Tag course development

Best practices (tips), Teaching Tips

Support online class engagement through guided communication

An animated GIF of a cat typing on a laptop

Students are more likely to engage in online courses when they understand expectations for communication. To support course engagement, instructors can create both formal and social discussion spaces, share expectations, and affirm student contributions.

Elle Fournier
August 27, 2021
2 Comments

Best practices (tips), Teaching Tips

Skeuomorphism – How to use it or lose it

Skeuomorphism is where an object in software mimics its real-world counterpart. Learning Management Systems are riddled with skeuomorphism and this affects your course structure. Embracing the strength of online courses as learning environments requires the intentional use of skeuomorphism and modern web design.

CITE Fellows, Faculty Perspectives

My journey teaching an online course

I have been teaching Principles of Genetics (BIOL F260) face-to-face at UAF for the past 15 years. It’s a required course for biology majors and a prerequisite for medical school. In 2019, my department chair asked if I would consider…

UAF CTL Staff
June 1, 2020

Best practices (tips), Teaching Tips

Teaching a course? Take a course!

One of the most common questions we receive from faculty in UAF CTL iTeach workshops is "what does an online course look like"? We all have years - and in some cases decades - of practice forming expectations of face-to-face learning experiences, but for those who are new to teaching online, it is often difficult to imagine how it all works. Learning experiences are complicated. Even if you're a veteran online instructor, it can be helpful to take a look at what others are doing in their online courses. No matter where you're at, touring a few courses can be a very important step toward building your fluency with the medium of online instruction.

UAF CTL Staff
July 7, 2016

Best practices (tips), Teaching Tips

Manage tasks, not time

Whether you’re designing an all new course or revising and preparing an existing course for a new semester, it’s a lot of work. And work equals time, right? Yes, but that we’re not all necessarily organizing our to-do lists in the most useful way.

UAF CTL Staff
July 28, 2015

Emerging ideas (tips), Teaching Tips

Online education – part 2

Last week we discussed the gold standard of online learning experience design: Your course is complete prior to students ever sitting in their virtual seats. Your intended outcomes are firmly in your sights and you can now devote time during the semester to feedback, assessment, and mentoring. Your solid design and your consistent presence work together to achieve everyone’s educational dreams.

UAF CTL Staff
July 21, 2015

Emerging ideas (tips), Teaching Tips

Online education part – 1

One of the most common questions I hear is, “how much time is it going to take to develop my online course?' This question reminds me of similar questions such as, “How long does it take to build a house?' and “How long does it take to make dinner?' The answers to these, of course, are, “it depends.'

UAF CTL Staff
July 14, 2015