Course Design

online courses computer screen

Using Padlet to Encourage Student Collaboration

Online faculty generally default to their learning management system’s discussion form to facilitate student collaboration or sharing. But Padlet provides an alternate format that can be much better for many purposes. The LMS forum is designed for linear, text-based discussions around a pre-established theme. This

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female student at computer

Expand Classroom Walls through International Course Collaborations

With globalization impacting almost every field, internationalization of the curriculum has become a goal shared by many colleges and universities. Many institutions look to study abroad programs to increase students’ awareness of and sensitivity to international issues and their understanding of different cultures and points

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computer keyboard

Understanding Resistance to Online Learning

I’ve been involved in online learning for 10 years and I’ve seen massive changes, both in the technology as well as in the way people react to the idea of online learning. Even as it gains massive popularity, online learning is still not necessarily mainstream.

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hand with mouse

Lessons Learned from the World’s Best MOOC

MOOCs are badly misunderstood within higher education. Reports focus on their low completion rates as a sign of failure, but to do so uses the wrong rubric. Students are not taking these classes to fulfill degree requirements, but simply for the knowledge they offer; they

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Top Online Course Design Mistakes

Although online education has been around for nearly 20 years, I still see a number of common mistakes among online course developers. Here are the top course design mistakes in online education and how to avoid them in your courses.

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What FERPA Isn’t

FERPA is probably the most widely misunderstood law relating to education. I consistently hear faculty and administrators make incorrect claims about FERPA. At one conference, a teacher proclaimed that using a student’s name in public is a violation, but that would mean I violate FERPA

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Facilitating Real-time, Online Group Projects

While many things can be taught asynchronously, some things seem to require a live element. Negotiation is one of those things, as body language, tone, and reaction to the other person all play a critical role in determining the outcome of a negotiation.

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Applying Neurology to Online Videos

One common mistake I see among online content developers is to build videos that simply roll through content from start to finish. This is a “covering content” vision of teaching that expects students to grasp anything that is pitched to them. The model

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Generating Lively Online Discussion

Discussion is a critical component of any online course, but instructors are often puzzled about what makes some discussions lively and others dead. To fill this gap, He and Gunter examined the factors that lead to participation in virtual teams and came up with some

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