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2024

Fourteen Creative Assignment Ideas for the Online Classroom

By Jean Mandernach, Morgan McNaughton / April 11, 2024

In an era of rapid digitization of higher education, innovative online assignments that engage students, foster critical thinking, and mitigate academic dishonesty are paramount. Unique, experiential, and collaborative tasks such as digital storytelling, virtual field trips, interactive infographics, and more can bridge the interpersonal gap in virtual classrooms, inspire active participation, and bolster students' motivation, thus countering challenges such as student disengagement and plagiarism. » [Full Article]
TYPE: OPINION

Thirteen Strategies to Increase the Impact of Assignment Feedback

By Jean Mandernach, Helen Hammond / March 28, 2024

The value of assignment feedback in enhancing student learning is significant, not just in rectifying conceptual misunderstandings but also in engaging and motivating students and strengthening their belief in their academic capabilities. This article outlines 13 strategies to provide effective, efficient, and engaging feedback, including the use of feedforward guidance, one-to-many feedback, peer-to-peer feedback, multimedia feedback, feedback banks, automation, formative classroom assessment techniques, rubrics, assignment exemplars, generative AI, proactive notifications, automated mastery learning opportunities, and student self-feedback, all of which holistically empower students towards academic success, meaningful instructor-student interaction, and a richer online learning experience. » [Full Article]
TYPE: OPINION

Utilizing Advanced Technologies for eLearning in Clerkship

By Eulho Jung, Anita Samuel / March 27, 2024

The clerkship phase in medical school is pivotal for clinical training. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption and implementation of educational technology in medical education became inevitable, leading most medical schools to shift toward distance learning. While technologies cannot entirely replace hands-on clinical teaching, faculty members have devised effective ways to utilize technology, such as virtual patients, virtual reality, first-person video streaming, simulators, gamification, and mobile apps. This article provides a summary of the technologies employed, the challenges associated with them, and the advantages and instructional outcomes resulting from their use. » [Full Article]
TYPE: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, HIGHER EDUCATION

Co-Leading Class with Students: Shared responsibility and understanding

By Lauren Angelone / February 27, 2024

Providing opportunities for students to lead and shape class, alongside an instructor, takes into account the unique cultures, needs, and experiences of each student. A co-leading model was used during a blended Instructional Technology course and findings revealed that this model was engaging and gave students an opportunity to share their own experience. Student reflections also indicated some challenges, such as group collaboration and technical issues. » [Full Article]
TYPE: DESIGN FOR LEARNING, HIGHER EDUCATION

Twelve 'No Skips' Approaches for Developing Social Presence Literacy in Virtual Education

By Thomas Dyer, Jean Mandernach / February 22, 2024

Online education's success hinges greatly on the implementation of a robust social presence, akin to a perfect "no skip" music album, fostering an interactive and connected learning community. These 12 strategies--being authentic, recognizing students as individuals, ensuring availability, fostering higher-order thinking, intending social presence, creating community cohesion, acknowledging the reciprocity of social presence, strategically implementing technology, leveraging curiosity through gamification, promoting immediacy and intimacy, focusing on affective association, and understanding chronemics--offer a comprehensive guide for educators to improve online engagement, thereby improving the student's learning experience and reducing feelings of isolation. » [Full Article]
TYPE: OPINION, HIGHER EDUCATION

Understanding Learning Experience Design (LXD): Three learning leader perspectives

By Les Howles / February 7, 2024

This article focuses on learning experience design (LXD) as an emergent concept and professional practice in need of greater clarity. At a 2023 national learning and development conference three prominent learning leaders were interviewed and asked to share their unique perspectives on LXD (Michael Allen, David Kelly, and Megan Torrance). Excerpts from these interviews are featured throughout the article. The author also provides background information on LXD, an analysis of perspectives, and a concluding synthesis on the current state of LXD where it is approached within the context of digital transformation as an emergent new form of learning design. » [Full Article]
TYPE: INTERVIEW, DESIGN FOR LEARNING

Eleven Best Practices to Support Learners with Disabilities in the Online Classroom

By Rebekah Dyer, Jean Mandernach / January 31, 2024

Online learning can greatly benefit learners with disabilities, provided that inclusive teaching practices and effective support systems are implemented. This article highlights 11 best practices for supporting these learners, including fostering relationships, identifying individual needs, using proactive teaching strategies, ensuring course alignment, providing emotional safety, implementing differentiation strategies, monitoring engagement, encouraging a growth mindset, establishing preferred communication modes, soliciting feedback, and adjusting teaching methods based on that feedback. » [Full Article]
TYPE: OPINION

Ten Strategies for Fostering Instructor Presence in the Online Classroom

By Sarah Robertson, John Steele, Jean Mandernach / January 23, 2024

Online education, while alleviating geographic constraints, amplifies the challenge of transactional distance, exacerbating students' sense of isolation during the learning process. This article suggests 10 strategies for enhancing instructional presence in a digital learning environment, including creating one-on-one spaces, establishing a reasonable response timeline, leading the class as a collective, using a consistent "voice," showing your face, being genuine, communicating expectations, sharing personal experiences, keeping course resources updated, and regularly checking-in; these strategies aim to mitigate the absence of physical proximity, fostering a more engaging and collaborative virtual classroom experience. » [Full Article]
TYPE: OPINION