However, designing online courses around the Community of Inquiry framework (Simunich, 2014) can lead to purposeful choices that can facilitate increased teacher-student interaction, promoting increased instructor presence in online courses. Using a Sharpie, write get-to-know-you questions on the beach ball. Three Ways to Improve Online Courses for Adult Students Charles Dull | Associate Dean of the IT Center of Excellence, Cuyahoga Community College . You can also use silence effectively with asynchronous courses that include prerecorded videos. In order to encourage the sense of community, we also made sure to never answer questions one-on-one. Whoever catches it asks the question closest to their left thumb, answers it and then tosses the ball to another student.Set a time limit and instruct students to find three other students they share something in common with — though not anything obvious or visible, such as hair color. Provide Early Wins . Most active learners continue the process of learning well beyond regular learning hours. The key is to get students talking to each other, having conversations and making connections — without social risk.Fill out the form to get our online teaching guide packed with easy-to-use templates, intuitive tools and actionable strategies for faculty.Here are 10 games and activities to break the ice in your classroom.Divide the class into small groups. EdSurge delivers insights and connects those exploring how technology can support equitable opportunities for all learners.4 Essential Tips for Teaching an Effective Online Course 12 Keys To Building Your Online Community 8 Steps to Turning What You Already Know into a Successful Online Course The 8 step process to the successful with online courses + … This technique follows in the tradition of This strategy also works well when inviting student questions. The other students in the group must guess which is the lie. Not surprisingly, educational research demonstrates that learning happens when In light of this, I recommend that you ask the following question while creating your online course: What do my learners already know about this topic? Written inside each square is an item, such as ‘travelled to another continent’ or ‘has a younger sister.’ Students are given a time limit to find classmates who fit the description and can sign that square. By building a community around your course, what you’re doing is helping your students become self-sufficient and rely on the group more than they rely on you. Shuffle a deck of cards and hand out a card to each student. While creating video content, add scenarios in which you ask students to pause and reflect at key points before continuing with the course. Building Community; Assessments; In Part 1, I offered six actionable ideas you can use when planning and designing an online course. As an online university student, you should still take advantage of the opportunity to meet with your professor in person as needed.

One of my professors from graduate school used to employ this strategy periodically in his lectures. This mathematics professor has taught remotely for 19 years—and has some wisdom to share A short assignment placed at the very beginning of the course can help build student confidence. Toss the ball. Write down names of famous people (or names related to course material) on sticky notes. While exams are designed to test and score knowledge, they don’t always indicate how well students are progressing… This end-to-end course solution makes teaching effective and engaging, with built-in learning assessments and… Customized learning experiences, diverse content delivery mechanisms and data leveraged to improve student outcomes will…Top Hat is the higher education app that makes teaching fun and effective.Classroom icebreakers encourage new students to have conversations, get to know each other and feel comfortable in your classroom.

Consider your learning objectives, your students and the merits of each method to guide your…

It can also help you get to know your students and build better relationships.As Jennifer Gonzalez explains in the Cult of PedagogyHow to Strengthen Connectivity and Community in the…This Professor Thrives Teaching Remotely By Using An…Simplifying the Switch to Online Teaching with Interactive… Gamification of a course can improve student interaction and learning, but there are other strategies instructional designers and educators can put into place to vastly improve adult student success in online courses. Instead of asking if there are questions, I recommend you give students 30 seconds and ask them to write down any unresolved queries before they share them with the rest of the class. By building a community around your online course, what you’re doing is helping your students become self-sufficient and rely on the group more than on you. Keep in mind that not everyone knows how to play poker, so display the rules of the game on a whiteboard or a slide at the front of the classroom.Like the name suggests, this activity requires an inflatable plastic beach ball. What might be some potential strategies to help these underperforming groups […] Every course and educator is different.

It’s a simple game, ideal for small or large groups, but spurs conversations and makes connections.This is like bingo, but with people instead of chips. You may have noticed that some of the techniques listed in this article are borrowed from the practices of an expert teacher in a physical classroom. We are now at the midway point in this 4-part blog series. The Child can reuse ideas that were previously written in the Parent block. In fact, it doesn't hurt to stop by and introduce yourself at the beginning of the class.