The last two weeks of this course have been very busy. Unit 4 was on course development. Back in Unit 2 I began creating a mock course on How to Organize your Time as an Online Learner, Unit 4 developed the course further. Since the material that week included assessments, I added them to the course as well as activities. The discussion board always seems to be the best go to for an assessment tool and the others were a quiz as well as a paper. I did include a video in each week as well.
The readings within this week was helpful when it came to the tips of using videos. I learned that videos within a course should not be long, less then 5 minutes is recommended. Good to know since I love the use of videos. The second important factor in reading that week appeared in Palloff & Pratt, which states that student retention online depends on 3 factors:
- Right student for the right program
- Using highly learner-focused delivery models
- Engaging at a personal level
(2013, pg. 23)
The reason why this was important is that if a course I am teaching is not engaging or boring and the learner enrolled has selected the wrong course for their major then chances are they will not succeed. According to Joyner, Fuller, Holzweiss, Henderson, & Young (2014), student-instructor connections are so important. If a student believes instructors are not engaged in the class, they are more likely to disengage from the class so not only is it important for the course to be interesting, but it is also true for the instructor as well.
After all that is what educators want for our students, to succeed.
Unit 5 was in reference to promoting interactivity, simply it means how is a student interacting with the course successfully. There are 3 ways to create student engagement:
- Student – Instructor: A good time to use technology to connect with some fun videos or in discussion boards review material and have some fun.
- Student-Student: Peer discussions help with boredom. Create activities like group projects to keep engagement. Wiki projects are always a great way to connect students on a common goal.
- Student-Content: This is for activities to see if the learner is understanding the material. Quizzes, papers, videos, blogs and many more are assessment tools used to see where a learner stands and if help is needed. Always ask for help if needed.
Academic Partnerships (2013, Apr. 19).
The last area to review is student-interface which is the promotion of interactivity to the learner through technology. Since we live in the age of technology it seemed to be the most interesting to review a bit further and this area is also mentioned within the area of student engagement. According to Don Norman’s video, User Centered Design, one line stuck out in my mind, Designers need to be less logical (Norman, 2013). Emotions play a part in design, if you hate it you won’t use it – FAIL. If the object is designed well, you will learn it once and use it. I relate this to the design of an online course. If the course is designed well, flows, and fun learners will want to explore to see what comes next. If it is designed poorly or boring, then students will not understand and ultimately not succeed.
The point of this Blog would be to make an online course that is engaging, easy to use and fun. Just a reminder don’t forget the videos and KISS!
Resources
Academic Partnership. (2013, Apr 19). Three types of interaction that Foster Student Engagement. Retrieved from http://facultyecommons.com/three-types-of-interaction-that-foster-student-engagement/
Dreamstime.com (n.d.). Bored and tired student make funny grimace. Isolated on white background [image]. Retrieved from https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-bored-student-image28604296
Joyner, S.A., Fuller, M.B., Holzweiss, P.C., Henderson, S., & Young, R. (2014). The importance of student-instructor connections in graduate level online courses. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 10(3), 436 – 445.
N.A. (2013). User Centered Design Don Norman [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Wl2LkzIkacM
Palloff, R.M., & Pratt, K. (2013). Lessons from the virtual classroom: The realities of online teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
The Art of Education University (2020, Mar 18). 5 Quick tips for teaching online your first time . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ySglCraSyY
Published by L. Markey on June 7, 2020.
Lynette's Educational Journey 