This chapter was adapted from Being a TA in Online Courses. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

Many of the principles of effective teaching in a traditional university classroom also apply to online teaching. One of the obvious differences between online and traditional teaching is the lack of a physical classroom. At McMaster, a virtual classroom site is created for all online courses (most are situated in our learning management system, Avenue to Learn). Students may work with the course content, communicate with each other and the instructor, submit assignments and take quizzes all through this online space.

Being a TA for an online course may be challenging at first because you may never meet students face to face. Communication is often asynchronous and text-based. Rest assured that these challenges can be addressed.

Roles of Online TAs

The instructor may ask you to do any of the following as an online TA:

• Write and post regular announcements
• Create student groups
• Reach out to students who are absent or missing assignments
• Post replies and moderate online discussions
• Review discussions and/or dropbox submissions, provide feedback and submit grades
• Use a third-party tool
• Host TA office hours online

Meet with the course instructor to ensure that you have TA access to the course in Avenue. Find out what is expected of you and be sure you are comfortable using the corresponding Avenue tools.

Questions to Ask

As an online TA, you may be asked to grade assignments, moderate discussions, and send announcements. These tasks all incorporate digital tools. It is important to be familiar with the core functions of Avenue and any third-party tools you are asked to use. Consider asking these key questions to clarify your responsibilities:

Technical Skills

• Discussions: how frequently do I need to monitor discussions and make posts? Will I create new discussions?
• Quizzes: do I need to grade any of the quizzes or are they fully automated?
• Assignment Folders: will I be grading assignments and providing feedback?
• Content: do I need to review any content?
• Other: are there any third-party tools or additional platforms used in this course? If yes, how do I need to use them?

Grading

• Entering grades: where do I enter grades? Note: most grades are entered in the tool itself (quiz, discussion, assignment folder) and some are entered directly in the grade section.
• Feedback: what are the expectations regarding personalized feedback? What are examples of good quality feedback?
• Rubrics: are rubrics used in this course? Are rubrics embedded in different tools?

online tutorials

Online tutorials can be offered in different modalities: synchronous, asynchronous, or a combination of the two. If course tutorials are offered synchronously, be sure to provide an asynchronous option (e.g., recordings to view in tandem with a discussion board).

Similar to in-person tutorials, planning, communication, delivery, question strategies, activities, and motivation are all important aspects to consider to make online tutorials productive learning events. The University of Waterloo offers guidelines on how to run effective online tutorials.

Teaching Tips for Online TAs

Prepare for the Term and Schedule Your Time

Content (including assignment information, lectures and discussion boards) are often developed and set up in Avenue in advance. At the start of term, take time to review them. Set aside regular time to complete your TA roles. Align this schedule with the frequency you need to be logging in (daily, every other day) and potential peak marking times. Learn the course schedule so you know what students should be doing each week.

Establish Social Presence by Communicating Clearly and Promptly

Communicate how students can contact you and a timeframe of when they can expect your response. With the instructor’s permission, use the announcements to communicate with the whole class. Announcements may include new or changing information regarding weekly updates, upcoming due dates, etc.

Consider having an “Ask the TA” discussion board as a way for students to ask general questions about course content or assessments. By encouraging students to use this forum, the whole class benefits from your answers and it reduces your email volume.  Emails are more suited for private concerns such as accommodations or grades.

Make every effort to reply to emails or the “Ask the TA” discussion board within 24-48 hours during weekdays. If you plan to be away during the week, let the instructor know ahead of time.

Responding to Discussion Board Posts

Discussions promote interaction and demonstrate social presence. Facilitate discussions by asking good questions, making connections, and responding to a variety of students.

• Ask for clarification when needed: I’m unclear about your point X. Can you elaborate?
• Challenge students by probing assumptions: Can you connect this view to the readings?
• Ask for alternate views or specific examples: What is another viable solution to Y issue?