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Ep 22: 5 Ways to Help Students Succeed in Online Courses

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Ep 22: 5 Ways to Help Students Succeed in Online Courses

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#1 Communication:

It’s important that students know that you are there for them.
Announcements in LMS.
Respond to their emails/messages asap.
Make them feel connected.
Develop a sense of community.

Communicate to reach and teach.

#2 Positive Reinforcement:

Provide great feedback, supportive and constructive (Follow ACE: Acknowledge/Appreciate, Coach, Evaluate)
Stickers, Badging (micro credentials)

Biggest challenges as an instructional designer:- Time barrier- Building the faculty’s confidence/competence
It’s just a matter of getting to know the online tools, most faculties already have confidence/competence in their content and face-to-face teaching skills.

#3 Rubrics:Rubrics create clarity for everybody.Expectations, responsibility, evaluationTake the “temperature” of the class in the middle of the semester. Don’t wait till the end to find out “how the course went”. Find out “how the course is going”.
Feedback in KISS model
- What is one thing that I should keep doing in the class to help you in your learning?
- What should I improve?
- What should I start doing?
- What should I stop doing?

#4 Be Real and be Human:Just don’t be a voice on the videoMake mistakes and admitFocusing on the process, rather than on perfectionTips: Sign Up Form - Ask about challengesRecord a Course orientation videoAssign one-on-one time with every student, even if it’s for 5 mins once a semesterHave informal conversations

#5 Change it Up:
Add variations in input, process, outputChange it up and surprise the students with somethingThrow a curveball at them- Virtual posters
- Video presentations- Watch a Ted Video (even if it’s not related to the content)

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Description:
In this week's episode of the Lecture Breakers podcast, our guest is Holly Owens. She is an instructional designer focused on supporting educators who teach online. I think you'll be able to tell just how passionate she is about her work and how much she enjoys helping instructors create effective and engaging online learning experiences for students.

In this episode, Holly shares 5 recommendations for helping students succeed in online courses. A few things you'll learn:
Show Notes:

Read Holly's blog post 7 Not-So-Common Reasons Why I LOVE Teaching Online.

Read my blog post about the Start, Stop, Continue mid-semester feedback strategy.

If you don't have an instructional designer on your campus (or if you do, but you want more ideas!), check out the virtual instructional design services offered through The Online Learning Toolkit.* Lecture Breakers listeners get a 1-year subscription for $40 (20% Discount). Use code: LECTUREBREAKERS20

Try Glogster if you want to add virtual posters to your online course.

Learn more about VoiceThread as an alternative to text-focused discussion forums.

Check out the Online Learning Consortium for more resources and support for teaching online.

Learn more about Educause and the resources available to educators who teach online.

Check out EdSurge for more online teaching and learning resources and ideas.

Stay up-to-date by reading the latest articles from Inside Higher Ed

Browse TED Talks and add a few to your online course.

Email Holly at howens27@gmail.com

Connect with Holly on Twitter @ ihollyo

Connect with Holly on Instagram @jolly_hollyllc

Learn more about Holly's business Jolly Holly Ed Services (coming soon) at jollyholly.me

Join the free private Lecture Breakers Facebook group!

Don't miss an episode! Be sure to subscribe to the show!

Click here to get the latest info about the
Lecture Breakers podcast!
Some of these resources contain affiliate links (indicated by *). If you purchase a product or sign up for a program through one of these links, I receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only endorse products and services that I think will be helpful for you and that I have used myself. Thank you for your support.

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Episode 22: 5 Ways to Help Students Succeed in Online Courses with Holly Owens

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Description: In this week's episode of the Lecture Breakers podcast, our guest is Holly Owens. She is an instructional designer focused on supporting educators who teach online.

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Connection before Content

Starting a class/Beginning a Semester

# Unofficial Start:

Students will turn up when they want to.
If you wait for them, they will understand that “it’s okay to turn up late”

Instead of taking punitive measures, what can a teacher do?

Have something for the students to do.
Engaging, Fun, Absolutely non-threatening

Game, Video, Story, Activity -- but something related to the content.

It rewards them who turn up on time.

# Story of Your Name:

Pair. Share - and share the story of their name -- make something up, interesting

(Pair or in a small group)

#Ten Random Things about Me:

Email this, or post this somewhere before starting the session/class

And, request students to share their lists

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Description: For those of you who have been saying, "Barbi, I'm all in, I get it, I am breaking up my lectures....BUT, I need more ideas! I need more ways to mix things up!" This is the episode for you!

My guest for episode 16 of the Lecture Breakers podcast is Mark Collard. Mark is an experiential educator, speaker, author, and business owner. He's the genius behind a professional development business called playmeo.

One of playmeo's most popular tools an innovative online platform of resources that will teach you how to lead fun, experiential games, activities, and learning experiences that help people interact, share and connect.

His searchable database includes more than 400 ideas you can use to break up your lectures, workshops, and conference sessions.

In this episode, I ask Mark to give us ideas for 4 different scenarios that we encounter in a course:

1. Ideas for the beginning or start of something such as the beginning of the semester or the start of a new project.

2. Ideas for debriefing and reflection activities.

3. Ideas to promote problem-solving and critical thinking.

4. Ideas to build trust.

We also talk about how to work with students who are unwilling, resistant, or hesitant to participate, and why the concepts of "play" and "flow" are so important in any learning environment.

Be sure to listen to the end - Mark has an awesome offer for Lecture Breakers listeners, so you don't want to miss it!

This is a jam-packed episode, so grab a pen and paper or get your laptop ready because you're going to want to take notes for this one!

Memorable Quotes:

"The stronger the connections, the more you can amplify whatever you're trying to get done."

"Inviting people to play leads to healthy levels of interaction, which provides opportunities for sharing, and only at that point do you have the opportunity to build trust which of course then builds growth."

Show Notes: (listed in the order the resource was mentioned on the show)
Some of these resources contain affiliate links (indicated by *). If you purchase a product or sign up for a program through one of these links, I receive a commission at no additional cost to you. I only endorse products and services that I think will be helpful for you and that I have used myself. Thank you for your support.
Click here to get the latest info about the
Lecture Breakers podcast!

(And here's my picture of the eight 4-leaf-clovers I found in my yard in less than 5 minutes!)

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Episode 16: Games and Activities You Can Use to Break Up Your Lectures, Promote Play, and Encourage Connection with Mark Collard

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My guest for episode 16 of the Lecture Breakers podcast is Mark Collard, the founder of playmeo. He's here to teach us how to break up our lectures using fun, experiential games, activities, and learning experiences to help increase student engagement and improve learning.