The Online Teaching Survival Guide: Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips

by Judith V. Boettcher, Rita-Marie Conrad

The Online Teaching Survival Guide offers faculty a wide array of theory-based techniques designed for online teaching and technology-enhanced courses. Written by two pioneers in distance education, this guidebook presents practical instructional strategies spread out over a four-phase timeline that covers the lifespan of a course. The book includes information on a range of topics such as course management, social presence, community building, and assessment. Based on traditional pedagogical theory, The Online Teaching Survival Guide integrates the latest research in cognitive processing and learning outcomes. Faculty with little knowledge of educational theory and those well versed in pedagogy will find this resource essential for developing their online teaching skills. Praise for The Online Teaching Survival Guide "At a time when resources for training faculty to teach online are scarce, Judith Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad have presented a must-read for all instructors new to online teaching. By tying best practices to the natural rhythms of a course as it unfolds, instructors will know what to do when and what to expect. The book is a life raft in what can be perceived as turbulent and uncharted waters."
— Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt , program directors and faculty, Teaching in the Virtual Classroom Program, Fielding Graduate University "Developed from years of experience supporting online faculty, Judith Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad's book provides practical tips and checklists that should especially help those new to online teaching hit the ground running."
— Karen Swan , Stukel Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Illinois Springfield "This book blends a fine synthesis of research findings with plenty of practical advice. This book should be especially valuable for faculty teaching their first or second course online. But any instructor, no matter how experienced, is likely to find valuable insights and techniques."
— Stephen C. Ehrmann , director, Flashlight Program for the Study and Improvement of Educational Uses of Technology; vice president, The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Academic

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2010

Reviews

[Amanda]

I feel like this would have been more helpful if I had the physical book to flip through/skim, but the audiobook was hard to deal with because I feel like most of the information was not useful to me at this point.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book 4.5 stars. It's a bit of a dry read and some of the info had me going, "Yes. Duh." as a middle school teacher (the book was geared toward college professors who might not have a teaching background). But so much of what I read was so dang useful. I can't wait to put this book's strategies into practice in my hybrid and distance learning virtual classrooms this fall.

This website link sums up the 10 best practices from the book. I would add to it that the book includes practical ways for improving assessments using rubrics, organizing group work in a digital setting, building community through discussions, asking rigorous questions, and setting up your digital classroom for success. I love that the authors used backward design for both the book and their digital class strategies and end with reflection; this fits seamlessly with K-12 education.

http://designingforlearning.info/writ...

[Amber at Fall Into Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty useful to me, never having taught online before the pandemic. I learned a lot and did tons of highlighting.

[Jennifer Capell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a college educator, I found this book very helpful. Even after teaching online for a year, I found valuable new ideas. Get the paper copy. Highlight, annotate, and let the ideas flow.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential for anyone teaching post-secondary in an online environment.

[Patti Irwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a college professor without a strong background in the pedagogy of teaching, this book is brilliant. If you are a public school teacher with a strong background this book serves as an interesting review of basing teaching decisions within the context of said pedagogy. As a practical guide to the kind of situations public school teachers are likely to find themselves it was pretty useless.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend reading this from beginning to end, because there's quite a bit of repetition, but this book is perfect for dipping into as needed when a problem arises related to teaching college classes online.

[Araminta Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book didn't really offer anything new (at least for me, but this is my field. It could be glorious for a newcomer). I did take a few notes, but mostly this was just the same generic concept.

[Mills College Library]

371.33446 B673 2010

[Elizabeth Gosse · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for an online course about teaching online courses. There was a lot of information I already knew from working in the field as well as previously complete courses. I wish this book talked a little more about learning management systems, provided some more basic outlines of courses with marks for each section to give those learners with less online teaching experience a better base to start with.

I found some of the information repetitive.

[Marie]

Good textbook while prepping an online class. Wish there were more examples of successful cases.