Introduction
The main objective of this book titled “Winning Online Instruction: A Q&A for Higher Education Faculty” is to facilitate higher education instructors’ online teaching. This book is designed for instructors who have some or no experience with designing and teaching online courses, or who must develop online courses quickly as well (Hillman et al., 2022). The book provides a comprehensive guide to online teaching, covering a wide range of topics, from the basics of online learning to advanced strategies for designing, developing, and teaching effective online courses. Unlike other generic theoretical books, this book dominantly provides practical answers to questions that might be posed by people who are in the field already or who are new to distance education.
With 15 chapters and nine appendices, the book offers practical advice and guidance for online instructors at all levels of experience. The first four chapters provide the foundation for online teaching, while the next two focus on designing and developing online courses. The following four chapters cover the teaching of online courses, including blended courses and synchronous instruction, working with teaching assistants and other faculty, and addressing various student issues. The final three chapters deal with technical support, academic integrity, and improving online courses. The appendices provide additional practical advice on various topics related to real situations. The book also directs readers to references to encourage learning more. This book is an essential resource for anyone interested in teaching online or looking to improve their online teaching skills.
Structure and content
The first chapter focuses on fundamental questions regarding online learning. It focuses on the basics of online learning, including types of online instruction, dynamics of online instruction, and process of online learning. The second chapter informs the reader about the required skills for online teaching, becoming more effective at teaching with online tools, encouraging interaction for online instruction, and teaching subjects which require hands-on applications. The third chapter focuses on conducting an online course with respect to teaching in an online classroom and considerations such as how to dress when teaching online, emphasizing the importance of creating a professional and engaging presence in the virtual classroom. The fourth chapter addresses the importance of setting up a workspace for teaching online and optimization of this space for maximum efficiency and the technology for teaching online successfully. These four chapters provide the foundation for online teaching. The fifth chapter offers a comprehensive overview of the key considerations involved in designing online courses, providing instructors with practical strategies for creating engaging and effective online learning experiences. The sixth chapter offers key considerations for instructors concerning creating and using study guides, creating effective video content, the strategies for using collaboration tools effectively, developing online courses quickly, and working effectively with instructional designers and other staff. These two chapters particularly focus on how to design and develop online courses including the asynchronous elements. The seventh chapter introduces a blended course and explores the topic of developing and teaching blended courses, covering various aspects of blended learning. The eighth chapter discusses the topic of teaching online courses and addresses various aspects of online instruction, including duration and scheduling of synchronous lectures, time commitment required for synchronous instruction, facilitation of online discussions, conducting interactive assignments and assignment reviews, guidance on resolving non-technical problems, and communication strategies for online instructors. These two chapters specifically focus on how to develop and teach online courses. The ninth chapter focuses on the various aspects of working with teaching assistants and faculty members in an online environment as well as co-teaching online courses with other faculty members to provide students with a comprehensive and fulfilling learning experience. The tenth chapter delves into a range of issues related to online student experience. This chapter is subdivided into 11 sections, each of which explains how to support students to make a successful transition to online learning, how to foster student engagement with faculty in an online environment, how to facilitate peer-to-peer interactions, how to monitor student attendance, and how to encourage online students to participate in synchronous sessions and collaborative group work etc. The eleventh chapter presents a series of considerations related to working with online students who might need extra help, from how to motivate students to study and learn remotely, to identifying and helping struggling learners, and managing misconduct. The twelfth chapter reflects the issue of providing support to online students on nonacademic issues, which is a matter of great concern for educators and institutions alike. This chapter deals with various approaches to assisting online students facing challenges outside the classroom, language barriers, different time zones, and highlights the importance of addressing nonacademic concerns for student success, such as students with disabilities. The thirteenth chapter is dedicated to resolving technical challenges that are encountered in online education, highlights the importance of technical support for both online faculty and students, and focuses on practical steps that instructors can take to diagnose and resolve common technical issues. The fourteenth chapter tries to deal with promoting academic integrity in online courses and addresses specific aspects of academic integrity. The last chapter addresses questions about assessing whether an online course is meeting its learning objectives and offers instructors practical guidance on strategies for improving their online courses, emphasizing the importance of ongoing reflection, continuous improvement, and collaboration with colleagues as well as student evaluations.
Overall impression and relevance to the field of distance education and e-learning
Although online learning has been widely used for many years to meet educational needs, its visibility at every education level was realized due to the corona pandemic, and educators, with or without previous experience, had to seek support from online courses. Online education had to spread to all levels at once, and those who had no experience in this field found themselves in the middle of this field. Overall, this book would be a valuable resource for these educators, instructional designers, and anyone interested in teaching or learning online. It provides a comprehensive overview of the key considerations and best practices for teaching online, and it offers practical guidance for creating engaging and effective online learning experiences. It covers a wide range of topics that are relevant to the field of distance education and online learning. Each of the chapters provides practical advice, insights, and examples that are grounded in research and experience. The questions are well chosen, and the answers to the questions are not superficial; on the contrary, they have an ideal depth. People can be encouraged to benefit from online learning by finding concise and pragmatic answers to their questions. The reader can read the chapters fully or only read the questions that they would like to know more about.
Online education is here to stay in some capacity. Many academics can maximize its benefits by reading this book (Hillman et al., 2022). It uses a question-and-answer format, making it easy for readers to find answers to their specific concerns about online teaching. It is a straightforward and helpful resource for people who would like to get more familiar and knowledgeable with online learning. In general, this book can be used as a reference book where interested people can find answers to their questions.
Competing Interests
The author has no competing interests to declare.