I have taught undergraduate students for nearly 35 years. In the past decade, I have seen an increasing number of students who don’t buy the textbook or, if they do, rarely read it. Many of my non-native English students struggle to understand discipline-specific terminology and
Establishing a healthy learning environment is key to teaching. But opportunities for making personal connections and relationships with students are greatly reduced in online classes. Thus, online instructors need to make a special effort to foster relationships in their online courses.
Most faculty think of studying as a solitary activity, especially in an online environment where students cannot simply set a time to meet in the library. But there are a variety of collective annotation systems that allow student collaboration in understanding course material. These systems
In general, academia tends toward the emotionless, focusing on the content of ideas over feelings. But we are emotional beings, and emotions impact everything we do. Why wouldn’t emotions play into our experiences teaching and learning online?
In fact, we can be intentional in
Rebecca Yvonne Bayeck and Jinhee Choi of Pennsylvania State University recently did an interesting study examining how MOOC videos convey messages about culture and power through elements such as dress, setting, and character position. For instance, they found that educational videos from France and South
Information literacy is critical to the success of a student, as many students fail due to not knowing how to find quality resources. While many instructors recognize this need, they normally incorporate it into their courses by asking a librarian to come in to do
A checklist is absolutely essential to moving a face-to-face course online. Not only does it help the instructor conceptualize their course in an online environment, it helps the instructional designer see what needs to be done. Here is a simple guide to preparing to move
Last month we laid out what podcasting is and why you might want to explore it for use in your classes and with your colleagues. Now let’s talk about some of the practical considerations of making a podcast.
First, a caveat: we assume in
Most people think of Universal Design as an approach to designing accessible buildings and meeting the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, this philosophy can also be applied to classroom instruction. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that fosters inclusive
Student engagement has become a focus of higher education— online education in particular— over the past few years. The wide range of interactive methods now available on the web provides instructors with a multitude of ways to insert engagement into their courses.
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