July 20, 2023
Large Language Models (LLMs) that generate text, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, can support authentic assessment by facilitating opportunities for professional roleplaying. ChatGPT responds to user prompts in a conversational structure, and it builds on previous content as the dialogue continues. In an asynchronous online environment, this immediate feedback can simulate a live conversation. Therefore, ChatGPT…
July 3, 2023
Roleplays are an active learning technique in which students take on the roles of particular stakeholders in a situation they are learning about in order to explore a problem and consider solutions (Beckmann & Mahanty, 2016). Roleplays are commonly used in higher education to introduce students to course content in such a way that emphasizes…
June 19, 2023
College textbooks provide highly specialized content and are expensive whether they are in hard copy or digital format. The average cost of college books (see graph below) declined in the 2020-2021 academic year, in part due to an increased rate of textbook rentals and use of digital course materials such as OERs (Hanson, 2022). The…
June 19, 2023
Shifting from a lecture password to a lecture question presents an opportunity to bridge the gap of lost humanization due to video scanning behaviors.
June 16, 2023
As an online instructor, do you feel frustrated when students do not read your course announcements, discussions, e-mails, or other written communication? What if we could capture attention by borrowing online marketing copywriting secrets designed to cut through life’s distractions? Online marketers are copywriting masters. Copy is text-based content that persuades readers to act (Dodds,…
July 6, 2021
In the COVID new normal, many courses have changed modality or had to displace the face-to-face classroom in an e-campus. The problematic for Humanities courses that heavily rely on research and collaboration is how to redefine the connection between instructor and students, and how to create fruitful research collaboration among students in a delocalized synchronous…
June 7, 2021
Discussions in asynchronous online courses provide an opportunity for students to share their thoughts and learn from classmates in a fashion emulating in-class discussions. This allows students to contribute their thoughts and take time to respond to classmates’ comments. In a large enrollment online course, dividing the class into groups provides the opportunity for students…
October 24, 2019
Asynchronous online teaching is fundamentally a communications challenge. What is gained in online learning by extending access through a Web-based LMS is offset by the loss of the immediacy and semantic richness of in-person instructional communication (Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H., 1986; Moore, M., 1993). In online discussion forums, students, in isolation, are…
September 30, 2019
The case method group activity is an instructional design strategy that involves faculty members providing one or more case studies to which groups of students respond. The case(s) could be a real-life case or simulation. It could be description of key concept(s) applied, a story or scenario, an actual case study, a problem or mystery,…
December 3, 2018
Online debates have been found to elicit higher levels of cognitive presence in online discussions versus the more traditional question-and-answer format (Zydney, deNoyelles, & Chen, 2014). This can be explained in several ways. In a debate, students must argue for or against a position, with the intention of persuading others to assume the same position.…