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
Online instructors frequently cite email as the biggest distraction in managing their online course workload. Those obnoxious pop-ups or auditory dings announcing new email might as well be a siren call, pulling online instructors away from the work at hand and into a stormy sea
Students tend to engage with concrete ideas and examples better than they do with abstract concepts. This is why, if you teach a lot of theory, you need to find ways to make your instruction interesting, engaging, and relevant, said Tyler Griffin, assistant professor at
Many institutions offer an orientation to online learning, providing students a general overview of the learning management system and resources available to help them succeed. It’s a nice start, but it doesn’t go far enough, argues Anna Stirling, adjunct computer information systems instructor at Mount
Instructional designers play a critical role in helping faculty members move their courses to the online environment. However, it’s important to respect each faculty member’s academic freedom.
“We, as humans, are social beings. Whether we are going to communicate in an online environment or face-to-face, we like to have contact with each other,” says Karyn Holt, associate clinical professor and director of online quality in the College of Nursing and Health Professions
If you want to lose your audience’s attention right off the bat, be it at a conference or in a classroom, here is a tip: start by outlining what you will cover. “Today I will cover these eight points …” By the time the sentence
A lot of faculty worry that they do. Given the cheating epidemic in college courses, why wouldn’t students be even more inclined to cheat in an unmonitored exam situation? Add to that how tech-savvy most college students are. Many know their way around computers and
Motivation and engagement are important elements of an online course. This newsletter has featured many tips on how to improve student motivation and engagement. Here are a few more from a recent Magna Online Seminar led by Barbi Honeycutt, founder of Flip It Consulting.
A wise teacher once told me that half of college success is just being organized, and I’m sure the same is true for any work. Yet we provide precious little guidance to students on this critical life skill. Lack of organization leads to students who
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