Online Education

Classroom Management Tips for Online Courses: Dealing with Difficult Students

“Managing student expectations is important in any class but even more so for online and blended courses where it’s easy for students to feel lost,” says Susan Ko, executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). “Even well structured, academically rigorous online classes can have diminished effectiveness due to a lack of clear expectations.”

Mary Bart April 27, 2009

Building Student Engagement in Online Courses

Despite all the high-tech communication technologies available to online instructors today — discussion boards, email, IM, wikis, podcasts, blogs, vlogs, etc. — every once in awhile Dr. B. Jean Mandernach likes to use a tool that was invented way back in 1876. The telephone.

Mary Bart April 6, 2009

Tips for Teaching Large Classes Online

Jonathan P. Mathews, assistant professor of energy and geo-environmental engineering at Penn State University, teaches a high-enrollment (more than 400 students) general education online course, Energy and the Environment. Although he has two teaching assistants, the logistics of managing such a large class would be overwhelming without implementing the following course design and management ideas.

Rob Kelly March 17, 2009

Strategies for Teaching Blended Learning Courses, Maybe You (and Your Students) Can Have It All

Blended learning, which combines face-to-face and online learning activities into a single course, has experienced tremendous growth during the past few years. A blended learning course (also called a hybrid course) can satisfy students’ need for flexibility, as well as alleviate overcrowded classrooms. However, the biggest benefit to a well-designed blended course is a much improved teaching and learning experience.

Mary Bart March 16, 2009

Helping Online Students Become Self-Directed, Engaged Learners

Online course design is crucial to student success. It should reflect the intended learning outcomes and provide enough guidance for students to easily navigate the

Rob Kelly March 6, 2009

Usability Issues That Impact Online Learning

Despite the benefits of online education, there are inevitable frustrations as well. The tools online learners need to use take time to master and don’t

Patti Shank PhD CPT March 5, 2009

Four Ways to Improve Online Discussion Forums

Rebecca Arbisi, chair of the business department at State Fair Community College in Missouri, offers the following tips for improving the quality of threaded discussions:

Rob Kelly March 3, 2009

Tips for Marketing Your Online Education Program on a Budget

One of the key strengths of a distance education program also can be a weakness. While web-based learning increases dramatically the pool of potential students that you can target, the number of competitors vying for those same students increases as well.

Mary Bart March 2, 2009

Using Video Clips to Stimulate Discussion in Online Courses

If you’re looking to improve threaded discussions in your online courses, consider using brief video clips as discussion prompts. When carefully selected and integrated into a course, these clips can lead students to higher-order thinking and appeal to auditory and visual learning styles.

Rob Kelly February 27, 2009

Seven Ways to Improve Student Satisfaction in Online Courses

Preparing students for the online learning experience and managing expectations are critical to student satisfaction, says Marie Gould, assistant professor and program manager of Business

Rob Kelly February 26, 2009

Online Education

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