by Matt Lee
Quick Summary
A central tenet of learning is making connections – between ideas, concepts, and even people along the way.
Body
A central tenet of learning is making connections – between ideas, concepts, and even people along the way. Michelle Desilets and Jennifer DeJonghe of Metropolitan State University presented “Engaging with Students in Online Courses: Forming Real Connections in Digital Spaces” to illustrate how they’ve helped students make connections in online learning environments.
They began with general guidance on putting together an online learning experience, whether semester-long or one-shot. First, don’t attempt to copy and paste in-person lesson plans into an online environment. They are too different to transition wholesale. Second, think about modularizing content in order to scaffold students through different learning processes. Doing so can also help make your content flexible – perhaps to embed in someone else’s course. Third, they offered some common themes they’ve identified in their successful online lesson plans:
- Students are autonomous to make choices and incorporate their own interests
- Students are very intentionally positioned as creators of information
- Student work is tied to the community or the real world in a practical way
- Collaboration and joint creation is encouraged
- Students see each other’s’ work and provide peer feedback
- Instructors show their authentic personalities
