Convergence of best practice ideas

After having reflected on this weeks task as to drawing up a best practice guide, the tutor has complied a list of seven (I had 8 in mine) areas of best practice which the group chose as being important. These are:

– ensuring all participants have all of the technical requirements available to allow them to participate fully
– explicitness, especially expectations of online behaviours
– induction, especially overcoming technological hurdles and helping people feel safe, and icebreakers, giving the environment a human face, establishing connections between people
– opportunities and incentives for collaborative working
– timely and relevant feedback to students and clarity over what they can expect in this regard
– flexibility in the design of asynchronous tasks so learners have some control over the pace at which they work, combined with
– structure, especially clarity over timelines and expected outputs of activities, including assessment criteria where relevant
– developing learners' online skills, such as using discussion threads effectively, addressing each other by name, customising the learning environment, conducting online research, etc, etc
– clarity over where and how to get help
– allowing enough time for students to do the activities


I think I shall assimilate those above which are missing in mine, into my own guide to best practice. I have also been thinking today of what other guides would be useful to those new to on-line learning?

• How to convert traditional work into work which is effective for on-line delivery
• Ten principles of good practice for assessments and feedback
• How to create good discussion posts 
• Guide to creating an effective ice breaker
• The use of wiki's and portfolios for students
• A guide to using blackboard as a software platform

I am sure I will come up with more as I go through the process of conversion and will outline them here once I have a brain wave or two on these.