Online Teaching

Activities


Active learning is a teaching method that requires students to thoughtfully engage with the course material and often includes interaction between learners. Effective active learning approaches encourage learners to contextually think about and apply the course materials through learning activities. Some popular learning activities that can be replicated in an online course include student analysis of scenarios, cases, problems, data sets, interviews, primary sources, etc. Brightspace includes several tools that can be used to engage students such as discussion boards, polls, wikis, journals, and surveys.

In online courses, learner-to-learner engagement is crucial for a positive student experience, especially now since many students will be looking to their courses for social contact in a time where we are all social distancing. Learner-to-learner engagement has been shown to significantly deepen comprehension and is an effective way to enhance the learning of your students.

Activities that encourage students to create and share their ideas with other learners facilitate active learner-centered engagement and student collaboration. This can be achieved by asking students to record short podcasts on a topic, create short videos via Panopto, or design infographics.

Discussions

Using discussion forums is a typical form of learner-learner engagement used in asynchronous, online courses. Discussion as an activity in an online environment looks different, certainly, than it does in an in-person context. However, both have principles in common. Read more about facilitating discussions in online spaces.

 

Labs

There are several strategies for moving your labs online. However, many lab elements can’t be replicated by students in their homes, so you’ll need to consider:

The course outcome the lab fulfills

How can you design an at-home lab that allows students to meet the desired learning outcome without access to a fully equipped lab? Is it possible to use a virtual lab such as Merlot, PHeT Simulations, or Labster?

Student access to resources

Will students be able to acquire the necessary components to complete the lab at home? If not, is there a way to supply students with what is required?

Student access to technology

If a virtual lab software is used, will students require reliable internet or a computer that has an operating system that can run the software? Will students be able to access a videorecording or live session where the lab is demonstrated?
 

Additional Resources

Crane, K. (2020). Transitioning Active Learning Methods Online in FASS. FOCUS on University Teaching & Learning.