Autonomy is a key ingredient of motivation. Students are motivated by the ability to choose how they accomplish their learning goals. However, not all students are used to having autonomy, which is why it’s important to find ways to make them more comfortable with taking

Faculty generally view texting as the Devil’s work. It distracts students from the lecture—and even from ordinary activities such as eating and walking. But while it’s true that uncontrolled texting in class splits student attention, controlled texting via in-class polling questions can be a great

Many instructors feel that they need to be experts in mathematics in order to understand analytics. But according to John Vivolo, director of online and virtual learning for New York University, every faculty member can learn to use the course analytics available through their LMS

A common approach to generating discussion in an online course is to have students post a response to a prompt and then respond to the posts of several of their classmates. While this approach can generate a substantial amount of participation, the quality of that

Central Washington University offers an information technology administrative management program in an online format aimed at place- and time-bound working adults. The following are three ways the program works to improve student retention.

Students enter online courses with various levels of knowledge, experience, needs, and expectations. It’s important to get a sense of what students already know in order to provide the appropriate levels of support and challenge.

One of the biggest complaints about online courses is that students feel disconnected. They don’t know the teacher or fellow students in the class. In online courses, teachers regularly use discussion to make connections with and between students. In a survey of over 350 faculty,

Online course content should be challenging, but the course itself should be straightforward and include “purposeful redundancy” to aid navigation and provide multiple ways to learn, says Michelle Manganaro, who teaches online education and communications courses at several institutions, including Massasoit Community College. In terms

Incivility in an online course can reduce student satisfaction and negatively affect retention. This is why it’s important to understand what causes it, design your course to minimize it, and know what to do when you encounter it.