Part 1 reviews the challenges associated with various course delivery modes and is available to read here. Bi-modal flexible course delivery offers students the ability to control how they learn by selecting the delivery mode that best suits their needs for each session. “Don’t compare synchronous and asynchronous modalities. Instead, focus on the benefits of […]

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The conventional format of a faculty member positioned in front of a classroom using visual enhancement (e.g., chalkboard, transparency, PowerPoint, etc.) has been on life support for quite some time. Faculty and pedagogists alike have been aware of the illness and many attempted to replace the traditional lecture with some alternative learning approaches which have […]

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In spring 2021, inspired by feedback from students, I redesigned my two undergraduate education courses as blended learning courses. While I was familiar with the benefits of blended learning (e.g., flexibility, increased student engagement, improved academic achievement), what I didn’t realize was how essential this model was for teaching in the wake of a global […]

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had an overwhelming impact on students in higher education. For students who were looking forward to living on campus and having the college experience, COVID-19 affected how they consumed instruction, their sense of community, as well as their sense of well-being. Graduate students working toward advanced degrees found educational experiences were […]

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When hundreds of spring and summer undergraduate courses were abruptly moved from onsite to online delivery in the wake of COVID-19, several faculty and students nationwide reacted with panic and uncertainty. Currently, instructors are busy preparing for the 2020-2021 academic year where several students will continue taking courses online. At my institution, fall academic courses will […]

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Connecting with students is one of the most rewarding aspects of a professor’s job.  Some faculty hesitate to teach online, frequently offering the rationale: “I want to connect with my students. There’s just not enough interaction and engagement online!”  Faculty are not alone in yearning for this connection – students want it too!  Frustrated by […]

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Teaching online is a unique experience for faculty and students. Although I love the online environment for some courses, it does present its own challenges. One of those challenges is how to engage online students in activities that push them to go beyond simply reading, interpreting, and interacting. After all, the idea (in most cases) is that the student can apply their learning, knowledge, and skills in their respective fields of study. As such, we are constantly seeking ways to engage students in learning that goes beyond the “click-through” material.

In this article, I share a few ideas—starting with the simplest and working through some more complicated endeavors—that may assist you in bringing more engagement to your online classroom.

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Consideration of convenience and flexibility typically leads instructors and instructional designers to favor asynchronous over synchronous learning. But given the potential benefits of synchronous communication, perhaps it’s time to rethink the 100 percent asynchronous course.

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Interactive, synchronous web conferencing software such as WebEx, Blackboard Collaborate and even Skype are innovative tools that can be implemented by faculty teaching both hybrid and fully online courses. When faculty at Towson University began using WebEx to incorporate a synchronous component to their courses, they discovered that interactive web conferencing (IWC) delivers many benefits.

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If you have taken online courses, you have likely gained some valuable insights into what to do and what not to do as an online instructor. If you have never been an online learner, here are some lessons learned from Anna Brown, a learning technology specialist enrolled in a hybrid doctoral program in learning technologies.

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