Before her online courses begin, Susanne Chuku, assistant professor of economics at Westfield State University, sends each of her students a personal welcome email. “I like to write their names so they know that I took the time to email them personally rather than send
There’s a growing body of evidence that indicates the educational benefits of game-based learning. Although some courses are likely to be more conducive to a game-based approach, it’s helpful to consider how game elements might enhance the learning experience.In an interview with Online Classroom, Clare
When Annie Hough-Everage, professor of education at Brandman University, surveyed her graduate-level online students about what factors helped and hindered their learning in the online classroom, she was surprised by their teacher-centered rather than learner-centered orientation. These were adult, graduate-level students who were themselves teachers
Teaching developmental courses poses special challenges in the online environment. In addition to helping students learn the content, the instructor also has to help developmental learners navigate the online classroom. Karen Woodring, an associate professor of English HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, teaches developmental English
Despite this growing need to know how to work with online learners experiencing mental and emotional challenges, there has not been much written on the topic, and higher education institutions generally do not have the resources and policies in place to the extent that they
The Internet is a fundamentally interactive medium. Look in the average lecture hall and you will see students with baseball caps turned backward nodding off or on their cell phones. But peek into a computer lab and you will see students sitting up at the
Ken Einhaus, a project manager at the Center for Applied Research Solutions, offers dos and don’ts for dealing with online learners exhibiting a variety of mental health crises.
Recorded video can be a great enhancement to an online course, offering opportunities for targeted instruction, personalized feedback, and content review.
When designing an online course, it’s important to consider how to create learning experiences that will spark learners’ intrinsic motivation. While different learners may be motivated by different factors, there are several models that can provide useful guidance when you’re designing motivating learning experiences. Two
Imagine a colleague insisting that his students memorize the URLs of the top 20 websites in his field, as well as keep abreast of any changes in those URLs. Would that make sense? Of course not. Students can find any of those sites through a
