This article is featured in the resource guide, Effective Online Teaching Strategies. When I was asked to create an online course 20 years ago, I
This article is featured in the resource guide, Effective Online Teaching Strategies. “Write an initial post and then reply to two of your classmates.” These
When I first began creating and teaching online higher education courses, I searched scholarly journals, instructional design resources, and quality standards for insights and guidance.
October 21, 2019, was a golden day for those interested in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Somehow, across a variety of teaching and
As an adjunct professor and one who works daily with faculty in helping them understand online education, I have noticed and heard of increasing numbers
Online learning is becoming more prevalent in colleges and universities. When I arrived in higher education, I could not imagine how online classes would work
When students enroll in online classes, they are often wary and a bit intimidated by the experience. There are a multitude of concerns such as
Where did it all go wrong? Professor Elavor* just wrapped up what she hoped would be a successful semester of her new online course—Introduction to Natural Sciences. Unfortunately, the course ended with a giant thud.
By now we’ve all heard about the importance of faculty engagement in online courses. A faculty member who properly engages in an online classroom can boost student success, improve satisfaction, and raise retention rates. Discussions about faculty engagement tend to focus on activities like interaction in discussion boards and frequency of posting announcements. Although these actions are important, what’s overlooked in these conversations is the need to ensure students are first comfortable and prepared to participate in their classes. Let’s face it, starting a new semester can be anxiety inducing for students and the situation can be exasperated in an online environment where students can’t ease their anxiety by walking to class with a friend or seeing a welcoming smile from their instructor as they enter a classroom.
We all know the classic thought experiment involving a tree falling in the woods, but have you heard the one about online lecturing: If a faculty member posts a microlecture video to the LMS, and students view it, has learning occurred? While we may never know if a falling tree makes a sound, we can determine whether students are engaging with our microlectures by applying the principles of pause procedure.
