The practice of virtual teaching: school leaders who want to teach an online college course need to be mindful of effective tricks

School Administrator, April, 2004 by William Brown, Philip M. Corkill

* Workplace situations. Online classrooms should be designed around authentic instruction. Students enroll in online courses to improve their job skills, to acquire an advanced degree or to advance to another level on the career ladder. Therefore, courses should be designed with authenticity--workplace situations that have real-life application. An example of such a workplace assignment in Capella's educational law courses requires learners to document the due process procedures for terminating a tenured teacher or not renewing a probationary teacher because of inadequate classroom performance. Students have been surprised at the differences from state to state when reporting these due process procedures in the law courseroom.

Learners retain information when it is related to current knowledge and when they have a vested interest in what is taught.

A Dynamic Classroom

In our experiences as online instructors, a well-designed curriculum that uses appropriate instructional techniques and maintains a learner-centered, friendly classroom will go a long way to support real-life experiences.

One goal of Capella's educational leadership program is to teach leadership skills that will positively change behavior in the professional setting. Several students have reported that their courseroom experiences have been meaningful and relevant in terms of helping them make changes in their schools. They are encouraged to interact with one another after the course concludes.

A dynamic asynchronous online courseroom led by a caring, knowledgeable and responsive instructor helps students achieve their goals of completing a masters or doctorate and advancing into leadership positions.

Online Teaching Opportunities

Experienced school leaders often are needed by online course providers to teach. Below is a compilation of the major institutions providing web-based education courses to undergraduates and graduate students and how to contact the provider about teaching an online course.

* Capella University (www.capella. edu/aspscripts/employment/index.asp, 888-CAPELLA). The university, based in Minneapolis, Minn., typically hires adjuncts who've had teaching experience in traditional settings. Capella seeks professionals with graduate degrees from an accredited university. Contact: Philip M. Corkill, faculty chair, K-12 educational leadership program, at scorkill@att.net

* Jones International University (www.jonesinternational.edu). Based in Denver, Colo., this institution offers a master of education with specialization in educational leadership and administration. The faculty application link is on the bottom of the home page.

* University of Maryland University College (www.umuc.edu). This institution, part of the University of Maryland system, is located in Adelphi, Md. For information on teaching in the online programs at UMUC, contact Rosemary Hoffmann, director of faculty recruitment, at 301-985-7070 or rhoffmann@umuc.edu.

* University of Phoenix Online (www.uopxonline.com/join_the_faculty. asp). This online program offers a master of arts in administration and supervision and a doctorate in educational leadership. Phoenix Online seeks instructors who hold advanced degrees from accredited institutions with at least five years experience in educational administration.