Providing multiple means of engagement is one three primary UDL principles. The three guidelines associated with this principle are:
Recruiting Interest - Every learner has different interests, and thus instructors must use a variety of ways to recruit learner interest. Instructors can accomplish this by giving learners choices in how they meet learning objectives, using relevant and meaningful learning activities, and creating a safe space for learning.
Sustaining Effort & Persistence - Learners vary in their ability to regulate their attention and affect to sustain the effort and concentration required for learning. Instructors can motivate learners to stay focused on learning by providing reminders of the primary learning goal its value periodically throughout the content presentation, differentiating the degree of difficulty or complexity of activities, creating collaborative learning activities, and providing mastery-oriented feedback.
Self Regulation - May learners have difficulty with effectively managing their own emotional levels and reactions. Therefore, instructors need to help foster learners’ intrinsic abilities to regulate their own emotions and motivations by providing opportunities for learners to set personal goals and reflect on those goals, providing reminders, models, and strategies to assist learners with managing, directing, and monitoring their emotional responses.
Four main eLearning interactivity levels
Passive Learning - The learner has no control over their learning. Minimal or basic interactions.
Pictures or diagrams with rollover or clickable interactions
Flip Cards (flash cards)
Visually represent content in steps or a pyramid structure
Limited Interactions - The learner has some control over their learning. Simple interactions.
Tabs to switch between pages or modules
Digital books with multimedia elements
Interactive video with question or thought segments
Moderate Interactions - The learner has active control over their learning. Slightly complex interactions.
Learning scenarios with decision points and feedback
Role play problem solving activities
Drag and drop sorting activities
Enriched Interactions - The learner has full control over their learning. Full immersion.
Real life skill simulations, e.g., machine operations
Serious games
Virtual or augmented reality activities
Design
Generate motivation for students to engage in productive discussions, such as grading online discussions, allowing students to choose discussion topics, and contextualizing discussions by drawing on diverse learner backgrounds and perspectives of a topic.
Describe the ground rules for online discussions at the start of the course by clearly describing what is expected of students, perhaps using a participation rubric.
Provide opportunities for socio-emotional discussions that have the goal of nurturing a strong sense of community within the course.
Similarly, provide opportunities for authentic content-and task-oriented discussions. For large class enrollments use group forums rather than class-wide forums.
Facilitation
Develop social presence in the virtual classroom.
Avoid becoming the center of all discussions, emphasize student-to-student interactions.
Attend to issues of social equity based on different cultural communication patterns.
Attend to issues of social equity based on different gender-related communication patterns.
Increase the status of low status students in order to promote equitable collaborations.
CAST (2018). Provide multiple means of Engagement. Retrieved December 7, 2019 from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved December 7, 2019 from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement
Costley, J., Hughes, C., & Lange, C. (2017). The Effects of Instructional Design on Student Engagement with Video Lectures at Cyber Universities. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 16, 189–207. doi: 10.28945/3728
Hollingshead, A., & Carr-Chellman, D. (2019, February). elearn Magazine: Engaging Learners in Online Environments Utilizing Universal Design for Learning Principles. Retrieved December 7, 2019, from https://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=3310383.
Maor, D. (2003). The Teacher’s Role in Developing Interaction and Reflection in an Online Learning Community. Educational Media International, 40(1-2), 127–138. doi: 10.1080/0952398032000092170
Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement Matters: Student Perceptions on the Importance of Engagement Strategies in the Online Learning Environment. Online Learning Journal, 22(1), 205–222. Retrieved December 7, 2019 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1179659.pdf
Pappas, C. (2019, September 25). eLearning Interactivity: The Ultimate Guide For eLearning Professionals. Retrieved December 7, 2019, from https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-interactivity-the-ultimate-guide-for-elearning-professionals.
Redmond, P., Abawi, L.-A., Brown, A., Henderson, R., & Heffernan, A. (2018). An Online Engagement Framework for Higher Education Online Learning Journal , 22(1), 183–204. Retrieved December 7, 2019 from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1179626.pdf
Rovai, A. P. (2007). Facilitating online discussions effectively. The Internet and Higher Education, 10(1), 77–88. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2006.10.001