Instructor

Amber Dailey-Hebert
Director, Faculty Center for Innovation
Park University
Brian Raison, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
The Ohio State University

Course Highlights

• 5h of video instruction
• Downloadable resources

Course Details

Released 6/15/2020

Overview
As we move our instruction online in response to the COVID-19 crisis, we feel immense pressure to create quality learning experiences. We find ourselves grasping for strategies to engage our students in our new online environment. “Engaging” is a buzzword that appears in our faculty meetings, higher ed articles, and social media posts, but many of us are still seeking practical examples. What does it mean to teach an engaging online course?

We can break down such an online learning experience into three core components: an engaging instructor, an engaged community of peers, and engaging course materials.

Our goal in quality online education is to build and foster a collaborative knowledge-building and knowledge-sharing community of learners. Join us for a workshop in which you will learn and practice strategies in all three components of engagement:

• Strategies to become a more engaging online instructor
• How to foster a knowledge-building and knowledge-sharing community
• How to develop and leverage engaging course materials

Learning Outcome
After participating in this online training, you will be able to implement strategies to become a more engaging online instructor, foster a more engaged community of learners, and create more engaging course materials.
Who Should Attend
Faculty and instructors who want to improve engagement in their online courses are encouraged to attend. Centers for Teaching and Learning professionals and faculty development directors who are charged with preparing faculty to teach online will leave this session with strategies to share out in their teams. Those who are new to online teaching or those who are refining their skills will also benefit from the content shared in this workshop.

Agenda

1. Strategies to Become a More Engaging Online Instructor 

Engaging your students in an online course begins with setting the right tone for the learning environment. You will learn and practice multiple strategies for establishing your presence as an online instructor. This section of the training will cover how to establish key components of an engaging online course, such as:

• Psychological safety
• Credibility
• Accessibility
• Informality

2. How to Create an Engaging Online Community of Learners 

Online courses are most successful when learners rely on one another, actively contribute information, and apply their own experiences throughout the class. An instructor’s role is to create a culture in which students function as a knowledge-building and knowledge-sharing community. In this interactive session, our instructor will demonstrate how to facilitate peer-to-peer connections and foster agency and shared learning.

3. How to Create More Engaging Online Course Materials 

In order to create truly engaging assignments, we must push past readings and discussion boards to design next-level online learning experiences that keep learners tuned in. You will learn best practices in online content design and gather easy ways to immediately improve assignments. Our faculty will address how to:

• Create more engaging syllabi
• Design real-world projects
• Incorporate student-generated content

We Want to Hear From You!

Please take a few minutes to fill out a short survey letting us know about your experience with this course.