While much of online learning occurs through discussion board conversations, it can be challenging for students to offer different perspectives or new responses to classmates’ posts when they are all answering the same question. Similarly, instructors may struggle to develop engaging questions.
Students taking online classes represent a key part of the college-attending population. Demand for online classes and online degrees has surged in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic (Knox 2025). But fully online students are less likely to successfully complete classes and to graduate
We’ve long known that reading long blocks of text can lead to wandering minds and lower retention. It’s better to break up explanatory text with images, especially ones that summarize main points. This allows students to see the big picture, and the visual analog to
The asynchronous nature of online learning makes it hard for students to develop a structured schedule since they lack the built-in class times of traditional courses. Additionally, online education attracts many nontraditional adult learners who juggle numerous responsibilities, further straining their schedules.
Student success in online course discussion assignments depends on not only understanding the learning material but also developing fundamental academic skills needed for future course success. While online instructors often create videos focused on course content, and institutions might provide general skill-building resources or access
If you have ever taught (or taken) an online class, you may have fallen into the trap of boring online discussions. You know what I am talking about. These are the kind of discussions where students do the bare minimum. You can tell that they’re
Education once came through the total immersion technique. The apprentice worked with a master within the profession to learn the master’s craft, whether that profession was blacksmithing or soldiering. Students learned by doing within the setting of the job itself, which helped them get a
Whether you teach synchronously online or create asynchronous video content for your students, producing professional-looking material has always been a challenge without a production team—until now. This article explores how Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) empowers educators to craft engaging, broadcast-quality learning experiences for both synchronous
Instructors in face-to-face courses can roughly gauge how well students understand the material by facial expressions and audience response systems. This immediate and informal feedback enables them to adjust their teaching in real-time. But this is not the case in asynchronous courses. Students have to
I am a political science professor. And we are in the middle of a hotly contested presidential election campaign. My classes are going about how you’d imagine: students are excited, sometimes talking over one another, and occasionally throwing out wild hypotheticals.
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