Writing Discussion Forum Questions
Creating engaging discussion forum questions is not as difficult as it may seem. As the instructor of your course, you are the subject matter expert because of your educational background…
Course Design
The Course Design Triangle
Course design is especially critical for online courses because you have to produce your course materials in advance. Once the course is live and students are enrolled, it’s much harder…
Principles of Multimedia Learning
Richard Mayer’s seminal book Multimedia Learning details his extensive research on how to structure multimedia materials effectively to maximize learning. Relying on numerous experiments, he distills his findings into 12…
Transitioning to an Online Class
Transitioning from teaching a face-to-face class to teaching an online course requires rethinking and reconfiguring materials. Lectures, activities, and assessments that worked for your face-to-face class will need to be…
Course Context
When you design a face-to-face course, you probably start by asking questions. Who are my students likely to be? How large is the class? How many credits does the course…
Beyond PowerPoint Lectures: Finding and Creating Effective and Engaging Learning Resources
Learning resources are an important element in any online course. They summarize key concepts, provide clarification for new or difficult topics, and give instructors another way to communicate information to…