Technology Issues Impacting Online Instruction

In an online course knowledge of technology is very important as is knowing how to locate help for yourself or your students. All sorts of gadgets appear on the educational scene and you will need to decide which ones will help your students learn the course content.

• Request that the institution where you will be teaching provide training in the use of courseware and online pedagogy (Palloff & Pratt, 2001).

• Find out what type of technical support will be provided to students and instructors by the college or the courseware provider (Palloff & Pratt, 2001).

• Ask for a demonstration or tutorial of the interface used in the course for students and yourself (Palloff & Pratt, 2001).

• When considering adding technological elements such as videos, podcasts, and more consider the students enrolled in the class and make sure that they will be able to access these items or at least plan for a substitute so students do not feel frustrated or left out (Palloff & Pratt, 2001).