In winter 2015, I was given the opportunity to design and teach my department’s first fully online course, in calculus. Some design challenges emerged in the process, not least of which was the question of assessing homework. In a face-to-face class, students either turn in
This year’s Online Education Year-In-Review comes to us via Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at the University of Illinois Springfield and long-time thought leader on distance education. I recently spoke with Ray about emerging areas in distance education over the past year,
Class discussions are valuable for pushing participants to think more deeply about ideas and defend their thoughts. However, poorly designed online discussions can turn into mundane and tedious renderings of testimonials, folk wisdom, and repetitious speculations. To avoid this, instructors need to provide the right
There are many ways to make engaging and highly effective videos for education, including live action, voice-over imagery, animation, stop action, and others. The newest entry to the list is the Lightboard, invented by Michael Peshkin at Northwestern University. This format uses a studio shot
Online learning environments offer exciting opportunities for expanding the types of instructional materials that teachers can use. Because interaction is mediated digitally, teachers can tap into simulations, videos, case studies, and so much more to support student learning.
A faculty member once told me that experience does not teach; only reflection on experience teaches. We become better teachers by reflecting on what went right or wrong after each class to learn what we should change in the future. This is why I try
Guest speakers were always one of my favorite parts of teaching Principles of Public Relations in a traditional classroom. They invigorated my class with their real-world stories and advice that complemented the textbook and lesson plans. Every semester students would tell me how guests had
A number of video types that work well in an online environment, each with its own strengths that make it appropriate for teaching certain types of content. One of the most powerful types is whiteboard videos.
Context is everything in learning. The events leading to the Civil War make sense only within the wider context of debates over states’ rights and federal power. Understanding these broader principles also improves retention of the events themselves because our minds are built to remember
Sami Lange Last year, I decided to restructure my Introduction to Information Literacy course with a “build your grade” structure that would provide freedom to choose assignments while ensuring that students learned the core concepts. The results were very positive, and the format can be
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