Adopting the adage “Done is better than good”, I’ve created this rough and ready checklist for teachers and tutors. Some of the items could be the subject of a checklist themselves, so I’m not pretending this is comprehensive. I just wanted to get this out to assist anyone who is new to online teaching or an online teaching application, and doesn’t know where to start.

Incidentally, you may have assumed, as I did, that everyone has now been asked to teach online, and started some time ago. On the basis of that assumption, I had decided not to bother with this checklist. But then I was contacted and invited to teach a blogging course online, and it was then that I realised that many others are probably in a similar situation. In my case, the City Lit Institute seems to be erring on the side of caution and is keeping courses online until at least the autumn term. With this in mind, they are trying to organise a programme of learning, part of which process is contacting tutors like myself to ask if we would be available on particular dates, and comfortable with running their courses online rather than in person.

In my case, I’ve done quite a bit of talking, discussing and learning online, so I’m not really worried about the prospect of teaching my course online. Nevertheless, I realised that a checklist, even a simple one such as that below, would be useful for myself. I hope it’s useful for others too.

1. Software installed (if necessary)?

2. Software tested?

3. Software explored?

4. Training session booked, if available?

5. Trial run organised?

6. Resources amended for online use, if necessary?

7. Resources uploaded?

8. Online sessions scheduled?

9. Instructions to students sent out?

10. Calendar invitations sent out?

See also: How Teachers Can Use The Tick Box In Google Sheets and the online preparation checklist for students.