Over the past two years, many CEU courses have been delivered online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources were first developed in 2020 to support faculty and students in the online environment. They are continually updated to incorporate student feedback, effective practices shared by faculty, and to reflect the current technological landscape at CEU.
About Online Teaching
Face-to-face and online teaching share the same goal of creating deep and meaningful learning experiences. However, (re-)designing an online course is notably different than planning a face-to-face course. While some online courses incorporate live class sessions, most of the learning may happen through asynchronous interaction, such as written and video presentations, discussion forums, and independent and small group assignments. Because of this, online course design often takes more time up-front for planning content and activities.
Course design and course facilitation are two interconnected, but distinct dimensions of online teaching that help create an effective and supportive learning environment. Course design is the process of planning learning environments and experiences. An effectively designed online course usually includes
- well-aligned course goals, materials, activities, and assessments
- structured, scaffolded activities and interactions
- thoughtful course organization and structure
- Not all decisions need to be made before the course begins and can be co-created with students as the course progresses, but sharing sense of where you're collectively going and how to get there will help students know what to expect and stay engaged throughout the semester.
Course facilitation considers how instructors interact with and support students while a course is ongoing. For example, sending out weekly announcements, responding to discussion forums posts, and providing timely and specific feedback contribute to a sense that the instructor is present in the course and invested in helping students achieve their goals.
Online Teaching Resources for CEU Faculty and TAs
Revised Going Online with Your Teaching: Quick Start Guide (PDF): This short guide provides recommendations for quickly transitioning existing courses online due to emergency circumstances.
Online Teaching Video Series: Former visiting faculty Dr. James M. Lang and Dr. Swapna Kumar provide an introduction to course design and facilitation in these two short video series [CEU login to Panopto required].
Online Asynchronous Sample Course: This Moodle course contains a wealth of information about teaching in an online environment, with a focus on course design and effective pedagogy. It is set up as an online course, thereby modeling how one might set up an online, asynchronous course [CEU login to Moodle required].
IT SharePoint site: Technical guides and practical suggestions for online teaching [CEU login required)
View the Elkana Center's pages on Live Class Sessions, Lectures, Discussions, and Assessment for more about online and hybrid teaching at CEU.