6 Tips to Help You Transition Your In-Person Class Online During the Coronavirus Outbreak Institutions across the nation are actively preparing to move their on-campus classes into an online format as a measure to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. For many, this migration from in-person teaching to online teaching can be a daunting task, but it does not have to be!  With these 6 helpful tips, you can easily move your in-person class online successfully. The tips below include online teaching strategies, tools that can aid in teaching online, and important things to consider as you make this transition.  It is important that before you begin to transition your in-person class to an online environment, that you know the resources that are available to you through your institution. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel here! Most institutions have a team of Instructional Designers, Educational Technologists, and Distance Education Staff that are busy at work preparing to help you. If you are not currently familiar with what technologies your institution has, now is the time to know what is available to you and your students. Here are a few questions you should know the answers to as you begin transiting your course online: What Learning Management System (LMS) do we use at this institution? Where can I find LMS resources so that I can learn how to use the platform? What third-party technology tools are available to me to use? What virtual communication or video conferencing tools are available to me and my students? Are there any trainings available to aid me in learning how to best deliver my course online? What are institutional policies regarding the use of third-party technology tools? After you have read the tips and recommendations below it will be time to get started transitioning your in-person course online. This starts by making a plan, then communicating your plan to your students, putting your plan into action, and then constantly communicating with your students so you know what is working and what needs adjusting.  So here we go! Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Table of Contents #1 Embrace Virtual Communication & Office Hours Communication is going to be the key to success over these next few weeks! Not only are you having to learn a new way of teaching but your students are also having to learn a new way of learning. As we mentioned above, make a plan and then let your students know what that plan is. Something we all take for granted with in-person classes is how easy it is to communicate the little details with our students without really even thinking about it.  As you transition to communicating strictly online, you will have to be much more diligent and thoughtful with how and what you communicate with your students. They will not be able to read your mind so you must tell them everything they will need to know and do to continue to be successful in your, now, online course.  Lucky for you and your students, communicating online has never been easier! Here are a few tools that make communicating online a breeze: Zoom: we will mention this tool often in this article. Zoom is an amazing video conferencing tool that will allow you video chat, share screens, record sessions, and save and share recordings.  Google Hangouts: also a great video and chat communication tool. If your institution uses Google Suites, your students may already be familiar with the tool and its functionality.  Microsoft Teams: is an easy to use communication platform that allows for ongoing chat sessions, video and audio calls, file share, and even the use of GIFs. If your institution uses Outlook or Office365 you may have access to this tool.  Using one of the tools above, try hosting an open office hour session with your students.  This would allow you and them to become comfortable using the new tool to communicate with each other and give them an opportunity to ask you questions. Showing your students that you are still very available to them will help ease their worries and yours too! #2 Change up Your Lecture Style Say goodbye to the lecture hall, and say hello to giving lectures in your sweatpants! You’ll learn that one of the great things about teaching online is the ability to do it from wherever and whenever you want. This means you can give your lecture from the comfort of your couch late at night or first thing in the morning while sitting in our favorite coffee shop.  One major logistic to keep in mind when making this transition from in-person to online is that your course may need to become more asynchronous. Meaning your students may not be online the exact same time you are but they still need to be able to learn. Before, you gave your lecture every Monday and Wednesday at the same time at the same place and your students were expected to be there. This is an example of synchronous learning. However, your students may now need more flexibility when it comes to learning online. We would still encourage you to give “live” lectures using the tools listed below, but we would also highly recommend that you record your lectures so that students can still access the information even if they were not able to join the live session.  Synchronous Learning A learning event in which a group of students are engaging in learning at the same time. Asynchronous Learning The act of facilitating learning outside of the constraints of time and place among a group of people. The tools listed below are capable of live video and audio conferencing, chat, and screen share. They also have the ability to be recorded so that students can watch your “live” lecture at their