Michele Davis

Using social media FaceBook, Twitter, and Instagram can actually assist with the delivery of online learning. 

Utilizing multiple strategies to engage the online student is a priority in order to develop a successful interactive learning environment. 

Communication in a timely manner; it's respectful and shows the student your interested in their success. 

Having been an online student myself and having experienced both asynchronous and synchronous formats I prefer synchronous most. Watching a PowerPoint slide with voice-over was boring and I was not able to ask questions, I had to email the instructor and by the time the instructor got back to me I had moved on to the next assignment with little clarity on the previous. Voice-over is also boring and I am easily distracted. Synchronous instructions worked best because I was able to ask questions at the time of the presentation and if I had to miss for some reason it… >>>

There are a variety of tools that can be used to engage students online; Blogs, Wikis, Google, and virtual classrooms. 

Designing interactive coursework that is engaging allows for the ability to evaluate and assess what students know.

Evaluating and presenting to the students 'what the purpose of an assignment is and why it's important' a rationale for the objectives and how the objectives will be utilized in practice.   

The methods for synchronous and asynchronous learning are not new to me.  I have used the methods before when treating patients and in my own online pursuit of education and now I will apply these methods to teaching as an instructor myself. I am excited and ready to start finding hospital educators to come into my classes as guest speakers to present their expertise and insight into the subject matter we are covering in class. 

Interactive coursework to allow for student engagement and purpose.

I really enjoyed this section and gained a better understanding based on the following facts:

• The attention span of most individuals is in the 15-18 minute range.
• We generally only remember about 25% of what we hear.
• We normally only retain 40% of what we read.
• We can listen 4 times faster than we can speak.