Tips for Teaching Online

E-mail and Listserv

• Establish conventions for e-mail subject lines (e.g., “Re: ECON 101 – Assignment 1”).
• Request that students use consistent attachment formats (e.g., MS Word or Rich Text Format).
• Inform students about how rapidly you will respond to their messages.
• Set up ground rules for appropriate and inappropriate interaction online.
• Manage messages by creating “rules,” “labels,” or “filters” in your e-mail program. For help, see: Mulberry http://www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/s4312/;
  Web Mail Blue http://www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/s4297/;
  Web Mail Maize http://www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/s4358/.
• Keep a record of important correspondence between you and your students.

Course Management Software (e.g., CTools)

• Identify which features (tools) you will use and what teaching purpose they will serve.
• Start by using a few features (e.g., “Resources”and “Announcements”) and then add more complex tools.
• Utilize support services (http://ctools.umich.edu/portal).

Online Discussions

• Define clear goals for discussions.
• Organize online discussions by topic and category.
• Establish clear expectations for assessing student performance in online discussions.
• Define a clear start time and end time for synchronous discussions.
• Design questions for discussion ahead of time.
• Summarize the main points students should have learned.

Problem Sets

• Students doing written problem sets may be able to submit their answers to you electronically, but note that you may not be able to see how they solved the problem. To help them see where they made errors, you may scan and post solutions, have students check their own work, and ask them to contact you with specific questions.

Assessment and Feedback on Student Learning

• Use CTools “Polls” feature to collect information about students or get formative feedback on the course. Other options are survey site such as UM.Lessons (https://lessons.ummu.umich.edu) or SurveyMonkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com).
• Provide formative feedback to students on their learning using communications tools.
• Use the “Test Center” tool in CTools or the “Drop Box” tool for graded assignments.

Adapted from Zhu and Kaplan (2006). Technology and teaching. In W. J. McKeachie & M. Svinicki (Eds.), McKeachie’s teaching tips: Strategies, research and theory for college and university teachers (pp. 229-251). New York: Houghton Mifflin.

back to top