Transitioning to online learning in higher education

Kelly Herman, Vice President, Accessibility, Equity & Inclusion, and Dr. Marc Booker, Associate Provost, University of Phoenix, tackle a number of questions about the transition to online learning and how instructors and students can best adjust to the sudden changes.

For universities/educators new to online learning, where should they start with making the transition?

In a time of so much uncertainty, providing as much information as you can is key. To start, create awareness around the “why” behind the change, and why the specific online or virtual tools at your disposal are the best fit for them to help continue to provide instruction to students.

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Next, provide information about “how” they will use the online instructional tools and resources to increase their knowledge around the functions that exist in the new environment. From there, you want to let the faculty know “what” to do if they have any additional questions and what resources exist that are surrounding them as support during this transition. Support resources should exist both in a self-service static resource, a help line and through live teleconference sessions for faculty on learning how to use these resources or to call-in for support.