Online Teaching and Learning

what message does your syllabus send

Send the Right Message with Your Syllabus

Instructors spend a considerable amount of time planning the topics, content, and activities in their courses, but comparatively little time thinking about the syllabus. The syllabus often is treated as an afterthought at the end of course development and is used to summarize basic information

Read More »
snapchat

Adventures with Snapchat in an Online Course

Snapchat is a video/photo-sharing app that has become nearly ubiquitous with young people due to a couple of unique features. One, the shared content automatically disappears after a set time. A shared Snap (a single image or video) goes away after being viewed by the

Read More »
Yellowdig engaging online students

Using Yellowdig to Boost Online Discussion, Simplify Grading

The limitations of traditional online discussion boards are well-known. Yellowdig is an alternative that I have used to simplify grading, encourage student-driven conversations, and engage students so that they consistently participate throughout the semester. With familiar, social media-like features, Yellowdig is an LMS-integrated discussion tool

Read More »

How to Add Immersive Simulations to an Online Course

Saint Leo University’s master’s degree programs in Education and Educational Specialist both have qualitative research courses that students find challenging. The courses are especially challenging for those students enrolled in the online programs where they do not have the opportunity to watch how others conduct

Read More »
green screen - student engagement

An Engagement Epidemic: Designing an Immersive, Media-Rich Course

Long before the written word, humans relied on stories to entertain, instruct, and preserve cultural traditions. Storytelling is a fundamental way that humans communicate, and yet it is often left out of the college classroom. Rather than telling students stories about how something works or

Read More »
blogging assignments

A Simple and Effective Way to Add Blogging to Your Courses

Most online instructors fall back on tried-and-true writing assignments and the LMS discussion forum to facilitate student engagement with material. But papers do not provide the opportunity for students to engage with other students on their ideas, and discussion forums track the conversation into pre-established

Read More »
function over form - online course design

Put Function Over Form when Designing Online Courses

Faculty tend to lament that student evaluations are just opportunities for students with bad grades to hammer their instructor. But I always believed that student surveys where actually designed to inflate approval ratings. They always start by asking simple class format questions, such as “Did

Read More »
Archives
The 2025 Teaching Professor Conference

Get the Latest Updates

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter