Considerations for Your Wiki Projects
Wiki technologies are being used by many instructors and students as an effective tool for a variety of collaborative projects, such as composing group papers, creating a rich knowledge base, managing...
View ArticleBuilding a Connection with Online Students Right from the Start
When teaching and designing courses, I find that it’s easy to slip into autopilot and use the same tools and strategies over and over. Autopilot can be comfortable and easy, but I know I don’t do my...
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Using VoiceThread to Build Student Engagement
Online educators have long known that asynchronous discussion is deeper than face-to-face discussion due to the increased thought time and the “democratization” of the classroom. But one major...
View ArticleHow to Jumpstart Online Discussions
Online discussions are sometimes difficult to get going, and often the students (at least at first) seem to respond too superficially, punctuated by an occasional treatise by an overeager student....
View ArticleFive Quick Tips for Using Streaming Media in Your Blended or Online Courses
If you are thinking of adding streamed audio and/or video presentations to your blended or online course, here are some things to consider. Post complete text versions of the audio portion of the...
View ArticleEnhancing Learning Through Vibrant Online Discussions
The discussion board is the heart and soul of online learning. As such, the life and livelihood of online teaching and learning flows through threaded, asynchronous conversations inspired by...
View ArticlePump up Your Online Discussions with VoiceThread
At its best, the discussion board can be the heart and soul of the online classroom. But it’s not always easy getting students to make the type of contributions you expect. The comments can be rather...
View ArticleTips for More Active Asynchronous Discussions All Semester Long
During a recent seminar, presenters Kay Dennis of Park University and Jeffery Alejandro of East Carolina University, offered the following tips on using online discussions to maintain student...
View ArticleCultural Sensitivity Needed in Online Discussion Rubric Language
International student and online course enrollments had noted increases for 2010 at U.S. tertiary institutions (Institute of International Education, 2010 & Sloan-C, 2010). These enrollment data...
View ArticleCreating Effective Responses to Student Discussion Postings
An integral part of nearly all online classes is the threaded discussion—it is where students interact on a nearly daily basis, posting their thoughts and information on main discussion topics, your...
View ArticleUsing Synchronous Tools to Build Community in the Asynchronous Online Classroom
Sometimes students in the online environment just need that extra nudge to feel connected in order to truly excel. As instructors, we can facilitate community-building in an asynchronous environment by...
View ArticleAsynchronous Art History: Teaching Online with Picasso
When people find out I am an online art history instructor, the most common reaction I get is “How does that work?” Most of the time, people assume that because art is such a visual outlet that somehow...
View ArticleIdeas for Active Online Learning
Heidi Beezley, instructional technologist at Georgia Perimeter College, strives to instill online courses with active learning, “providing opportunities for students to meaningfully talk and listen,...
View ArticleThree Ways to Change up Your Online Discussion Board Prompts
Are you having trouble getting students to participate in online discussions? Consider using other types of prompts in addition to the typical open-ended question. Maria Ammar, assistant English...
View ArticlePrivate Journal Replaces Discussion Forum in Blended Course
The discussion board in Kathleen Lowney’s large blended (or hybrid) section of introduction to sociology at Valdosta State University wasn’t serving its intended purpose of engaging learners with the...
View ArticleThe Process Approach to Online and Blended Learning
Nate Cottle, professor of human environmental sciences at the University of Central Oklahoma, uses the process approach to learning as delineated by William Horton (2006) in his online and blended...
View ArticleWhy Demand Originality from Students in Online Discussion Forums?
As an online instructor, I require my students to engage in weekly discussion forums. In the online college environment, discussion forums are designed to simulate a professor and his or her students...
View ArticleBuild Community, Extend Learning with Online Synchronous Sessions
Consideration of convenience and flexibility typically leads instructors and instructional designers to favor asynchronous over synchronous learning. But given the potential benefits of synchronous...
View ArticleEncouraging Online Learner Participation
Sustained, high-quality student participation usually doesn’t happen on its own in the online learning environment. The instructor needs to model participation, create assignments that encourage it,...
View ArticleOnline Discussion Questions That Work
Most online faculty know that discussion is one of the biggest advantages of online education. The increased think-time afforded by the asynchronous environment, coupled with the absence of public...
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