Unit 1. Introduction to online learning

Introduction

It’s an exciting time to be facilitating an online course. Online programs and classes have become a major component of higher education across institutions of every size and description. More than two-thirds of Canadian universities offer at least some online courses for credit (CDLRA, 2019). Great course design is central to making online education work. Yet, quality online facilitation, as you will learn throughout this resource, is one of the strongest predictors of student success and persistence in online courses and programs.

In this unit, we present some important background information that will help orient new online facilitators by providing information about online learners and the online learning context. In the final section of this unit, we detail the core activities of the online facilitator and discuss specific roles and responsibilities.

Tips for navigating this learning resource

Use the navigation menu on the left to jump to specific units or headings within a unit
Within the resource there are several Check and reflect activities that

help you become acquainted with your course

invite you to reflect on key concepts and your own experience to help you build facilitation strategies that are personalized to you and your course

provide feedback on your learning

Key concepts

This unit will introduce the following important topics, concepts, and strategies:

Characteristics of the online learner and barriers to learning online
Helpful online learning strategies for students
Student mental health and accessibility considerations
Common online content delivery formats and tools
Different facilitator roles
Developing a facilitator checklist
Getting oriented to your course: understanding student expectations, learning outcomes, alignment, and assessments
Student and instructor workload and time commitments
Online facilitation time management strategies