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
Videos are the ideal way to deliver content in an online course because the web is a fundamentally audiovisual medium. But while many faculty assume that videos require high-level technical skills to produce, they are actually not beyond the means of the ordinary instructor. They
The traditional Learning Management System discussion forum is the go-to method for hosting online student discussion. However, faculty members need not limit themselves to text discussion. Widespread access to video recording systems makes video discussion a realistic alternative to traditional text discussion.
Studio shots of a speaker alongside or interspersed with images, graphics, or videos are among the most effective devices for delivering online content. Most of the best educational videos use this method. The speaker provides the information, while the images illustrate it. The speaker grabs
The traditional online course structure violates a fundamental principle of learning by separating the process of getting information from the process of engaging it. The student is asked to go through some sort of resource in its entirety—be it a video, website, or reading—and then
“There’s just not enough time in class with students!” It’s a common faculty complaint, and when students are provided quality course materials they can use outside class, this blended learning approach gives faculty more time in class. A variety of materials can be developed for
The Internet is a fundamentally interactive medium. Look in the average lecture hall and you will see students with baseball caps turned backward nodding off or on their cell phones. But peek into a computer lab and you will see students sitting up at the
Recorded video can be a great enhancement to an online course, offering opportunities for targeted instruction, personalized feedback, and content review.
We are finally entering an era of online content built specifically for the online environment. Much of this is being drive by MOOCs, which are starting to include quality video content with imagery that is designed to fit the communication principles of the Web. Happily,
During a recent Magna Online Seminar, Linda Enghagen, an attorney and professor in the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, responded to two commonly asked questions about use of copyrighted videos in online courses.
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