Building Online Teaching Communities in a DNP Program

This presentation will discuss the experience of an online teaching program from both the student’s and faculty’s prospective. Synchronous and asynchronous modalities such as discussion board, Centra e-rooms, online office hours and phone conferencing have all been used to improve communication between students and faculty. Continuous satisfaction surveys have also been valuable in helping the students feel part of the implementation and continuous evaluation of this new program.

Collaborating with Web designers and other IT specialists for continuous improvement of teaching tools has resulted in a rich and interactive online learning experience.

Novel software has been used for the building of lessons and linking of students to multimedia Web sites and has proven to enrich the learning environment.

Small group projects are generally used in courses and encourage students to interact and exchange ideas and knowledge. This has proven to be especially constructive given the rich background and life/work experiences of the students in the current cohort.

Especially beneficial has been the use of the Pronto instant messaging tool, which allows students and faculty to interact at any time while working online.

Lastly, yearly all-day seminars have been established to allow students and faculty to have face-to-face interaction in a collaborative and informal format.