Best Practices
for
Teaching Online
Ally Kimmel
Joe Seijo
Jim Stenerson

Agenda
• Course Planning
• Course Design
• Course Delivery

Terminology
• What is Blended Learning?
• Blended/Hybrid Courses
 Complement F2F Work
 F2F interaction not eliminated
 Components designed to take advantage of
best features of each medium

Course Planning
• Initial Planning Phase
Items
• Checklist for Course
Launch
• Initial Student Contact
What Information to include in
Student Letter:
• Welcome the student to the course
• Provide a course description
• Provide information about the
Online Learning Orientation
community in Blackboard
• Provide information on how to
access Blackboard
• Communication: Pace Email
• Ordering books

Blended Learning: Planning
Course: Module: Prepared By:
Objectives Activity Online/face-to-face/other
Identify geologic
formations in the
mid-Hudson Valley.
Self-led, self-paced field trip. Other self-led field trip with in-class
and online components. Students will download a
map of the mid-Hudson Valley from Blackboard, as
well as photos of specific rocks. Students will take
photos and map to match rocks in the field and take
photos. Photos will then be shared in-class.
Students will keep a journal of this assignment and
post online.
Describe functions
and responsibilities
of a professional
geologist.
Subscribe and listen to
three podcast episodes from the
U.S. Geological Survey.
Students will go online and subscribe to a podcast. I
will provide the link in Blackboard. Students will
post their reactions in the Blackboard discussion
board.
Define hypothesis,
theory, scientific
law, and scientific
methods.
Chapter 1 reading on the scientific
method.
Case study
The scientific method will be reviewed in class.
Students will read on own and go online to
complete case study on scientific methods and post
findings online.

Course Design
Accessibility
• Develop a clear, consistent, and simple layout.
• Inform students at the beginning of the course how it is
structured, where to find materials.
• Clearly indicate hierarchy of materials in a page/document
using heading styles.
• Add closed captions to all videos, provide transcript for sound
clips.
• Provide a text alternative to charts and graphs.

Course Design
Accessibility (cont’d)
• Add alternative text to all images.
• Provide descriptive links.
• Use tables for data, not formatting.
• Provide color contrast between the text and background and
don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning.
• Use white space to increase comprehension and reduce eye
fatigue.
• Proofread all your course materials to ensure you do not have
spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors.

Course Design
• Simplicity
• Consistency
• Clear and Intuitive
 Include a Course Overview and Introduction

Course Design
• Models
• ADDIE Model
 Analysis
 Design
 Development
 Implementation
 Evaluation
• Backwards Design

Course Design
What is Quality Matters?
• A national set of Standards for the design of
online and blended courses that improves
student learning and course quality
• The QM Rubric takes a holistic view of the
course
• A professional development opportunity

Quality Matters Rubric
General Standards:
1. Course Overview and Introduction
2. Learning Objectives
3. Assessment and Measurement
4. Instructional Materials
5. Course Activities and Learner Interaction
6. Course Technology
7. Learner Support
8. Accessibility and Usability

Factors Affecting Quality
of Courses
• Course Design
• Course Delivery
• Course Content
• Learning Management System (mainly for
online and hybrid courses)
• Institutional Infrastructure
• Faculty Readiness
• Learner Readiness

Learning Objectives
Based on Bloom's Hierarchy of Learning, learning
happens in levels.
Levels of Learning (all learning is not the same):
• Memorizing or Remembering
• Understanding (what you memorize)
• Applying (what your understand)
• Creating, Evaluating and/or Analyzing (what
you are applying – is it working?)

Learning Objectives

Syllabus Development
• Know Elements of Syllabus
• Don’t forget
 Response Time
 Net-etiquette
 Course Policies
 University Policies
 Tutorials for required materials
• Template

Rubric
• What is a Rubric
• Why Do We Use Them
• Types of Rubrics
• Key Steps
 Purpose
 Identify Criteria to be Assessed
 Level of Assessment
 Test the Instrument

Using Rubrics for Feedback
Here's an example of a Rubric used to grade and provide feedback for
written assignments:
Student Name - Natalie Merchant
Course - LIT 212
Date - April 25
Assignment - Paper Assignment Two
Content/Development
Subject Matter:
• Key elements of assignments covered
• Content is comprehensive, accurate, and
persuasive
• Displays an understanding of relevant theory
• Major points supported by specific
details/examples
• Research is adequate and timely
• Writer has gone beyond textbook for resources
Sue, this is a very well written paper that
appears to be the most complete report received
to date.
1 point out of 1

Designing Your Course to be
“Flipped”
To "flip the classroom" it means to shift the
focus from the teacher to the student.

Digital Studios
The Faculty Center offers media services to all faculty who
wish to make use of multimedia technology.
We have the ability to create, edit, produce digital files that
can be uploaded to YouTube and embedded into
Blackboard, using Kaltura or Panopto.
Locations:
Digital Studio in NYC
1 Pace Plaza
Birnbaum Library 2nd Floor E201
Digital Studio in Westchester
Willcox Hall, Basement

Discussion Boards
• Building Community
• What’s it worth to me
• Leading the Discussion
• Facilitating vs. Dominating
• Dialogue as Inquiry
• The Art of Questioning

Visual/Verbal Feedback
Providing frequent and timely feedback to your students is
crucial.
Students need appropriate feedback on performance in order
to really strive and benefit from online/hybrid courses.
Tools to use to provide feedback
• Kaltura
• Collaborate Ultra
• VoiceThread
• Talk&Comment
• Explain Everything

Assessment
• Summative
 Limited
 Not helpful for Student Development
• Formative
 On-going
 Getting to know the student
 Mechanisms

Course Delivery: Flipped
• Have students to share resources and information they find pertaining to
your course topic, rather than just reviewing the content you have collected.
• Before the course begins, or on the very first day, ask you students what
they know about the topic and what they hope to learn.
• You can create a lecture for your students to review before a synchronous
Collaborate session, and use the time during the session to have the
students lead the discussion based on the material by posing questions and
ideas.
• Have one student or a small group of students be in charge of a topic – they
lead the lesson, they create or share the videos/audios, and they answer
questions from you and other students.

Example 1 to Structure a
Hybrid Course
• Instructor lectures and facilitates class
discussion in the classroom
• Students complete online assignments based
on what was learned/discussed in class
• These online assignments are also posted to
the Discussion Board for feedback from
classmates

Example 2 to Structure a
Hybrid Course
• Instructor uploads PPT, Panopto, or Kaltura lectures on
Blackboard for students to review before coming to class
• In class students engage, discuss, ask questions, and provide
feedback (this can be done as a class as a whole or small group
activities and discussions)
• Students prepare small group projects online based on the
topic/content and post them to the Discussion Board for debate and
feedback from the whole class
• After revision/edits, groups present their projects in class in the
face-to-face class

Blackboard Course:
Best Practices for Teaching
Online

Faculty Center Consultation
• Ally Kimmel: akimmel@pace.edu
• Joe Seijo: jseijo@pace.edu
• Main email for Faculty Center:
FacultyCenter@pace.edu

Q&A

Contact Us
facultycenter@pace.edu
Dr. James Stenerson
Director
jstenerson@pace.edu
(914) 773-3317
Joe Seijo
Assistant Director
jseijo@pace.edu
(914) 773-3823
Ally Kimmel
Manager, Faculty Support & Course Design
akimmel@pace.edu
(212) 346-1471