Five Principles That Make Online Courses Come Alive

Online courses are gaining popularity around the world, enabling individuals to acquire new knowledge, enhance their skills, and achieve personal and professional goals. However, not all online courses are created equal. Some courses fail to engage learners and leave them feeling disconnected from the subject matter.

In order to create a truly captivating online learning experience, instructors must incorporate five key principles into their course design. These principles focus on interactivity, personalization, feedback, collaboration, and multimedia integration.

1. Interactivity

Interactivity is a crucial component of online courses that can greatly enhance learner engagement. Incorporating interactive elements such as quizzes, interactive presentations, and simulations can help learners actively participate and apply what they are learning.

Active Learning Online: Five Principles that Make Online Courses Come Alive

by Stephen M. Kosslyn(Kindle Edition)

4.5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	2448 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	122 pages
Lending	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported

FREE

Providing opportunities for learners to engage with the course content through interactive activities not only keeps them actively involved but also facilitates better understanding and retention of the material.

2. Personalization

Personalization plays a key role in making online courses feel relevant and tailored to the individual learner's needs. This can be achieved by allowing learners to choose their learning paths or by offering customized content based on their interests or prior knowledge.

By incorporating personalized elements, instructors can make learners feel more invested in the course, increasing their motivation to learn and succeed. Personalization can also help learners feel supported and valued, creating a positive learning environment.

3. Feedback

Feedback is an essential component of effective online learning. Providing regular and constructive feedback allows learners to track their progress, identify areas for improvement, and build confidence in their abilities.

Timely feedback helps learners stay on track and make necessary adjustments to enhance their understanding. It also fosters a sense of ongoing collaboration between instructors and learners, creating a supportive learning community.

4. Collaboration

Collaboration is a powerful tool for online learning. By incorporating collaborative activities, such as group projects or discussion forums, learners can engage with their peers, exchange ideas, and learn from different perspectives.

Collaboration promotes active learning and helps learners develop important skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. It also fosters a sense of belonging and community among learners, reducing feelings of isolation often associated with online learning.

5. Multimedia Integration

Integrating multimedia elements, such as videos, audio clips, and interactive presentations, can significantly enhance the effectiveness of online courses. These elements not only make the learning experience more engaging but also cater to different learning styles.

Visual and auditory stimulation allows learners to process information in multiple ways, increasing comprehension and retention. Additionally, multimedia elements can bring real-world examples and scenarios into the course, making the content more relatable and memorable.

By incorporating these five principles into their online courses, instructors can create dynamic and engaging learning experiences that truly come alive. These principles ensure that learners are actively involved, motivated, and connected to the course content and their peers, ultimately enhancing the overall effectiveness and success of online learning.

Active Learning Online: Five Principles that Make Online Courses Come Alive

by Stephen M. Kosslyn(Kindle Edition)

4.5 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	2448 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	122 pages
Lending	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported

FREE

Inspired by the surge of online courses during the COVID 19 pandemic, researcher and educational innovator Stephen M. Kosslyn offers a treasure trove of active learning principles and activities to bring online courses alive.

Whether your course is synchronous (e.g., live with Zoom) or asynchronous (e.g., using video content on Canvas),Active Learning Online will inject your new or existing course with all the benefits of active learning: your course will be more interesting and effective, student engagement will increase, learning outcomes will be reached, and general teaching and learning experiences will be enriched.

At the heart of this book are five key principles from the science of learning that will help to ensure that that taught materials stick in students’ minds: (1) deep processing, (2) chunking, (3) building associations, (4) dual coding, and (5) deliberate practice.

Based on these learning principles, Active Learning Online provides a wealth of specific active learning exercises that you can implement in your classes immediately. Further, it provides you with the tools to create your own active learning exercises, tailored to your specific interests and the subject matter of your class.

To provide the very best, scientifically-proven online learning experience (not to mention hybrid and in-person learning experiences),Active Learning Online is an invaluable resource for instructors, course designers, school administrations and teacher-education students.