By Carol Hernandez, Ed.D. Senior Instructional Designer Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT)
carol.hernandez@stonybrook.edu
Teaching online requires a reconceptualization of how you will design and deliver your course.
CELT can walk you through all the steps to get your course ready for the online platform. And we can show you ways to create a sense of community where students interact with you, the course content, and (perhaps most importantly) with each other. In a well-designed and well-delivered course, both you and your students will walk away feeling seen, heard, and engaged.
Building a great online course takes some time, but CELT can help.
Join us for the Online Teaching Certificate Course, which starts October 11. You can take it in the 5-week format or the accelerated 2.5-week format. Both are live facilitated by the CELT team members. These multi-week online courses will provide you with basic pedagogical, research-based practices specific to the online space and will assist you in planning instructional activities for your course. We will not focus on how to use Blackboard or Brightspace, but rather how to best use technology to meet your pedagogical goals. These courses will be delivered asynchronously online with one optional synchronous session.
OTC: This is a 5-week asynchronous course. Plan on spending 3-4 hours per week with assignments due weekly. We suggest logging on 4 times/week during this course.
OTC Accelerated: This is a condensed, 2 1/2-week version of the OTC. Plan on spending 6-7 hours weekly with assignments due every 2-3 days. We suggest logging in daily during the course.
You often may hear the term engagement in an educational setting, but what do we mean by engagement?According to a popular framework, Fredricks et al, (2004) describes engagement as a multifaceted, mega construct including behavioral, emotional and cognitive components. It is considered to be malleable and responsive to the environment which means instructors can influence a student’s engagement in their course.
Overall, students who are engaged are more likely to be successful in their courses (Kahu, 2018) as there is research to support that engagement has a positive relationship with academic achievement (Fredricks et al., 2004, Kahu & Nelson, 2018). A recent framework developed by Kahu and Nelson (2018) seeks to expand upon the concept of engagement and describe the complex relationship between institutional factors and students’ backgrounds that influence students’ engagement. There are many factors involved including the University culture, policies, teaching as well as student motivation, skills, background and support. (See Kahu & Nelson (2018) for a more in depth review).
Kahu and Nelson (2018) found through their research four factors that strongly influence student engagement including self-efficacy, emotions, belonging and well-being. While these factors are not a definitive list, they are critical factors to consider. Here are some strategies you can use in your courses to help students increase their engagement based on these four factors.
Self-efficacy: This is the student’s belief in their abilities. If a student believes they can be successful, they are more likely to be motivated, persistent, and use appropriate self-regulation skills. To build students’ self-efficacy, instructors can:
build achievable assignments and assessments early on in their course to help build confidence
break down large assignments into smaller parts to make them more manageable
provide a well-organized syllabus and course with clear expectations
Emotions: Learning is an emotional experience and recent research is paying more attention to academic emotions. Students can be experiencing a wide variety of emotions from enthusiasm and enjoyment to frustration, anxiety, and boredom.
To build interest and enthusiasm instructors can:
relate the subject matter to real-world experiences
incorporate varied and frequent assessments and activities
allow the opportunity for choice when appropriate (but not too much choice!)
incorporate an appropriate level of challenge
To mitigate frustration, anxiety, and boredom instructors can:
present clear and direct instructions for assignments and assessments
avoid questions that are designed to intentionally “trick” students
break down long videos into 8-10 minute segments
provide a well organized syllabus and course with clear expectations
Belonging: Belonging is described as how connected a student feels to their educational environment or the degree of fit they perceive (Kahu & Nelson, 2018). To increase a sense of belonging, instructors can:
practice inclusive teaching by incorporating diverse perspectives, creating an inclusive classroom climate, and examining your own implicit biases
use welcoming language within your syllabus and classroom
Well-being: Well-being is influenced by a students’ stress level. Stress can come from both school and personal factors and all can affect engagement. High stress levels are linked to a decrease in motivation and lower levels of enjoyment (Kahu & Nelson, 2018). All of the strategies listed above can mitigate stress levels and increase a student’s sense of well-being and in the end, can increase a student’s engagement. In addition, instructors are encouraged to:
include resources to support services on campus including Counseling and Psychological Services, Dean of Students, Academic Advising and Academic Tutoring
If you are interested in learning more about incorporating any of these strategies into your courses, feel free to email CELT.
References:
Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C., & Paris, A. H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept, state of the evidence. Review of Educational Research, 74(1), 59–109. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543074001059
Kahu, E., & Nelson, K. (2018). Student engagement in the educational interface: Understanding the mechanisms of student success. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(1), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2017.1344197
In 2018, the US Department of Education began to discuss the federal regulations as it applies to distance learning today. Prior, the regulations were based on correspondence education and since then, the pedagogy and technology have changed significantly. What follows is a brief overview of the Distance Education and Innovation Regulations which go into effect on July 1, 2021.
These changes better define and clarify the pedagogical and technological options available in the 21st century and support the work SBU faculty already do pedagogically when developing and facilitating online courses. In order for students to receive federal financial aid, online courses must adhere to the federal regulation updates .
Technology
Permitted technologies used for distance education have been updated to incorporate robust applications that can be accessed via the internet. Instructors should use the various tools available via the internet and supported on campus such as: Blackboard, Zoom, and VoiceThread, etc.
Substantive Interaction
The Federal Regulations define as “engaging students in teaching, learning, and assessment, consistent with the content under discussion” (34 CFR 600.2). It also must include at least two different types of interaction. Some examples include:
Synchronous lectures
Asynchronous video lectures
Feedback and assessments
Video or text announcements and instructions
Answering questions over email and through discussion boards
Responding in a VoiceThread or discussion board
Regular Interaction
Regular interaction must be “predictable and scheduled” (34 CFR 600.2). Timelines and expectations are critical and should be clearly noted in the syllabus and/or in Blackboard. Instructors should:
Meet with students on a weekly basis or provide content weekly, on the same day if possible. For example, make new modules or new content available on Monday mornings of each week.
Provide clear due dates
Respond to students in a short but defined period of time when urgent; and in a defined time after assignments are due
In the syllabus and on Blackboard, due dates, expectations of response times, how long after an assignment is due students should expect grades/feedback, and office hours and contact information should all be stated. CELT has a syllabus template, and all of these pieces are addressed in that template.
Regular interaction also includes monitoring the student’s academic engagement which can include: a synchronous class with instructor/student interaction, submitting an assignment or taking an exam, participating in an asynchronous interactive instruction, group discussion or group work, or discussing academic matters with an instructor.
The class must be facilitated and when students request support, instructors respond in a timely fashion.
Academic Honesty
Students signing up for the course, must be the ones that engage in the course. Much of that is supported through DoIT’s Appropriate Use of Information Technology policies which state that students are not allowed to share their login information, they should be creating difficult passwords, and they cannot disguise as another student.
In addition, if instructors would like to use a remote proctoring tool that requires a webcam or any additional resources, this must be stated upfront during registration.
In Closing
The Federal Regulations also state throughout that what we do is also in accordance with any applicable requirement of our accrediting agency and at some points, refer us to our accrediting agency for additional information.
Asynchronous courses, when designed and implemented according to evidence-based research and learning theory, can be just as engaging as in-person or synchronous online courses. If you have asked yourself the following questions, or are unsure of where to start overall, this guide will introduce you to research and tips for making your asynchronous online course engaging.
How can my students interact in an asynchronous course?
How can I help my students give better feedback to each other in discussion boards?
How can I give better feedback and engage students?
How can I use group work in an asynchronous course?
These resources will get you started with theory and practice for engaging your students in asynchronous courses. Review the Purdue University Guide to the Community of Inquiry framework, which will introduce you to the concept of “presence” in an asynchronous course. The, dive a bit deeper and read about developing presence and learning community online, including a research study on faculty perspectives. Then, last but not least, review the ways you can give effective feedback with technology. Timely and effective feedback is a critical component of engagement.
Learning Activities for Asynchronous Online Courses
Asynchronous, Interaction, Discussion
These three resources, activity guides from the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Rochester and the FOLD Guide to Fostering Discussion will all spark ideas for engaging activities and effective discussions you can have in your asynchronous courses.
Review the resources in this collection to find tools that will help you develop and deploy asynchronous learning activities. VoiceThread is a great tool for asynchronous discussion (even in groups!). The Vanderbilt guide from the Learning Activities collection is repeated here as well, it includes both activities and tools to keep your students engaged.
Additional Teaching Tips for Asynchronous Online Courses
Active Learning, Engagement, Inclusive, Tips, Asynchronous
This collection of resources will provide you with additional tips and tricks for creating engaging asynchronous online courses. Review the IDEA guide for actively engaging students, tips specifically for inclusive teaching from the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University, additional tips from Wiley, and a Faculty Focus article on fostering fun!
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part blog series on choosing the right technology for your teaching needs. In this blog post, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Moira Chas, discusses her experience with finding a way to engage her students during synchronous online lectures. Look for the second blog post by CELT Instructional Designer and Technologist, Jennifer Jaiswal, who will describe how to select the appropriate technology. Email CELT@stonybroook.edu to get a consultation with an instructional designer who can work with you to choose the right tools for your teaching goals.
Moira Chas, Associate Professor, Mathematics
Image courtesy of Moira Chas, who is seen in her office with some of the crocheted models she has created to illustrate ideas in topology.
Before the terrible pandemic that turned our worlds upside-down and inside-out, (or better said, outside-in), I used to teach by walking incessantly around the classroom, asking many questions and trying to read in the faces of the students whether they had arrived at the answers. I peeked at the pages they were writing, and if I found cell phones on desks I would point out how unproductive these gadgets can make us. I often brought to the classroom as many “math toys” as possible to make mathematical ideas tangible.
I remember the last class I taught in person in March 2020: It was about Mathematics in Ancient China. (I was teaching a course in History of Mathematics.) I distributed a few abaci and advised the students not to share them. (It felt terrible to have to recommend such a thing. Normally, I would have them working in groups with all hands on the abacus). The week after, we entered the Zoom-universe. It was hard to lecture there, but at least I was talking to students with whom I had established a connection before becoming a face on their screens.
The next semester, for reasons that I will spare you, I decided to be a virtual instructor. A significant challenge I experienced was in replicating the immediate interaction of physically being in the same room with my students as they solved problems. I needed a tool that would allow me to conduct polls and to pose open-ended questions in real time while I conducted synchronous online lectures for my courses, which typically have an enrollment of 35 students.
I investigated several platforms, including Slido, Mentimeter, TurningPoint, and Poll Everywhere. In all these platforms, students can type written answers to questions through a web browser. Instructors can see the answers and share them, if they so desire, with the whole class during a synchronous online meeting.
Stony Brook University supports the use of TurningPoint, where each student pays a fee for a license. Currently, the cost is about $10 for a five-month term. One benefit of using TurningPoint is that the student responses can be connected to the Grade Center in Blackboard. For options that result in no extra cost to students, Stony Brook instructors can use Google Forms, but I found this a bit “less interactive.” Google Docs and Google Slides are platforms where students write in a “live” document (In Slides, the instructor can prepare a set of identical slides and assign a group of students to each slide for a problem-solving activity in real time). Zoom also has a polling tool that instructors can use for real time interaction during a meeting. Lastly, Zoom has the chat tool, which also allows for immediate interactivity during a synchronous meeting.
After exploring all the options, I decided to pay for my own subscription to Poll Everywhere. This tool helped me simulate the real time human interaction of being in the same physical space with students. In fact, this tool proved so valuable that I am planning to keep using it after the pandemic is behind us.
This is how I used it. When teaching during a synchronous meeting, I started a typical lesson with a greeting and a word cloud that was generated by the students’ answers to a question like, “write down a word that describes how you feel”, or “tell us something you gained and something you lost because of COVID” I tried to acknowledge the hardship of the moment and, to remind us of hope.
During the rest of the lecture I would never talk for more than 10 minutes without having the students participate in some way. For instance, when we studied how Ancient Egyptians measured geometric figures, I asked students to answer one of the following questions: “What does measuring a segment mean?” or “How do you measure a segment?” At that point in the course, Egyptians were discovering mathematical concepts and I wanted my student to put themselves in the experience of discovery. After reading some answers, I gave my own, or shared some of the students’ responses. I explained why certain answers were inappropriate. Then I asked, “What does it mean to find the area of a plane shape?” Finally, I gave concrete examples of Ancient Egyptian problems where shapes are measured.
Another frequent activity was having the students read a paragraph and explain what it means. For instance, it is said that when the ruler Ptolemy asked Euclid whether there was a way of learning geometry faster than reading The Elements, a 13-book mathematical treatise, Euclid answered: “There is no royal road to geometry.” Then I asked students to write what they thought Euclid meant.
Sometimes I asked for educated guesses on topics where students were unlikely to know the answer. After a discussion, I would pose the same question again. I tried to use Zoom breakout rooms for group activities, but I did not manage to do it in a productive way. I would often visit a breakout room and find the students in complete silence. Some students expressed frustration at the lack of participation by their classmates.
Every time a beautiful math idea appeared in front of us (and there are so many!) I would point it out and emphasize how lucky we were to be studying such wonders.
At the end of each lecture, students wrote up a short summary of the lecture and submitted it through the Poll Everywhere tool. However, this could be done with another tool or through Blackboard, which is the learning management system supported by Stony Brook University.
Overall, I think all of us learned about math history and about each other. Reading the students’ answers to my open-ended questions was like visiting their minds, in a way sometimes more effective than my “face reading” during the in-person lectures. Mostly because I could read the answers one by one, (and when reading a whole bunch of faces it is easy to miss a few), and also because all students answered (and words are often more explicit than faces).
Two books have helped, taught, and inspired me during this time of teaching during the pandemic: James M. Lang’s Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning and Dan Levy’s Teaching Effectively with Zoom: A Practical Guide to Engage Your Students and Help Them Learn. Lang has also many useful essays in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
While I write these last words, the students of last semester come to my mind, and I find it hard to believe that I miss them even though I never met most of them in person. This was my first all-virtual teaching semester, and despite all the turmoil of the time we are living in, to my surprise, I enjoyed almost every minute of the experience.
Dr. Chas and Dr. Alan Kim are facilitating the SBU Faculty Writing Group, which meets on Fridays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. starting on Feb. 5 through April 30, 2021. Register at this link. The Faculty Writing Group is sponsored and supported by the CELT’s Faculty Commons.
As we begin the semester, be sure to find out more about the technology setup in your scheduled room. Concerned about engaging all students? Here are some tips:
Have a TA or student monitor the chat and update you when questions arise.
Virtual students will need more “wait time” due to the technology – wait for most students to be ready after asking a question.
Be clear in your expectations around discussions, breakout rooms, presentations, and assign a role for each member.
Online engagement may look different from what you are used to in your face-to-face classes, and perhaps even different from your previous online courses. If you are teaching on Zoom to a sea of black boxes with names on them, it is impossible to see facial expressions or body language – those cues we may be used to looking for in a physical classroom. The same is true for asynchronous courses, where you may not have video interaction with students. To determine if students are engaged in your online courses, you might ask: Are they submitting their work on time? Are they posting thoughtful replies in the discussion forums? Do they ask questions? Do they reply to quick polls in Zoom? How are their weekly quiz and exam grades?
→ Asynchronous Engagement
If you make your presence known in your asynchronous online course up front, it will be off to an engaging start. A welcome video shows your students who you are and lets you speak to them more directly about course expectations. Post announcements frequently in Blackboard, and give students timely feedback. You can record videos to the cloud in Zoom for quick and accessible summaries or feedback. A clear and detailed syllabus, a variety of activities, frequent formative assessments, open-ended questions for discussion, opportunities for group work, and a careful choice of tools all make for an engaging asynchronous course.
→ Synchronous Engagement
Use synchronous sessions for interactive lectures, office hours, recitations to follow up on asynchronous lecture material, review sessions (try a trivia game!), group projects, and other active learning activities. Make eye contact with the camera, allow time for your students to become familiar with engagement features, wait after you pose a question, plan structured breakout activities, and check in often making sure your students are engaging in your synchronous sessions. If time allows, you can start your Zoom sessions 10 minutes early and stay around 10 minutes after, so students can chat with each other and ask you questions, as they would before and after an in-person class.
*The pandemic is an ongoing challenge*
I mentioned teaching to a “sea of black boxes” above. Does that sound familiar? Teaching remotely can be challenging, but there are many engagement options in both the synchronous and asynchronous space. It may be tempting to convince yourself that none of your students are paying attention in Zoom and that you need to require a webcam. Or it may be easy to give up if students become disengaged in asynchronous discussion forums a few weeks into the semester. At this time, when it remains hard for many of us to stay engaged, remain flexible and understanding. Reach out to struggling students. We are all doing our best!
Tools and Tips for Engaging Students in Online Courses
VoiceThread
VoiceThread is an asynchronous discussion tool designed to enhance student engagement and foster presence in online courses. You can upload media in various formats and both you and your students can add comments (video, audio, text). Read our previous blog post about VoiceThread. Try using VoiceThread in the following ways:
Assign a lecture to watch and allow students to comment using guiding questions
Have students create their own VoiceThread presentations and comment on each other’s for peer feedback
Assign a group presentation – students can add individual comments and/or slides
Upload a case study or other document for students to comment on and ask questions about
Have students critique or discuss creative works (audio, video, or text!)
Use in small asynchronous classes for introductions/ice breakers
Blackboard Discussion Board
Discussion forums are commonly used in online courses. Questions that encourage critical thinking, forums for purposes other than homework, and clear expectations help to ensure your students stay engaged in the conversation. Try out the following forum ideas:
General Question or “Water Cooler” forum: students can ask questions about course administration and help each other (fewer emails!)
Introduction forum: you and your students can get to know each other (fostering student connections is a key to success!)
Study Hall forum: to use prior to exams for specific questions (a TA can moderate!)
“Muddiest Point” (what is still unclear) forum: students can post questions after synchronous or asynchronous lectures
Student Generated forum questions: to use for class discussions
“Key Terms/Vocabulary” forum: generated by students
Zoom Breakout Rooms
Breakout rooms in Zooms can help you incorporate small group engagement in your courses. You can assign them randomly, manually, or let students choose (Zoom may need to be updated). You can assign TAs or student leaders co-host status to help manage your breakout rooms.
Assign random pairs to breakout rooms for a quick think-pair-share. In large classes, combine with Google Docs or have only a few pairs share
Pre-assign small groups for a structured, 20-minute in class activity
Utilize synchronous class time for groups to work together on a long-tern project
Polling & Quizzing
In both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, frequent quizzing and polling can help keep students engaged. Zoom polling is already built in!
Add multiple choice polls to your Zoom meetings Use other polling tools such as Kahoot or PollEverywhere (limited free usage)
Create weekly quizzes in Blackboard for asynchronous classes
Google Docs are a great way to foster collaboration in your courses. Think of creative ways to incorporate docs, sheets, slides, and other Google apps.
Have students produce work together such as an infographic or concept map
Ask your students to share their “muddiest point” at the end of class
Echo360
Echo360 is a lecture streaming/capture/recording/active learning tool you can use to record lectures and foster student engagement.
Add a variety of quiz questions to your lecture
Students can indicate which parts are unclear with “flags”
What has worked well in your courses?
Contact CELTand request a consultation if you would like to discuss with us how you can best incorporate engagement tools and strategies.
Preparing your online course for winter term? Worried about how to maintain the academic rigor without overwhelming yourself and your students?
Here are some strategies for shortened terms that might help.
Course Design Tips:
Organize your content into topical modules, rather than “weeks.” For example, in the fall semester each week might consist of 1 topic, but you can easily double or triple up on topics to teach in winter or summer.
For modules with more than one topic, you can provide students with a choice in topics and have them present to the whole group so students are learning from each other and covering more than one facet of the course.
If you use Blackboard’s Date Restrictions to reveal new content in stages, consider overlapping dates so students can work slightly ahead. For example, if module 2 normally ends on Sunday night, you can open module 3 on Saturday instead of Monday.
Consider using frequent quizzes, short one-paragraph “checks for understanding,” or discussion boards to help students gauge their own progress.
Grade assignments quickly so that students have the benefit of your feedback before it’s too late to improve their performance.
Workload:
Use an online workload calculator to get a handle on how realistic your expectations are, especially for a winter or summer term. Then think about whether you can trim anything while keeping the essentials of the course.
Does everything in a regular 14-week term need to be identical in a 6- week or 3-week? Might it be counterproductive in an accelerated term? Can anything be omitted? Try this filtering process for examining the course content*:
One to two weeks before the course starts:
Prepare and send out your syllabus as a Word/PDF attachment. This gives students a chance to buy books and get a jump start on the readings. It also sets the tone for an accelerated term.
Send out a link to a welcome video where you briefly introduce yourself and your course. Here’s an example.
Allow students to post an introduction in the discussion board or VoiceThread so they can get to know their classmates.
Open the Blackboard site early** so students can access your lectures and other materials. Make the assignment dues dates explicit. You’d be surprised to know that experienced online students will take advantage of this.
Cheerlead! Use the Announcements tool in Blackboard to encourage your students to log in early and often. Post an announcement and send it to students’ email addresses. Tell them how much you want them to succeed in the course.
**Note: Blackboard will be down for critical system maintenance from December 27, 2020 – January 4, 2021. Consider emailing some readings, etc. to the students with your syllabus so they can get started prior to Blackboard’s availability. While Blackboard is unavailable, you can download a list of your student’s emails from SOLAR.
As we navigate through this new way of teaching remotely and online, there have been many educational technologies available to faculty to implement into their courses to facilitate academic engagement. One of these technologies is VoiceThread. VoiceThread is an interactive way to present multimedia content that allows for collaboration among students and faculty. You can use VoiceThread to deliver instructional content, provide an alternative way to facilitate discussions, and allow students to create their own multimedia presentations for assignments.
There are many ways to incorporate VoiceThread into your class and this can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. To help you navigate the VoiceThread waters, we have developed short instructional resources focusing on using VoiceThread inside of Blackboard:
You can use VoiceThread to deliver course content, for interactive multimedia discussions, and as a graded assessment for students. VoiceThread can also be used to deliver asynchronous presentations publicly.
VoiceThread integrates with Blackboard providing direct links to presentations and graded assignments.
You can grade VoiceThread assignments which link to the Grade Center in Blackboard.
Over time, more resources will be added on topics such as groups, assignments in Blackboard, and some basic troubleshooting tips. If you have an idea for a short VoiceThread tutorial or an issue that you have come across on which you would like more guidance, please email celt@stonybrook.edu.
Over the past few months as courses have moved from face-to-face to remote online, both faculty and students have had to – for better or for worse – adapt to the new format. Whether moving to remote, synchronous classes or to fully online, asynchronous courses, the transition has many faculty rethinking their course design. Many are reevaluating how they teach their courses and what they need to do to engage students when they may no longer meet at a scheduled time or in a physical space.
Shifting your course from face-to-face to online requires more than just using technologies to move your content online. It requires reflection and careful consideration on how you might adapt and redesign elements of your course to engage students as a community of learners.
One useful model for informing our course (re)design is the Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007). A Community of Inquiry is a group of learners who through collaboration and discussion construct meaning and understanding. The CoI framework lays out a collaborative-constructivist approach to the learning experience which consists of three essential and interdependent elements – teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence (Community of Inquiry Framework, n.d.).
Matbury, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Teaching Presence
Within the CoI framework, teaching presence can be established by thoughtful and evidence-based instructional design principles. Careful course design, active facilitation, and direct instruction work together to promote social and cognitive processes to achieve meaningful learning. This requires us to rethink our assumptions about how our courses should be designed and delivered in the online space to engage students. We have to ask ourselves, will what I do in the face-to-face course work well in my online course?
Some factors to consider in the design and implementation of the online course are:
Facilitating student learning through discussion boards/VoiceThreads – giving consideration to the ways you want students to participate and how you will moderate those discussions
Providing students with frequent, timely, and formative feedback
Determining the layout of the course in Blackboard or Learning Management System (LMS) – thinking about how will students engage in the content, where they will find pertinent information, and being explicit about what students need to do to succeed
Social Presence
Garrison (2009, p. 352) describes social presence as “the ability of participants to identify with the community (e.g., course of study), communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop interpersonal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities.“ With careful consideration and intentional instructional design, we can create and facilitate social presence in an online learning environment.
Some ways we can create social presence are by:
Projecting our teaching persona via regular Blackboard announcements, welcome video and/or course or module overview videos (using Zoom, VoiceThread, or Echo 360) thus modeling behavior for our students
Developing course activities that allow the class to establish trust and rapport facilitated through the use of icebreakers, discussion boards, and group and collaborative assignments and projects
Offering virtual office hours via Zoom
Cognitive Presence
Cognitive presence relates to the extent that learners are able to construct meaning through discourse and reflection. By conveying the big ideas we want students to know and carefully designing activities and assessments around those activities.
Ways to develop cognitive presence are by:
Providing frequent formative assessment and meaningful feedback
Articulating clear and measurable learning objectives for the course and modules
Using a variety of teaching methods, media, and modalities with multiple opportunities for practice and reflection to achieve the learning outcomes
Encourage critical and creative thinking where students question their own assumptions, consider diverse perspectives, and respond to open-ended questions through online discussions and reflections
The CoI can be a useful framework when thinking about (re)designing your online course. If you would like more information about the CoI or you would like to consult with one of our instructional designers to talk about your courses, please contact us at CELT@stonybrook.edu
Garrison, D. R. (2009). Communities of inquiry in online learning. In Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition (pp. 352-355). IGI Global.
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The internet and higher education, 2(2-3), 87-105.
Garrison, D. R., & Arbaugh, J. B. (2007). Researching the community of inquiry framework: Review, issues, and future directions. The Internet and higher education, 10(3), 157-172.
