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Clear and Quick: The Why and How of Rubrics

September 24, 2021
Rubrics provide students with insight into their performance and mastery of learning outcomes, providing clarity on how grades are assigned and teaching students how to tailor their work. For instructors, rubrics take the guesswork out of deciding how to grade, saving valuable time.

Infographic Considerations

September 27, 2021
An infographic is a visual that combines text, graphics, diagrams, and graphs to present information. When used effectively, infographics can be a powerful tool to guide students through the learning process. “Infographics ask for an active response from the viewer, raising the questions, ‘What am I seeing?’ and ‘What does it mean?’” (Krauss, 2012, p. 10). Infographics also present information in an organized way, which can improve students’ critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills (Yildirim, 2016).

Improving PowerPoints

September 28, 2021
Sharing information via PowerPoint presentations is a long-established strategy in higher education. Designing PowerPoint presentations for online courses can pose unique challenges; however, best practices can help overcome these hurdles. With time and attention, faculty and instructional designers can create engaging and purposeful presentations with lasting value.

Presentation Best Practices Guide

December 28, 2022
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).

Incorporating Multimedia in Your Course

October 17, 2022
Multimedia, which helps create an engaging and interactive online learning environment, has been shown to contribute to improved student performance (Cheng et al., 2009, p. 1). Though many online courses incorporate videos, they neglect to feature other forms of multimedia. And, while videos are a staple of multimedia use, there are other exciting options to consider: podcast episodes, graphics, and animations can all enhance course content, enriching the student experience. To maximize the benefits multimedia can provide, consider including these underutilized forms of multimedia in your course.

Inclusive Communication Practices

June 25, 2024
In asynchronous, hybrid, and multimodal learning environments, strong communication practices greatly aid student engagement and satisfaction (Martin & Bolliger, 2018). Faculty may develop an exceptional course in terms of goals, content, and design, but without proper communication and feedback, the course experience will be significantly diminished.

Representation in Course Images

September 27, 2021
How many times have you looked at an image and thought, “Have I seen this before?” Chances are, if you are browsing a stock photo site, it’s often. That feeling of déjà vu occurs because images reflect an amalgam of artistic, cultural, and ideological influences (Hall, 2015).

Five Ways to Combat Linguistic Bias in the Classroom

December 29, 2022
Developments such as the evolution of World Englishes (WE) and African American scholars’ use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) have opened an important dialogue around academic writing standards, language ownership, and linguistic justice (Canagarajah, 2006; Young, 2010). Authors like Gloria Anzaldua who mix, for example, Native Indian, Spanish, and English in texts, are engaging in the literary tradition of code meshing, which has been shown to facilitate acquisition of English when used by multicultural students in the classroom, according to research (Canagarajah, 2006). By adopting inclusive practices, course designers can combat linguistic bias and promote writing achievement for all learners. This blog contains five recommendations for reducing linguistic bias in online education.

Diversity and Inclusion in Online Education

August 20, 2024
Education should be diverse and inclusive regarding the composition of the student population, the selection of course materials, the methods of engagement, and the opportunities for assessment. However, it is important to avoid using the terms "diversity" and "inclusion" interchangeably, as they possess distinct meanings that should be preserved. Given their fundamental roles in course design and facilitation, this piece highlights the difference between diversity and inclusion in a general sense before applying these concepts specifically to online learning.