Group items tagged

The main purpose of this study was to explore best practice strategies in online instruction that effectively reduce perceptions of transactional or felt-psychological distance, and, in turn, promote socially and humanely rich online learning communities in higher education. From this perspective, this study adopted the construct of "instructional immediacy" from educational communications theory, and attempted to uncover applications of the construct in online teaching contexts. To better provide plausible techniques and strategies for online teaching practitioners, "instructional immediacy" was approached through rich narratives of the perspectives and experiences of online teaching practitioners as well as through narratives from students in these courses. Educationally meaningful strategies for enhancing instructional immediacy emerged from an analysis of instructors' and students' narratives. The patterns of strategies were categorized into four dimensions of online instruction: (1) affective interaction, (2) cognitive interaction, (3) technology adoption, and (4) course presentation and organization. This study opens the possibility of cultivating instructional immediacy in a text-based learning community which allows a promise for executing socially connected and engaging online instruction.

Portland State University (PSU) redesigned Introductory Spanish, a yearlong, multiple-section course. Because of funding and space limitations, enrollment had been arbitrarily set at about 690 enrollments annually. In some academic years, current offerings met only 50% of the demand. One faculty member coordinated the course content and taught one section; teaching assistants taught the 9-10 remaining sections. The DFW rate was approximately 25% from fall to spring. The redesigned course addressed inconsistencies among sections through improved planning, coordination and training of teaching assistants, and clear articulation with new universal second-language requirements in Oregon.

A recording of the LT Brown Bag about practical strategies and tips for moving to an online teaching environment

Keywords: active learning, online teaching, social presence, student engagement

The six domains of the Rubric for Online Instruction are listed below. Click a domain to see the criteria associated with each of three rankings (Basic, Effective and Exemplary). Learner Support and Resources Online Organization and Design Instructional Design and Delivery Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning Innovative Teaching with Technology Faculty Use of Student Feedback

Post re: Bill of Rights for Digital Learners by Audrey Watters

"The mission of the TELL Project is to define what effective language teachers do and facilitate their growth to prepare for, advance and support language learning."