by Matt Lee
Quick Summary
ACRL’s Instruction Section publishes a series of articles called Instructional Technologies Tips and Trends.
ACRL’s Instruction Section publishes a series of articles called Instructional Technologies Tips and Trends. Their recently published Fall 2015 issue is called “Interactive Options in Online Learning” and it provides ideas for engaging with students online.
Take a look at some of the tools covered. Do any spark your interest? Have you used a Google doc in place of an in-person discussion? Padlet for brainstorming or mind-mapping? Blubbr to insert reflective questions within YouTube videos? As the author states, “using interactive technology … can help transform the learning environment and create more learner-centered experiences.”
The whole article put me in mind of a recent Minitex guest webinar which was led by Jennifer DeJonghe and Michelle Desilets of Metropolitan State University. In their session, “Creating Connections in Digital Spaces: Teaching information literacy skills to online students,” Desilets and DeJonghe described activities and lessons that they’ve used to successfully engage with online students during credit-bearing courses and one-shot sessions alike. Their take on using technology to appeal to multiple modalities of learning, to foster an authentic audience for student scholarship, and to find real world applications for student work is worth a listen. Find the recording here: “Creating Connections in Digital Spaces.”
These two resources are an excellent pair. The latter shares larger instructional ideas and lesson plans, while the former mentions some specific tools that may help to put those plans into place. In tandem, they can help us to think both deeply and practically about engaging our online learners.
