By Zarela Cruz
When it comes to learning online,
teachers and prospective students have their own expectations. However,
sometimes appearances are deceiving; there is the misbelief that these kinds of
courses are quite simple and they demand much less effort than face-to-face ones,
either for instructors or students.
There are different kinds of online
courses: synchronous and asynchronous. In the former, there is a tutor and a group of students
who engage in learning at the same time. The
teacher accompanies you all along the course and monitors your progress. In the
latter, you learn at your own pace, free from the simultaneous occurrence of a classroom lecture. These are self-study courses that have graded activities or a
multiple-choice test at the end of each module; some also have videoconferences
and a weekly session to clarify doubts.
The questions listed below are important
when it comes to planning an online course:
- How is it going to be structured?
- How will students interact in your online course?
Is it going to have in-person components or are they going to be
self-study courses?
- Will students need to attend classes at specific
times?
- Will there be some sort of interaction among
students?
- What will the typical weekly workload be?
- How many weeks will it last?
- What should students know before enrolling in this
online course?
By keeping these aspects in mind, we
will know for sure the chances of success they have and the adjustments that
need to be done before launching them.
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN! WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you ever taken an online course?
What was it like?
Did it work as expected?
What would you change next time?
Biodata
Zarela Cruz graduated from Ricardo Palma University as a translator. She also finished her master’s studies in Linguistics and took some specialization diplomas in the Teaching of English and Spanish. She has also completed some online certificates: Teaching the Working Adult, Online, Hybrid and Blended Education, among other self-study courses. She has taught different courses, programs and levels and has been a teacher trainer, a lecturer and online instructor for more than 25 years. She has just finished her master’s studies in Translation. This article aims to reflect on this important current topic,
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