Paper Focus and Orientation
This paper will examine the myriad possibilities of online teaching from my past and present experience as a course facilitator and my views of the possibilities of the synchronous process for future interaction. I will try to illustrate current innovations, and resources that are presently available, and I will also try to relate how to be “happy” as an online instructor through the “tools” (pedagogy, philosophy, hardware/software examination) that I have worked with. I will also try to include pedagogical suggestions that are from the experiences I have had and how to avoid “non-happy” online teaching situations. .
With over three years of concentrated experience as an online educator my background has been intensely asynchronous and I will at times relate to this as it may be of interest and helpful to the person who may be getting started with online teaching and will be exposed initially to the asynchronous tools that are available through most of the Blackboard-Vista type servers. Online teaching is an exciting new field and it certainly a tribute to the developers of the International Symposium on Synchronous Distance Education for their creation of “Music Anywhere, Anytime.” It is a pleasure to be able to submit a paper in regard to this topic. Please feel free to contact me and share your experiences as I am highly interested in any feedback and experience you may wish to provide and I will respond immediately.