Research shows that student engagement is critical in online courses. It provides deeper understanding, longer retention, more student investment, and other benefits. Engaging activities found in face to face courses are often missing from online courses, such as interactive experiences, exposure to professionals as role models, and building a sense of community. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore ways to infuse engaging, concept-driven activities throughout online courses. Participants will discuss a number of ideas for both professor-generated video and hands-on activities. Guiding principles for generating videos and designing activities will be shared. Participants will be given the opportunity to brainstorm activities within their own discipline. This workshop will be facilitated by Melissa Shyan-Norwalt of the Department of Psychology.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Discuss scientific principles behind the importance of student engagement
- Describe the engagement process found in face to face and online courses
- Explore technological resources and pros/cons of professor-generated videos
- Apply guiding principles for developing real-world concept driven activities
- Develop practical ideas for active engagement activities within their own discipline