What is the best way to design online courses so as to maximize student satisfaction?
A Predictive Study of Student Satisfaction in Online Education Programs investigated 5 factors of online courses to ascertain which ones are the strongest predictors of student satisfaction in online settings.
For a fantastic guide to writing good discussion questions, take a look at the chart below from “Generating and Facilitating Engaging and Effective Online Discussions” from the University of Oregon’s Teaching Effectiveness Program.
Active learning is an engaging form of learning that involves higher-order thinking skills such as evaluation, synthesis, and analysis. It is much more effective than the passive learning that occurs when students simply listen to a lecture or watch a powerpoint presentation. When engaged in active learning, students are forced to process and apply the information that they learned.
Watch this video to understand how professors of online courses can create opportunities for active learning.