Small Optimizations: Five Simple Tweaks to Maximize Student Engagement in Online Courses
Abstract
In the vein of James Lang‘s Small Teaching (2016), I identify five concrete strategies instructors can use immediately to help optimize their online courses for student learning. Combining learning theory and instructional design principles, I will demonstrate small techniques that can drastically improve the student experience navigating and engaging with online instruction. My goal is to identify techniques that are quick for instructors to implement (approximately a half hour) and require minimal technical skill. This session will focus on five simple principles: say hello, provide a road map, add a quiz, chunk your content, and move horizontally. I will introduce each principle, relate it to instructional design and/or pedagogical research, and then demonstrate with a short case study in Moodle.
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