5 Ways to Avoid Teaching an Absurd Online Class

Brenda Thomas

Brenda Thomas has a Master of Arts in Humanities and has worked as an online instructor and instructional designer in higher education.

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How to help prevent asynchronous online students from learning less!

Prior to discussing the five methods for preventing the delivery of absurd online classes, let us consider some contextual information. Because of my experiences as a student in as well as being a designer and teacher of asynchronous online courses, an opinion piece in Inside Higher Ed titled “The Absurdity of Asynchrony” caught my attention. In that article, the author said that “neither teaching nor learning truly occur” in asynchronous online classes.

Two factors formed the basis of that statement: the author’s own teaching experience and the results of a study on grades online students received at one university.

The author’s teaching experience was described as that of students “earning three credits to watch movies whenever they wish—along with taking a bi-weekly multiple-choice quiz and tossing a comment into the discussion board once a week” with “no possibility of contact or connection between students and teachers.”

The study cited by the author used statistics from one university to say that students receiving lower grades in online classes was “a sign that they’re learning less than they would have in a traditional class.”

I agree that the author’s teaching experience, as described, was absurd. No asynchronous online class should match the description provided. However, that does not mean that all asynchronous online classes are inherently absurd.

As for lower grades in online classes at one university, that is not proof that all asynchronous online students everywhere are learning less than if they were in a traditional classroom.

Absurdities do exist in some online classes, whether that is due to the course design and/or attitudes about grades, but that does not mean that all asynchronous online classes are, or have to be, absurd. Therefore, in this article, I present five ways to avoid teaching an absurd online class.

5 Ways to Avoid Teaching an Absurd Online Class!

Reconsider the purpose of grades

Students appreciate feedback that is specific to them and their work. It is important to provide feedback that specifically refers to and responds to what students submitted rather than using only comments copied and pasted from a feedback bank that could generally apply to any student.

Set a schedule that keeps students accountable

Asynchronous online classes should have a schedule with deadlines, as well as regular attendance requirements. Although attendance is taken differently in an asynchronous online class than in on-site classes, there are ways to expect and record regular attendance by noting student activity in weekly tasks. In so doing, students will not be “earning three credits to watch movies whenever they wish.”

Create meaningful assessments

Meaningful assessments comprise a mix of weekly assignments that can include quizzes, discussions, and other work related to the course material that are assessed by the instructor. Auto-graded assessments are beneficial for some assignments but not all. Incorporating assignments that are not auto graded in a Learning Management System allows for personalized feedback from an instructor specific to each student and makes the class meaningful. Having only “bi-weekly multiple-choice quiz” assessments is not meaningful.

Provide opportunities for actual discussions

If the internet has demonstrated anything, it is that we can have discussions with people in other locations and on our own separate schedules. We do not have to be in the same physical place or even in the same virtual space at the same time in order to have a discussion. An asynchronous online class is no exception. Discussions can occur with well-designed prompts that do not reward or facilitate students “tossing a comment into the discussion board once a week.”

Facilitate connections with and for students

On July 1, 2021, new regulations for regular and substantive interaction in distance education went into effect, so it was surprising that an article written in 2024, about distance education, claimed there was “no possibility of contact or connection between students and teachers” in an asynchronous online class that awarded academic credit. Asynchronous online classes that award academic credit must include interaction between instructors and students.

Conclusion

Grading student work, keeping students accountable to a schedule, creating meaningful assessments, providing opportunities for actual discussions, and facilitating interactions between teachers and students are five ways to avoid teaching an absurd distance education class. In asynchronous online classes that are purposefully designed and delivered, teaching and learning can and do truly occur.