Search
There are 13 results.
Category
Tag
Tag
All (35)
Active Learning (1)
Animations (1)
Assessments (1)
Asynchrony (3)
Authentic Activities (2)
Backwards Design (1)
Canvas (1)
Case Studies (1)
Collaboration (1)
Communication (2)
Community (2)
Content Creation (1)
Copyright (2)
Course Maintenance (1)
Course Materials (3)
Course Preparation (2)
Discussions (1)
Diversity (1)
Equity (1)
Feedback (3)
Formative Assessments (4)
Game-Based Learning (2)
Gamification (1)
Group Work (2)
Infographics (1)
Learning Objectives (2)
Multimodality (3)
Podcasts (1)
Presentations (1)
Rubrics (1)
Scaffolding (1)
Summative Assessments (1)
Synchrony (3)
Third-Party Tools (1)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (1)
Video (2)
Visual Design (1)
Written Assignments (1)
Formative Assessments
Formative assessments encompass a broad range of low-stakes activities aimed at improving student learning outcomes. In contrast to summative assessments, which are intended to measure products of student learning, formative assessments are oriented towards the learning process itself (Black & Wiliam, 1998). They can provide students with opportunities to evaluate their developing understanding of key concepts, practice new skills, and prepare for summative assessments (McLaughlin & Yan, 2017; Orange, Agak, Okelo, & Kiprotich, 2018). They can also provide instructors with valuable data on student progress (Bell & Cowie, 2001; McLaughlin & Yan, 2017). The results of formative assessments can indicate where individual students are struggling or excelling, allowing instructors to provide targeted feedback and tailor their instructional delivery accordingly.
Written Assignment Best Practices Guide
Formal writing requires sustained focus on content and close attention to detail. For these reasons, written assignments can be an effective assessment tool in graduate courses when they are thoughtfully and purposefully designed. This guide provides recommendations for faculty who are looking to harness the pedagogical benefits of written assignments.
Game-Based Learning Experiences
Game-based learning (GBL) is a learning experience, or set of learning experiences, delivered through gameplay or game-like activities with defined learning outcomes. GBL is often confused with gamification, which is the application of game elements to a non-gaming experience. GBL engages students cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socioculturally (Plass et al., 2015). Many factors should be considered when designing GBL, including narrative, player positioning, and interactive design (Dickey, 2005).
Presentation Best Practices Guide
Many online courses focus on written communication skills, featuring discussion posts, papers, and case study reports among other assignments. However, oral communication and presentation skills are just as integral to students’ success, and, indeed, many employers list presenting as one of the most desirable skills for job candidates (Suhadi et al., 2021).
Group Work Best Practices Guide
Group work in online courses can facilitate student learning in unique ways. In particular, group assignments can provide students with opportunities to engage in authentic tasks and develop collaborative skills applicable to their future careers. Williams, Duray, and Reddy (2006) argue that team learning stimulates student thinking at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, including application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Group projects can serve a variety of different purposes across a wide range of academic programs and subjects. Additionally, group projects can foster interaction and community building amongst students, which can be especially valuable in an asynchronous online classroom (Martin & Bolliger, 2018).
Discussion Best Practices Guide
Discussions are an impactful way to build engagement and discourse in asynchronous online courses. When properly designed, discussions can encompass the three pillars of engagement: student-content, student-student, and student-instructor. Asynchronous discussions allow students time to reflect prior to participating, which can lead to deeper insights and richer discourse. Moreover, when participating in discussions, students have the opportunity to collaborate with others, participate in an online learning community, and gain insights from others’ unique experiences and perspectives (Ransdell, Borror & Su, 2018). Facilitating multiple types of engagement in an online course can improve student motivation, satisfaction, and achievement (Dailey-Hebert, 2018).
Leveraging Podcasts in Online Higher Education
Podcasts are digital audio that you can download or stream onto a computer or mobile device. They are convenient, portable, reusable, and do not require particularly high-tech devices or connections. They are also popular. According to a 2022 Infinite Dial survey, "Seventy-three percent of the U.S. 12+ population (an estimated 209 million people) have listened to online audio in the last month, up from 68% in 2021" (Edison Research, 2022). While podcast use declined slightly in 2022, returning to pre-pandemic levels, the medium is still burgeoning, with plenty of room for further growth.
Inclusive Texts
Today’s students are diverse and include marginalized groups that have historically been excluded from mainstream education (Ladson-Billings, 2013). In 2021, students of color comprised upwards of 40% of the 15.4 million undergraduates enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities (Nam, 2023; National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). Gloria Ladson-Billings, whose work centers on culturally relevant pedagogy, argues that diverse students require inclusive learning to succeed. “[These students] do not fit neatly into the rigid categories of race, class, gender, or national origin” upon which hierarchies of the past have been built (Ladson-Billings, 2013, p. 5), so authentic representation of diversity in higher education is critical. Adrienne Keene, an assistant professor of American Studies at Brown University, writes that instructors can do their part to support underrepresented students by being honest about their own bias and blind spots, critiquing their course materials, and integrating meaningful representations of diversity into the curriculum (Fuchs et al., 2020; Keene, 2015).
Developing Instructional Materials
Once you have defined the learning objectives for your course, you can begin to develop assessments to ensure students achieve those objectives. Once you have created assessments, you can begin to develop materials to ensure students succeed on those assessments. This backward design process—which moves from objectives to assessments and finally to materials—is known as learning-centered instruction, and it directs every course task toward the mastery of certain skills and competencies. This blog focuses on the third stage of this process, the development of high-quality instructional materials, beginning with the idea that robust and engaging online courses contain a mix of created and curated content. Below you will find guidelines for creating and curating instructional materials to help you achieve the optimal balance for your course.
Easy and Essential Online Course Elements
Transferring your course online opens a world of possibilities. In fact, you might be tempted to spend hours trying to locate and learn new educational technologies, or to rebuild your entire course in the learning management system (LMS). But while effective use of technology can certainly enhance learning experiences, it can also introduce obstacles for both faculty and students.