Securing Participation and Retention

Instructors seek to create "student buy-in," a willingness to participate in an online course. Here is a summary of strategies that may be used to secure ongoing participation.

Source: Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Establish clear participation guidelines that the participants discuss and agree to.
• Be clear about how participation will be assessed and how it figures into the grading scheme for the class.
• Create a clear syllabus and course structure that is easy to follow but allows for flexibility.
• Be clear about how much time is involved in participation in an online course so there are no misunderstandings about what it means to work in this medium.
• Create a course site that is welcoming, easy to navigate, and to which there is little difficulty posting messages.
• Be a good role model of online participation by being visible on a daily basis or at a minimum as much as is expected of learners.
• Be willing to step in and set limits if participation is waning or is heading in the wrong direction.
• Be willing to make phone calls to people who are not participating to ask and to draw them back in.
• Most important, strive to create community through inclusion of the human elements involved in the course.

7 Ways Advisors Can More Effectively Engage Online Students

An article by Susan Ohrablo (Valencia College)

Online students are at significant risk for attrition as they experience isolation and a sense of disconnect from the institution, as well as find themselves lacking resources and information. Advisors can greatly impact students’ perceptions of their online experience by providing ongoing support and information to students.

Active vs. Passive Learning in Online Courses

A descriptive definition and summary.

Active Learning in an Online Course

An article and chart from The Ohio State University Office of Distance Education and eLearning Resource Center Website lists activities for active learning and 10 characteristics of authentic activities.

Learning Online is not a Spectator Sport: How to Make it Active

A blog post by by Debbie Morrison discusses categories of active learning and strategic instructional design.

49 Ideas for Online Learning Activities

For a resource of ideas for online educational activities, check out the Online Teaching Activity Index from the Illinois Online Network.

The website suggests 49 activities that can be used in either online or hybrid courses, including some creative activities such as Internet Scavenger Hunt, Concept Mapping, Fishbowl, and Socratic Dialogue.

Each activity includes a description, examples, appropriate content categories, goals & objectives, prerequisites, materials and resources, lesson procedures, and more.

Strategies for Retaining Online Students

Arizona State University is a major player in online learning so it’s interesting to get thoughts from faculty there on student retention. On this webpage is a video discussing strategies including the importance of community.

A Dozen Strategies for Improving Online Student Retention

This article emphasizes, among its strategies, community both in the virtual classroom and outside of it. It does this by reminding administrators that they should get faculty involved with student retention efforts.