Effective communication is an essential part of building an inclusive and engaged learning community. Communication strategies can incorporate many tools in Canvas, including announcements, discussions, rubrics, and feedback (text, audio, video). Sometimes as faculty, we can focus so much on the design and creation of learning materials that we overlook the the enormous benefits of regular communication with our students.
Assessment is a word that is used a lot in education. A great deal of scholarship focuses on the importance of assessment in higher education. But what do we mean by assessment? Instructors sometimes conflate grading with assessment. It is more than grading. Assessment is the strategic measurement of the extent of student learning in a course. Assessments should link student performance to specific learning objectives and provide feedback to both the instructor and the student on the performance of the student and areas for improvement.
In a study for Online Learning, Marcia Dixson gives us a snapshot of student engagement in an online class:
Many of us who teach online have been there: all of a sudden, a student stops turning in assignments and then disappears from the course altogether. Or maybe another student posts to discussion boards enthusiastically at first, but their responses slowly trickle into sporadic, barely-there participation.
While we can’t control for disruptive events in students’ lives that might impact their engagement in our classes, we can look at how we intentionally incorporate best practices around engaging students in online learning environments.
Harmonize has added several new features to its enhanced online discussion platform for Fall 2023:
Elevate your course design expertise with our “Advanced Accessible Course Design” lunch & learn. Explore ways to make Word and PDF documents accessible for all learners, and work with us to implement WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines in your course content.
Join our “Intro to Accessible Course Design” lunch & learn to gain insights into how to make your online course content accessible. Learn about newly proposed Title II regulations, discuss the POUR principles, and experiment with accessibility features in Kaltura and PPT.
Educating yourself about online or blended learning may seem like a daunting task; keeping up with the technology may seem even more overwhelming. There are many choices when it comes to increasing your knowledge and practical skills in the area of online learning.
UIS is an institutional member of several professional organizations. These memberships allow UIS faculty and staff members create memberships, attend professional development opportunities for free or reduced rates, and subscribe to newsletters and listservs.
Below are some highlights of resources available to UIS faculty on the COLRS Website.
Please contact COLRS for more information or assistance!
We encourage instructors to be explicit about their generative AI (ChatGPT) policy in their syllabus, on assignments, and during class.