It is important for students to feel that they are contributing to a course in an intellectual capacity. This means instructor/student interaction is very important.
I leaned that the quality of an online class affects the how much learning takes place. So, I plan to make my online classes with various interactive tools.
This section showed me that the quality and organization of a digital format can have a huge impact on a students ability to learn.
Varying multiple platforms of media and case studies to invigorate critical thinking.
A good online course is well organized and easy to navigate. It will be visually engaging and balanced. It is important to present material that students can engage with in a variety of ways. That said, of course shouldn't be too busy or overwhelming.
Integrating a lot of different interactions with online instruction is key to providing your students with a quality education.
Structural Integrity info included some great reminders about organization - even in the traditional classroom it is easy for students to get lost when multiple pieces of information are thrown at them along with the changes that occur along the way. Very helpful for all students but especially students who deal with ADHD or anxiety to have a clear understanding of what to expect and when. That plays right into the navigational simplicity and the importance of having access to the needed materials readily available and easy to access.
The 'best' course is all about the design of it so that it is student-centered, stimulates critical thinking and has a high level of interaction so motivating students to be active learners vs. passive ones
Having been previously used to conveying information in class I initially struggled with a format that would be effective for online use. The fact that the quality of the content being made available to the student can be multisensory almost caught me off guard as I had been too narrow in my original thinking. The structural learning and navigational simplicity were obvious and helpful but the learning centered approach to stimulating the student with its increased retention is where I found myself most focused.
The course discusses the format and structure of the content to ensure comprehension of the material and interaction among the students and instructor.
Review of essential components for successful online learning courses.
Content needs to be interactive so that students are engaged in the course.
Based on my experiences and what I just reviewed a quality online program should be broken down into sections or modules that contain a simple easy to follow design. This design should include information that makes sense and has an intellectual quality that will benefit the learner while addressing all modalities of learning. Feedback to the leaner is an important part to ensure they are obtaining the key points of your content.
To always have in mind the connection of student - instrutor and create the space so that students develop as contributors.
Making the course easily navigable and highly interactive allows students to learn more deeply on their own terms resulting in higher learning retention and application.
Online courses that are well-structured help students learn and engage better in the course. Also, periodic checks are crucial to make sure the student has the knowledge and the class material correctly.
Simplicity seems to be the key to success. The content and organization of the course seems to only as good as the student's experience navigating it. This makes simplicity a must have.
Online courses should be easy to navigate and ideally have links to lead students to further learning. Also, the course should encourage interaction amongst learners through group discussions or dicsussion forums. These will keep learners engaged and will motivate them to persevere with the course.
My key take away from this lesson is that the navigation of an online course must be simple otherwise the students will become frustrated, thus affecting their performance in the course.
In this module I have obtained the knowledge to design 100% online courses and also support material for hybrid courses.
