Tips for Moving Your Class Online

1.  Take your students with you as you move.

You just found out that the classroom in which your class was to meet has changed.  Instead of moving down the hall, you've moved online! Just like you would post signs on the doors telling your students the new room assignment, you will want to give your students information about the move to online.

• Email your students giving them the link to your course in Moodle.
• Reassure them that together you will work to make the transition smooth.
• Email again once content and assignments are posted in Moodle.  State your expectations and due dates.

2.  Be patient.

Just as you would learn the location of the light switch or the quirks of the technology in a new classroom, you and your students will learn the layout of the many aspects of Moodle.  Moodle is a very robust LMS with many options from which you can choose.  Be patient as you and your students learn the system.

3.  You are not starting at zero.

• Nearly all of our classes are or have been taught online.  As a result, it is very likely there are other faculty members on our campus who have content already prepared to be taught online.  Reach out and ask them what that content looks like.  Not sure who teaches online?  Your Department Chair or Program Coordinator or Division Dean can assist you.
• OCCC has many master courses that can be imported into your course.  Interested?  Contact your Department Chair or Program Coordinator for more information.  Ask specifically for the online version of the course.
• The Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) team stands ready to help you.  They can assist you via phone or email so you don't have to add the stress of coming to campus for assistance.  You can contact them at clt@occc.edu or (405) 682-7838.
• Publishers often provide multiple digital resources that accompany an adopted textbook.  Contact your Department Chair or Program Coordinator for information about these resources.  The CLT can assist you with loading the content into your course.

4.  You don't have to do it all in one day.

When teaching on campus, you don't present your entire course content on the first day of class.  The same holds true for online.  You don't have to set up your entire course today.  The CLT can assist you with setting up this week's course content so it's ready for students.  Additional content can be added at a later time without disturbing the content that you've already created in the course.

5.  Online courses need content and activities.

No one would ever lecture every day without measuring student learning.  The same is true online.  Be sure as you present your content online that you include ways for students to demonstrate their learning.  It can be a forum where students discuss the content, writing papers and submitting it to an assignment (dropbox), or taking tests/quizzes.

5.  You are not alone.

You have multiple layers of support:

• Department Chair/Program Coordinator - Assistance with online course content and teaching strategies.
• Center for Learning and Teaching - Assistance with strategies for teaching online.
• Moodle Orientation - All students are enrolled in this course that teaches them how to work in Moodle.  They are required to post in forums, submit work in an assignment (dropbox), and complete quizzes.  Once completed, students receive an email they can forward to you for verification.
• Moodle Tech Support - Helps your students as they continue to learn to complete their course assignments in Moodle.