
• Emphasize learning and mastery over accountability and completion.

32
Proctored assessments can be set up to help verify who is taking an exam. For example, the instructor
password-protects a test and provides the password to the mentor at the local school who then goes to that
student’s computer, types in the password, and the test then opens up for the student. This solution takes
coordination on the part of the student, mentor, and instructor.

If possible, where the course design provides a test bank of questions which can be randomly selected for
each test taker or the order of the questions can be rearranged, take advantage of those options to help
maintain the integrity of the assessment.

If you suspect that someone else may be taking an assessment for your online student, then set up a mutually
agreeable time in which you can conduct a verbal assessment with the student to validate your concerns.

S FOR ONLINE EDUCATION

STANDARD

While the quality of the course you’re teaching may be out of your hands, know that other agencies and
organizations provide oversight and/or guidelines that contribute to a quality online teaching and learning
experience.

AdvancEd — http://www.advanc-ed.org/ — Program accreditation

AdvancEd is nationally and internationally recognized as the accreditation body for many public and charter
schools. This organization periodically conducts on-site external reviews of schools to ensure learners can
achieve their full potential.

iNACOL — http://www.inacol.org/ — Program, course quality, and teacher standards

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) “drives the transformation toward student-
centered, next generation learning for K-12 education.”

Quality Matters — https://www.qualitymatters.org/grades-6-12 — Course quality standards

Quality Matters (QM) is an international organization whose mission is to "promote and improve the quality
of online education and student learning through [for example] development of research-supported, best
practice-based quality standards and appropriate evaluation tools and procedures” and “provision of faculty
development training in the use of QM Rubric(s) and other quality practices to improve the quality of online/
blended courses.” See https://www.qualitymatters.org/ to learn more about how QM has developed a quality
assurance program for K-12 online learning.

Curriculum Quality
Quality at the curricular level is informed primarily by state adopted standards, including the Michigan Merit
Curriculum (MMC), the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and nationally recognized standards, such as
those established by the College Board for Advanced Placement (AP) courses. It is important that courses are
aligned to state or national standards to ensure that students earn appropriate credit towards meeting their
academic goals (e.g., graduation or certificate).

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RESOURCES

iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Teaching

https://www.inacol.org/resource/inacol-national-standards-for-quality-online-teaching-v2/

iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Courses

https://www.inacol.org/resource/inacol-national-standards-for-quality-online-courses-v2/

iNACOL National Standards for Quality Online Programs

https://www.inacol.org/resource/inacol-national-standards-for-quality-online-programs/

Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities in K-12 Online Learning: An Analysis of the iNACOL
Program, Course, and Teacher Standards
https://mvlri.org/research/publications/meeting-needs-students-disabilities-k-12-online-learning/

Access for All: Serving Students with Disabilities in Online and Blended Learning Environments
http://media.mivu.org/institute/pdf/servingstudents.pdf

Parent Guide to Online Learning

https://mvlri.org/resources/guides/parent-guide/

Mentor Fundamentals: A Guide to Mentoring Online Learners

https://mvlri.org/resources/guides/mentor-guide/

Student Guide to Online Learning

https://mvlri.org/resources/guides/student-guide/

Supporting Online Learners: Michigan Mentor Program Case Studies

https://mvlri.org/research/publications/michigan-mentor-program-cs/

The Changing Roles of Educators Series: The Blended Learning Coach

https://mvlri.org/research/publications/changing-role-educators-series-blended-learning-coach/

The Changing Roles of Educators Series: The Blended Teacher

https://mvlri.org/research/publications/the-changing-roles-of-educators-series-the-blended-teacher-2/

The Changing Roles of Educators Series: The Instructional Technologist

https://mvlri.org/research/publications/changing-roles-educators-series-instructional-technologist/

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 ON THE SAME PAGE
CAITLYN SKINNER, MONTANA DIGITAL ACADEMY

The purpose of answering these questions:

I will better understand you, you will better understand the course and you will have the opportunity to better
understand me (ask questions!)

QUESTIONS YOUR ANSWERS

1. What name do you prefer to go by?

2. Where are you from, and what do

you like to do most where you live?

3. Why are you taking an online course

in English this summer?

4. How many online courses have you

taken before?

5. Our email accounts are EXTREMELY

important in keeping the lines of
communication open. Did you send
me an email from your [school/
course/LMS] account, to my
[school/course/LMS] account?

6. What will help you succeed in this

course?

7. What may prevent you (physical,

educational, family-related issues,
etc.) from succeeding in this course?

8. What specific problems are you

having, if any, getting started on the
coursework?

35
 QUESTIONS YOUR ANSWERS
9. Do you have any vacation, camp, or
similar plans that may require some
extra planning to stay on pace in
the class? Please list any/all that you
know about.

10. What specific goals do you have for

this course?

11. What type of communication do you

prefer — email, chat, phone, text? If
it’s a number that may not be in the
[course/LMS], please list it in your
answer.

12. What are my office hours? [add hint

for finding your office hours here]

13. What is the name of the mentor or

mentors assigned to you at your
school?

14. Whom would it be best to contact

regarding your grades and
progress? (Please provide email or
phone number.)

15. Are you aware that a summer course

has the same amount of work that a
course has during the school year?

16. Is there anything else you would like

me to know?

17. Is there anything else you would like

to know about me or the course?

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O O N L I N E L E ARNING
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T E AC H E R G U I D

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