To paraphrase the the often cited quote attributed to Albert Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”, I open with if you want different results, change what you do. Major areas to consider changing your course are your course presence (Chronicle of Higher Education), rethinking your definition of learning, and consider using authentic assessments.
Show Up since “when you are regularly present and engaged in the online classroom, your students are more likely to be, too”. Be visibly present and engaged the same amount of time each week.
Be Yourself by capturing “your personality and your passion in ways that are different from what you might do in person, yet authentic … Use a unique voice in your writing. Mini-lectures, assignment instructions, answers to questions, weekly announcements — you can write those in such a way as to represent your true self..”
Put Yourself in their Shoes “You can’t observe when you’ve lost their attention or when your instructions aren’t clear. Yet you want to support them just as you would in a campus-based classroom. How can you do that? By anticipating their isolation and planning for it in your course design … Ask experienced online-faculty members or campus instructional designers to go in and poke around as if they were students.”
Use Intuitive Course Organization “Compare the organization and support services of your in-person courses with what you provide in your online teaching”. You design should be “methodical, systematic, and purposeful”. Student focus should be on learning the content, not the learning management system (for example, Canvas).
Add Visual Appeal to your course because the “appearance of our surroundings affects our enjoyment and therefore our engagement … You don’t have to be a graphic designer to enhance course appearance. A little attention to presentation goes a long way. Do you have a lot of written lecture notes or instructions? Break up long chunks of text with subheads and space between paragraphs. Embed relevant images. Include thumbnail videos that you’ve either created or sourced from YouTube, news sites, or library resources. Aim for attractive yet appropriate”. Remember to ensure that your course is accessible (ADA-compliant).
Explain your Expectations What “often happens in online classes: The only instructions come in the form of written text. You might think your writing is clear, but what’s missing is the kind of nuanced explanation that you routinely provide in a physical classroom … Aim for a balance between thorough and digestible”.
Scaffold Learning Activities When you teach in person, “You explain things — step by systematic step — to help students learn and perform successfully on tests, projects, papers, and other assignments … To help students succeed, you must be creative. Scrutinize your assessments, both large and small. Have your students had the opportunity to build — step by step, as they would in an in-person classroom — the knowledge and skills they will need do well on those assessments”?
Provide Examples because online learners “benefit from multiple explanations of difficult concepts and multiple examples of the kind of work you want to see … When you show students what you’re looking for, they’re likely to be more confident in their ability to succeed on a task, which in turn increases their motivation to engage meaningfully”.
Make your Class an Inviting Pleasant Place to Be because if “you struggle to enjoy the online learning environment as an instructor, it’s not hard to imagine that this struggle is even harder for students”.
Commit to Continuous Improvement “A hallmark of good teaching is the desire to keep getting better at it … Demonstrate your commitment to student success by pursuing your own professional development from time to time”.
References
https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/advice-online-teaching