Using media in a class is an effective complement to other forms of presentation. Audio podcasts, infographics, and digital timelines are all examples. These can create memorable teaching resources, to which students can return for reference. Media can be much more engaging and add some fun to a traditional class. Students with different learning styles benefit from various points of entry into class concepts.  These same tools can inspire interactive assignments.  Students can exercise their creativity by thinking critically with various forms of media to reimagine and process key concepts.  Narrated Powerpoint PowerPoint includes features that will allow you to build a lecture based on a slide deck, along with an audio recording. Viewers can then view your slides, with your…

Multimodal student interaction and activity examples Student activities: Synchronous discussion Asynchronous discussions (e.g. discussion boards) Think, Pair, Share activities Assignments: Video Assignments Presentations Written content in various forms: academic essay, blog post, journal entries, wiki entries etc Infographics Maps,Story maps Timelines Additional Resources: Blending with purpose: the multimodal model

Collaborating and communicating in a face to face classroom is second nature to most of us but meaningful student to student to communication and collaboration in an online environment requires more planning and thought. For group projects students may be able to work out a collaboration method themselves but they would benefit from some structure and guidance. An online discussion can be quite engaging and meaningful but it won’t happen organically just by having an open forum on a Moodle site. Consider the following suggestions when thinking about how you want your students to work together: Establish clear roles and responsibilities for group work Suggest and explain technologies for collaboration,…

This module discusses the importance of student engagement and active learning, and provides tips and resources for incorporating active learning into your online courses. What is Active Learning? “Active learning is an approach to instruction that involves actively engaging students with the course material through discussions, problem solving, case studies, role plays and other methods. Active learning approaches place a greater degree of responsibility on the learner than passive approaches such as lectures, but instructor guidance is still crucial. Active learning activities may range in length from a couple of minutes to whole class sessions or may take place over multiple class sessions.” (Queens University, Ontario) (source: https://www.queensu.ca/teachingandlearning) Active Learning Strategies…