Constructivism is the learning theory embraced by most UIS faculty who teach online. In a nutshell, it says that people create their own knowledge through experience and reflection. To help facilitate learning, faculty should design active learning experiences like problem-based learning.
Learn more about constructivism.
Connectivism is a learning theory developed by George Siemens. The theory proposes that learning is no longer an individual activity; instead, knowledge is distributed across networks. The connections within networks lead to learning. He outlined the seven principles connectivism in a 2005 journal article:
Also, see the Pedagogy overview for the mobile tools we covered this morning.
Success in an online class is not achieved through technology (though they can be helpful), but through communication and consistency with your students.
Do not be the disappearing professor who only checks into a course once per week. The attention you give the course models expectations for your students. Disappearing from an online course is the fastest way to lose your students. They will disengage. Some tips for keeping your students engaged:
Assignment Objectives stem from course-level objectives, but are more specific. Assignment objectives help your students meet your expectations. They also make creating grading rubrics EASY.
Videos can be a great way to deliver content. They are easy to create and can improve your instructional presence in a course. If you create a video, you'll need to provide a transcript or captions for your students to make the video accessible. YouTube Auto-captions are a start and can be edited.
If you're looking for video editing software that is easy to learn and has great free tutorials, try Camtasia Studio. It allows you to train its captioning tool to your voice for increased accuracy of speech to text captions. Emily finds she can get 85-90% accuracy if she enunciates.
Twitter - back channel, tangential items, current events, student participation, mobile reminders
PollEverywhere for HigherEd - 40 responses per poll, brainstorming, muddiest point, just-in-time assessment
Pinterest - Pinterest in Higher Ed
Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004)
L. Dee Fink, Creating Significant Learning Experiences (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003)
Maryellen Weimer, Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002)
Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design, expanded second edition (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2005)