How to Rev Up Your Remote Instruction

Developing instructional sessions or courses for delivery in online (i.e., asynchronous, not live) or remote (i.e., synchronous, live) learning environments rests on a foundation of traditional instructional design and active learning concepts. Successful online/remote instruction interprets those foundational concepts through technological and multimedia components. For example, the ADDIE instructional design model may be interpreted:

• Analyze—determine the instructor’s readiness, technological infrastructure and resources, the learners’ needs and instructional goals;
• Design—based on the analysis, write learning objectives and select digital tools appropriate for the technological infrastructure to meet the instructional goals;
• Develop—create content, activities and assessments with a focus on multimedia and interactive formats;
• Implement—launch the course; and
• Evaluate—beyond assessments, regularly test course components and modify them as needed.¹

Prepare

Whatever platform one will be using for online/remote sessions or courses, instructors must learn how to use that platform, allotting time to take a training class and launch test courses.^2,3 Most course learning management systems (LMS; e.g., Blackboard LMS, Canvas LMS, Moodle) have fairly steep learning curves, particularly if one wants to use a variety of their digital tools.

Effective multimedia materials should enhance the learning process, not serve as add-on decorations to other instructional content.

Depending on available resources and online/remote session or course needs, instructors may want to consider using a digital authoring application or platform (e.g., Eduflow, eXe, Google Classroom) or virtual meeting platform (e.g., Google Meet, Webex by Cisco, Zoom). Again, although generally easier to use than an LMS, time must be allotted to learn the applications and platforms.

Online instruction has been lauded for creating more equitable and standardized learning opportunities, but a critical point to remember is that not all learners have access to the same remote environment.^4-6 When planning online courses, instructors must know if their organizations provide technology support to learners with inadequate equipment, software or network bandwidth. With an understanding of the nature and extent of available technology support, instructors can select or develop learning platforms, digital tools and multimedia content that will be accessible to all of their learners.

Depending on the complexities of the planned online/remote session or course, instructors may want to collaborate with online instructional designers, audio-visual technicians and librarians.⁷

• Online instructional designers can help one understand construction considerations for learner access via desktop and mobile devices, strategies for developing synchronous and asynchronous sessions, and uses of available digital tools;
• Audiovisual technicians can help instructors design and develop engaging multimedia content; and
• Librarians can help instructors identify relevant open-access and in-house collection materials to serve as course textbooks and readings, multimedia content, interactive and collaboration activities, and assessments. Obviously, if using print and DVD materials, instructors need to know the number of available physical copies—one may need to put library materials on reserve or limit their circulation. Not so obvious are considerations for using a library’s electronic multimedia materials. These materials have vendor license limitations (e.g., the number of users permissible at one time) that may affect how one can incorporate them into an instructional session or course.

Connect

Learner-centered online/remote instruction emphasizes humanization and connection. Humanization entails designing around presence and interaction rather than content delivery.⁸ In an online learning environment, where most work is completed asynchronously, learners need to feel connected to instructors and peers.³ Even in synchronous remote sessions, learners may feel isolated and disconnected.