Hello USDLA friends,
It’s a pleasure to bring you the first in a series of articles by long-time USDLA member, author, and educator Errol Craig Sull. He is the author of several books, has accomplished much in his career, and continues championing online education.
Please scroll down for a few Tips, Tricks, and Sure-Fire Teaching Strategies, then click here to visit our website for the entire article. a month’s article by Eroll, which we know will bring you insight and ideas.
Great news: You’ll meet Errol at the 2023 USDLA National Conference in Orlando, FL, July 17-20.
- Register before March 31st for the early bird conference rate and book your hotel now because this year’s conference will have something for anyone involved with distance/digital learning.
- Note: We have officially closed our Call for Proposals. The lineup will be announced by April 1, and once it is, we’ll share the list of presenters each Thursday. Stay tuned for that!
- Last but not least: I was thrilled to be featured on The EduUp Higher Education Podcast, co-hosted by Joe Sallustio and Elvin Freytes. Click here to listen, and scroll down for details!
- Also below: You’ll find details for the next TeleHealth webinar hosted by the Arizona Telemedicine Program — Telehealth Billing Webinar: RPM, RTM – Lessons Learned Thus Far. National Billing expert Carol Yarbrough will be presenting. Click here to register.
We’ll be back again next Tuesday with another issue of USDLA News. I am looking forward to seeing you in Orlando! — Pat Cassella, USDLA Executive Director
Tricks, Tips, and Sure-Fire Teaching Strategies: Secrets of the Successful Online Instructor Revealed!
By Errol Craig Sull
A Note from Errol: Gosh – wouldn’t it be nice if we could just fall into each of our distance learning courses and know each would be a brilliant tour de force on our part, with students enthusiastically rhapsodizing about the experience and our supervisors marveling at how fortunate they are to have us teaching for their school?
Well, this is a nice dream – and that’s all it us. Those of us who have taught online know that much effort needs to go into making the above come true – and even then, that effort requires constant tinkering, tweaking, and toning. But there are certain things each of us can do that will assure a spot in the Online Instructor’s Hall of Fame – if only in your students’ experiences (where it ultimately counts).
There are thousands of ideas, suggestions, bits of info, and insights distance learning instructors can offer on how to teach the “perfect” online course; several volumes of books would be needed to list them all. But there are commonalities, and what I’ve listed in this column are the ones that nearly every successful online instructor has in common – take away just one of these that you haven’t previously employed, and your quality in the classroom will markedly improve.
Here are three ideas to get you started:
Be a constant, timely, and upbeat presence in class. You are the umbilical cord connecting the computer course to your students, and it’s imperative that the cord be kept vibrant and throbbing; if not, your class will quickly wither. Since students cannot physically visit you in an office, they depend on you to keep them informed, to respond to their questions, and to be involved in the course. And what many online instructors forget is that this is really a 24/7 presence by you, not a traditional M-W-F or T-Th X number of minutes per week meeting with students.
Gather websites – both you and the students. A major factor in having a successful online class is keeping students engaged in the course; do this and they will better embrace the information taught and contribute more in Discussion and other such areas. One item that can help in this is a smart use of the Internet; done correctly this electronic behemoth can give your students a variety of info relating to the subject and in addition to required materials, provide fun and relaxation in the process, and provide added texture and richness to your course.
Take a deep plunge into audio-visual. Since the advent of online learning, it has been common to find articles, texts (whole or part), and other print material posted somewhere in a class for students to read; these existed – and continue to exist – as either attachments or ready-to-read once a link is clicked. But as technology has advanced, so have the possibilities of heightening the online learning experience by including audio-visual; these add an ongoing “sparkle” and freshness to the course, help keep students engaged, and work well in strengthening the online instructor-student rapport.
Click here to read more Expert Advice from Errol!
RPM, RTM: Lessons Learned Thus Far
When: March 30, 2023, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm MST
About the webinar: Join us to learn about the latest in Remote Physiological and Therapeutic Monitoring Modalities of care and the implementation of billing and reimbursement.
Speaker: Carol Yarbrough, MBA, CCA, CPC, OCS, CHC: Carol is a specialist in Federal and State regulatory billing & reimbursement guidelines. Holding certificates in hospital and professional fees, ophthalmic and clinical compliance, she provides us with the rest of the story. You know her as our inside scooper on telehealth and other virtual care policies, updates, and the next new things.
Outcome Objectives:
- Define Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) and Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM) modalities of care.
- Describe what is needed at the provider and administrative level for billing and reimbursement of RPM and RTM.
- Describe the billing and reimbursement differences between non-facility and facility locales.
Continuing Medical Education: Accreditation Statement
- The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
- The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.
- Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Disclosure Statement: All Faculty, CME Planning Committee Members, and the CME Office Reviewers have disclosed that they do not have any relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies that could constitute a conflict of interest concerning this CME activity.
Today on the Edup Experience:
Online All the Time with Pat Cassella, Executive Director at the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA)