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comprare biaxin online in italiain caso di infezioni oculari vengono scelte gocce ed unguenti.
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834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 2
Table of Contents
A. Prepare thoroughly for facilitating synchronous events . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
A. Selecting online instructors for success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
1. Choose instructors based on competencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .472. Choose instructors with the right attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473. Choose instructors with the right knowledge and skills . . . . . . . . . . .524. Take into account other considerations when choosing instructors . . . . . 52
1. Ensure that there is organization support for synchronous e-Learning . . . . 522. Ensure there will be IT support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523. Establish a complete delivery team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
A. Apply these design tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
B. Provide support for learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
C. Make Forums a useful tool for learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
D. Consider other tips (incl. advice and asynchronous items) . . . . . . . . . . . .57
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 3
I. How to Use These Tips
In early 2005 The eLearning Guild conducted a survey of its members on the subject of
Synchronous Instruction. A total of 644 members responded to the questionnaire. The last questionin the questionnaire asked members who have online instruction experience to list their favoritetips to share with other online instructors; a remarkable total of 336 members contributed usabletips.
As might be expected the tips ranged from a single word (Plan! or Practice!) to as many as fifteen
separate tips running over 350 words! They also ranged from the simple and obvious to the unusualand subtle. They covered the complete gamut of behavior for an online instructor. We are providingthese tips to everybody who is interested in being more effective at doing online synchronousinstruction.
The raw list of tips was overwhelming, so we examined several schemes for categorizing them,
none of which worked very well. Finally, we decided to let the tips fall into more or less natural cate-
December 2005 by The eLearning Guild
gories as suggested by the tips themselves. Most of the categories relate to functional roles: instruc-tor, manager, and design and development team. The remainder gives more generic advice about
Bill Brandon
implementation and miscellaneous matters. Many tips clearly fall into a specific category, but we
could equally well place a large number of tips into several different categories. We put them where
we thought they fit best, knowing full well that people may disagree with us.
The vast majority of the tips apply to the online instructor. This seems wholly appropriate. At the
Karen Hyder
same time, we believe that everyone concerned with synchronous e-Learning will benefit by reading
through all the tips. There is repetition and overlap between the tips, and we left things that way sothat the reader could judge (without our editorializing) how much emphasis practitioners placed on
the various aspects of synchronous e-Learning.
We have devised a way to credit the members who contributed the tips (the Tipsters). We follow
most tips with a number indicating who contributed it, and an indexed list of Tipsters appears at the
FREE Digital eBook
end of this book. Note that a few numbers are missing from the index, and that some members did
The content of this digital
not provide their names when doing the survey so there are a few tips without numbers. All tips are
eBook is FREE and in the
in the Tipster's own words, with editing only for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
public domain. You are
We deeply appreciate the effort that contributors made to create these tips. We hope you find at
encouraged to use it, share
least one valuable idea — and, hopefully, many valuable ideas — that can help you when doing
it, post it on your Web siteand/or your organization's
online instruction.
Intranet. No one is author-ized to charge a fee for it orto use it to collect contactdata. The PDF file cannot bealtered without written per-mission from The eLearningGuild. We request that reuse
This FREE Digital Book would not have been possible were it not
or re-distribution of this
for a generous contribution to its development from WebEx
publication is accompanied
Communications. If you're not familiar with WebEx products for
by appropriate attribution to
online meetings and synchronous e-Learning, or if you haven't
The eLearning Guild which
checked them out lately, we encourage you to take a look at your
can be found on the Web at
earliest convenience! www.webex.com
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 5
This is not an
II. Tips for Instructors
HAVE FUN! — 105
Expect it to be more work than a traditional course, because it probably will be. — 40
Even the most
Do not expect to be successful at this because you are a good live classroom trainer. Seek out suc-
cessful e-Trainers for advice. Look for good professional training. Schools and experience in the livetraining area is not sufficient preparation for e-Training. — 14
have a very
Whenever possible, make the transition from classroom to online instruction incrementally, overtime, monitoring and adjusting as you go. — 287
Subscribe to newsletters geared toward online designers and developers (e.g., eLearning Guide,
Online News and Reviews, etc.); stay connected with other professionals in the field. — 25
to online
You should have (or build) your confidence, both in the system, and in your ability to deal with an
unseen group. — 160
Have good documentation regarding the hardware setup; and software knowledge and interperson-
al skills needed to teach effectively. — 163
Technologies, ATF
Be prepared to receive and immediately respond to vast amount of email from your students. — 191
Jolt Cola, king-size Snickers, and mighty wrists to avoid RSI from typing for hours on end each day.
— 196
Be prepared with course notes, instructor's guide, knowledge of participants, i.e. ethnic and culturalbackgrounds, formal education, entry level knowledge of the topic being taught, etc. — 223
My favorite tip would be to stay organized in order to stay ahead of the presentation curve. — 239
You need to have first-hand experience. — 313
You must know the online teaching process inside and out. — 328
A. Prepare thoroughly for facilitating synchronous events
1. Be familiar with the software, tools and technology
Get very comfortable with the technology. (Know what you're doing!) — 105
Know how to use your virtual classroom software. — 3
Learn your technology tool and practice!! — 15
Be familiar with the presentation platform tools. — 260
Know the delivery tool and don't learn how to use it during a live event. — 18
Develop proficiency in navigating the technology used within the environment. — 37
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 6
II. Tips for Instructors continued
with the fea-
Know the technology you are using! Be very comfortable with it — it will make your life easier and
tures of your
students will rely on you for assistance. — 94
Use ALL the tools provided by Centra (or WebEx, Placeware, etc) to make up for the lack of a physicalpresence to keep the students' attention. — 100
product and use
them! Some are
Understand and practice with any tool (WebEx, Centra) with a willing test student until the controlsare familiar. — 111
LEARN THE TECHNOLOGY!!! — 88
what you get in
Solve any PC skill or technology issues before you start. — 190
Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Be as familiar with your electronic tools as possible, so their use by thetrainer is as transparent to the online instruction process as is the use of a whiteboard in a class-
boards, etc.). If
2. Be prepared to teach in the online medium
you don't use
(See section II.B.2 on content delivery for additional tips.)
Know your medium before you set out to teach in it. — 216
will the stu-
You have to be an expert with the virtual classroom technology. — 55
The online instructor has to acquire the kind of necessary knowledge and understanding about newmedia so you can apply it to the content being both taught and learned. — 195
Bob Joyce, Coordinator
of Continuing Ed.,
Know your tools — be familiar enough with the technology so you can focus on your content and
Center for Biosecurity
your learners / participants. — 215
Know your tool — many times I've attended sessions where virtual facilitators did not have a goodcommand of the tool they were using and/or did not take students through the tool to explainthings. — 133
Know and use your online toolbox. Make your virtual classroom a "tangible" thing. — 165
Learn to use the tools such as highlighters, pointers etc. — 188
Develop the ability to multi-task as you need to watch for raised hands, text chat, etc. as you aretalking. — 138
Don't be intimidated by the technologies. — 42
Know how to use the technology well. — 46
Understand the zillions of capabilities of the technology. — 49
Learn and use the tools provided by your product. — 220
Preparation is the key! Prior to your training, TEST the technology being used. Go through the stepsin logging in, connecting etc. Ensure that your PC has the proper plug-ins etc. — 266
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 7
Know your con-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Use the tools that are available in any application you use to distribute learning. — 322
Use tools like Mallard or CAPA. Use simulations. Use a tool like CollabSS. — 323
each class ses-
Utilize all interactive tools available in the specific learning environment (polls, click on screen, typeon screen, chat, etc). — 327
sion. Test all
Never expect an online student to be able to do something in the online program which you as an
instructor cannot do yourself. — 328
Use the whiteboard features in PowerPoint presentations. You can't physically point to the screen as
prior to sending
you would in a face-to-face session, so I find it helpful when online presenters use the whiteboardmarkup features to highlight or point out items in their slides. — 336
them out to
everyone — and
3. Know the content
Check the accuracy of the content material. — 271
based, test on a
Make sure you are extremely knowledgeable about your content, and have prepared a set of out-
comes for where you want to lead the group. — 230
than the one on
Try to look at your own classes as a student sees them; then ask yourself if you would want to take
this class. — 280
which you creat-
Check out your material and teach to that format. — 243
Dan Hill, Manager,
Be prepared at all times. Know what you are going to teach, how you are going to teach it, and how
Training & Education,
much time it will take. — 46
Know the content well. — 46
Know your material. — 131
Know your subject matter. — 218
Know your subject. — 159
Know your material inside out. — 259
4. Develop a "Plan B"
Plan for the unexpected. — 105
Prepare for the unexpected — redundant phone lines, computer consoles, etc. are key to successfulevents. If one goes down, the show must still go on, so having extras is always a good thing. — 133
Build a trainer's guide that tells you how to deal with typical things that can go wrong during apresentation. That way you have a resource to smoothly deal with issues as they arise, without giv-ing the appearance of helplessness. — 18
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 8
Always have a
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Have a backup plan in case something goes wrong with plan A, especially for synchronous training.
Barbara Fillicaro
(For example, if I plan to do a live demo of a business application; what am I going to do if thatapplication goes down during the training? I need a backup plan. A PowerPoint slide set or avi/wmvfile that I created ahead of time that I can use in place of the live demo.) — 18
Have alternatives in place if the technology fails. Don't allow one site with difficulties to bring downthe whole presentation. Hand them over to a help desk; find out if they can connect at another time,etc. — 217
Practice is just as important for online delivery as for classroom, if not more so. Awkward pauses inthe classroom are easier to remedy than strange pauses online. If you are having a technical prob-lem, simply explain the situation and either remedy it quickly or go immediately to Plan B (printedslides you provided, backup conference call number, etc). — 303
Avoid surprises by preparing thoroughly for each event. — 7
Have a "Plan B" and a "Plan C." — 7
Have a backup plan should a certain tool not work. — 21
Anticipate possible issues on the access and learning obstacles and be ready to resolve, encourage,or re-direct where appropriate. — 35
Be prepared for anything. — 95
Be prepared with Plan B in case of technical difficulties. — 96
Have a Plan B in case technology goes awry. — 161
Be sure to have a Plan B because whatever can go wrong eventually will. — 215
5. Get some experience as a learner
Attend as many online courses as you can and keep a notebook of ideas. — 263
Take online classes so you know what you liked and didn't like. — 296
Take an online course to experience the role of student. — 27
Become an online learner before you teach online. — 101
You must have been an online learner yourself. — 167
Make sure you attend several online sessions yourself to see what's good and bad in others. — 231
Take some online credit classes in a brand new field. — 293
Go through the courseware from a user's perspective. — 271
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 9
Keep proper bal-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Read all assignment descriptions as though you are a student looking for a loophole in a vague
deadline or project requirement. — 272
and the content.
Be a good participant — know what it is like to participate, and identify when you are engaged, and
bored, as a participant. — 9
ient time table.
6. Plan, prepare, practice
Satish Ingale, PL, HSBC
Practice — practice — practice! (Know your content!) — 105
Knowledge of the environment: — 271 1. Computer literacy: the basics of how to deal with typical computer issues.
2. Networking basics: minimum understanding of the issues involved with transmitting over theinternet (e.g., lag time, presenter / learner resolution differences, etc.).
3. Know your platform: overview of common features in virtual classroom platforms.
Principles of online presentation: — 271 1. Speaking: emphasis on energy, pacing, diction, and tonal variation.
2. Listening: active listening skills, both aural and written (e.g., chat messages).
Before the Meeting — Attend an online presenter's workshop or complete an online tutorial.
Develop an outline of your meeting, with a script or notes of what you're going to say. Make yourmeeting interactive, engaging the participants and requiring them to respond to you, the content, oreach other. Keeping your virtual meeting or classroom interactive helps the participants to stayfocused and tuned in. Build interactive techniques into your presentation. Build well-designed slides.
Have someone proofread your slides. Practice, practice, practice! Hold a practice or test meeting andrun through the presentation with a colleague. Reserve a conference bridge for the audio portion ofyour web meeting. Send out invitations for the meeting to participants. Send copies of slide presen-tations to participants before the meeting in case you run into technical problems. Locate a sitewhere you can conduct your web meeting away from noise and distractions. Using an office or roomwith a door is ideal as it will eliminate background noise and minimize interruptions. Print the DoNot Disturb sign and post it on your door or cubicle. Be organized with your notes, as shuffling andrustling papers can be annoying to others and doesn't lend itself to a professional delivery. — 307
Have a plan for delivery and stick to it. This should include a script and a timeline. — 18
Plan well. — 254
Plan, plan, plan. — 27, 255
Before giving the session PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! — 21
Rehearse — you really don't know what the graphics will look like to your learners until you trythem. Also, if you're going to application-share make sure you try it with co-workers before you try iton learners. That way you know what the learner's experience will be. — 3
Practice first, preferably with a test audience. — 24
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 10
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Practice in front of 2 machines — one the leader and the other the participant so you can see the
tion must be
cause and effect between the two. — 9
well laid out
Practice giving your course with a colleague behind a partition or over the phone. — 28
and any ques-
Be prepared. — 93
tions you want
Be prepared for a lot of writing! — 94
to use as polling
Rehearse well enough that you do not need to read the material word for word. — 56
should be inte-
Preparation. 2. Preparation. 3. Preparation. — 32
grated into the
Practice, practice, practice. — 161, 177, 215, 262, 263
course to more
Practice, practice, practice — too many times facilitators don't practice enough for the virtual envi-
ronment. In a traditional classroom, many folks can "wing it," but in the virtual environment it'smuch harder to do that. — 133
your time and
Practice — revise — practice — revise — practice. — 190
Practice your presentation delivery. — 260
Rehearse with an audience. — 275
Michael Shawn Stiles,
Rehearse!!! Also, if recording the session, record your rehearsal. recorded sessions are usually very
Manager, Pfizer Inc.
boring, but a mocked-up session can be controlled to keep a learner's interest. — 276
Rehearsal and small group tryout are essential. — 188
Rehearse any areas where you will be giving a demonstration. — 223
PRACTICE! — 261
Test drive your course on co-workers before presenting it to students. — 263
Preparation and practice before facilitating the class or course. — 264
Preparation is the key for a successful online course. Just as it is for a classroom course. — 265
PRACTICE before you go live. — 259
Practice your lesson several times before presenting it live to your audience over the Web. Perhapspractice it with a friend or colleague from two computers. — 296
You can never be too prepared! — 335
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834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 12
First and fore-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
most — know
7. Know your learners
Know your students and what the needs of the trainees are. — 33
Understand the audience profile and the challenges they face in this course. — 39
ments in a con-
Understand who your learners are. — 46
text that will
Get to know your students. Just as you would have an initial interview in a face-to-face setting, you
must be able to have that kind of interview online, and be able to know who your students are. Keepit professional, but light. The students should feel comfortable with your abilities after the interview,
and you should have a good idea of the abilities of the students. — 156
Jeff Albers, Senior
Know your audience so that you can design in appropriate questions and interactions — 215
Technical Writer,
Know your participants' names and use them! — 217
Think outside the box — see issues from the student's point of view. — 159
Ensure that content is fresh and relevant to their needs. — 153
Be aware of what your learners might not be aware of. — 104
Plan the course carefully and make sure that it has enough flexibility — this allows you to take yourtime during the course for actually getting in touch with students, understanding them, and build-ing trust. — 252
Teach to your learner. Find out how they like to learn and adjust accordingly. Just because you areteaching online, your style doesn't have to be set in stone. — 295
Remember that on-line is not the same as page turning. You can make no assumptions about whatthe learner already knows of the topic. — 278
I would identify that the ability for the online instructor to customize and develop his or her ownmaterials is essential. This means instructors can create content that is special to the needs of thosethey are training. With e-Learning the potential to do this is immense and should not be overlooked.
— 325
Understand cultural issues (dealing with a potentially wider student-base).
B. Ensure an effective delivery
Always have an "icebreaker" question or text on the screen during session logins. — 65
Always provide paper-based resources as a student reference to back up your training. — 67
Always think of the students' needs. — 70
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 13
II. Tips for Instructors continued
for the event to
Apply the relationship between text, sound, motion and graphics. Think about what you are doing,
begin, have a
how students use the on-line environment, and how to foster learning. Then apply your teaching
slide with a map
techniques and learn from student learning. — 73
of the country
Develop a routine to manage your online course effectively. — 84
and let people
Include 15-minute pre- and post-studies, job aides, or other media. — 190
mark the area
Icebreakers. — 213
they are attend-
1. Get started on the right foot
Barbara Toney, AIS
Allow registration and setup time before the class commences. — 2
Application Services
Manager, UniGroup
Open the e-Meeting Room early. — 49
If there are special pages of other documents like word, PDF, etc., have it turned to the page youwant to show in the e-Seminar before attendees sign in. — 49
Log in as the leader 1 — 2 days before and again 1 hour before the event. — 7
It is critical to test and ensure that technology issues are dealt with prior to the course commence-ment. — 67
Set up your room (on-line) hours before the class starts. — 232
Show up early and test the system to be sure all systems are functioning properly. — 283
Use a pre-live checklist. — 262
Have two computers logged on to understand and see what happens on participant's computers.
— 44
If at all possible, especially if you are a one-person group, have a second computer available so youcan see exactly what the participants see, e.g. lag time from your click to their screens. — 177
If possible, have a second computer logged on as a student, so you can see what the students areseeing. — 178
Make sure you have a Shadow Computer. — 232
Utilize two computers (one hooked up to the internet simulating the student with the slowest inter-net connection). — 164
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 14
II. Tips for Instructors continued
ing, put a pic-
ture of a person
a. Visualize the learners
Slow down and imagine the audience in front of you. — 53
tive student) on
If you are active in the class, students are more likely to take an active role. — 94
the side of your
Since there's no eye contact and oftentimes limited feedback, I always placed a large poster of a
classroom setting in front of the instructor. It seemed to ease the transition a little. — 169
tor and talk to
Face-to-face contact is a must somewhere in the program, if not for each session. — 191
Put a picture of a group of people up next to the monitor so you can see the students you are speak-ing to and talk with your hands. Although the students will not see the non-verbal movements, the
Tom Berry, Galileo
trainer's delivery will be smoother because it will be natural. — 273
Visualize the audience in your mind. — 329
Visualize the people you are speaking to: they are not abstract. They are real people who deserveyour top effort. — 330
b. Prepare the learners for success in the synchronous environment
Establish the meeting ground rules: Expectations and guidelines. How and when you'll take ques-tions. Time frames. Etiquette reminders. — 307
Use a multiple-choice (check all that apply) tech poll to do a quality check on the video and audio atthe start of the presentation. — 154
Introduce learners to the interface with a quick synchronous session or a recorded asynchronoussession a week prior to the training session. — 306
Keep the learners active on their end through making them raise their hand, click the answer to aquestion, poll, etc. — 306
Encourage the learners to applaud, laugh, joke using the interface. — 306
Make sure that your students understand and feel comfortable with the technical media beingused; don't assume a level of comfort or understanding that may not be there. — 25
Regardless of the online media, clearly state expectations, objectives, tool functionality, etc. of allonline instruction so everyone begins on the same page, understands how to operate any tools, andknows what to expect. — 25
Provide online office hours and phone appointments. — 27
Use a printed handbook for learners to write notes, do assignments, and stay engaged. — 36
Send out ideas and tips on "How to Learn." — 39
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 15
Set a FAQ page
II. Tips for Instructors continued
and an "I have
Provide students with a download of the workshop contents. — 43
Remind students that "online" does not equal "easier learning." — 45
Let students know exactly how the online class will work. Let them know who they can contact ifthey have technical questions, etc. — 46
students can ask
Clearly define both student and instructor expectations. — 54
for help on any
Set clear expectations. Use a syllabus or outline to manage student expectations about yourresponse time for individual emails, and define student participation so that students know there is
a reward for quality as well as for a minimum number of postings, and as much for their responsesto classmates as to you. — 57
"Land of the
Send out lots of preparation information to make sure attendees are comfortable in their environ-
also function in
Be explicit about what your expectations are concerning participation. — 87
the same way.
If this is an ongoing course, create a participation metric and let the students know what it is and
how it impacts their grade. — 87
Coordinator Academic
Computing, Fresno City
State your expectations up front. — 81
Develop a policy for students to follow. — 84
Classroom etiquette for participants: — 1121. Close other open applications (especially Outlook) for resource reasons.
2. Set phones to forward calls directly to voicemail (only if using voice-over IP (VOIP).
3. Keep telephone on "mute" when not speaking (only if using teleconference feature).
4. Hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign outside your cube / office.
5. Use the "yes","no", and hand-raise icons to participate and indicate there is a question or com-
Provide support, particularly to new learners. — 92
Make sure the learners understand technology and can demonstrate the ability to use it before theybegin to use online learning. — 109
I've been a student in an online course. A tip from this experience would be to know the limits ofthe system they are using. Clearly state what the student will be doing, in my class it was a ton ofwriting — which is not bad, it was just a bit of a surprise. — 108
Ensure that there is a regular expectation for course meetings during a regularly defined semesteror quarter. — 143
Require learner participation within a set time period; too much time between hearing from learn-ers creates its own problems. — 143
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 16
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Give specific guidelines for message board posts, with points assigned for meeting the criteria.
the beginning
of the course.
Manage expectations. Ensure learners know timetables, performance expectations, participation
expectations . etc. — 167
Provide a comprehensive syllabus to include a course description, objectives, and grading rubric.
— 147
Send out tip sheet in advance of session. — 153
Set ground rules (close down all other applications, create a protected learning space). — 262
must log in to
Set parameters for your online instruction early; e.g. computer use guidelines, instructor availability,online etiquette, addressing email properly so filters can be in place, etc. — 282
the course, how
c. Include a round of introductions
be graded, etc.
Get personalized with the students. — 271
Caryl Bender, Director
Create a nurturing environment by providing opportunities for the students to get to know you and
Technology, Collegis /
each other. — 27
Brookdale Community
Don't dispense with the introductions in this format if the number of learners is manageable. Thetechnology allows it. This is a good way to help build the class spirit. — 30
Get your participants talking to you, and to each other. — 34
Ask students to provide a short bio and optional photo to include on your site. Show pictures of stu-dents on a map to show where the students are from. — 77
Allow time at the beginning of an extended course to allow students to get to know each otheronline. — 157
If the class size permits it, have people introduce themselves. — 329
d. Help learners develop media literacy
Allow time for initial online sessions and practice with the technology in advance. — 63
If online learning is new to the people you are training, spend some time helping them learn how touse the equipment or programs or whatever. Otherwise this can be a stopper to the learning. — 109
Don't assume that the trainer and student are on the same level with the technology. — 124
Don't assume that the "e" part of e-Learning won't confuse students. Don't frighten off those olderstudents who may feel out of touch with "electrickery." — 127
12 Tips for More Effective Virtual Classrooms Before the training session…
Use what you've got
a. Don't recreate the wheel – use the material you have.
b. Don't convert or change formats unless absolutely necessary. Your virtual
classroom solution should allow you to present your content in its native format.
Narrow your focus
a. "Chunk up" your content – the shorter you can make it, the better.
b. Try to limit online sessions to 1 hour whenever possible.
c. Smaller classes are easier to manage – 10 to 20 learners max.
d. Supplement the online session with job aids such as hand-outs, recorded
content, reference guides, etc.
Look for every opportunity to engage your audience
a. Use Q&A, Chat, Polls, White-boarding and other interactive tools to keep
people involved.
b. Cover no more than 4 slides without an interaction.
c. Get personal – Involve individual learners whenever you can.
Practice, Practice, Practice
a. Master the techniques & the technology.
b. Use 2 computers for both practice sessions and actual sessions to see
(and experience) what your audience sees.
Automate registration and reporting
a. Use your virtual classroom's registration function to automatically capture
a record of who attended training sessions.
b. Collect poll and test results for assessment and analysis.
"Can" what you can
a. Record static content and post for on-demand viewing.
b. Offer live sessions for material that needs context and interaction.
From the WebEx Training Center Team
12 Tips for More Effective Virtual Classrooms
During the training session…
Partner with a colleague
a. Another presenter adds interactivity and helps manage the class.
b. Additional Panelist can monitor Text Chat and Q&A.
a. Start with a 5 minute intro to familiarize attendees with environment.
b. Focus on how to participate (chat, Q&A, raise hand, audio, etc.)
a. Avoid "dense" material such as intricate charts or lengthy spreadsheets
b. Keep it short & sweet: Limit your talk time to < 5 minutes per slide.
c. Use videos and animations sparingly.
10. Record for review and reuse
a. Record the session to post for those unable to attend.
b. Save whiteboards, annotated documents for distribution and review.
After the training session…
11. Follow-up for follow-through
a. Don't assume your audience "got" what you taught – ask them! Use e-
mails, surveys, polls or phone calls to follow-up.
b. Provide opportunities for questions or coaching after the session.
c. Schedule a follow-up session within 30 – 60 days to see if learning was
12. Measure & market your successes
a. Define success criteria & measure the results.
b. Capture quotes & success stories, and then publish them (newletters,
emails, even in your next class announcement.)
c. Use your sessions to identify and recruit new SMEs & teachers.
From the WebEx Training Center Team
3 Critical Skills for Virtual Classroom Instructors First the good news! The skills you use everyday in traditional classrooms are equally valuable in the online environment. However, there are a few areas that need special focus when teaching a "virtual" class:
• Remember how bored you were the last time you sat in a class and listened to the
instructor drone on and on and on? Put that instructor in a virtual class environment and you can take that feeling and multiply it by a factor of 10.
• Make a conscious effort to put all of your energy, enthusiasm and excitement into
your voice and let your learners know that this is a class worthy of their time and commitment.
• Action Item: Record your practice presentations. Ask a colleague to listen to the first
10 minutes and rate your energy on a scale of 1 ("Nap Time") to 5 ("Showtime!") Anything less than a 4 is cause for concern.
2. Brevity is a Virtue.
• One great thing about virtual classes is that they enable your audience to gain a
learning experience right in the middle of their work day. Don't dilute that benefit by trying to cram 4 hours of training into an already hectic schedule.
• Virtual classes are at their most effective when they are focused, brief (1 hour or less)
and interactive. Ensuring that your classes meet these criteria requires work and discipline. Look for logical break points in your content and "chunk" it up into smaller, more focused segments.
• Action Item: Review your slides and pare down your information down to the core
concepts you need to communicate. Work to shave your talk time to <5 minutes per slide (2 minutes to cover the core material and 3 minutes for context and depth.) Target 40 minutes of presentation for each class hour and dedicate the rest of the time to class interactions.
3. Focus on Interactions
• In a virtual class, there is no way to ensure that your students aren't playing solitaire,
catching up on email or even napping. How do you handle this?
• Use Q&A, Chat, Polls, White-boarding and other interactive tools to keep your
learners engaged and involved. Look for opportunities to engage individual learners. And don't forget to use audio conferencing for interactions whenever you can. A dynamic vocal discussion can really jump-start the learning process.
• Action Item: Place small, unobtrusive visual cues on your slides to remind you to
engage your audience. Some instructors use a favorite icon such as a light bulb to let them know it is time to pause and ask a question or open the floor for discussion.
Put these 3 skills into practice & super-charge your virtual classroom experience!
From the WebEx Training Center Team
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 20
II. Tips for Instructors continued
learners log in 15
Take a few minutes up front to walk people through the key features of the tool. — 215
minutes prior to
class start and
In creating the Global SDM Training Strategy now in place at Ford Motor Company, our team foundthat there were numerous avenues of interaction that should be considered for implementation of a
blended learning model. My tip would be to ensure that an instructor has verified that studentswith a tendency for participation in a single avenue are, at least, exposed to other tools during their
with a tour of
course. For example: where email, chat and threaded discussions are commonly in use by most stu-dents; you may still find some have avoided learning what they need to function in one or more of
these modes. A single exercise, or assignment, is not enough to ensure minimal competence. — 187
like how to use
chat, raise their
e. Present a professional image as the instructor
hand, end the
Typing skills: — 271
Patience: knowing when to keep your hands off the mouse.
Lisa Wieland Handy, AVP
Problem solving: what to do when it doesn't work. — 271
/ Sr. Consultant,
Plan ahead: introduction, content sequence, interactions, practice sessions, summary / conclusion;technology set up and shake down; student access to instructor offline. — 251
If you're using a headset, position it so the microphone is not directly by your mouth. This will helpthe volume be normal and eliminate the sound of heavy breathing. — 307
Eliminate fillers such as "uh,""you know," and "uh-huh" to improve the quality and professionalismof your presentation. — 307
Act professional! — 62
Always be on time. — 62
Rehearse often. — 62
Be proactive in thinking of new methods to make synchronous learning effective and engaging.
— 62
Be accessible. — 80
Be adaptable to the customer. — 82
Be available to your students. — 83
Be courteous to students, no matter what. — 84
Attend to adult learning concepts. — 85
Be timely in your responses to class participants. — 91
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 21
II. Tips for Instructors continued
vital. An on-line
Be organized and keep up or ahead of the class. — 91
be able to stay
Be flexible. — 138
on schedule, and
Manage your time wisely. — 114
be aware of stu-
Obey the rules of online instruction. — 243
dents that are
Start on time from breaks (sound familiar?). — 310
falling behind or
are not engag-
f. Be proactive about the "housekeeping" details
Use audience feedback tools (such as changing seat colors in Microsoft Live Meeting) to get consen-sus for sound check and other yes/no type questions. "If you can hear me clearly, change your seat
color to purple." — 242
President, Pro-Ware
Computing, Inc.
Keep your separate grade sheets offline with notes on assignments so that you can respond quicklyto private emails regarding grades, assignments, or feedback. — 91
2. Manage the main event: Content delivery
a. Keep the learners engaged
Engagement: — 271 1. How (and when) to elicit interaction from students — through both technical and verbal means.
2. Understand the differences between online and in-person student engagement.
3. The increased availability of distracters.
4. The openness afforded by anonymity.
5. The safety of lurking.
Provide motivation, support, and feedback for discussions. Summarize responses; bring the discus-sion back on track. Encourage student-to-student interaction. Tap learners' knowledge. Make stu-dents responsible for summarizing the week's discussion. Teach others a concept. Assign group proj-ects. Arrange student's role-plays. Use peer-review for projects. Motivate them to display their workpublicly. — 271
Call on by name. Listen to your yoice — your tone of voice should always be warm and friendly. Havea smile in your tone. To do this, you may want to place a small mirror on your computer monitor toobserve yourself. If you are frowning, so is your voice. Vary your voice inflection to avoid soundingmonotone. Be enthusiastic in your presentation. If you are energized and enthused about the infor-mation, your participants will be also. It will also be easier for them to stay tuned in. — 307
Interactivity is vital. — 191
Just like in the physical classroom, teachers need to be able to provide some "spark" — creating yourlessons and web pages in the summer with no further work during the year is "boring" for students!Adding something new, now and then, keeps students interested and asking "What is this instructorgoing to do next?" — 197
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 22
Keep your ses-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Check for audience engagement every 3 to 5 minutes. — 306
MARKUP TOOLS / WHITEBOARD: — 1121. Use the Markup tools on slides to:
agement is not
a) Focus participants' attention.
b) Add visual stimulation.
ever an issue.
c) Replace animation.
d) Summarize what has been discussed.
2. Let participants add a drawing or a diagram when appropriate.
Instructional Designer,
3. Don't allow too many participants to work at one time.
4. Assign participants to different sections of the whiteboard to define the workspace.
5. Save important markups to the Agenda.
Use the online tools appropriately to enhance the teaching and learning environment. — 35
Use the annotation tools (in WebEx, for both the instructor and learner) — 49
Have a video camera for personalizing the e-Seminar. — 49
Use tools such as a pointer, or draw on the slide, to engage interest. — 53
Clear the participant panel before each new question. — 112
Creatively use the features and functions of the synchronous classroom tool to engage participants— polling, marker tools, small group discussion via chat, etc. — 119
Use polling. — 90
Don't be afraid to use the tool to its fullest. Use class breakouts, use the whiteboard and app shar-ing. If you don't you will lose the class within 5 minutes no matter how "exciting" you think yourslides are. — 247
Have supporting materials and utilize as many tools as possible to enhance the learning experience.
A lot of instructors only use PowerPoint and not application sharing, breakout rooms, surveys andchat capabilities. — 288
Try to engage the students every 5 minutes. — 21
Find ways to check in with your students in an on-line synchronous classroom by using the audiencefeature of the software. — 43
Periodically (every 5 — 10 minutes) engage the virtual audience, either by name or by an action suchas a polling slide. — 53
Check in with each attendee every 15 minutes. Ask a pointed question to a specific attendee. — 110
Elicit regular feedback (every 5 minutes minimum) to ensure student understanding.
Encourage participation by randomly calling on participants. — 137
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 23
Scan your inter-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
face in a clock-
Call on individuals for specific input every five minutes, or almost the entire group will be doing
wise fashion —
once each slide
Do not go longer than 10 minutes without engaging the audience in some discussion or interaction.
transition — to
One way sessions are not as effective and participants get distracted easier (they may be multi-task-ing). — 153
check for ques-
Include some type of interactivity for the learners every 5 minutes. — 161
tions or com-
Have your learners interact in some way about every 7 to 10 minutes. — 165
Don't try and teach more than 5 minutes without some form of interactivity (solicit feedback often
eLearning Manager,
from audience). — 169
Deloitte & Touche
Insert interactions at least every three minutes. — 164
Don't forget about the telephone. You can always have students call you or vice versa. Be sure tolearn how to use chat rooms and instant messaging. — 293
Pause to ask questions and encourage discussion at least every 5 minutes. — 320
Encourage very frequent student involvement. — 146
Plan an interaction every 5-10 minutes. — 262
Stay engaged. — 289
Don't overdo participation in discussion threads, but don't be invisible — there is a happy medium.
— 27
Always initiate discussion . never assume that because learners are not communicating via discus-sion forum or emails, that they are fine and that they are learning. — 66
Ensure all participants have some input to the lesson, wallflowers do not learn all that they could orshould. — 67
Initiate discussion, then guide from the side. — 81
If you use Discussion Boards, particularly with active discussions or larger classes, set expectationsfor students clearly and assign forum moderators (students who get extra credit for this) to serve asthe first person to call for help regarding that forum, and who write a weekly synopsis of theforum's most active discussion points for you. This makes it much more possible that you can handlethe increase in work that can come when the use of discussion boards takes off. — 182
Always set up one forum on a discussion board that you name something like "Student Lounge."Tell thestudents that they can use this forum to discuss any topic they would like — new car, movie, a greatparty, etc.This gives them a place to "meet" with classmates informally, discuss common interests, and,therefore, makes it more likely that they will stay on topic in the subject-based forums. — 182
Boston — April 18 - 21, 2006
The Annual Gathering offers you two ways to participate.
The eLearning Guild's Annual Gathering
offers you context, content, concepts,
connections, colleagues, conversations,
clarity, confidence, credibility,
and of course. community.
To learn all about this remarkable new event, go to:
Isn't it time you attended a Guild event?
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 25
Be sure to
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Require discussions with peers and the instructor to synthesize and ask additional questions to pro-
mote "discovery" learning. — 143
ually in some
Use a blank PowerPoint slide or a white board slide to type topics brought up in discussions. For
way during the
small groups, divide the slide into a tic tac toe type board and give each person their own area to listtheir ideas, and then discuss them. — 242
Consider chat vs. threaded discussion. Asynchronous threaded discussions have tremendous instruc-
Jeff Tyson, Manager of
tional potential and value. Chat does not. A "café" discussion thread dedicated to off-task interaction
better serves its social function. The pseudo-instructional value of chat can more efficiently and
Development, Tech
effectively be accomplished with a phone call. — 287
Resource Group, Inc.
If you have print-based materials and tasks that are working for you, you don't always have torewrite them. Get them distributed, and then engage your students in excellent and focused thread-ed discussions. Consider the powerful potential uses of attachments. Simple, yet effective! — 287
WebCT Discussion Board Ideas & Information: Asynchronous discussion boards allow learners tocomplete reading assignments, reflect on their contributions, and construct a well-prepared contri-bution before posting to the discussion forum. Asynchronous discussion is one of the key compo-nents in interactivity for courses taught online or totally at a distance. The idea is to build a learningcommunity. Set up course discussion protocol: Explain what a threaded discussion is and how topost. Post, reply, quote, etc. Even distribution of postings (timeliness). Length of postings. Respond tomain question(s). Cite readings frequently. Respond to others. Bring in related prior knowledge andexperience. Use proper etiquette. Begin with an ice breaker. Main forum area of WebCT: Ask stu-dents to post bios (do yours first). Ask students to comment on syllabus or other issues of concern.
Respond to various bios, acknowledging student's contributions and emphasizing the richness anddiversity their backgrounds and experiences will bring to this course (get them to buy into it). Play agame: Have students mention 3 things about themselves, 2 true things and an untruth. Then havepeople guess which one is the untruth. Model one "real" discussion that is based on first or secondweek's reading assignment. Emphasize that this will NOT be graded. Emphasize that everyoneshould contribute. Develop protocol. Follow the protocols. Acknowledge and encourage. Provide asynthesis of the discussion in class. What did we learn? Emerging issues? Grading: Discussion mustbe part of the grade (follow required student outcomes in your Syllabus). Determine how manyonline discussions you'll have during semester. Assign a facilitator(s). Facilitators are required to leadonline discussion. Provide begin and end times. Determine group size. Provide a separate forum areafor each discussion. Integrate readings and projects into discussion. Set guidelines (protocol) andexplain or demonstrate how they work. Model at least one discussion. Monitor your students: pro-vide assistance. Provide frequent feedback. Acknowledge and encourage: refer to forum discussionsin future lessons. Evaluate student discussion: Make changes as necessary. Criteria for evaluatingthe quality of a discussion message, a good message is: Substantial (relates to the course material).
Concise (one screen may be the ideal message length). Provocative (encourages others to respond).
Interpretive (expands concepts or connects ideas in new ways). Timely (occurs in a reasonable timeframe — when the topic is under discussion). Logical (supports point of view with reasons and evi-dence). Grammatically correct (is well written). Only those comments that meet these criteria of agood message receive full credit. — 332
You can't just do your F2F methods in the online. Get students "speaking" in the discussion boardand your email inbox will not be so full. — 335
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 26
Use polls to get
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Trust your instincts. Try to get a read for the group about how much facilitator intervention they
need, as in an ideal group dynamic they should only need guidance not regular intervention. — 11
Most people will
Use other voices to teach and lead — both planned and on the fly — the art of letting students go
respond to a
— true learner-centric learning . by breaking up topic. — 12
Write clearly and concisely. — 13
Dr. Diane Kramer, CEO,
Don't forget that discussion is a form of interaction . it doesn't have to just be interactions created
PeakSkills Learning
within your synchronous technology tool. Be creative! — 15
Focus on the student's / participant's needs and not on the content or the tool. — 17
Be clear about the session's objectives. — 17
Encourage or require group interaction — this will help alleviate feelings of anxiety caused by theisolation of learning online. But be very aware of possible group interaction problems . and inter-cede when absolutely necessary. — 27
Encourage participation in course daily by stimulating further discussions. — 37
Include interaction — between everyone plus the community or environment of the subject. — 38
Communicate with students clearly and regularly. — 40
Vary delivery methods to spark interest. — 42
Provide timely and meaningful feedback to learners. — 42
Promote online debate. — 45
Make every student feel as though they are a valuable contributor to the learning experience. — 54
Instructor should be accessible at various times. Some students may be from a foreign country andin a different time zone. — 60
It is difficult sometimes, but I feel it is important for the instructor to be available for chat as well asemail for the students. — 60
Acknowledge every contribution as far as possible, even if just "Thanks, name." — 61
When asking for responses, make sure you pause long enough for participants to respond. — 15
Periodically, ask questions and invite thoughts from the students. — 17
Keep the adult learning model in mind: encourage your participants to add case studies, experi-ences, and electronic resources on the training topic. — 22
Address learners by name so that they feel a personal connection to the instructor. — 23
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 27
II. Tips for Instructors continued
carefully to the
Provide success within the program. — 33
"One" source of
a question, but
Stay close to the computer. — 38
Be available by phone, fax, email, IM, etc. — 38
to all — by
Call those students who are not showing up in print. — 38
Be Proactive. — 39
bringing a ques-
Ensure you are always active and positive in the discussion forums. — 39
tion to a general
Keep contact alive. The worst thing is to let student's motivation go down by disappearing. Email
students as often as possible, post interesting articles, spread news on the subject (via email, discus-sion forum). — 45
most of the
time. A dialogue
Be interested in each of your students. Read all their emails. Ask them how they are doing. Go fur-ther than just the perceived academic performance. — 45
Give constant feedback. — 45
Be prompt with your email responses, be prompt to synchronous discussions, and review your
and a partici-
emails and discussion board postings every day. — 46
pant leaves the
Make sure you ask your audience to give you feedback — and then respond to it. — 47
others free to
Utilize your questioning skills in a variety of ways, rather than over-utilizing polling and subsequent-
ly diminishing the polling excellence. — 49
Set "office hours" and ensure you are able to promptly respond to inquiries. — 54
Consultant, Perfoption
Recognize that few students may have sufficient (communication) bandwidth. — 54
Visualize the participants both as individuals and a group — keep this picture in mind as you work.
— 55
Be visible in your online classroom. Make frequent appearances in the classroom, every day or everyother day, rather than concentrating all your activity into a few weekly work sessions. — 57
Divert separate email correspondence into the shared classroom venue. — 57
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. — 57
Include the participants, sharing the microphone as much as possible, keeping clear objectives inmind. — 58
Ask lots of questions — use the polling feature, or whichever other options are available to keeppeople involved and interested. It's not that different from classroom training! — 77
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 28
Be available at
II. Tips for Instructors continued
all times. Give
Arrive early and greet your attendees when they arrive in the room. — 74
cell phone num-
Don't be afraid of silence. Pause to allow others to respond. — 126
Silence is deadly . like dead air on a radio station. It's easy to lose your audience so keep the sessioninteractive. — 284
Be able to connect with the learners and be able to facilitate the discussions of the group. — 81
when you can.
Be creative and keep your e-Learning sessions lively. — 86
The more you
Let them participate, involve the learner so that they will learn and remember. Make it easy for themto come back to learn something new or something over again. — 109
Keep class interactive. — 90
learner, the bet-
ter they will
Engage the learners by raising their curiosity and encouraging full participation. Be inclusive andseek out diverse views and different ways of looking at things or solutions. — 140
Engage the learners in the learning experience. Don't just let them sit there. — 141
Colleen ONeil, CLO, Alva
Engage your learners by asking questions! — 142
Make the session fun, challenging, and have valuable prizes (Dollar store.). — 164
For online learning events that are Web-based self-study, remember to have tests for understandingevery four to five screens. This will keep the participants involved in the learning process. — 179
Involve the audience to keep them from multi-tasking! — 192
Keep people involved. Ask for participation. Initiate participation. Create ways to encourage peopleto stay involved. — 210
Keep the group engaged through online activity. — 213
Build games and competition into the session where participants can call in and answer questionslive — a competitive format with prizes seems to get some enthusiasm. — 214
First and foremost — make it interactive. Keep the participants interest and engage them at everyopportunity. This should be part of the instructional design. — 153
Keep ALL students engaged. — 146
Look for opportunities to add interactions to promote engagement. — 226
Make it interactive! Use break-out rooms, research exercises, and collaborative tools. — 229
Strive to add excitement to each screen. Use multimedia (voice, video, and data) to keep the stu-dent's attention. Engage the student by deploying lots of interaction. Employ simulations whereverfeasible. — 290
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 29
To keep students
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Engage learners by asking questions or selecting certain people to answer a question, or setting up
ing during your
a competition between groups or people. — 288
Encourage collaboration. I have been in online sessions where the instructor did not encourage audi-
ence participation and lectured the entire time. It was easy to drift off and surf the web and not payattention because the instructor would never know. You have to keep the online sessions active, oth-
erwise people get bored. — 288
Use a variety of interactivity techniques. Throughout the session, use as many interactive or engag-ing activities as possible. — 259
Plenty of participant involvement. — 257
Coordinator, Mediaplex
Ensure that everyone participates and is comfortable doing so. But don't be too pushy — there's noway to know how the learner is feeling or what is happening in their life during the online courseunless they tell you. — 274
Try to involve everyone and use first names when possible. — 308
Use the learner's first name. — 310
Use creative interactivity. — 326
Let the community know if you are going to be away for any length of time. — 81
Commit to the community and follow through. — 81
Commit yourself to establishing a personal, personable, trusting, and mutual confidence andencouragement-building relationship with every participant in your online course. — 113
Encourage participant interaction with other participants. — 131
Assign group projects online to make the experience richer. — 157
Build a team of learners (community building process), including developing a set of joint values.
— 167
Building authentic relationships online is as important as it is in the physical classroom. The goal isto build a community of learners who can support as well as learn from each other. Understanding aconstructivist approach to teaching and learning would certainly help. — 195
ENGAGE the learner through interaction with other users. — 222
Establish an environment that encourages participation. — 148
Call on participants regularly, by name, to promote engagement and attention. — 262
Encourage learners to learn from each other. — 313
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 30
II. Tips for Instructors continued
b. Remember there are two different views on using scripts
Take the time to develop a very detailed script of what you want to say and what actions you willdo, with what application, how, and when. — 88
Don't script — natural conversation is vital for this environment to make it successful. Like animals
sibility for deliv-
sense fear, learners sense memorized lines and it makes events less engaging. If a presenter speaks"from the heart," it adds to their credibility. — 133
ering some of
c. Be careful when giving directions
Ensure that the
Be very specific in your communications to students, especially with respect to testing connectivity
before the session and for first-time online students. — 21
stand their com-
Give very, very clear directions. — 27
mitment to the
Be deliberate about guidance for the student. First we are going to do this. Next we do this . and
after that we will . Here are the opportunities where we will stop for questions or feedback orpractice . or whatever. — 87
Be explicit when describing what you are doing. Where on the screen are you going (left, center,
right, top, middle, bottom; specific labeled section) and what exact link, button, value, you are click-
ing, choosing, or selecting? — 88
Be deliberate about explaining to the student what you are doing and why. (I am opening XYZ soft-ware to show you examples of . ) — 87
Detail and clarity are important to eliminate confusion. — 94
Give clear directives to participants when asking for responses. — 112
Overwrite instructions. They can't see your face or hear your voice for many things. — 249
Be clear in instructions and say it again, again, and again. — 305
Enunciate! Be clear in direction. — 301
Use the tools available in your synchronous session environment to help guide participants eyes torelevant topics. Don't overuse tools available — i.e. happy mouse syndrome can drive participantscrazy. — 321
d. Use care when speaking to your "audience"
Transitions are key — if facilitators can keep things flowing smoothly without utilizing "cheesy"transitions such as "Isn't that right Joe?""Back to you," etc. While OK from time to time, we've foundlearners say facilitators lose credibility with these types of transitions. — 133
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 31
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Know your audience and call on them as you would in a live classroom. This ensures people are pay-
ing attention and not multi-tasking during the session. — 214
tions and clearly
Establish a friendly and meaningful atmosphere. — 146
Think talk show, not lecture. — 304
lines is essential
The internet can be impersonal — how can you make this session more personal? Use voice inflec-
for learner
tion, interaction, and participatory activities even more than you might in the traditional classroom.
Patience is a must. Students don't listen to instructions well, and tend to wait to the last minute to
Instructional Designer,
get work done, which makes the instructors' work all that more difficult. — 280
The Savannah College
of Art and Design
Go for interactivity, comprehension checks, simulations, online quizzes etc. Don't pile on lecture andlinks and have students inundated with just reading material. — 282
Be there virtually! A teacher's presence is still needed, and this contributes to the dynamics of theclass. Don't put your material on "Kiosk" mode and disappear from the learning environment." —282
Think about and experience the course as much as you can from the learner's perspective — theyare surely having a different experience than you as the teacher. — 303
You are still the instructor, not the technology. — 334
Use both synchronous & asynchronous modes of interaction. — 313
Must be able to think on the fly and get the audience involved. — 322
Mix up delivery of content. — 81
Stay ahead of your participants (this means post often, compliment and re-direct off-topic discus-sion, and be the most prepared in your course). — 22
Re-emphasize important points. — 44
My most favorite is use of a favorite formula: S=5W+H where: S=story; W=Who, What, When, Where,Why; H=How. — 48
Take time with each slide. — 53
(Be an) online presence serving as the guide on the side. — 37
Be succinct.
Communicate early — be clear and concise (give examples). — 81
Don't read the slides. — 132
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 32
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Pace yourself to your audience. Monitor the speed of delivery, and adapt if needed. Involve your
audience. Ask interactive questions periodically. — 132
Teach to multiple learning styles. — 92
can't see your
Set up real-world scenarios for participants to interact with. — 131
hand, only the
Engage the audience. — 138
the mouse size
Engage the audience as if they were in your living room. — 139
Use a wide variety of devices to keep the pace, rhythm and energy in the session. (Devices meanspeaking, asking questions and seeing a raise of hands, directing learners to reflect, presenting a
wide variety of visual and multimedia inputs.). Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. Make sure all the stuff youwant to have come up on screen is working — and working in the way you want. — 160
you're doing as
you do it. Try
Stand up on occasion to deliver the presentation with more energy. — 178
not to skip
Remember to mix it up! Talking the whole time will not keep the audiences' interest. You shouldhave some interactivity if you are presenting live. — 179
Interact with your audience. If you just do a slide show without any communication between you
much — this
and the audience, the audience may sleep through the presentation. — 189
helps people fol-
Use interaction if at all possible. — 190
low along. If the
Fun, and interaction keeps them involved. Use specific types of content. — 155
It is absolutely necessary to take frequent breaks from a long presentation. — 169
Teach people how to help themselves and each other, rather than being the sole provider of infor-mation. — 167
track of the
Guide the learners through the process, rather than traditional "expert to novice" approach. — 167
If you're using uploaded slides, interact with them a lot! An instructor's voice droning on while
Susan Clark, Learning
showing a static bulleted list of items is fodder for naps, not learning. Mix it up. Change things,
Coordinator, Stantec
whether you show a video or switch to an application or web page, or put up an interactive quiz
Consulting Ltd.
that they respond to and you share the results. — 184
It's pretty important to maintain a dynamic instructional flow in an online setting. This includes theappropriate integration of text, graphics, images, audio, video, etc. for the specific course. — 195
Keep content brief and to the point. Break content up into short sentences and short paragraphs.
Remember to facilitate learning, i.e. "The guide on the side versus the sage on the stage." — 223
It's not about you; it's about the learner and the learning. Create hooks to hang learning memorieson. — 241
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 33
Be an online
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Speak slowly because not everyone has broadband bandwidth. — 288
instead of an
Use the tools — teach people to waggle the icons to get attention, use the "go faster" or "go slower"capabilities, and send chat messages to the presenters and to each other. — 320
tor. I prefer to
Push to make it relevant to all learners in the mix. — 190
use the term
Death by PowerPoint is even more deadly in a virtual classroom! — 215
instead of
Don't just have text on your screen. Use graphic examples to help your audience visualize your topic.
Remember, they usually can't see you, and if you do have a web cam on, they can't see your face
clearly enough to stay interested. You have to give them something to look at or the audience willstray. — 219
because I
I found that using cartoon (Flash) technology interspersed with instruction also was very useful.
a training or
Pause to make sure that everyone is seeing what you are seeing. — 148
Make it clear in your mind what you want your students to learn and do, and communicate that to
your students. — 227
Focus on establishing the context for the content. — 226
Don't get carried away with the "wow" factor. Focus on accomplishing your instructional objectives.
instead of PRE-
SENTER- or CON-
Make it engaging — it's not PowerPoint. — 228
Limit the use of PowerPoint slides. — 229
That is a big
Keep your communications short and as sensory-based as possible. — 230
Make your instruction engaging for the learner. Do not just lecture! Include a wide variety of presen-
tation methods and activities. Use graphics, sounds, and transitions appropriately, and selectively.
— 233
and skills
Make your training personal; let the learners see/know who you are. — 235
Online instructors must give clear information without deviating from the topic. The material theyprovide on screen must be direct, precise, accurate, and interesting. Use pictures and images rele-
Jeroen Spierings,
vantly, not like it should look jazzy to attract the user's attention. — 245
Business Development
Take slight digression from the linear nature of the subject wherever possible to offer alternativeperspectives on the subjects, just as you would do so in class for students who do not understandthe subject matter from the initial outlay. — 292
Structure your sessions so you are facilitating, not lecturing. Just because the tools give you god-likecontrol, don't let it go to your head. — 291
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 34
Keep it engag-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
ing! Do not
Provide CONTENT on screen! Don't leave it up to the learner to have to listen to your lecture. — 269
Control participant communication or feedback activities if possible. — 260
Pacing and surveys. — 250
lent of the old
Slides are not the presentation. This is true of both classroom and web-based training, but is moreimportant on the internet. Any slide you use should support your message, and offer the learners
another way of getting the information. A graphical representation of what you are saying is rein-
forcing. Heavy text is often just a distracter. — 303
Remember that most of the folks in the session are probably there for one reason: to get informa-tion from an expert, not to have Websites recited to them. Make it fun and interesting. Folks learn
more when they feel comfortable than when they feel like they are in class — just my opinion.
Consultant, Chadde
Remember this is a classroom . not a library. — 279
The number one important thing is communications. Develop as many channels as possible, and putimportant messages out over all of them. — 280
Understand the baseline knowledge of the students & adapt delivery accordingly. Before anythingelse, ensure that the students can access the training material — in some cases this may involvesome basic IT skill training across the workforce. — 309
Voice inflection, types of interactivity, frequent questions, sharing applications with members of theclass, and how to build the class for the delivery method. — 331
Use a scenario. Get the student involved before the session even starts. Appeal to learning styles andguide their learning, don't lecture them. — 311
Strive to make the class as interactive as possible. — 313
Use as many relevant examples as possible.
Highly interactive — from both the content itself as well as the surroundings of the content. — 174
Use teletechniques. — 319
(Have the) gift of gab, but talk slow and deliberate. — 44
Gesture and smile while you speak — no one will see you, but it will add to the conversational toneof your voice. — 564
Keep your voice expressive. No one wants an instructor like Ferris Bueller had — especially online!
Always smile, and always be positive! — 68
Be personable! — 81
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 35
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Be the voice for "radio" when working in the online environment. — 100
never let a
Change your voice pitch and speed. Sound like you are interested and excited. A dull voice is moredeadly online than in person. — 109
s/he is part of a
Connect and be personable with users. Don't act condescending — tone of voice, etc. Avoid jargon
crowd of folks
— users hate that (and so would an instructor if, for example, a surgeon was explaining heart sur-gery using medical terms). Slow down and be sure that information is clear enough. — 115
all getting the
Don't talk — facilitate! — 114
Be motivating. — 90
DELIVERY: — 112
1. Check all participants' audio before the event begins.
2. Speak slowly and clearly.
3. Wait for the slides to load (or screen to refresh during AppShare) before speaking.
4. Ask participants to indicate the screen has loaded during AppShare / Web Safari by giving a "yes"or "no" response.
5. Include some participant activity every 5 — 7 slides.
Don't read from a script. — 131
Keep the presentation flowing. — 139
Imitate your favorite DJ. — 185
In a synchronous environment, pretend you are a radio announcer — do not allow dead space! — 186
Being boring in person is even more deadly online. Use varied vocal inflections and vary the pace.
— 217
Treat everyone equally. — 159
Keep it short and keep it visual — avoid too much teacher talk. — 200
Ensure you are matching your teaching style with your student's learning style. — 144
Establish an effective communication structure immediately. — 147
Summarize frequently. — 146
My favorite tip is to always remember that the learner is by himself or herself, and does not have thesupport of a live instructor. — 238
You are not driving a tour bus. Do not fall into PowerPoint presentation mode. Actively engage yourlearners continuously throughout. — 291
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 36
II. Tips for Instructors continued
ly and distinctly.
Smile when you talk . the audience can tell the difference. Stay on topic. we usually have to stay
on a pretty focused time frame — try to stay on the topic. Don't get nervous when you think that
fast or too far
you are talking in front of hundreds of people. — 286
from the micro-
There are many tools that can support the development of an online course; your focus should belearner-centered. As an online instructor your role is to facilitate student learning — not be the
phone will make
"sage on the stage." Communication. — 300
it difficult for
Your voice says it all — think about your favorite DJ and emulate that type of upbeat, active voice.
the audience to
Use constructive language with everyone. — 314
Use humor only when you are sure your participants will understand it. Avoid the use of humor in a
Jeff Tyson, Manager of
cross-cultural audience. — 17
Development, Tech
Use humor wisely — context is more difficult to create in an on-line world. — 22
Resource Group, Inc.
Have a sense of humor during class and online, but be careful not to sound condescending, sarcastic,or angry in tone. — 46
Inject light-hearted humor where possible. — 50
Add fun technologies like "Crazy Talk" and "Talking Slide" to liven things up. Let a hamster tell themwhen it is time to take their exam or emphasize key points. No matter how serious the topic, inter-ject levity. — 50
Use humor to lighten the atmosphere and encourage participation. — 315
Use humor, students are mostly stressed in a classroom, and a little humor will go a long way. — 316
Use humor when appropriate — it puts the participants at ease, especially if they have never usedthe technology. — 161
A good sense of humor helps as well! — 195
Use appropriate humor.
Interject humor. — 310
e. Ask questions
Make the learning interactive. — 306
Ask your participants questions that will indicate whether or not they understand — 34
Never assume anybody is on the same page you are during a webcast, so you had better ask them!— 47
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834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 38
Know your tech-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Don't suggest answers to questions (let people use their own words). Don't finish ideas for folks (let
adjust for the
them struggle to find their own valuable ones). Don't accept the first answer (let the group exhaust
all possibilities). Don't judge, compare or contrast people with others (real or imagined). Don't pro-vide false feedback, insincere praise, or unwarranted criticism. Don't assume what is best for a group
(help them to decide for themselves). Don't always focus on negatives, mistakes, setbacks, failures,and weaknesses. Gathered from the Online Facilitation eGroup managed by Nancy White of Full
Circle and Associates USA (http://www.fullcirc.com) and adapted by Josephine Murray PelionConsulting Pty Ltd. TAS. Australia 2001 (http://www.pelino.com.au). — 26
is more impor-
tant than your
Ask questions throughout to ensure that learning is taking place. — 67
eye contact. Just
Make the learning experience as interactive as you possibly can. — 67
like radio, the
Ask frequent questions. — 76
Be sure you use questioning to get at the student's meta-cognitive processes — it is critical that
fies your passion
both you and the student understand how they are thinking about the subject. — 92
(or lack of pas-
Be sure to ask lots of questions as a way to gain interactivity. The questions can be a test of knowl-edge, point of view, or just for fun. — 98
Don't assume — ask questions and clarify. — 80
Multimedia Designer,
Feedback via questions. — 174
New World Restaurant
Involve the participant by personally asking questions to each (or some individuals) to engage themin the process. The event should not be a data / information dump — there should be activities toensure the knowledge is transferred. Otherwise you can just send them a document to read, whybother with the live event? — 193
Since you can't read faces or body language for cues, solicit feedback or ask questions at regularintervals. — 217
For easy interactions, ask questions that can be answered by hand signals or icon buttons. — 154
If participants are participating as a group, with a single connection per group, make sure you haveextra "dead air" for the participants to discuss answers to polls or questions. — 154
Ask lots of questions (even if it's just click the green check for "yes" or the red X for "no")! It's mucheasier to disengage when you're participating online, so participation is the key. — 336
INVITE learners to give you their questions by explaining the multiple methods they have for askingthem (voice, chat, etc), and planting your own "seed" questions. Remind people several times duringthe presentation to use the chat room for questions. Start each session with an explanation of howto participate. We will have to do this until webinars are ubiquitous. People know how to walk into aconference room and participate in a meeting or class (sit down in a chair, raise your hand to ask aquestion, nod when you agree), but they are often nervous about this new type of classroom, andneed more guidance. Once they get comfortable with the format, then they can focus on content.
— 303
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 39
II. Tips for Instructors continued
drive a conclu-
Ask questions throughout to ensure that you are not losing the learner. — 148
sion or training
exercise. Do not
Pose questions that you are sure at least some people can answer. — 230
Posing synthesis and evaluation questions. — 258
just for the sake
Know how to ask questions and probe for understanding of content. — 322
Polling the class and sharing results can be effective. Use the polling device to have people respondwith "yes,""no,""maybe." — 329
Chris Bond, President,
Bluewater Interactive
f. Listen to learners and to their answers
Listen to what the students are saying — learn to listen to the written word! — 224
Listening and hearing is an order of magnitude more important than talking! — 225
Offer creative insight, be receptive and understanding (Bob Zimmer and Gary Alexander, 2000) — 244
Respond to inquiries as soon as possible — within 12 hours if possible. — 38
Answer all questions. Even if you have answered them 5 times before, answer them again. — 46
Always take lots of time when explaining answers to student's questions. Make your answers con-cise and step-by-step logical. — 69
Respond to every audio sound you hear — it's a heads-up that an important participant's feedbackor question is just about to come in. — 55
Answer the student's inquiry expediently and as precisely as possible, breaking down the course lan-guage into layman's terms, and giving examples. — 72
Ask students to identify themselves when they speak. — 87
Let the class take the lead in answering their own questions, before you do (be facilitative in thelearning process). — 91
When responding to a question that doesn't require you to be looking at the monitor, close youreyes to remove all other visual distractions. — 103
Always be ready to answer a question. — 122
Don't waffle! — 134
Repeat questions before answering. — 138
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 40
If students post
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Listen intently. Intonations and inflections impact the quality of the session. Be positive and uplift-
ing at all times. Never show your frustration with a participant's inability to understand a specific
are particular to
piece of material. — 223
them (the dis-
Create a list of possible questions participants may ask and develop your responses. — 223
LISTEN closely to what people say. HEAR how they are saying it. — 222
n't really benefit
Be brief, concise, and clear. Craft model answers or model responses and simply customize them for
the rest of the
different learners — you can save hours of repetitive thinking and typing, and still provide individu-alized service. — 291
class), post a
State when you will answer questions. — 288
telling the stu-
g. Include exercises in your sessions
dent you will
Always have Pop quizzes and surveys in the middle of lessons to get an idea of whether learners are
contact him or
actually responding to your instruction. — 30
her via email to
Organize your discussions to accommodate high levels of interactivity. — 57
handle his or
Create an assignment where each participant has a chance to moderate an online discussion.
Provide the participant with tips for moderating, and ask him or her to summarize the discussion.
Employ an exercise or game that requires participants to send individual messages to one another
cuts the thread
— this triangulates the learning; give them a five-minute work-by-yourself assignment and then goaround the horn displaying results. — 136
at that point.
I do a lot of software training over WebEx, and I use a model of passing the mouse over to the stu-
Mark Veljkov, VP,
dents so they can show what they have learned after major sections. Because only one person at a
Education OnLine, Inc.
time can drive the mouse, I create various roles for the other students. I always have the Driver, butthen I also select a Picker, and a Talker. The Picker selects the example to demonstrate, and the Talkermust instruct the Driver what to do with the mouse. The Driver may not move the mouse unless theTalker instructs to do so. The remainder of the audience serves as Coaches, who have three roles. Thefirst role is to "harrumph" if the Driver moves the mouse without instruction. The second role is to"ahem" if it appears that the Talker is sending the Driver in an incorrect direction. The coaches fur-ther serve as a resource if the Talker asks for help. This keeps everyone focused on the screen andthey are thinking thru the steps as the process occurs. It creates collaboration and reinforces thesteps of the activity. The students have a lot of fun with this, especially when there are mixed levelsin the audience and someone gets to tell their boss what to do. — 170
I like to have students take control of the screen and have them practice what we just discussed. If Iam teaching how to use PowerPoint I will give students control and have them work on a slide sowe are building a presentation as we go. — 173
Include exercises in the handouts with the answers revealed online. — 154
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 41
If you use a CMS
II. Tips for Instructors continued
with a drop box
If your handouts are the same PowerPoint file as your presentation, don't forget to remove any
feature, in the
answer pages from the handouts. Seems like a no-brainer but it is an easy detail to forget. — 154
Provide exercises using "live" applications and websites where possible. — 229
Provide multiple opportunities and multiple modalities for students to demonstrate skill and/or
knowledge mastery. — 253
ments that are fun
Use review exercises appropriately (true or false, multi-choice, short answer, review games, and
but which relate
puzzles). — 318
to the course.
Creatively adapt classroom exercises for synchronous online delivery. — 327
Usually relates to
h. Make student assignments clearly and precisely
searching the Web
Balance individual and group assignments. — 57
along with a set of
Set clear guidelines for posting and labeling assignments. — 57
Stagger your assignment due dates to give your students ample time to read and comment on theirclassmates' postings before the next section of the course begins. For example, make discussion
they must answer
questions due on the third day of the week instead of the last day. This also helps the instructormanage his or her own time since there will be more time available to give feedback on student
about it. First per-
work before turning attention to the next subject. Think about adding at least one peer-evaluated
son to submit all
assignment or activity to the mix. — 57
the right answers
Give ample time for assignments, reiterations, and revisions, etc. — 72
for the item via
If your learning strategies include assignments, make sure instructions are clear and complete.
— 223
the Drop Box (it
Don't make everything due at once or on Friday. Provide a window of time for response . theirs andyours. — 287
missions), wins a
i. Set up class activities
prize. This has
Be flexible — it's not always easy to predict what activities (will work). — 11
always been
Do not try to TEACH the user — let him LEARN on his own (that is why he chose this medium). — 19
Kate MacDonald, Director
Send out announcements prior to important activities or milestones. — 39
of Instructional Design
Services, Massachusetts
Always prepare chats beforehand, prepare interesting questions, topics, and, if possible, distribute
College of Pharmacy and
the questions or the information beforehand so that chats can be useful. Don't think a useful chat
will last more than 40 minutes. Think of 40 minutes devoted to academic issues and use theremaining time to promote interaction. — 45
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 42
II. Tips for Instructors continued
You'll never learn the directions if you're the passenger in a car. Best way of learning is doing it your-
not only dia-
self. Deliver the material online and give a breakout session with a hands-on example for them to do
at the end. Pose a question or simulation they need to perform. This is very useful for complex simu-lations, or CAD programming etc. Give them an hour and then share results. — 2
Don't lecture on content or material as the ultimate and only method expecting learning to occur.
but with those
Create ways to use content causing a student to analyze and apply content. — 41
who are in the
Before creating group activities, have students assess their personalities and group them according-
ly. Try to create a balanced group before assigning a project. This will lead to greater success for thegroup, and a greater appreciation of each personality type. — 102
for project work,
Allow lots of activities. — 127
Include individual and small-group activities if manageable. — 190
Principal ISD, UDLP, ASD,
Keep the students active by having them perform on-line tasks, if it's having them do mediocre
tasks. Announce in the very beginning of the session that you will be calling on students to performtasks at any time. Rather than being embarrassed, the students will pay closer attention to you areteaching, in the event they are called on to perform something. — 211
Provide enough time for participants to interact during the activities. Don't rush. Provide enoughinformation to enable participants to do the activities. Try to appeal to people with different learn-ing styles, e.g. some talk, some listening, some doing, something creative, etc. Follow up on-linelearning with time to reflect, and then come back together to discuss. — 270
Instill lots of interactivity such as games, simulations, and directed discussions. — 274
Use breakout rooms with facilitator present guiding. Someone other than the facilitator should runthe technology. — 317
j. Use demonstrations effectively
My favorite online tools simulation is where I show how its done and get them to use the tool, andat the same time build their own statistical model on their PC, configure the USB chip etc. — 2
Know your setup. If you are going to demo it, use a screen capture to show the point / clicks. Playback the demo and concentrate on talking about the screen action. — 132
k. Include appropriate simulations and games
With simulation, allow plenty of pauses for questions, and to allow clarification and even to ensureusers are all on the same page! — 2
Add games and simulations to your lessons. — 114
Don't be afraid of games. Just make sure that they are tightly bound to the content. — 125
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 43
II. Tips for Instructors continued
Don't use e-Learning for the learning domain of psychomotor skills unless you have a huge budget
to create simulators. — 190
students to click
Utilize games where practical. — 146
Make your online sessions more interesting with little games or activities the learner can do.
Display (or app
Developing sheets together is building up a team which is very important for success. — 234
Push a Web address for a simulation exercise for "hands on" software interaction during the event.
Jeff Tyson, Manager of
l. Don't be afraid of sharing applications
Development, Tech
Resource Group, Inc.
SHARING APPLICATIONS / WEB SAFARI: — 1121. Open the application you are sharing prior to the session.
2. Keep the AppShare session short.
3. Set up an application entry point to focus participants' attention.
4. Involve experts in the class as presenters.
5. If sharing a participant's application, prepare that application to launch in advance of the session.
6. Click on another Agenda item or choose another CentraOne tool to stop the AppShare session.
App Sharing — consider recording the demo and playing it back while the presenter speaks. Wehave done this using Camtasia and saving as a Flash file. The audience can't tell the difference, andit can minimize some of the live app-sharing pitfalls — high bandwidth issues, waiting for menus /windows / dialog boxes to appear, app running more slowly in app sharing mode, app failing and/orcrashing. Advantages would be that it requires the presenter to plan / rehearse, and the demos canbe repurposed. — 154
If a meeting tool does not adequately support your materials, such as animated and active slides,use application sharing. Do not just make do!!! More interactivity — still more — I mean a lotmore!!! — 176
Always have a place for sharing resources. — 274
Sharing applications in real time is more effective than (by now predictable and boring) survey ques-tions. — 324
m. Include offline activities in your plan
Use regular posted assessments to get polls from audience.- 2
Make use of offline media. — 313
Utilize standard media which most students have access to, such as PDF files, html files, etc. — 328
When using a link to Internet resources, include an alternate link with similar information in casethe first (and probably best) site is unavailable. — 333
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 44
Assess early and
II. Tips for Instructors continued
n. Assess progress
Lisa Wieland Handy, AVP
/ Sr. Consultant,
Evaluating student participation can be difficult when online communication tools create more text
than one instructor can evaluate. — 272
I get them to give me a precise answer following what I've just shown them. Gives me buy-in fromthem, and they get to understand it better. — 2
Evaluate learning success. — 8
In a synchronous classroom, use the poll feature as mini-quizzes to ensure understanding. — 43
At 30% or 40% of the course categorize the learners into Red, Amber, and Green areas based on reg-ularity and activity completion, and think of addressing and treating these groups differently interms of message tone, content support, motivational support, etc. — 39
Create concept guides that are brief and direct. These will work as quick references the learners canbrush through while they prepare for the final assessment. — 39
Blend synchronous classroom with subsequent one-on-one coaching by using the email system tocheck student performance and provide feedback. — 43
Having a quiz at the start or end of the live session makes people prepare before hand. It is neces-sary to use techniques to force this habit since students have years of doing it the other way, attend-ing class and then studying afterwards.
Track each student's progress on a regular basis. — 114
Clear and distinct outline of level of training achieved. — 174
If you are using online quizzes or tests, create a "sample" test for students to try out. This allowsthem to familiarize themselves with the format of the test (i.e. how to navigate between pages,how to "save" answers, that type of thing) without being under the pressure of learning these newthings as well as answering the test questions, within a set time limit. — 180
Follow up lesson with knowledge assessments. — 243
If your online training system (For example WebEx) has a survey tool, you can use this to pretest /posttest students during a lesson. You can also have an informal quiz at the end of a module. Thishelps both attention and retention. — 183
o. Remember the course evaluations
EVALUATIONS: 1. Tell participants explicitly to answer the questions and click Submit when com-plete. 2. Tell participants to give you a green check mark when they have submitted the evaluation.
(This helps with gauging time.) 3. Give participants a time limit and tell them how many items arein the evaluation prior to showing it to them. 4. Use evaluations to review material as necessary.
— 112
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 45
In giving feed-
II. Tips for Instructors continued
back on assign-
C. Pay attention to four special skills
1. Give and receive feedback
Take the feedback or an acknowledgement from the learners. — 271
should be to the
Provide a survey to get user feedback and then follow up. — 13
Feedback is a must. — 29
Provide timely feedback to students. — 37
the last or major
Remember to follow up. — 39
project. (The for-
Provide swift and continuous feedback — whereever possible let the computer provide it. — 92
mer, to establish
Students want timely feedback so respond to posts and assignments as quickly as possible with
constructive and substantive comments. — 94
Provide feedback on a regular and timely basis. — 114
Provide feedback in a timely manner. — 147
Feedback, Feedback, Feedback! It encourages students and increases their productivity. — 151
what is expect-
Read before you post a comment. Tone, especially a disparaging tone, really does come through inonline communication. I've seen learners totally turned off by an instructor who was a put-down
Mark Veljkov, VP,
artist. And I know the instructor would never have said the same words if they had been face-to-
Education OnLine, Inc.
face with the learner. — 274
Provide timely and meaningful feedback. — 313
Give everyone thorough feedback so there is not just an evaluation of work but a real, personalizedlearning experience that, in a way, can be a lot stronger than in the traditional classroom. — 314
Invite feedback.
Make sure you ask for feedback when you do sessions yourself. — 231
Ask for feedback from your students about what is working and what is not, and don't wait until theend of the course to do this. — 243
2. Be effective when correcting learners
Learn how to interject a correction without sounding harsh or critical online — which is a much dif-ferent environment than being face-to-face because there is no body language to indicate "how"something is being said. — 91
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 46
Don't be afraid
II. Tips for Instructors continued
dead space" —
3. Handle silence without fear
Manage silences and dead air. — 12
space is neces-
Silence does not equate with understanding or consent. — 34
sary in order for
It is very hard to hold someone's attention online. You only have one visual object for them to focus
on. Even a 15 second pause can lose a student. — 31
to complete a
Allow silence to happen — distant sites may be un-muting or experiencing a slight lag and mayneed more time than F2F in order to respond. — 217
task. (By dead
space, I mean
4. Deal with problems effectively and professionally
time when no
Dealing with conflict or difficult students. (271)
one is talking.)
Have sufficient technical knowledge to perform first-line troubleshooting. — 10
Learning Specialist,
Know how to troubleshoot the technology from a learner's point of view. — 46
Healthcare Services
Know what to do if something goes wrong — lost connection, screen freezes, etc. — 111
Have a phone number or contact to route support questions. — 4
Be flexible — we are all adults and life happens. — 38
When moving into application share, if students cannot see the application, have them close out ofthe LiveMeeting session and re-enter it. — 56
Have a backup presenter and hard copy of slides just in case technology goes down. — 74
Have alternate activities handy in case something is not working well. — 259
D. Do your follow-up
Acquire feedback regularly. Continuously improve on the design and delivery. — 105
Incorporate student's suggestions or feedback in the WBTS. — 271
Keep in constant email and/or discussion thread contact. If someone appears to be missing contactthat person, individually, and find out what is wrong. — 198
Plan to interact with your online students and your course daily. Do not make excuses for your lackof presence or your lapse in participation in the online learning experience. Answer email and gradeassignments within your stated response time frames (i.e. 48 hours). — 253
Communicate often with your students. — 114
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 47
II. Tips for Instructors continued
the online
Connect with learners — make it crisp, interactive and follow up on material. — 116
Let your personality shine through in your emails and discussions. Use appropriate humor to let yourstudents see your lighter side. — 221
effort on your
Set expectations early and often, and do not disappoint — if you tell learners you will always
part to develop
respond within three days, do so, if only to acknowledge receipt; if you set the expectation at within24 hours then live up to the promise. — 291
a learning com-
munity. Check in
Answer email and phone calls, it is a way students connect. Be prompt with your responses. — 305
with your online
Use synchronous learning wisely, not just because you want to. (306)
The instructor is encouraged to adopt best practices such as the American Association for HigherEducation's Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education (available at
some way at
least every
Enough transparency of the technology to achieve the goal: learners learn. (240)
48 hours —
III. Tips for Managers
a group email,
A. Selecting online instructors for success
1. Choose instructors based on competencies
The instructor has taught the course in a face-to-face setting, or is highly experienced with the con-
The instructor must communicate effectively in writing, and is able to express ideas, concerns, sug-gestions, and answers to students succinctly and clearly. — 240
Donna Welschmeyer,
The ability to troubleshoot basic technical issues without sounding frustrated. — 240
Program Development,
Colorado Community
2. Choose instructors with the right attitudes
The instructor is willing to modify and adapt teaching methods and strategies based on student orparticipant feedback. — 240
The instructor has an understanding of the increased value of asking good questions and promptingresponses — 240
The instructor has an appreciation for the complexities of what used to be easy: small group activi-ties, file sharing, testing, etc., homework assignments. — 240
A positive customer service attitude — no whining, no blaming! — 240
WebEx Customer Success Story
GMAC accelerates business
processes and saves over
$12 mil ion a year using WebEx.
Virtual y al GMACCM employees rely on WebEx to help them train rapidly, communicate with team members quickly, and get their jobs done more efficiently. The results have been substantial. The company is slashing travel costs throughout the organization. Training takes place online instead of onsite. Sales reps get in front of more customers in less time. And the company is able to provide fast help desk support to remote users. WebEx is a vital part of the culture in this organization.
A WebEx customer since 2000, this premier financial
services company uses a full suite of WebEx applications.
INDUSTRY
Commercial real estate
We developed a cost-to-benefit analysis when we first deployed WebEx
WEBEX APPLICATIONS
that showed we were saving $3,500 in cost per trained employee per
WebEx Enterprise Edition
year – that's comes to over 12 million dollars a year we saved.
— Sandra Morris, Vice President, Learning and Employee Development
WebEx meetings transform the entire
GMAC Commercial Mortgage business
culture into a high performance
GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation
intention was to slowly introduce WebEx
workplace that communicates and
(GMACCM) is a premier financial services
to the organization, gain adoption in indi-
collaborates faster and better than
firm with extensive funding sources that,
vidual departments and workgroups, and
ever before.
coupled with a broad menu of innovative
let it migrate at a comfortable pace across
financing programs, serves the needs
the enterprise. "It took about six months
of borrowers of commercial real estate
before our employees knew about it and
debt as wel as the providers of capital.
what it could do," Morris says. "We gave
ABOUT GMAC COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE
GMACCM is an industry leader in loan
them the option of taking trainings via
Line of business:
origination, servicing, asset management,
in-person classes, or online with WebEx.
Mortgage services
investment management, and technology
The first WebEx users immediately asked
services. This diverse lending and
for al their training content to be delivered
servicing specialist and its affiliates
online—they didn't want in-person
employ 3,500 staff in more than 100
trainings anymore."
offices worldwide.
Number of employees:
GMACCM's training group now facilitates
The Challenge
one training a month on its twelve com-
In 1999, GMACCM was planning their first
mon business applications, plus a number
Has been a WebEx customer:
company-wide rol out of a new PeopleSoft
of new hire presentations, via WebEx
Time Card system. The company's training
Training Center. "The only time we offer
team, led by Vice President of Learning
in-person classroom trainings now is when
and Employee Development Sandra
we have an upgrade that the entire com-
Morris, prepared to support the rol out by
pany needs to get," says Morris. "Then
supplementing their six-person training
we use a blended in-person/online
staff with six consultants. This extended
training model that lets us rol out as
team would rotate between GMACCM's
efficiently as possible."
100 global locations in North America, Europe, and Asia, doing live, onsite train-
GMACCM expanded its use of WebEx
ing with local employees. Difficulty in
online meeting applications by adopting it
scheduling times at the remote offices,
for use by business managers for routine
however, interrupted the preset training
meetings. This use dramatical y increased
schedule and trainers frequently had to
after 9/l , when GM put a moratorium on
leave for the next leg of their trip before
al business travel. "We were slammed
ever getting in front of a classroom. "We
with people requesting training on how
spent a lot of time and money on this
to use WebEx," says Morris. "We started
training plan, and then ended up having
training our business teams on how to
to do it al over again via phone and
host their own WebEx meetings. Now our
email," says Morris. "Quite frankly, it was
executives are using it to facilitate col abo-
ration among their departments and to communicate and col aborate with al their
The Solution
internal and external constituents."
According to Morris, "I was introduced to WebEx by one of our sister companies.
Morris feels WebEx has become an inte-
After I talked with the company and saw
gral part of GMACCM's culture, noting that
what it could do, I was ready to move
everyone at every level of the organiza-
forward." Morris began using WebEx in
tion uses WebEx business applications.
2000 to deliver a series of common busi-
One of the more interesting changes
ness application training sessions. The
WebEx has driven was the adoption of a
GM did an analysis of WebEx based on our positive experience and the savings we were realizing, and effective in 2005, made it mandatory that everyone in their organization use WebEx.
— Sandra Morris, Vice President, Learning and Employee Development
new Management Curriculum for senior
tion information, tracking attendance,
The efficiencies that the GMACCM/WebEx
executives. According to Morris, "Prior to
updating employee records, and keeping
synergy has made possible are also being
WebEx, a senior executive would not step
department managers notified of their
noticed by other GM divisions. Morris's
foot into an in-person classroom training
staff training activities. The integration also
use of WebEx to host a meeting of the
because there was a perception that high-
enabled a very successful deployment of
GM Training Counsel, of which she is a
level execs shouldn't need that kind of
the company's Performance Management
member, generated high praise. "I had
information. WebEx created a new training
Training. Required for al managers, the
sixty attendees signed onto WebEx for a
environment that engaged their interest.
trainings were delivered over a three-week
4-hour session. After the meeting, I was
After we saw their attendance increase
period via WebEx Training Center, along
overwhelmed with feedback saying that
and knew that our adoption was going
with fol ow-on performance appraisals.
the WebEx session was the best they
to be high, we evolved our Management
Those with low appraisals were sup-
had ever attended. GM was using
Curriculum, delivered via WebEx Training
ported with additional instruction until
Placeware (now Microsoft Live Meeting)
Center. It's now required."
they achieved the required performance
at the time and the service was always a
levels. "In the past, we actual y had entire
chal enge. After my presentation, GM did
WebEx is also ful y integrated into
groups that never completed the appraisal
an analysis of WebEx based on our posi-
the company's backend Learning
process," says Morris. "WebEx al owed us
tive experience and the savings we were
Management System (LMS), the
to ensure performance levels company-
realizing, and effective in 2005, made it
PeopleSoft Learning Enterprise, and
wide and track those appraisals within our
mandatory that everyone in their organiza-
Morris' team schedules al WebEx training
LMS. We never could have accomplished
sessions directly through the LMS. This
this without WebEx."
facilitates automated emails with registra-
Deploying WebEx Across the Enterprise
We gave [our employees] the option of taking trainings via in-person classes, or online with WebEx. The first WebEx users immediately asked for all their training content to be delivered online—they didn't want in-person trainings anymore.
— Sandra Morris, Vice President, Learning and Employee Development
The Results
to place." GMACCM has even adopted
The Future
WebEx to deliver help desk support,
Morris definitely sees WebEx continu-
The quantitative results realized from
enabling real-time viewing of remote desk-
ing to be an integral part of GMACCM's
GMACCM's WebEx instal ation have been
tops and the ability to share applications
culture and ability to do business. Future
unprecedented. Morris's team has repeat-
and teach end users on new products.
applications include adding more con-
edly delivered company-wide trainings
tent to its training library for on demand
for major system upgrades in as little as
"We use WebEx to tel us how our prod-
access. "We're a smal staff," Morris says,
three weeks—processes that previously
ucts are doing," says Morris. "I use the
"and we're frankly running out of time to
required several months to execute. "We
pol ing feature to not only check reten-
prepare al the content for the number of
developed a cost-to-benefit analysis in
tion, but to get the user's opinion on the
business applications we're now training
2001 that showed we were saving $3,500
product. I want to know if it's valuable to
on. We want to establish an on demand
in costs per trained employee per year
them, if they see themselves using it, and
library of WebEx sessions that wil help
– resulting in over 12 mil ion dol ars a year
how it can help them work better. This
us meet this need without adding head-
in savings," says Morris. If the analysis had
feedback filters throughout the organiza-
included al the other groups that were
tion and business units can make better
using WebEx at this time, this figure would
decisions about the tools and applications
Morris adds, "There is no way we could
probably have been doubled."
we choose to deploy."
have done al we've done without WebEx. Our peers in sister organizations ask us
WebEx's qualitative benefits have also
WebEx has migrated to virtual y al parts of
how we handle training rol outs at the
been substantial, with virtual y every
the GMACCM organization, with individual
speeds WebEx enables. They're blown
GMACCM employee relying on WebEx to
groups focusing on the features that best
away by it. It has made our lives very sim-
help them train rapidly, communicate with
facilitate their needs. "Our sales teams are
ple and made our team look very good."
team members quickly, and get their jobs
using the recording function to establish
done more efficiently. According to Morris,
their own library of sales training materials
"We are slashing travel costs throughout
for on demand access," says Morris. "Our
our organization. Business units are train-
Risk Management group is doing some-
ing across business lines, our technology
thing similar. We had a team of lawyers
trainings can happen online instead of
that met every week, literal y flying in from
offsite, and our sales teams are getting
every part of the globe. Now they use
in front of more customers without wast-
WebEx, saving time and costs, while still
ing time and money flying from place
getting the job done."
HIGHLIGHTS
• GMAC Commercial Mortgage was hampered in deploying training by the size and geography of its
global workforce.
• WebEx Training Center reduced training deployments from several months to a few weeks and
generated savings of $3,500 in costs per trained employee per year, with a total of over 12 million
dollars saved.
• WebEx migrated to enterprise-wide use after 9/ll—now the entire organization is speeding
communications, collaboration and business processes via online meetings and training.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS: WebEx Communications, Inc., 3979 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA Tel: +1.408.435.7000 Fax: 1.408.496.4353 2005 WebEx Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. WebEx and the WebEx logo are registered trademarks of WebEx Communications, Inc.
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 52
III. Tips for Managers continued
that the prepa-
The instructor comes prepared to teach Plan A with Plan B and Plan C in place. — 240
ration and man-
agement of
Willingness to support learners via email and/or phone before and after sessions. — 240
3. Choose instructors with the right knowledge and skills
take less time
The instructor has a basic understanding of the Internet, word processing, and email. — 240
The instructor has some background or experience in teaching or training. — 240
forms of educa-
The instructor has an understanding of instructional design for synchronous online.- 240
Instructional Designer,
4. Take into account other considerations when choosing instructors
The Savannah College
of Art and Design
The instructor has good Internet access at work or home (depending on where they intend on doingthe most work on the course). — 240
The instructor has significant time available to devote to course development and to complete initial drafts of the course content at least 10 weeks prior to the course open date. — 240
The instructor is able to devote 10-15 hours per week to teaching the course for a 3-credit hourequivalent course (depending on the level of interaction and volume and length of assignments).
— 240
B. Set the instructor up for success
1. Ensure that there is organization support for synchronous e-Learning
Make sure you have top-down buy-in into any online learning initiatives; this will help you secureresources, including the necessary technical tools. — 25
Use champions to help increase the likelihood of successful adoption. — 25
Make online learning part of your overall learning programs. Have people in your company who canhelp and give advice to other learners. Integrate in-person training with online. Have as many formsof learning going on for as many subjects as possible. -109
Get your stakeholders involved, and keep them involved throughout the project, to ensure owner-ship and uptake of the product (important in academic settings). -255
2. Ensure there will be IT support
Have technical support available for participants. — 260
Provide off-line support, especially a technical support person so that the instructor is not spendingthe entire time diagnosing connection issues. — 288
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 53
III. Tips for Managers continued
with two facili-
3. Establish a complete delivery team
tators; one to
Have a co-presenter monitor participant activities. — 260
Use a producer. — 310
Use a producer when possible. The role of the producer is to take attendance, type on the white
and one to han-
board, check on AWOL participants, etc. — 161
If you are presenting through a Webcast, have a producer available to manage the software, instantmessaging, and assessments and surveys. — 179
chat. Use the
Instructional Partnerships work better than solos as it give interaction and a lively social presence.
tor to engage in
Have a host or facilitator to assist with the live presentation to handle technical issues or respond to
chat, etc. — 99
la the two-host
Multiple facilitators are a must! — two sets of eyes and ears are helpful on content and questions,but also the vocal variety helps the students from disengaging. Much like throwing in different
talk radio for-
interactive slides from time to time, different voices keep the students engaged. — 133
If you have a large audience, enlist the aid of another instructor if you need help managing text chat
Ceil Tilney, Vice
that may be a part of the presentation. — 18
President, Linkage, Inc.
Have a second person to take care of chat questions or other things that might pop up. — 232
If the class is large have an assistant instructor to keep track of chat and technical difficulties of stu-dents. — 247
TEAM TEACH — having more than one facilitator in an online class allows the presenters to trade off ondifferent parts of the presentation, which helps to maintain student interest. It also offers students theopportunity to get one-on-one support for questions, and in the case of one instructor dropping off linedue to technical problems the other can step in and keep the program running. — 256
Use an assistant early on until you are comfortable with the technology. — 312
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 54
Allow for inter-
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams
activity of the
Learning can be enjoyable. Don't be afraid to have some fun. — 34
Keep it simple. — 202, 203, 204
tips, movies, and
Keep it simple. Don't overestimate your student's e-skills. Take small steps. — 205
Keep it simple. Write in a conversational tone. Keep in touch with learners to prevent any feeling ofisolation. — 206
Stephanie Sanford,
Keep it simple, keep it fun. — 207
Specialist, America's
Keep it simple. Use interactivity (not page turning) on every frame / page. Avoid lecture pages.
— 208
Keep it simple. Make it fun, and interesting. Online is different from other forms of teaching. Don'tput a "book" online and expect it to teach. — 209
A. Apply these design tips
Build a solid instructional design. Pay attention to detail during the development phase. — 105
Alpha & Beta test BEFORE release! — 105
Relying too heavily on assigned readings and book-based tutorials can leave students wishing theyhad saved their money by simply reading the required texts on their own. Give your e-Learningadded value with resources that go beyond the book, such as: interactive media and educationalgames, relevant and hard-to-find essays or articles, abridged study guides, printable quick-referenceguides, and organized lists with vital tips. Leverage the technology available to you to create uniqueassignments and promote collaboration. — 272
List procedures numerically, breaking up lengthy ones into different segments. — 13
Consider your audience! — 16
Blended is the magic word. — 29
Repurposing a classroom-based course for online delivery doesn't work unless it's redesigned for e-Learning. — 54
Be mindful of the diverse groups of learners and their learning needs. — 35
Be organized. — 38
Make sure your content is accurate. — 42
If your content is PowerPoint slides, include the notes — better yet — enriched notes. Otherwisethey are useless. — 43
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 55
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams continued
Include asynchronous, self-paced opportunities to practice (review) in downloaded workshop con-
approach is not
Don't think that more animations and heavy images necessarily make courses of better quality.
the same for
students in a
Prepare your PowerPoint slides very thoughtfully. — 49
short course run
Use relevant documents in addition to PowerPoint, to augment the subject matter. — 49
by a college
Assess student skills and tailor the course to accommodate the broad range of skills. — 54
compared to a
Don't forget to personalize the last slide. — 56
group of execu-
Design, design, design! Redesign your course from the beginning with the target number of stu-
tives doing an
dents in mind. It's much more difficult trying to add on or change approaches once the course has
Gabriela Sacco, V.O. &
Always inter-space learning with testing and summaries. — 19
Associates. Education
Review materials for spelling, grammar, and flow. — 24
Tailor the training to the trainee and the company's profile. — 33
Keep all subject matter precise. — 33
Know the desired outcome of your training — 33
Outline your work before you begin. — 50
Open your mind to creative ideas that may enter in the process of material development. — 50
Read your own copy as though you know nothing about the subject. — 50
Get a lot of external input, proofreading and editing. — 50
Remember always that your audience is giving up time from their busy lives to participate in thiscourse, so put thought into every word, keep it direct and empowering, and at the same time makeit fun. — 50
Always view your programs through the eyes of the end customer. — 71
Gauge the class size to the subject matter involved. — 72
In your design, build in ways to actively engage the learners. Otherwise, you might just as well makea video and send it out for people to watch. — 96
Chunk your material. — 111
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 56
Be sure to
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams continued
Don't assume stand-up PowerPoint slides equal online training. — 111
Do not let the aesthetics of screen design compete with the message of the learning event. — 123
Don't create replacement books. — 127
Don't get carried away by fancy plug-in routines, the main focus is the delivery of information nothow fancy the site appears. — 128
Coordinator Academic
Don't overlook email as an effective teaching aide. — 130
Computing, Fresno City
Easy navigation is the most critical. — 135
Do not get too caught up with static PowerPoint slides. There needs to be motion and action tomaintain attention. — 139
Establish good design practices so that the course is broken up into learning modules or contentchunks that are easy to absorb, but challenging. — 143
Prepare materials very differently — leverage what this mode can offer. Discard the stuff that mightwork very well in a classroom but which has no way of working in this mode. — 160
Make online sessions one tool in your blended delivery approach — not the only tool. — 164
From the management point of view it's critical to establish common guidelines and approaches forall the online classes. You don't want each instructor delivering in a totally different way when eachclass is part of a curriculum. Consistency can appear boring to the designers but is critical for thestudent. — 164
Pilot every new course before delivering to students. — 164
Have a good design on paper before you start actually committing your materials to the learningplatform / virtual learning environment. This design, if done properly, will certainly allow you seewhich tools you will need to use from the learning platform / VLE to get the best possible solutionfor your students and your company's requirements. — 181
Increase your instructional integrity over classroom material through tight ISD concepts aimed atthe medium. — 188
The design of the learning is most crucial. — 297
Distance education instructional design is not a re-format of traditional classroom delivery: recog-nize the differences and embrace them. — 335
B. Provide support for learning
Plan useful web site(s) to explore that are relevant to the e-Seminar content. — 49
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 57
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams continued
that is not just a
If you have dull information to present, find ways to be creative. Use pictures or charts if possible.
series of linked
Use Flash presentations since they are more Web friendly. Find a vendor who can help you with this
slides. Some of
if you do not have the abilities yourself. — 109
your users will
C. Make Forums a useful tool for learners
drift away if the
Encourage students to find new sources of information and share them with the class via discussion
boards, online chat sessions, or web logs (blogs). Discussion threads and other online communica-
tion forums can quickly get off topic and grow faster than teachers had anticipated. If use of discus-sion forums or other similar tools are a part of the grading criteria for a course, be sure to set clear
expectations for the quantity and quality of the information being exchanged. — 272
Al Moser, Support,
Design your question and discussion strategies. Do the math! 30 people posting something, and
ReadyGo, Inc.
then posting one response to someone else's posting plus additional free responses = how manyposts to read . how often? How will you monitor or check for understanding? — 287
D. Consider other tips (incl. advice and asynchronous items)
Record the e-Seminar for many reasons including faculty playback for self improvement. — 49
Don't consider a linear lecture / PowerPoint format an effective design for the synchronous class-room, or instructor-led classroom for that matter. — 15
For asynchronous events, make it easy for the learner to leave, and then return to the point of depar-ture later. Don't force them to start at the beginning each time. — 18
If all you plan to do is narrate a PPT slide show without any adaptation, just record your voice, andpost that with your course. You've probably seen that this repels students, so don't waste your timeor your student's time. Have content that you can adapt. — 28
Use well-chosen media effectively. Don't just use PowerPoint. — 30
Unless you have considerable instructional design experience in an e-Learning environment, don'ttry to design the course yourself. — 54
Keep the number of words on a page to the minimum. — 19
Be careful about what info is in each page — reduce instances of having to go back to previouspages for reference. — 19
Read any e-Course scripts aloud to ensure that they sound conversational. Minimize the amount oftext on e-Course pages and where possible, use graphics to summarize and emphasize key points.
— 25
Include interactivity through games, simulations, and demonstrations followed by mini quizzes(Knowledge Checks), etc. — 25
WebEx Customer Success Story
During the initial rollout [of our $13 million Capital Connect project],
we spent six months traveling to train users on the system. Now with
WebEx, we can do the same in 30 days.
— Michelle J. Brennan, Professional Development Consultant, Securian Advisor
Securian Financial Group accelerates business processes, speeds information delivery and improves quality of learning with WebEx.
Securian Financial Group is one of America's
ence attention and determine areas requir-
leading providers of financial security for
ing additional training. Students completed
INDUSTRY
individuals and businesses, providing more
the activities before coming to an in-person
Financial Services
than $430 bil ion of insurance protection and
training. "This al owed me to spend face-
safeguarding approximately $24 bil ion of
to-face time addressing students' particular
WEBEX APPLICATIONS
assets. Securian's wide range of product and
questions. If necessary, I could even assign
Presentation Studio, Training
service offerings includes insurance policies,
them fol ow-up work through the Presentation
Center, Meeting Center
retirement plans, financial planning and invest-
Studio," recal s Brennan.
ment services. This 125-year old company
works with an extended network of financial
Brennan was happy with the improvements
Securian Financial Group needed
managers, agencies, and firms throughout the
resulting from using Presentation Studio,
a more effective way to deliver
US to consistently bring quality products to its
but she stil wanted live e-learning capabil-
customers and maintain its top ratings.
ity to make training even more effective and
trainings to a growing number of
interactive. Suspecting that other Securian
customers. By implementing WebEx
The Challenge
divisions were probably facing similar training
throughout the enterprise, Securian
In 2003, Individual Business Technology,
chal enges, she shared her results across the
was able to accelerate its customer
a Securian business unit performing sales
enterprise. Other divisions were impressed
communications and overall
software training, faced a critical chal enge.
with what WebEx had enabled Brennan to
business processes using blended
The number of trainees flying in from around
accomplish. Consequently, they partnered
the country had increased by 60% while the
with her division to purchase a joint license
training methods. As a result, the
facilities and equipment required for hands-on
for WebEx Meeting Center, Event Center,
organization speeded information
training remained fixed. Instead of the typical
and Training Center. Use of the Presentation
delivery and significantly improved
20, groups of 50 or more people – includ-
Studio was then discontinued in favor of live
the overall quality of learning.
ing new asset managers, insurance agents
online training.
and brokers – would come into the St. Paul
ABOUT SECURIAN
headquarters for 3-4 business days. "I had an
"WebEx was wonderful in our enterprise rol -
Line of Business
hour and a half to deliver hands-on training
out. They hosted specialized online training
Financial security for individuals
to the people who sel our products, but that
events for their applications," says Brennan.
no longer gave us enough time to provide a
WebEx solutions were adopted by more than
real y useful, face-to-face interaction," says
seven divisions at Securian, including cor-
Michel e J. Brennan, who trained the group at
porate law, professional development, policy
services, and marketing. Some of the divi-
St. Paul, Minnesota
sions even created branded WebEx internal
The Solution
meeting portals, from which they could col-
Number of Employees
Brennan quickly realized that prerecording
laborate and train on their own schedules and
training sessions to view online could bet-
in their own ways. Today, approximately 350
ter prepare her students before they arrived,
users at Securian host WebEx presentations
WebEx Customer Since 2003
and would improve the quality of in-person
for their customers.
class time at Securian. While researching several web presentation solutions, she came
The Securian Advisor Services Division, where
across the WebEx Presentation Studio and
Brennan now works, uses WebEx Training
was impressed by the overal presentation
Center to deliver 15-20 interactive sales and
and ease of use. Using Presentation Studio,
marketing trainings to insurance firms and
Brennan began providing students with pre-
financial advisor groups on a monthly basis.
recorded online training presentations that
They use a variety of Training Center tools
included built-in tests to help retain audi-
such as quizzing and pol ing, animation, and
whiteboards to ensure the sessions hold the
WebEx helps our customers view many trainings and presentations
audience's attention. "Every three minutes, we
when they're available. No more three-day trainings away from their
make sure students are engaged by raising
offices. Delivering information in smaller doses and at the customer's
their hands, drawing on a white board, or typ-
convenience improves retention of the material.
ing in answers," explains Brennan. Other fea-tures, such as breakout sessions and hands
— Michelle J. Brennan, Professional Development Consultant, Securian Advisor Services
on labs, further enhance the e-learning expe-rience. And Brennan makes recorded ses-sions available for people who can't attend.
The Benefits
Enterprise-wide, Securian has now adopted a
With WebEx, Securian improved its enterprise
blend of training that combines online presen-
Instant sessions and desktop sharing in
business processes by implementing a whole
tations with in-person classrooms—making
Training Center enable financial agents and
new approach to col aboration and train-
face-to-face meetings as valuable as pos-
advisors to cal in and receive hands-on
ing. As a result, the organization significantly
sible. "We use the online presentations to get
answers to urgent questions. "If an agent has
improved the quality of information distributed
everyone on the same page before they enter
a scheduled meeting with a client and comes
to its customers while providing more effec-
the classroom," says Brennan.
across a glitch in his or her sales materi-
tive delivery methods. According to Brennan,
als, we can respond by launching an instant
"WebEx helps us to get information to people
The Future
Training Center session. Not only do we solve
a lot quicker than in the past. And it enables
The impact of WebEx has caused Brennan
the problem immediately, but we turn the
us to deliver information consistently. We no
to begin exploring new revenue models and
whole situation into a learning experience,"
longer have multiple teams delivering different
applications. "We want to begin resel ing our
messages to our customers."
WebEx license to our close partners. One key partner, a financial planning firm with offices all
Brennan's division also uses WebEx Meeting
The impact of WebEx can clearly be seen in
over the US, has already expressed interest,"
Center for podium-style presentations and
the rol out of Securian's 13-mil ion dol ar Client
says Brennan. Her division is also looking into
broadcast meetings in which new products
Connect project, their client data manage-
the WebEx e-commerce module to facilitate
are announced or strategic information
ment system. "During the initial rol out, we
payment for customer training.
delivered to Securian business partners,
spent six months traveling to train users on
vendors and agencies. Brennan points out,
the system. Now with WebEx, we can do
Another goal is to make more sophisticated
"WebEx Meeting Center helps us keep the
the same in 30 days," explains Brennan. Her
use of the system's robust capabilities across
participants focused on our message when-
division is responsible for training 65 general
the enterprise. Plans include using WebEx
ever we present an investment strategy for a
agencies, including some that handle indi-
Sales Center for new product teams and
vidual needs such as retirement and insur-
leveraging Training Center's hands-on lab and breakout room features to provide more focus
Securian once again supplements live
ance. "In rol ing out the new system, we've
during trainings. Brennan would also like to
meetings throughout the enterprise using
been able to decrease our travel budget
see growing proficiency with on-demand
Presentation Studio or the on-demand mod-
significantly because of WebEx. Our time and
sessions, using more advanced editing and
ule of Training Center. On-demand sessions
budget are better al ocated these days. Travel
video, for instance. "WebEx has al owed us to
are particularly useful in delivering compliance
to client sites is stil important, but we can
come such a long way with the efficiency and
trainings – such as NAIC (National Association
deliver a lot more information without having
quality of our training. We know our users are
of Insurance Commissioners) and long-term
to travel al the time."
happy with the results. So we want to keep
care – as wel as mandatory corporate meet-
Securian now uses WebEx to provide cus-
incorporating more WebEx applications to
ings. According to Brennan, "WebEx has the
tomers with a more convenient and useful
help us continue to improve."
editing and recording tools we need to deliver
way of learning. "WebEx helps our customers
ful y polished presentations without the stops
view many trainings and presentations when
and starts common in live presentations.
they're available. No more three-day trainings
WebEx supports compliance by tel ing us
away from their offices. Delivering information
who has registered and attended a specific
in smal er doses and at the customer's con-
training. We also use viewing times and
venience improves retention of the material,"
testing to determine whether an attendee
says Brennan.
stayed through the presentation and is truly compliant."
HIGHLIGHTS
• Use of on-demand presentations outside of the classroom (in-person and virtual)
pre-trained students and improved the quality of face-to-face meetings.
• Stellar outcome from the self-paced module use in one division resulted in
enterprise-wide adoption of WebEx Training Center and Meeting Center.
• WebEx accelerated Securian business processes – speeding distribution and improving
quality of information, increasing convenience for customers and making face-to-face
time more valuable.
CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS: WebEx Communications, Inc., 3979 Freedom Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 USA Tel: +1.408.435.7000 Fax: 1.408.496.4353 2005 WebEx Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. WebEx and the WebEx logo are registered trademarks of WebEx Communications, Inc.
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 60
Use lots of sim-
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams continued
ple, yet effec-
Provide thorough guidance and share Best Practices with SMEs who have not previously worked in
an online environment. — 25
instead of
Build content that has multiple navigation paths (e.g. articles with more detail) and tables of
contents to skip to the material of interest. — 28
"Talk" with students through your materials. While developing material's contents, think as if youwere actually talking to students. — 45
example of a
Sit back and review your work every three scenes or slides to gain perspective and to check if you'reon the right path. — 52
tion would be
Choose images that follow a theme, e.g. a color theme, an object theme (all office stationery), etc.
to use a mag-
Avoid line after line of text. Students soon grow bored and the instructional message gets lost. Use
effect to high-
graphics, non-offensive humor, and interaction (questions, drag-and-drop, etc.) to keep the onlinetraining interesting. — 78
Build it small — because Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs) are what the future holds
words, or to
for online designers. — 106
Divide in small pieces, as much as you can, all the instructional objectives you are pursuing in your
tions of values
course, and make LOs with them. Try to think like some one that does not know anything about thematter you are trying to teach him. — 122
in a table or
Have more than one way for learners to learn your content. Some people may never let go of the
paper so have it available, but connect it to online. At least make them go to a Web site to print outthe assignment or to check their answers. — 109
Salma Jafri, Lead
Instructional Designer,
Put everything in one place — an LMS or Web site at least — so people do not have to hunt for the
online learning. They will quickly quit looking. — 109
Create templates and reuse them, like learning objects. — 118
Keep it short and deliver very small snippets of information because no one in the business worldhas hours to spend taking online courses. Build on prior learning. Make it easy to access and avail-able 24/7. — 201
Create an environment that facilitates the student locating information easily. — 147
Explore the Savie handbooks. — 150
Use Michael Allen's approach to stamp out boring e-Learning. — 236
Decide on your design early in the project. — 255
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 61
IV. Tips for Design and Development Teams continued
Construct a Venn diagram of the face-to-face and online versions of your course. What do you see? If
you were to design a hybrid version, how would you decide what would be addressed in which
venue? Map it. — 287
Simple navigation (3 clicks), include automated feedback and reusable learning objects. — 285
V. Tips for Implementation
Bruce Karr, Training
A. Manage the class size
Keep classes small. — 90
Limit the audience size depending on what you are trying to do. If your presentation is nothing morethan a knowledge dump or demo, you may be able to get by with larger audiences. However, if youare seeking interaction with the learners, and learner interaction with the content, you need to keepclass size smaller. If you need to reach more people, give more classes. (For example, when teachingsoftware or business applications, talking about it is OK, demonstrating it is better, but giving thema chance to drive is best. You can't give them the chance to drive if your class size is too large.) — 18
Keep the class load to a size that is manageable. More than twelve students at a time per instructoris a lot to handle, even with an LMS. — 156
B. Manage the class length
A synchronous, interactive e-Seminar should not be less than or more than two hours. — 49
Limit the length of the synchronous session. I try not to go over two hours. — 18
Ensure that your time keeping is vigilant — the longer the lesson, the greater the chance that par-ticipants will lose concentration. — 67
Chunk sessions into delivery time frames of no more than one hour. — 32
Limit content to what is needed; do not add extra information that will extend the session. Forextended sessions (lasting longer than 90 minutes): Give breaks. Think about breaking session apartinto smaller learning modules or chunks. — 153
If you have a long topic, chunk it up. No single online session should be hours and hours in length.
— 184
Keep it short — 2 hours is too long. — 190
You need more frequent breaks for online sessions . try not to go more than an hour before takinga break. — 336
Develop a timeline for each session — however remember it is more important that you ensurelearning occurs than it is to complete delivery of all the intended material. In my experience, if a
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 62
Use a graphics
V. Tips for Implementation continued
pad instead of a
course has multiple sessions, although some sessions may go slow, others go fast and in the end it
mouse. It speeds
all seems to even out. — 223
C. Provide an effective physical setup for the instructor
text writing and
Have the right tools, equipment and space for the instructor. It's impossible to be an online instruc-tor from your cubicle!! — 164
Deliver synchronous training in an environment free from distractions, i.e. your cubicle may not bethe best place; we have a small room dedicated for this purpose. — 18
Eliminate interruptions from office colleagues and telephone calls during participation in an online
Bob Schaefer, Director,
instruction session. — 223
Product Management,
Carefully arrange your screen with all the shortcuts and needed materials readily at hand. — 176
Use sound to your advantage — invest in a soundboard, music tracks, and other audio aids. — 188
Only teach from a private room. Have a raised desk so you can walk around while you teach. — 247
Don't rely on fancy technologies such as a screen sharing (WebEx) system. Corporate firewalls willfrequently kill these. — 28
Be creative. Don't let technology drive your development. Bells and Whistles don't make the learningbetter. — 85
Be in touch with emerging technologies. — 89
Careful of VOIP — could distort audio. — 153
Technology is still evolving. — 296
Any communication problem is unrelated to differences in goal orientation. — 6
Plans are nothing — preparation is everything. — 55
Student comprehension is the key to learning and application of knowledge. — 41
Don't be overwhelmed. — 42
Continue doing what you do best, teaching. — 42
Forget thinking in terms of regular "classes." Most instructors tend to think that an online videotapedclass equals a face-to-face class. Instead, think in terms of the content you want to teach! — 45
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 63
Enthusiasm is a
VI. Miscellania continued
When you hear . you forget. When you see . you remember. When you do . you understand. -1
ponent of learn-
ing how to do
A danger in uninformed use of technology associated with web-based course delivery is shapingteaching and learning activities to fit the technology rather than using an appropriate technology
that fits the activity. "The medium too often assumes a life of its own, supplanting the teacher andresulting in technology-bound activities that are debilitating to both teaching and learning (Parker,
Vic Divecha, eLearning
1997 p. 9)." — 5
Specialist, School of
Online learning needs to be easy to use, engaging and interactive — if you achieve this, the rest willprobably follow without too much difficulty. It is much more effective as an integral part of a blend-ed approach — it shouldn't stand alone. In my current role, we use e-Learning to train level 1 basicskills and manage to engage people with no previous qualifications, language or learning difficultiesetc. These guidelines do work!! — 268
Remember that there is a life outside the computer. — 51
A good computer user is not someone who knows everything there is to know about computers. Agood computer user is someone who can work out how to make the computer assist in the task athand, and then identify the most efficient way of accomplishing it. — 59
Arrogance is ignorance. — 75
Always be on your toes to learn more about e-Learning and be able to deploy it. — 64
It has to be easy, fun, worth their time. What is in it for them? The online learning has to make thelearner think. Not all movies make people think. Whatever technology you have, use it to make peo-ple think about the subject. What should they do with this information? How can their skill beimproved? Answer those questions in the online training. — 109
It is very important to understand the challenges of a totally online instructional model. These chal-lenges can be in terms of technology, diverse audience profile (experience and motivation levels),cultural diversity, training domain complexity, and so on. The trick is to relate the online model witha classroom situation, and think of parallel methods in the online context for meeting the abovestated challenges. — 194
Any instructor who is a good face-to-face instructor will migrate easily to the online forum. Theyalready have the attributes that are required to facilitate learning. — 156
Good communication skills (verbal and written) are vital. — 159
Patience is a virtue. — 159
Go to the point. Make the point a vehicle for deeper digging. Put the point in context and position itin today's worldly context. Don't preach, but lead the way forward. — 158
One person can make a difference!
Online learning does NOT have to be boring!!! — 246
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 64
If there is some-
VI. Miscellania continued
thing you could
Design and develop the full course (all learning activities) in advance of the term startup — then
do to improve
concentrate on facilitating it. — 253
Sometimes the tips are imperatives, other times they are reflective questions — 287
now, do it now.
Realize that people prefer synchronous events so that they can multi-task (participate and: eat, read,
Don't wait until
check email, check voice mail, play games, daydream, etc.). Many do it just to be able to tell othersthey did it without gaining any real benefit. — 338
the next time
you offer it.
Developing competencies is good, but not necessarily for certification. They would just be good inand of themselves. — 338
The right amount of information, for the time allotted, delivered in the right way, for the right rea-
enable you to
son, aligned with the right deliverables. — 298
Teach for your students, not the medium. — 294
These are largely from a participant's point of view: Never assume anything. A program's designer
Mark Joyce, Professor
may mean it to be intuitive, but it may only be intuitive to the person who designed it. Be aware
of Education, Mesa
always of the additional barrier the computer interface places between instructor and student or
the student and learning material. — 302
If it doesn't do it for you, get offline — not every content works online!
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 65
VII. Thanks to Our Tipsters
1 Ayyanathan S.Natarajan, Lecturer &
22 Bill Thimmesch, Training Specialist,
Michael Drummond, Ph.D., Director
Systems Analyst, Madurai Kamaraj
US Dept. of Labor-ETA
of Instructional Technology, Mercer
23 Michelle Walker, Instructional
2 Mark Jermyn, Senior Courseware
Designer, Westfield Insurance
43 Karen Gordon-Brown, Instructional
Developer, Cypress
24 Gaylene Galliford,
Solutions Designer, San Francisco
3 Sue Sarcheck, Lead Business Analyst,
SupervisorTraining, Design &
Bay Area Rapid Transit District
Federal Reserve Bank of
Development, Apria Healthcare
44 Lee Karns, Chief Bottle Washer,
25 Nicole McGuire, Training Programs
Vertical View Software Associates
4 Robert Salazar, e-Learning Web
Manager, LexisNexis
45 Gabriela Sacco, V.O. & Associates.
Developer, Dynamic-iBuilder, Inc.
26 Josephine Murray, Director, Pelion
Education and Training Consultants
5 Steve Swinson, Northrop Grumman
Consulting Pty Ltd
46 Colleen ONeil, CLO, Alva Learning
6 Alan Guinn, Managing Director, The
27 Marcia Ward, Sr. Editor, Dearborn
Guinn Consultancy Group, Inc
(Kaplan Professional)
47 Michael Ciambella, Director, Genesis
7 Joseph Tansey, Manager of
28 Al Moser, Support, ReadyGo, Inc.
Corporate Synchronous /
29 Dr. Jasir Alherbish, BCT
48 Christopher Harding,
Asynchronous Delivery Systems,
Documentation & Training
Wells Fargo Corporate Learning and
30 Rajit Anand, Executive Vice
Specialist, Vasogen, Inc.
President Delivery, Hurix SystemsPvt. Ltd.
49 Beth Warren, President & CEO,
WorkWorlds' Human Resource
31 Fran Dunne, Inovis
9 Mark Bucceri, Principal Education
Specialist, Centra
32 Robert Hails, Director, Center for
50 Maggie Marsh-Nation, R. EEG/EPT,
Distance Learning, College of
10 Vieva Steele, Manager, Training
CNIM, American Soc. of END
Engineering, University of Arkansas
33 Cheryl Reesy, Education Coordinator,
11 Melissa Leaist, Community Health &
51 Kathryn Williams, Westhoughton
First National Bank and Trust
Education Specialist, CAMH
34 Faun deHenry, President, Business
12 MaryAlice Colen, VP eLearning,
52 Salma Jafri, Lead Instructional
Intelligence / Data Warehouse SIG
Designer, 360Training
35 Sheryl Wong, Sr. Asst Director
13 Stephanie Sanford ,Online Learning
53 Robin Roumeliotis, Director of Client
(Faculty Dev), Nanyang
Specialist, America's Second Harvest
Support and Training, Spectra
Technological University, Singapore
14 Herb McCartney ,LMS
54 Gayle Rooke, President,
36 Leslie Stompor, Sr. Instructional
Administrator, Tyco Healthcare
KeyMedia Inc.
Designer, Siebel Systems
15 Nancy Miller, On-Line Learning
55 Harold Cypress, National Learning
37 Melinda Medina, Program Chair,
Manager, UnumProvident
University of Phoenix Online
16 Becky Harris, Director of
56 Jeff Tyson, Manager of Multimedia
Instructional Design, Purple Monkey
Development, Tech Resource Group,
38 Sandi Sturm, e-Learning Designer /
Instructor / Owner, Creative
17 Rajesh Lele, Deputy Head, E-learn-
57 Mark Veljkov, VP, Education OnLine,
ing, Bank of Baroda
39 Bhanu Kiran Potta, NIIT Limited
18 Roy Batzel, Technical Trainer, Time
58 Francois Ronai, Consultant,
40 Jahna Kahrhoff, Dir. Academic Dist.
Perfoption Inc.
Learning Center, Webster University
19 Ayutila Aier, Instructional Designer,
59 Timothy Lambert, Coordinator of
41 Rhamy Morrison, Training Specialist,
Instructional Support, Bunker Hill
American Standard / Trane RS
Community College
21 Ivy Satre, Software Trainer, Farm
Bureau Financial Services, Inc.
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 66
VII. Thanks to Our Tipsters continued
60 John Lachman, PBSO
80 Tuula Piispanen-Krabbe, Training
101 Andrea Barrett, Director Information
and Development Specialist, State
and Learning Services, Learnpros
of NM Dept. of Health
62 Wendy Brunner, Director of
102 Rhonda Goetz, Instructional
Courseware Production, MEBN
81 Lisa Wieland Handy, AVP / Sr.
Designer, Chrome Zebra Academy
Consultant, Mellon
63 Vic Divecha, eLearning Specialist,
103 Tom Berry, Galileo Systems, LLC
School of Public Health
82 Paul Weber, Vice President, OMIC
104 Man Van, Lecturer, Amsat
64 Renu Vadhvani, Elearning
83 Bernice Glenn, Principal, Glenn &
105 Marie Ortiz, Staff Development
Consultant, Infosys
Specialist, Kansas Department of
65 Penny Gelb, Manager of Systems
84 Enrique Garcia, Director, Employees
Social and Rehabilitation Services
Training, BJ's Wholesales Club
Technology Advancement Center,
106 Bob Pederson, Manager, Learning
Laredo Community College
66 Matthew Masci, Co-ordinator E-
and Development, State Farm
85 Dennis DiMambro, AVP,
Insurance Companies
Putnam Investments
67 Helen Thompson, Wholesaling Ops
107 David McClelland, eLearning
Training Co-ordinator, Heatcraft
86 Martijn Bakker, NA
Specialist, Eastman Kodak
Australia Pty Ltd
87 Susan McMurray, Performance
108 Matt Lewis, Instructional Designer,
68 Dennis DeLaurier, Web Based train-
Consultant, Titan Corporation
ESHconnect, Inc.
ing developer, Input / Output Inc
88 A. Lynn Raiser, Principle Instructional
109 Jeffrey Riley, IS Training Coordinator,
69 Carol Davies, Research Officer,
Designer, Siebel Systems, Inc.
89 Seethalakshmi Natarajan, Tata
110 Michele Largman, Trainer elearning
70 Jun Yang, Instructional Technology
Interactie Systems
development, J&JPRD
Specialist, Harrisburg Community
90 Cindi Freedman, Assistant Vice
111 Charisse Bellamy, Senior e-Learning
College, IT Center
President, New York Life Insurance
Consultant, TIAA-CREF
71 Tom Steele, Director, Soft Learn
91 Sharon Valencia, Adjunct Professor,
112 Susan Gawley, eLearning Manager,
Bellevue University
Deloitte & Touche
72 Angela Johnson-Terry, Technical
92 Jim Formosa, Assoc Professor,
113 Peter S. Cookson, Director, Centre for
Trainer, The Analysis Corporation
Nashville Community College
Education and Information
73 Michael Havice, Associate Professor,
93 Jennifer Jewett-Kelly, Sr. Analyst,
Technology, University for Peace, of
Broadcast & Electronic
the United Nations
Communication, Marquette
94 Marie Rustemeyer, Manager,
114 Mary Nicholson, Professor,
Educational Service District 101
Bloomsburg University
74 Oliver Thompson, Education
95 Mark Siegrist, Senior Instructional
115 Sue Pysher, Training Coordinator,
Designer, Vertex Inc.
PSU Electronic & Computer Services
Education Services
96 Elaine Keller, E-learning Manager,
116 Siva Kiran, Trina
75 Peter Palme, Trainer & Elearning
117 Leah Folkestad
Specialist, Nestec S.A.
97 Jeroen Spierings, Business
118 Meredith Esposito, President, E-
76 Mary Duggan, Director of Learning
Development Manager, BT
learning at Work LLC
Technology, Learning andCommunications
98 Kathleen Kanzer-Johnson, National
119 Meg Louthan, Business Consultant,
Training Director, BP
77 Julie Biddle, Technology Training
Coordinator, Ontario Ministry of
99 David Sweeney, Manager, ISD /
120 Kathleen Hueser, Principal ISD, UDLP
Municipal Affairs & Housing
Training, TRG, Inc.
ASD Army Training
78 William Mihalovits, Instructor,
100 Paul Shiroma, Solution Architect,
121 Beverly Wood, Professor, USC
Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc.
122 J. A. Fung, Professor, UCI
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 67
VII. Thanks to Our Tipsters continued
123 Nitin Nimkar, Consultant, N. V.
146 Ken Huffman, Learning
165 Ashley Rice, Manager, Internal
Technologist, Saudi Aramco
Training Solutions, WebEx
124 Linda Wathen, Implementation
147 Jennafer Kuhns, Associate, Booz
167 Roger D (Dave) Braun, Learning &
Coordinator, Mediaplex
Performance Support Standards
125 Vanessa Ratliff, Consultant, Vadara
148 Bernadette Floyd, Learning
Supervisor, SaskPower
Manager, Hudson Global Resources
168 James (Jim) Wainwright, Inspector,
126 Tim Martin, Training Manager, Intel
149 Caryl Bender, Director of
Hartford Steam Boiler
127 James Oates, TAFE Tasmania
Instructional Technology, Collegis /
169 Madeline Usera, Project Manager.
Brookdale Community College
Learning Technologies, ATF (govern-
128 Richard Cowles, Senior Consultant,
Prescient Digital Media
150 Mathy Vanbuel Managing Director,
170 Jean Marrapodi, Senior Education
130 Glenna Shaw, Internal Consultant,
Specialist, Private Healthcare
151 Cheryl McNeil, Online Instructor,
Mercer County Community College
131 Joe Jones, President, Business
173 Jim Swan, Training Consultant, The
152 Jeff Albers, Senior Technical Writer,
132 Francis Rabuck, President, Rabuck
174 Lee Soon Leong, Operations
153 Dan Lickteig, Training and
Communications Manager, Procter
133 Rob Stogsdill, Analyst, State Farm
176 Kit Horton, VP, William Horton
134 Jane Mullooly, Manager, Technical
154 Helga Ernst, Instructional Designer,
Training, Eisai Medical Research
177 Paula Cancro, IS Training Specialist,
135 Dr.Gary Coldevin, Coldevin
155 Megan Bennett, OD/ID Specialist,
Independent Financial Marketing
ATX Communications
136 Jake Edmondson, eLearning
156 Murray Gerein, Distance Learning
178 Suzanne Carlstedt, HR Specialist, IRS
Coordinator, Royal Canadian
179 Sondra Hack, IT Training Specialist,
137 Elizabeth Brock, e.Learning Product
Manager, Siemens Health Services
157 Robin McCord, LearnMWR Manager
180 Jacqui Kelly, Educational Designer,
138 Anna Peters, Learning Performance
(Civilian), U.S. Navy Morale, Welfare
Curtin University of Western
and Recreation Division
139 Chris Bond, President, Bluewater
158 Erik Wallin, Associate Professor, Lund
181 Steve Wileman, Instructional
Interactive Consulting Group
140 Wassim Subie, Instructional
159 Jim Robson, Principal, Scottish Fire
182 Kate MacDonald, Director of
Technologist, Cornerstone Industry,
Instructional Design Services,
160 Manasvini Prasad, Practice Head
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
141 C. Schmidt, Learning Consultant,
Instruction Design, Trina
and Health Sciences
Caterpillar University
161 Mary Gutwein, Learning Specialist,
183 Rishi Surtani, Instructional Designer
142 Sherry Larson, IS Developer, NWA
Humana Military Healthcare
184 Tricia Luke, Staff Technical Training
143 Raymond Truitt, Curriculum Design
Specialist, QUALCOMM, Inc.
and Development Manager, Sears
162 Chris Green, Systems Administrator,
185 Ron Miazga, Dir. Learning Services,
144 Guy Levert, President, elearn-
S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc.
163 Nori Morita, Training Specialist,
186 Aina Irbe, Training Team Lead,
145 Bruce Karr, Training Consultant,
MDSI Mobile Data Solutions, Inc.
Zerone, Inc.
Amex Canada, Inc.
164 Bob Schaefer, Director, Product
187 Brian Duck, Instructional Designer,
Management, TEDS, Inc.
Ford Motor Company
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 68
VII. Thanks to Our Tipsters continued
188 Max Butler, Lead Instructor,
209 Daniel Van Blarcom, Captain,
228 Susan Sheehan, Content Developer,
Whitsunday Community Services
The Yacobian Group
189 Dawn Ray, Sales Consultant, ADP
210 Dianne Calhoun, Instructional
229 Deborah Chadwick, Instructional
Screening and Selection Services
Design Senior Analyst, Accenture
Designer, Cisco Systems
190 Bill Leber, Support Engineer, Agilent
211 Elwood (Woody) Say, eLearning
230 Dr. Diane Kramer, CEO, PeakSkills
Technologies, Inc.
Development Manager, Xerox
191 Ralph Hausman, Ph.D., Private con-
231 Ken Steinman, Manager, O.D., The
tracting (Retired University
212 Benjamin Kolt, Instructional
Designer, National City Corporation
232 Adam McDaniel, Training Manager,
192 Brian Popken, President,
213 Sam Taylor, Project Manager,
Dentrix Dental Systems, Inc.
Tresham Institute
233 Nicole Dalton, Instructional
193 Paul Bejgrowicz, Assistant Director,
214 Heather Karimi, Program Manager,
Designer, First Citizens Bank
eLearning, Johnson & Johnson
234 Alexa Simon, MEAG Munich ERGO
Pharmaceutical Research &
215 Karin Albert, Educational R&D
Leader, Granite Construction, Inc.
235 Don Wren, eLearning Designer,
194 Joseph Chinnaya, Instructional
216 Thomas Macaulay, Instructional
Designer, Gecis Content Solutions
236 Lucendia Halliday, Project Manager,
195 Robert Cross, President, sohobiz.ca
217 Bob Joyce, Coordinator of
Ford Motor Co.
196 Greg Younger, Mgr. of Product
Continuing Ed., Center for
237 Susan Clark, Learning Coordinator,
Biosecurity & Public Health
Stantec Consulting Ltd.
197 Jeff Duncan, Assistant Principal,
238 Rakesh Poddar, Instructor Designer,
Douglas S. Freeman High School
218 Stuart Flatow, VP, Safety & Training,
198 Renee Drake, MS Ed., Online
Propane Education & Research
239 Curtis Bond, Night Director, High-
Teaching and Learning; Distance
Learning Technician, College of the
219 Randy Cowling, Multimedia
Designer, New World Restaurant
240 Tamara (Tammy) Christensen,
Director, Online Learning, ASAE and
199 Russ Weddle, Consultant, Chadde
The Center for Association
220 JoAnn Escobedo, eLearning
200 Fiona Quigley, Director of
Developer, Waste Management
241 Phil Wakefield, Stockport College
Operations, Aurion Limited
221 Donna Welschmeyer, Director,
242 Barbara Toney, AIS Application
201 Gail Gannon, Team Leader, Pioneer
Online Program Development,
Services Manager, UniGroup
Colorado Community CollegesOnline
243 Linda Grubbs, Instructional
202 Pam Hebert, Project manager, EES
222 Michael Laudone, Sr. ID
Designer, Kaiser Permanente
203 Mike Ricard, Consultant, Freelance
244 Dr. Fatima Mahieddine, Bradford
204 Cheri Toledo, Asst. Professor, Illinois
224 P Deepika, Manager, MBT
245 Shaik ilyas, Globarena Web
205 Gerard Corcoran, Manager e
225 Sheldon Fisher, Performance
Technologies, Hyderabad, India
Management Consultant, AppliedPerformance
246 Angel Bryan, Corporate Trainer,
206 John Rhodes, Senior Lecturer,
Sharonview Federal Credit Union
Durban Institute of Technology
226 David Brand, Learning Specialist, 3M
247 Jennifer Hall, Instructional Designer,
207 Hermann Green, ODOC
227 Norma Grassini-Komara,
Instructional Designer, Moraine
208 Nancy Gillies, RN, Education
Valley Community College
249 Lee Davidson, Associate Professor of
Specialist, BayCare Health Services
Teacher Ed., Andrews University
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 69
VII. Thanks to Our Tipsters continued
250 John Shultz, Project Manager, CACI
272 Daniel Stanford, Instructional
290 Paul Dattoli, Technology Engineer,
251 Mike Tillmans, Asst. Professor,
Designer, The Savannah College of
Illinois Institute of Technology
291 Godfrey Parkin, MindRise
252 Luca Botturi, Ph.D., NewMine Lab,
273 David Dubin, Senior Curriculum
292 Ning Zhang, Training and
University of Lugano
Developer, Best Software, Inc.
Development Manager, United
253 Judith Fisher, Director, Instructional
274 Sylvia Dribnak, Learning Specialist,
Support, University of Florida,
293 Bruna Ori, Tech Integration
Warrington College of Business
275 Maureen Hart, Senior Manager,
254 Stacy Moore, Performance
294 Lionel Thomas, Freelance Educator,
Consultant, TIAA-CREF
276 Angie Vazquez, E-Learning Project
255 Tanya Wolfe, Southbank Institute
Manager, Hallmark Cards
295 Amy Reichert, Instructional
256 Michael Shawn Stiles, Training
277 Craig Jackson, E-learning Specialist,
Developer, Quad/Graphics
Project Manager, Pfizer Inc.
Research and Curriculum Unit
296 Victoria Walker, Curriculum
278 Patricia Keithan, Instructional
Technology Support Coordinator,
Designer, Training Designs
Regent University
258 Kevin Balog, Ed.D., SPHR, Professor /
Faculty Mentor, Central Michigan
279 Heather Petit, Manager, Technology
297 Arthur Wakefield, Lead Technical
Assisted Learning, Bristol-Myers
Analyst, Carlson Hotels Worldwide
259 Patricia Fischer, Technical Training &
298 Jan Donley, Corporate Director,
Curriculum Development Manager,
280 James Genovese, President, Pro-
Learning, Catholic Healthcare
Ware Computing, Inc.
260 Barbara Fillicaro
281 Nancy Berger, Training and
300 Meg Yanalunas, Instructional
Designer, Walsh College
261 Betty Johnson, Sr. Instructional
Manager, Genworth Financial
Design Specialist, Securities
301 Kara DeFrias, Instructional Designer,
America, Inc.
282 Stevie Daniels, Coordinator
New Jersey Manufacturers
Academic Computing, Fresno City
302 Lake, Performance Improvement
263 Paula Bradshaw, Manager of
283 Gene Holden, Instructional
Manager, Louisiana Pacific Corp.
Instructional Design, Inter-Tel, Inc.
Designer, Stanford Linear
303 Jennifer Mahlmann, Customer
264 Kay Dixon, Sr. Courseware
Accelerator Center
Education Manager, Freddie Mac
Developer, Siebel Systems
284 Pam Henchar, Manager of
304 Heinrich Koenen, Training Specialist,
265 Steve Sieberts, Instructional
Curriculum Development, Alteer
Developer, Kentucky Department for
305 Cindy Caltagirone, US Courts
285 C. Fisher, Technology Project
266 Frank Yamson, eLearning Specialist /
Manager, St. Petersburg College
306 Nicholas Bird, Senior Analyst, RWD
Consultant, Scotiabank
Technologies Inc.
286 Marc Shecter, Project Manager,
267 Dan Hill, Manager, Training &
Agilent Technologies
307 Michael Thomas, Sr. Instructional
Education, Group Health
Designer, ALLTEL Communications,
287 Mark Joyce, Professor of Education,
Mesa State College
268 Alison Goldup, IT Training Matters
308 Roger Steinhorst, Lead elearning
288 Jill Hughes, Instructional Designer
specialist, Fireman's Fund
269 Teresa Nash, Database
288 Ernie Tor, Sr. Instructional Designer,
Administrator, Exelon Nuclear
309 James Still, Specialist Consultant,
Cingular Wireless
270 Trudy Kennell, Curriculum Developer
289 Veronica Diaz, Learning
And Editor, AlphaPlus Centre
310 Dawn Adams Miller, Development
Technologies Manager, University of
Manager, Microsoft
271 Satish Ingale, PL, HSBC
834 Tips for Successful Online Instruction 70
VII. Thanks to Our Tipsters continued
311 Debi Kostyun, Director, Corporate
326 Helen Head, Mgr of Virtual
Learning Services
Learning, Intellinex
312 Gerry Wasiluk, Learning Solutions
327 Chris Willis, CEO, Media 1 Interactive,
313 James Often, Webmaster, MTR
328 Jennifer Evans, Quality Support &
Training Specialist IV, Weber State
314 Dr. Roberta Grossi, Horizons7
315 Richard Ackerman, EDS
329 Susie Wells, Technical Training, BCC
316 Chantal Dupuis, Senior Learning
Technology Analyst, CBSA
330 Pam Powell, Trainer, Creative
317 Evelyn Watson, A/Learning Design
Program Manager, Canada Revenue
331 Richie Jarvis, Online Instructor,
318 Stephen Champion, Training
332 Steven McDonald, Coordinator of
Specialist, The Seattle Times
Instructional Technology &Technology Training, Pennsylvania
319 Gerald McClain, VP, eLearning
College of Technology
333 Keren Meister-Emerich, Developer &
320 Ceil Tilney, Vice President, Linkage,
Trainer, Educational Technology
321 Tim McClutchy, eLearning Lead,
334 Don Wilson, Professor,
GEHC Technologies IT
Southwestern Oklahoma State
322 Sandra Johnsen, Instructional
Designer, Univar USA Inc.
335 Michelle Greear, Corporate Training
323 Clyde Bassett
Manager, Technology Credit Union
324 Larry Bograd, Director of Training,
336 Stephenie Bowen, Training
Consultant, Roche Diagnostics
325 Andrew Field, ICT coordinator,
Neale-Wade Community College
A Worldwide Community
of Practice for e-Learning
Professionals
The eLearning Guild is a Community of Practice for e-Learning
will find a comprehensive summary of benefits offered for each
design, development, and management professionals. Through
membership level. To learn more about Group Membership and
this member driven community we provide high-quality learning
pricing, go to www.eLearningGuild.com.
opportunities, networking services,resources, and publications. Members
represent a diverse group of man-agers, directors, and executives
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ices, as well as e-Learning instruction-
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members work in a variety of settings
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including corporate, government, and
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Guild membership is an investment in
Guild Research — Online Briefings
your professional development and in
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your organization's future success
with its e-Learning efforts. Your mem-
Guild Research — Archives
bership provides you with learning
Learning Solutions e-Magazine
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you can increase your knowledge and
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skills. That's what the Guild is allabout . putting the resources and
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Event Fee Discounts
The eLearning Guild offers four levels
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of membership. Each level provides
*See www.eLearningGuild.com for details
members with benefits commensurate
= Included in Membership
$ = Separate fee required
with your investment. In the table you
The eLearning Guild organizes a variety of important industry events.
April 18 - 21, 2006
April 18 - 21, 2006
April 18 - 21, 2006
February 8 - 10, 2006
February 22 - 24, 2006
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Source: http://edu.net.vn/media/p/410037/download.aspx
JOURNAL OF ELECTRONIC TESTING: Theory and Applications 18, 571–581, 2002 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Manufactured in The Netherlands. Structural Fault Based Specification Reduction for Testing Analog Circuits SOON-JYH CHANG AND CHUNG LEN LEE Department of Electronic Engineering & Institute of Electronics, National Chiao Tung University,
16 COM2 (RS-485) Communication Start: D1214(K512) End: D1215(K895) 17 DC Power input 18 2 pin removable terminal (standard D0 D199 D200 D999 Factory setting is 19 Power input cable (standard Factory setting is latched. Some are latched and can't Non-latched (fixed) Start: D1216 (K200) Start: D1218 (K2,000) 20 Battery cover End: D1217 (K999) End: D1219 (K4,999)