Online Courses Are Harder to Teach Than You Think

In this thoughtful Campus Technology article, Texas-based educator Richard Rose says many young educators are under the illusion that online courses will be a breeze to teach: “They dream about how wonderful it would be to work from home in their slippers and to conduct meaningful interactions with students via Skype while preparing dinner. Teaching online means never having to be anywhere at any particular time, never having to wear uncomfortable ‘professional clothes,’ and never being asked a question without having time to research the answer.” After two decades of teaching online in higher education and the corporate world, Rose begs to differ. Here are his words of wisdom:

• Don’t expect constant validation. Instructors’ egos get much less stroking in online courses. Even with effective use of e-mails, discussion boards, and Skype, there’s an emotional vacuum on the professor’s side, says Rose: “Online teaching actually requires a much higher level of emotional security and confidence in one’s own professional competence.” 

• Work hard to know your students. Online instruction misses the vital dimension of nonverbal communication. “Remove the nonverbal component from the equation and the chances of misunderstanding increase exponentially,” says Rose. “In my online classes, I find myself constantly at risk of wildly misjudging people and their situations. I have had students whom I have mentally pigeonholed as headed for the dust bin – lacking both ability and enthusiasm – only to discover that they are top-notch performers who simply took a while to get the hang of the online system.” 

• Accept the loss of complete control. “To a great extent, online education operates on the honor system,” says Rose. “You never know who is really doing the work on the other end of the wire.” Teachers who need to be totally in charge will be uncomfortable in this environment.

• Be prepared to work really hard. “Between preparation, correspondence, and troubleshooting of student problems, I estimate that I put in 50% more effort in teaching technical courses online than I would teaching the same material in person,” says Rose. He makes about 16 hours of videos for each course – and it takes 20-30 hours to create one hour of video. To accommodate students who live in small towns with poor Internet service, Rose makes DVDs of his videos. 

• It’s not just a day job. “Teaching online is less a job than a lifestyle,” says Rose. Many online students work during the day and reach out for help during the evening hours. 

• Don’t become isolated. Since Rose’s online students are scattered all over the state of Texas, it makes no sense for him to keep office hours and he visits the campus infrequently. “The good news is that online teachers remain blissfully unaware of watercooler politics,” he says. “The bad news is that, if they’re not careful, online instructors can become seriously out of touch with the ethos of their workplace.”

“6 Keys to Engaging Students Online” by Richard Rose in Campus Technology, May 31, 2012, www.campustechnology.com; condensed in Education Digest, January 2012 (Vol. 78. #5, p. 26-29)

From the Marshall Memo #466