Summary
This methodological manual contains information focused both on course guarantors and teachers participating in the preparation of online teaching. It provides an overview of the different types of online courses, i.e. synchronous, asynchronous, and hybrid (blended) courses, points out their advantages and disadvantages, and also gives tips on how to select the most suitable form of teaching for lectures (preclinical, clinical), seminars and practical laboratory or clinical exercises.
For pre-clinical and clinical lectures, both synchronous and asynchronous courses can be used. If synchronous online teaching is performed, students can actively participate in the lectures, ask questions or ask the teacher to re-explain some problems in real-time if needed. It’s recommended to record the lecture and share the record with students. This allows them to review the lecture repeatedly, which represents one of the major advantages of remote education. In asynchronous online teaching, the presentation, video or audio records of the lecture, or other materials are available online at any time. It should, however, be combined with online discussion boards or similar tools providing students the opportunity to ask questions or discuss the topic with teachers or schoolmates.
For seminars and practical laboratory or clinical exercises, the most suitable form are the hybrid (blended) courses, which allow for both in-person and online interaction. The students thus have a chance to gain practical skills in an in-person manner, while the rest of the interactions can be performed in the online space. If the blended type of education is not allowed, synchronous courses are recommended for exercises that include the training and practical demonstration of certain skills and seminaries where active students’ participation, interaction, and/or presentation are required. This type of education provides instant feedback and allows for more interactions in real time.
A key prerequisite for online education represents appropriate technical equipment. Most universities provide a list of supported and recommended computing software, which should be preferably used. Such a list mostly provides also links for safe download of particular products, related hardware requirements, and contact to remote support guides or helplines. Probably the most important software tool for remote teaching and learning is the e-learning platform. For this purpose, specific learning management systems are available (Docebo, Adobe Captivate, Blackboard Learn, Acorn LMS, Moodle LMS, Thinkific LMS, Absorb LMS, 360Learning, Canvas LMS, Big Blue Button, etc.) These systems provide many specific tools for the organization of the course, assigning the homework and evaluation and testing. In most cases, however, common video-communication and collaboration software applications (Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, WebEx, etc.) are used as e-learning platforms. The choice of the most appropriate learning platform should follow the university´s recommendation. If no platform is recommended, price, availability in mobile application, and availability of specific tools and assistive technologies and educational aids should be taken into consideration. The use of e-learning platforms may bring several challenges. Most of the problems experienced both by teachers and students are related to hardware and internet issues and lack of experience with the platforms and information on how to use them. These problems thus underline the importance of stable and secure high-speed internet connection, high-quality hardware equipment, and the education and training of the students and teachers in the use of the platform.
Besides the e-learning platforms, several other applications or software tools can be used for online teaching activities, mainly the video and/or audio editing software, tools that may help use the already available multimedia resources (Glogster, Wakelet, Flip, Animoto, etc.), and the platforms for creating interactive tests or quizzes (Kahoot!, MS Forms, Quizizz, Slido, Glimkit. etc.). Particularly the latter may help teachers to keep the student´s attention and make the education more interactive and attractive for students.
From the hardware point of view, a stable and secure high-speed internet connection represents the most important condition for any online teaching and learning process. Furthermore, fast and reliable computers (desktop computers, laptops, and for students even tablets or smartphones), HD webcams, microphones, and speakers are also highly important. Other equipment is not strictly required, but its availability is highly recommended, since it may help enhance the lesson experience for both teachers and students, e.g. scanner and printer, headphones, multiple cameras (incl. multi-camera software), desk, office chair, laptop stand, adequate lighting, and other equipment that allows comfortable sitting and helps organize the desk and workplace.
Another important prerequisite for successful online teaching and learning represents technical support for online education. Students and teachers should be informed about different modes of technical support and their availability including operating hours and whom to address in case of need. The manuals/guidelines or online training on online education should be available online at any time, which may help teachers and students resolve a lot of problems they may face during the education process. The availability of the training both in the form of synchronous and asynchronous courses represents a reasonable and optimal approach.
Online education puts higher demands on both students (mainly on their attention) and teachers (who are expected to prepare effective and attractive online courses). When planning the online course, teachers are recommended to set communication rules. All important information from teachers related to the course organization and requirements should be available in the university information system. In urgent or critical situations, group e-mails might be sent to students by teachers or the university staff. Alternatively, social networks or discussion boards on university websites may be used for communication between teachers and students. When students need to communicate with teachers, e-mails, social networks, or online discussion boards are mostly used. The discussion board, emails, blogs, or social networks also represent recommended tools for students´ communication and collaboration with other students. Last but not least, students should be informed how they are expected to send their assignments. Most frequently, uploading the documents to the learning or communication platforms, cloud-based storage, or file-sharing services is used, while sending the assignments as e-mail attachments is not recommended. Students should always be informed about the preferred format of their assignments including their names and due dates.
A key step in successful online teaching represents creating and curating the content. It´s recommended to start with the course plan subdivided into topics for each video lecture or even each part of the lesson, consider the optimal duration of each lecture, and modify the content and presentation form according to the subject and audience the teachers want to reach. Teachers should focus on important points and cut back on the content to only what is crucial. Further video and/or audio editing may increase the quality and informative value of the presentation. Teachers are also encouraged to integrate multimedia resources. To keep the student´s attention and make education more interactive, teachers may use interactive online tests or quizzes.
The availability of the materials and their timely distribution are of particular importance in online courses. Most frequently, the course materials including links to online multimedia resources are uploaded to the university information system. Alternatively, the storage clouds (e.g. Google Drive, One Drive) can be used. If needed, it´s also possible to send the materials as group email attachments. Hosting materials in a centralized location (university information system, storage clouds) is, however, more manageable than emailing them and provides a higher level of certainty that all students have an access to all materials required. The students should always be informed where to find the study materials via the university information system, email, discussion boards, or social networks. Teachers should also set, who can access their materials. Most teachers are willing to share materials only with students signed in their course, while they´re not open to sharing it outside the university.
When preparing study materials, several rules already mentioned above should be followed to attract and hold students´ attention. Opening lectures with interesting facts or throwing a challenge may help students focus on the topic. Teachers are recommended to hold their students accountable for learning and expect their participation and engagement and stay as interactive as possible. Splitting the class into the breakout rooms may also help. Telling real-life examples or case reports helps students understand why they should learn this particular topic. The transitions between topics or important parts of the lecture should be very clear. Interruptions with an unexpected stimulus may also help students refocus and restore their attention. In synchronous online lectures, teachers are recommended to make everyone show their faces on screen (including the teacher himself) and keep eye contact. Teachers should also think about the tone and inflection of their voice, and try to add “much more life” to it. More frequent short breaks allow the students to re-energize, drink or eat and take some time to breathe outside that learning environment.
Including pictures, videos or audio recordings also helps increase students´ attention. Teachers should, however, always consider copyright issues. In general, teachers are free to use the images, diagrams, charts, photos, videos, or sound recordings they have created themselves of uncopyrightable subjects such as views, or nature, or people who have given the author their consent to photograph, record or video record them and publish the photograph, audio recording or video. The use of other photos or images including those available on the websites may be protected by copyright law. In that case, the use of images released with an appropriate Creative Commons license is highly recommended and the source should be properly cited. The citing information should always include the title, author, source, and type of license.
Teachers should be aware of the fact that their work is also a subject of copyright. In most universities, the university holds copyright in works created by its employees. This mostly applies to the presentations, video recordings of presentations, and other educational works of the teachers. They are the subjects of copyright and can´t be distributed or reproduced without the permission of the university except for the learning process of the students of a particular course/subject/faculty/university which holds the economic rights, depending on the decision of the author. For this reason, most universities recommend using the copyright notice as an integral part of any presentation, and students are allowed to make copies for learning purposes only.
The assessment of student´s knowledge and skills has to be performed with the respect to the requirements of the law, relevant government measures, and internal regulations of the university/ faculty. The conditions of continuous assessment and written or oral exams should always be set in a way that provides equal conditions for all students across courses and doesn´t put non-cheating students at a disadvantage. Before the beginning of the testing, the technical means used during the exam/test should be checked. In general, it´s recommended to make an official recording of oral and written examinations and to keep the recording for a legally defined period. The consent of the student or the examiner to make the recording is not required; however, the student must be informed that the recording is to be made. The students must also be informed that their recording of the exam is not acceptable. The adequate form (e.g. written testing or an oral exam or their combination) and the environment must be selected first. Oral examinations may be more suitable for courses focused on knowledge acquisition; an interview with a specific topic and targeted questions may significantly reduce the chances of cheating. Among written exam forms, the „open-book exams“ represent the most relevant and highly recommended option for online assessment. The simple written testing of knowledge is less suitable for the final exams performed in the online mode.
Students must be informed properly and provably of changes in the requirements for the completion of a course (methods and manner of evaluation) and the procedure of online testing at least a few weeks before the start of the exam. Examined students must prove their identity. Inspecting the student’s environment or fairness of conditions of the examination are not supported in terms of technology, ethics, or the law. Teachers are recommended to modify the questions and process of the exam so that it is not essential for the evaluation of whether the student might find facts on the internet or in his/her own notes.
For students with disabilities, online education may be even more challenging in many aspects including but not limited to attention problems, lack of social contacts, and higher demands on self-discipline and self-motivation. On the other hand, mainly the students with physical disabilities may even prefer remote forms of education, since they may be easily accessible for students who are physically challenged (and thus don´t face any barriers to getting into their classes). Using the assistive technology devices and services currently available (accessibility checkers, screen readers, closed captioning, or Braille keyboards), remote education may bring many advantages also to visually impaired or hearing impaired students.
Students with learning disabilities, attention problems, mental illnesses, and/or even social-emotional needs may experience increased feelings of anxiety, nervousness, isolation, fatigue, headaches, and a lack of motivation. Teachers are recommended to consult with their school psychologist, special education team, and counseling support staff in case of need of any help with education and support of the students with various types of disabilities. Students with special needs frequently require personalized attention and step-by-step individual support. The teachers may also help these students by building a positive relationship with them. A more extensive explanation of the education goal and expectations, breaking the tasks into more manageable parts, and more frequent breaks may be helpful. Furthermore, the use of assistive technologies (captioning, transcription services) may also help.
To sum up, despite many problems with the transition to the online learning environment, online education also brings many advantages, many of which we can use in the future planning of the optimal learning approach. The major advantage is the broad availability of the course content, which can be assessed from anywhere and (mainly in asynchronous courses) anytime. At least basic information thus should be provided the same way in the future, even during in-person teaching. Furthermore, asynchronous online education offers students better time management, higher autonomy and flexibility, and more time to study, since there is no need to travel to school and back.
Online education has, of course, also several challenges. It provides only limited social interactions compared to in-person classes, any students may feel disconnected or disengaged and may experience problems with keeping attention. More time spent online, sitting at home, decreases the overall physical condition of both teachers and students. Access to online learning may sometimes represent a technological challenge, mainly in case of a sudden and full switch to the online learning environment. It puts higher demands on teachers in terms of preparation of study material and the organization of the course. The transition to online education activities may also complicate the examinations, testing, and assessment of students.