Teaching Online: A Practical Guide

Our instructor certification course is heavy on skill building. We've used both the first and second edition of the Ko and Rossen in our course in order to build in more discussion of pedagogical issues, to provide additional depth on core topics and provide more tips on course management.

This book is very readable. The book begins by addressing issues in preparation of an online class, including a discussion of instructor and institution resources. Also included are chapters on student preparation, student assessment and copyright. The strength of the book, however, is in the chapters that discuss the workings of the online classroom itself. What areas should my online classroom contain? How do I go from lectures to online activities? How do I encourage participation, yet manage my workload? How do I manage the behavior of disruptive students? I would definitely recommend the book for new teachers of online classes. The book has enough depth that even experienced teachers can use it to review their current practices.

I've taught humanities online for quite awhile. A couple of years ago, I began searching for a single resource that, not only included the basics, but provided an additional (or possibly affirming) perspective on the use of online tools and strategies. Having, previously, purchased a number of books on distance education and online learning, I eventually decided to give Ko and Rossen a go and was pleasantly surprised. The book certainly covers the basics and I believe, for anyone just beginning in online, it may prove quite useful in, not only design, strategy, and structure, but in anticipating and resolving some of the problems and issues that may tend to arise in an online environment. I continue to use it, from time to time, as a checklist in development and as a refresher or when I find a course is becoming somewhat repetitive or mechanical. I can easily see how Ko and Rossen may be adopted as a text for instruction or use in faculty development for online. Additionally, I've referred it to a number of colleagues who are inexperienced in developing for, or in converting existing materials to, online. I think, even if one is teaching a prepackaged course, this book has many things to offer including strategies for dealing with troublesome students and working with asynchronous discussions. A great little book and well worth the cost.

This book covers everything that you would need to "ponder' when creating or converting online lessons. I use it for my online college course as a textbook on "How to Teach Online". Definitely a "must read" for organizing your thoughts and your process.

I am the Director of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center at LSU in Shreveport. I use this book as my textbook each semester as I lead a group of faculty in a ten-week training class on "How to Teach Online." Each person receives their own copy of the book. We have our class almost totally online so the students (faculty members) can actually feel how it is to "learn" online. We go through the Ko and Rossen book chapter by chapter. It is very solid and answers almost every question my students have. They finish the ten weeks knowing much more than they ever imagined about teaching online thanks to Ko and Rossen's frank and helpful hints and remedies. I feel that the easy-to-understand principles put forth in this book are the best out there if one is looking for a place to build a solid foundation and learn the rules of online teaching and learning. The references and websites given at the end of each chapter are very helpful and give you a place to go to learn even more. Ko and Rossen give some very good examples of real life experiences of teaching online. If someone is looking for a place to start in order to learn about teaching online, then this is the book to read.