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ust as with course-level objectives, your module-level objectives need to specify how students will demonstrate that they achieved the objective. Typically, this involves an action verb within the language of the objective. (See Bloom’s Taxonomy-Action Verbs Requiring Cognitive Outcomes for action verb examples.)

you will be able

Tips for Increasing Instructor Presence in your Distance Learning Course

Record an introductory video for the first week of the course introducing yourself, your teaching style, student expectations and goals for the course. Contact the ATC to schedule a time for recording your video. Start off each week with a brief personalized note detailing your learning objectives for the lesson and what assignments or tasks need to be done for the week. If relevant, include a personal anecdote or a brief comment on a current event. An example would be to welcome students back for a new semester or from the midterm break. This can be done easily in myWPI by Adding an item at the top of your folder and typing your note in the text box. Incorporate your own voice by narrating your PowerPoint slides or other on-screen materials with Camtasia Studio. For written materials, try a more natural and conversational tone.

Show your presence by checking in to the website as often as possible and leave timely "evidence" that you have been there such as posting new announcements or discussion board postings. For example, if you only post every other week the students may feel that the course site has been "abandoned." Set expectations at the beginning of the course for your students of how often you will be checking in and your response time. Share information with your distance learners that will help them in their careers, just as you would with on-campus students. For example, post links to articles or current job postings in your industry to the Announcements area.

It refers to the process of helping learners achieve self-growth through self-evaluation and cooperation with others.

adults learn best when a facilitator can see that the following six conditions are met: They feel the need to learn and have input into what, why, and how they will learn. Learning's content and processes bear a perceived and meaningful relationship to past experience and experience is effectively utilized as a resource for learning. What is to be learned relates optimally to the individual's developmental changes and life tasks. The amount of autonomy exercised by the learner is congruent with that required by the mode or method utilized. They learn in a climate that minimizes anxiety and encourages freedom to experiment. Their learning styles are taken into account (pp. 47-49).

Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) is an instructional theory that starts from the idea that our working memory is limited with respect to the amount of information it can hold, and the number of operations it can perform on that information (Van Gerven et. al., 2003). That means a learner should be encouraged to use his or her limited working memory efficiently, especially when learning a difficult task (Van Gerven et. al., 2003). We need to recognize the role and the limitation of working memory to help develop quality instruction (Cooper, 1998). Thus, we as instructional designers need to find ways to help optimize the working memory. Hence, the key aspect of the theory is the relation between long-term memory and working memory, and how instructional materials interact with this cognitive system (Ayres, 2006).

Another way to open to the channels communication is if we email another student once a week to see how they are doing.

"The promising syllabus," Bain wrote to me via e-mail, "fundamentally recognizes that people will learn best and most deeply when they have a strong sense of control over their own education rather than feeling manipulated by someone else's demands."

irst, it offers an explanation of the course's promise to the students -- what will they have gained, in terms of knowledge or skills, by the end of the semester?

Second, it describes the activities in which the students will engage in order to help them fulfill that promise: the readings, the class activities, the assignments.