Search
There are 29 results.
Tag
Tag
All (124)
Active Learning (4)
Activities (4)
Alt Text (2)
Analytics (4)
Animations (1)
Assessments (7)
Asynchrony (6)
Authentic Activities (2)
Backwards Design (2)
Belonging (3)
Canvas (10)
Case Studies (2)
Collaboration (5)
Color Contrast (2)
Communication (8)
Community (7)
Content Creation (12)
Copyright (2)
Course Maintenance (5)
Course Materials (7)
Course Preparation (6)
Discussions (5)
Diversity (5)
Equity (2)
Faculty Presence (3)
Faculty Support (2)
Feedback (8)
Formative Assessments (6)
Game-Based Learning (2)
Gamification (1)
Generative AI (2)
Grading (5)
Group Work (2)
Hyperlinks (1)
Images (3)
Inclusion (6)
Infographics (2)
Learning Objectives (3)
Multimodality (7)
Page Design (2)
Peer Review (1)
Podcasts (1)
PowerPoint (2)
Presentations (2)
Qualitative courses (1)
Quantitative courses (1)
Representation (1)
Revising (2)
Rubrics (4)
Scaffolding (1)
Screen Readers (1)
Social Media (2)
Summative Assessments (1)
Synchrony (8)
Third-Party Tools (2)
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) (2)
Video (12)
Visual Accessibility (2)
Visual Design (2)
Workload (1)
Written Assignments (1)
No Sweat Alt Text
What is “alt text”? Alt text is descriptive text linked to an image, graph, or other visual content that allows users to understand the visual without viewing it. Any image online should contain alt text, but guidelines differ depending on whether the image is simply decorative or related to other content on the page.
Five Instructor Feedback Essentials
Providing student feedback is a key component of an instructor’s role and an important part of effective instruction. Research shows that ongoing feedback keeps students engaged and improves their morale, motivation, and learning (Best, et al, 2014). Yet, providing high quality feedback can be a time-consuming commitment, especially in courses with large class sizes or numerous written assessments. Instructors should keep in mind the tools, structure, and best practices that can help them provide feedback.
Editing Links and Rubrics from Other Courses
Situations may present themselves in which links or rubrics from another course can be useful in a current course. Should this occur, rubrics from other courses can be uploaded into another course. To successfully insert a previously built rubric, please follow the following steps.
Updating Your Syllabus
Over time, you may want to make changes to the syllabus of a course. The syllabus documents are saved in the “Files” area (1) of the course. To preserve the integrity of the document, the Word document is located in the “Instructor Only” folder (3) and the PDF is found in the “Documents” folder (2) so it is visible to students.
Backward Design
Backward design is, as the name suggests, a process for designing curricula, courses, and lectures by working backwards from big-picture learning goals. The concept, introduced by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005), suggests that instructors create assessments, activities, and course content that are explicitly aligned with the broader learning goals of the unit. This is different from the traditional content-driven approach to learning design, which focuses on course content first and only secondarily tries to align that content with learning goals.
Case Study Best Practices Guide
Case studies are an effective and powerful pedagogical tool. They present realistic narratives to students and require them to analyze possible outcomes or solve a dilemma or challenge associated with the narrative, and they are often followed by a series of questions or prompts that ask students to demonstrate their learning. Case studies can be based on real-world situations or fictional scenarios modeled on authentic occurrences. Regardless of the source and format, case studies provide students an opportunity to practice solving problems that they might encounter in the future.
Academic Integrity in Assessment
To foster academic integrity, pair anti-plagiarism tools with clear conduct expectations and authentic low-stakes assessments. When designing and teaching online courses, maintaining academic integrity is frequently top of mind. In many cases, faculty may opt to adopt third-party tools to monitor student work. Despite the prevalence of academic monitoring software in online courses, however, the most powerful tools for promoting academic integrity are introduced much earlier in the course build process.
Artificial Intelligence and Online Learning
Higher education institutions are racing to keep pace with the disruption caused by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. A 2023 QuickPoll survey by Educause found that 83% of higher education stakeholders believe generative AI will "profoundly change" the sector over the next three to five years. Additionally, 65% agreed that "the use of generative AI in higher ed has more benefits than drawbacks" (McCormack, 2023, Table 1). While institutions are exploring AI's potential in areas such as admissions, enrollment, administrative duties, scheduling, and institutional data research, this piece focuses on the overarching risks and rewards AI presents in teaching and learning.
Accessible PDFs
Developing and delivering accessible instructional content—meaning content that students with and without disabilities can readily engage with and use—is essential to the success of an online course. While many accessibility standards and guidelines are broadly applicable, there are also specific considerations unique to different content formats and delivery modes. In this piece, we present recommendations for enhancing the accessibility of PDFs for students.
Quantitative Course Best Practices
"What I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; what I do, I understand." –Chinese proverb