Enhancing Online Learning Using the Three Types of Interaction What Interaction Type is Missing in Your Online Course? Imagine an in-person classroom for just a second. What do you see?  You probably see three things; an instructor, students, and visible learning taking place. What makes this learning visible when learning is so often an internal concept?  INTERACTION! INTERACTION! Interaction is what is making this learning visible and, therefore, effective. In this productive classroom, there are three main components that are all working together; content or learning materials, an instructor, and students.  Each student is actively interacting or engaging in learning new information or a new skill. Often that information is presented in a variety of formats; videos, text, diagrams, maps, etc. Instructors use these learning materials along with his or her knowledge and insights to facilitate the students’ understanding of a concept. Then there are the students! When we think of a classroom, we think of not just one individual student but a group of students working and learning together. When all three of these interactions take place in a classroom, amazing learning can take place. This is no different when it comes to the online classroom! QUIZ: What Interaction Type is Missing From Your Online Course? For an online classroom, online course, or online training to be genuinely effective, three interaction types must be present: Learner to Content — Learner to Instructor — Learner to Learner So how does your online course measure up? Do you have all three interaction types in your course, or are you missing one? Take the quiz below to see what, if any, of the three online interaction types you might be missing in your online course. Three Types of Interaction in Online Courses Learner to Content The first interaction type is the interaction between the learner and the content or learning materials of a course. Learning materials are how knowledge is conveyed to your students. Moore (1989) states that content is a defining aspect of education.  Over the years, how learners interact with educational content has drastically transformed. From petroglyphs to scrolls to textbooks, and now every imaginable type of digital content one could ever dream of!  That being said, there are now more ways than ever for online students to interact with content. The beauty of online learning materials is that students can interact with the content how they want and however, they need to learn best. They can reread, revisit, rewind, speed up, pause, save for later, and of course, Google anything in a blink of an eye.  Adding variety to your online content can be one way to boost student interaction. Instead of only relying on a textbook to convey information on a subject, try pairing textbook reading with supplemental videos, relevant websites, diagrams, and online simulations or games.  Not all students learn best in the same way. Meaning some of your students may learn best by reading text about a subject, while others may be visual learners and learn best by watching a video on the subject. Adding a variety of learning materials to your course allows all types of learners to succeed. Another advantage of online content is its reach and accessibility to all! Online education is continuously expanding and becoming available to more and more learners. Not only is it reaching more learners geographically across the world, but it is also leveling the playing field for other diversities such as socioeconomic status, culture and race, and learning disabilities.  Here are a variety of examples of how you can enhance the learner interaction with your course’s content: Explore textbook publisher materials for supplemental learning materials. Incorporate relevant videos into lessons. Narrate materials such as lecture notes and PowerPoint slides. Instructor-made videos and lectures (both synchronously and asynchronously) Find or create simulations, scenarios, and case studies that allow students to connect better what they are learning to real-life situations.  Ensure your learning materials are accessible to all learners (captioned, proper headings, readability, etc.) Use self-checks or practice quizzes to help students check for learning throughout the content.   Check out these educational content sites for more resources: TED-Ed LinkedIn Learning Edhabit Kahn Academy Check your textbook publisher site for textbook-specific materials Don’t forget about your local and university libraries! Learner to Instructor Yes, a student can learn a new concept from a textbook, but they can learn even more from you! You, as the instructor, are a vital component of students’ success in online learning. When teaching online, don’t just think of yourself as the person who creates the content and assessments and enters students’ grades. Think of yourself as a facilitator of learning.  Facilitator: someone who helps to bring about an outcome (such as learning, productivity, or communication) by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision By being an active facilitator in your online course, not only are you providing guidance, but you are also setting an example to your students of the level of engagement you expect of them. Lead by example, and they will follow!  Additionally, if students know that you will be actively reading and possibly responding to posts in discussion board activities, they may be more motivated to participate at a higher level. This does not mean you have to comment on every single student post. But do make your comments and your engagement meaningful.  Get to know your students! When your students feel that you are invested in them and know them even in an online environment, they will also be motivated to be more engaged in your course. This will then result in more successful and productive learning.  Consider this real-life example for a moment; if you are active on social media, you notice who likes, comments, and engages with things that you post. Then, when you see those same people post their own content, are you not more likely to also like, comment, and engage with their content? It is human social behavior to want to engage and be connected to others.  The same is true for online learning. If you actively engage

Don’t Turn into a Bot Online Three Easy Strategies to Let Your Personality Shine in Your Online Course One of the perks of teaching online is that there are so many great tools that make facilitating an online course easier. For example, not having to manually grade and enter grades for online exams since most learning management systems can automatically evaluate student responses and submit scores to a gradebook without the instructor needing to do a thing.  With the ability to automate so much of an online course, along with the physical separation from your students, it can be challenging to find ways to let your personality, teaching style, and personal touches shine through in the online environment.  Here are three easy strategies that you can begin trying and implementing in your teaching today to bring a bit more of your personality to your online courses. Disclosure: This post was originally published on Faculty Focus, September 21, 2020, and written by Jessica Evans. See original post on Faculty Focus. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Table of Contents You Don’t Have to be a Superstar to Make Great Videos You are an expert in your field, and you probably have years of experience and knowledge that make you an outstanding instructor. Do not deprive your online students the opportunity to learn from YOU!  I recently spoke with a group of instructors about their successes and struggles with having to make the abrupt transition online this past spring. One thing I heard from every instructor was the pleasant surprise of the effectiveness of instructor-created videos in their courses.  Two common themes came from this conversation about instructor-created videos. One was that instructors found it easy and time-saving to create just-the-right video for their students. For example, one instructor mentioned that he had been spending hours online looking for a video that conveyed the information his students needed with no luck. He then recorded his own video in a matter of 20 minutes and was able to provide his students with relevant and current information to help them achieve their learning activities and assessments.  The second comment theme revolved around the feedback students gave about these instructor-created videos. To the instructors’ surprise, they received positive feedback from students regarding the instructor-created video content. One instructor shared that after transitioning to fully-online, she had posted her lecture slide as a PowerPoint file for students to review, and her student engagement was depressingly low. She then created a video lecture on her lecture slides using a screen recording software that allowed her to narrate her slides while having a small video of herself in the corner. She reported that her student engagement almost instantly increased! Her students provided feedback saying they got the most from the online course when they could see and hear her lecturing on course materials. Tips if you don’t want to record yourself Get outside! Try recording a video while sitting in your backyard, or while you are out for your evening walk. Create and narrate an animated explainer video.  Record your screen while you lecture, and be sure to have a visual to lecture with so your students have something to focus on. Use an avatar or animated character instead of your face; some smartphones have this feature built-in!  Just try; it may not be as bad as you think it is!  Tips for making a good video Have clear sound/audio. Students need to be able to hear and understand you. The clearer the picture, the better. Keep it short and sweet. Keeping your videos under 10-minutes is a good rule of thumb to keep your students engaged. Caption your video for accessibility.  It is all in the angles! Be sure to put your best side forward by paying attention to your camera angle.  Tools to help you look like a superstar Check with your institution to see what tools and programs are available to you – use these first! Screencast-O-Matic (basic functions, easy to use) Camtasia (advanced functions, still easy to use but more options) Adobe Spark Memoji or other cell phone apps Students don’t care that your cat walked across your keyboard (they will probably chuckle). They don’t care that the UPS driver delivered your package and dinged the doorbell three times. It makes you human; it makes you interesting; it makes the information real. So start recording!  Increase Interest by Adding Humor Take a stroll down any social media feed right now and you are sure to find a funny meme, gif, or quote that stops and grabs your attention for a moment, and probably resonates with you in some capacity.  The same effect can happen for your students in your online course when you do something to grab their attention and make them laugh for a second, think about something from a different angle, or give them a quote that will be stuck in their head for the day.  Tips for adding interest and humor Memes and GIFs Funny personal story – record it! Memorable quote Catchy song or rhyme  Interesting video Tools to Keep You Laughing Snag it  (make your own memes) Canva (make your own memes) Think of the elements listed above as tools to aid you in creating memorable learning moments in your online course. That said, be sure not to go overboard! Adding interest and humor to your course is meant to boost engagement and learning—not distract from it. Touch Base Often With Your Students Remote learning and distance education are new buzz words in education at the moment. To any teacher or instructor, the thought of being separated from their students’ learning can be a very concerning thing. But, just because we are all socially distant at the moment does not mean you have to lose touch with your students. There are

REVIEW OF THE BEST ONLINE LEARNING WEBSITES IN 2020 Overview and Comparison of Six Digital Learning Programs for Kids Whether you are an elementary or middle school teacher or a parent, we have created a list of some of the best online learning websites for kids ages 2-13 in 2020. This will be an evolving resource review article! Please save, pin, and share this page so that you can come back to it often. We will be adding new resources, reviews, and sales/promotions so that you have the most current information on the best online learning resources for your young learners.  Digital Learning Academy has partnered with many of the online learning sites below in order to bring you special offers. Please use the links found in this review article to ensure you are getting the free trials and the best prices. Go straight to Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart!  Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Table of Contents ABCmouse.com ABCmouse.com is one of the industry-leading online learning programs on the web in 2020. It offers a comprehensive online learning experience for learners of all levels across all academic subjects.  Additionally, ABCmouse.com has created two different learning experiences to better engage and grow learners by age. ABCmouse.com’s Early Learning Academy is designed for learners ages two to eight years old, and Adventure Academy has been crafted to engage learners eight to thirteen years old.  See how ABCmouse.com compares to other leading digital learning sites on our Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart! Early Learning Academy Ages: 2-8 years old Cost: $59.95/year FREE teacher’s account! Hundreds of engaging lessons across ten learning levels, with progress tracking Subjects: reading and language arts, math, science, social studies, and art Perks: customizable avatar, virtual reward system, interactive virtual field trips, easy navigational features, and a variety of engaging learning activities — students will never lose interest!  Cons: we haven’t found one yet, we’ll let you know if we do Accessible across all major devices Technical support available, live support chat feature Child Safe certified DLA’s Special Offer: 2 Months for $5 CLICK HERE! Adventure Academy Ages: 8-13 years old Cost: $59.99/year (~$5/month!) Subjects: language arts, math, science, and social studies Perks:  customizable avatar, multi-game player, aligned to CCS standards, fully immersive virtual learning world, amazing graphics, and virtual reward system — specially designed for pre-teen learners! Cons: multiplayer online game environment (learning might get lost in the game) Accessible across all major devices Technical support available, live support chat feature Kid Safe Certified DLA’s Special Offer: 2 Months for $5 CLICK HERE! Learn With Homer Ages: 2-8 years old Cost: $45/year Subjects: reading Perks: learning path is unique and personalized for each child’s interest and skill level. 1,000+ engaging learning activities based on adventurous play. Some lessons can be downloaded to be used while offline.  Cons: no tracking child’s progress in the program, no live technical support. Kid Safe Certified  DLA’s Special Offer: 30 Days Free! See how Learn with Homer compares to other leading digital learning sites on our Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart! Reading Eggs Ages: 2-13 Reading eggs junior- 2-4 Reading eggs – 3-7 Reading eggspress – 7-13 Cost: $59 / year (3 price options)  Free Teacher Trial Account  Subjects: Reading, Phonics, Vocabulary  Mathseeds program for ages 3-9 Perks: designed on research and literacy standards, easy navigation, individualized learning paths, short lessons with positive reinforcement to encourage motivation.  Cons: limited only to reading and math, no live technical support (only email or phone) Accessible across all major devices Kid Safe Certified  DLA’s Special Offer: 30 Day Free Trial CLICK HERE! See how Reading Eggs compares to other leading digital learning sites on our Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart! IXL Ages: PK-12th Grades Cost: $79-159 /year  Educator FREE trial  Subjects: Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Spanish Perks: aligned to Common Core standards, real-time diagnostic and analytic tools, personalized learning plans, award-winning learning experience.  Cons: cost is higher, the reward/points system has negative reviews Accessible across all major devices Extras! So many great extra learning resources for teachers, parents, and students. DLA’s Special Offer: 20% Discount on Monthly or Yearly Subscription See how IXL compares to other leading digital learning sites on our Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart! Hooked on Phonics Ages: 3-8 years old Cost: $12.99/month  Subjects: foundational reading skills Perks: aligned to common core standards for reading foundational skills (K-2), program recently updated to include engaging digital learning activities and hands-on practice packs, program based on research and proven effective. Cons: no educator portal, not completely online, limited to early or struggling readers.  Award-Winning learn to read program Accessible across all major devices Get your first month for $1  See how Hooked on Phonics compares to other leading digital learning sites on our Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart! Digital Learning Programs Comparison Chart Early Learning Academy Adventure Academy Learn With Homer Reading Eggs IXL Hooked on Phonics 2-8 years old 8-13 years old 2-8 years old 2-13 years old PK-12th grades 3-8 years old Reading, LA, Math, Science, SS, Art Reading, LA, Math, Science, SS Reading Reading, Phonics, Vocabulary, Math LA, Math, Science, SS, Spanish Foundational Reading 4.5 4.4 4.3 3.5 4.0 3.2 $59.95 /year $59.95 /year $45 /year $59 /year $79-159 /year $12.99 /month 2 Months $5 SALE! 2 Months $5 SALE! 30 Days Free! FREE TRIALCLICK HERE! 20% Off Subscription  First Month $1 *reviews are from appgroves.com        *Last updated: 9/7/2020 Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Introduction to Online Teaching Masterclass Winter 2023 Cohort Early Registration We are opening registration early for the winter 2023 semester cohort! Save your seat now and don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain a better understanding of foundational online teaching

ESTABLISHING ONLINE EXPECTATIONS 4 Things Your Students Need to Know as You Move Your Course Online On the first day of class, you make sure to provide your students with all the information they need to be successful in your in-person course. Now as you prepare to teach your in-person class online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial that you give your students updated information about how to be successful in your ONLINE course.  In this article, we will cover four important aspects of establishing your NEW online learning expectations. Once your students know what is expected of them, and they know exactly what they can expect from you, successful online learning can begin!  Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Table of Contents How to Contact You This information may seem obvious to you, but it is essential information to reiterate often to your students. Just think about it, students always knew they would be seeing you every Monday and Wednesday at 8:00 am so if they needed to contact you, most likely they did it during class. Plus, do you think they have the syllabus with your contact information that you passed out on the first day of class? Probably not.  Contact information that you should consider sharing again with your students includes: Institutional email address Skype/Microsoft Teams/Google Hangout Username (the name students can use to search for you on whatever virtual conferencing tool you are using) Phone number (if you aren’t in your physical office then don’t include that number! Only share your personal number if you feel comfortable with students calling or texting you) Fax number … Ha – just kidding, please don’t! In addition to informing your students of how they can reach you, it is also essential to let them know what your response time will be. Time is valuable to you and your students, so let them know when they can expect to hear back from you. Here are a few examples, choose one or two and tweak them to fit your response time, and then share it with your students. Response 1 – Email If contacting me by email, I will respond within 24 hours during the week and 48 hours during the weekend. Response 2 – Phone When calling, please leave a message with your first and last name and what course you are in. I most likely will not answer any numbers I recognize so it is important that you leave me a detailed message. I will return your call within 24 hours during the week and 48 hours during the weekend. Don’t forget to leave me a phone number to call you back at. Response 3 – Virtual Office Hours I will be holding virtual office hours every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (MST). Use this link <insert video conferencing tool of choice> to join my meeting room. Response 4 – Discussions If you have a question you feel the whole class would benefit from, please ask it in the “Ask the Instructor” discussion board. I will respond to all questions by 5:00 PM each day.  What Will Online Learning Look Like in Your Course How many times have you heard the phrase, “In these uncertain times…” over the past few months? Probably quite a few times. While we are in new and uncharted waters, you certainly do not want your students to feel uncertain about what is going on in your course.  To clear up any uncertainty, let them know precisely what your course is going to look like now that it is online. Be sure even to reiterate the things about your course that will stay the same.  Here are a few uncertainties your students may be having: How will quizzes and exams be administered/completed? How will assignments and projects be submitted? Has the course schedule changed? Will the grading criteria for assignments change, and if so, how? How often should I be checking my email or course site? What will lectures or class activities look like now? Providing your students with the most explicit details about the questions above and any additional questions will help everyone, including you, as the instructor, be more successful in the online learning environment.  QUICK TIP: Create a quick video answering the questions above – timesaver for you, and more engaging for your students! We recommend checking out Screencast-O-Matic or Camtasia to create videos and record your screen.  You might even consider editing your original course syllabus to reflect all the changes and resending it to your students.  As mentioned above, it is also vital that you let your students know when and for how long you will be online in your course each week. Giving your students guidelines for how long or how often they should be checking in online in your course is also a vital point to make when communicating expectations. Introduction to Online Teaching Master Course Do not miss out on this one time offer to pre-enroll in our Introduction to Online Teaching Master Course! This course is designed to provide online instructions with a strong foundation in online teaching best practices. Offer ends 11/16/2020 Claim Your Seat Now! S A L E ! How to Access Course Content Virtual lectures, narrated PowerPoints, PDF readings, supplemental videos, online quizzes, digital dropboxes….the list of all the new technology you may now be using goes on and on. With so much change so quickly, you must help your students understand how to access your course materials.  This may be new territory for you as well, but please know there are usually so many helpful resources surrounding educational technologies, so do not be afraid to look and find help! Like our Facebook page where we will be posting helpful tips and tricks and online teaching and learning resources.  Here

Touch Base with Your Online Students Using Formative Assessment Three Surveying Tools to Help You Better Understand Your Online Students Wow! It has been a wild past few weeks, hasn’t it? With all the whirlwind events that have been happening across our nation and particularly in our education system, do you feel like you have lost touch with your students? This Instructional Insight was originally going to be all about formative assessment and how to effectively use it to monitor your students’ learning progress. With so many instructors working so hard to get their courses online, we have shifted our focus slightly. In this Insight, will now be focused on how you can use formative assessment type tools to reach out and check on how your students are doing during this transition to learning online. You can use formative assessment tools to check on how your students are doing during this transition to learning online Show Me the Examples Below! With so many in-person courses now online, it can be easy to feel like it has lost some of the human element. However, there are so many ways to make online teaching and learning extremely personal. Check out 6 Tips to Move Your In-Person Course Online During the Coronavirus to find ideas and tool recommendations to aid you in your online transition.  Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Table of Contents The Power of Formative Assessment Online Assessment is an essential part of the learning process both online and in-person. There are two key assessment types. Explore the definitions of formative and summative assessment below: Formative Assessment Formative assessment is conducted throughout the learning process to monitor student progress towards achieving a learning objective. When done correctly, it can also foster student learning by helping students identify their strengths and weaknesses. Once a student and an instructor understand what are areas of learning weakness, those weaknesses can be addressed and overcome. Summative Assessment Summative assessment is administered once a learning process is complete. This can range from a single course or an entire curriculum. This assessment serves as a final and complete evaluation of the students’ achievement of a learning objective. Ideally, the summative assessment is the sum of all the smaller formative assessments. We mention how vital formative assessment can be to our students during the learning process. Still, it can also be a powerful tool to get an accurate read on how your students are doing during this transition. We love the definition of formative assessment above because it emphasizes assessing the students during the learning process; this can mean so many things! Yes, it is essential to evaluate students on the academic aspects of the learning process, but it can also mean assessing the physiological and emotional aspects of the learning process.  During this crazy time, more than ever, it is so crucial that you take the time to get to reacquainted with your students as they are now your online students. How are they handling now having to learn online? What resources do they have available to them? Do they know how to contact you or where to go to find their course materials? When you are teaching in-person, it is easy to pick up on social cues that clue you in on how your students are doing. In the online format, those cues are no longer easily observed. That is when formative assessment can come into play. Send out a quick survey to see how your students are doing, and this can provide you with valuable insight into how your instruction is going and if anything needs to be adjusted.  Do not forget, one of the reasons for conducting a formative assessment is to use the data to help you better adjust your instruction to meet the needs of your students. If your students are not responding well to an aspect of your online instructor, take their feedback, and adjust! Who knows, they could give you some great ideas for what works well in online teaching! Introduction to Online Teaching Masterclass Fall 2022 Cohort Early Registration We are opening registration early for the fall 2022 semester cohort! Save your seat now and don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain a better understanding of foundational online teaching best practices. Early registration and early-bird pricing end 8/7/22! Clink the link below to learn more. Claim Your Seat Now! S A L E ! Examples of Formative Assessment Using Three Popular Online Surveying Tools To give you a clearer idea of how to use a formative type assessment to evaluate how your students are doing with the transition to online learning, we have made a few examples for you to check out! Click the links below to explore the different online assessment tools great for formative assessments. All the examples below ask similar questions; they are just presented slightly differently among the tools.  Google Forms (included if you have a Gmail account) Go Formative (free team premium plan upon request) Poll Everywhere (free 90-day premium plan) Check In With Your Students Today Now it is time to take action and send out a quick survey out to your students to see how they are doing! Want a copy of the surveys above? Great, we are thrilled to share what we have created in hopes of saving you time. Please submit your email address below, and we will send you links to copy the surveys we have created. Once you have received your copy of the surveys and sent one out to your students, give us a shout-out on our Facebook page, letting us know it was helpful! Share on facebook Facebook Share on linkedin LinkedIn Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on email Email Share on twitter Twitter Once you have received your copy of the surveys and sent one out to