Students do well when they have a sense of belonging and community interaction.  They also do well when encouraged to share their ideas, their experiences and perspectives.  When we can spend some time during a discussion board or during a lecture session and they have this opportunity to share, and we also, as a class and as the instructor can share, comment and encourage, there is more engagement in the course.  All of this can center on and circle around topics in the course itself.  

Lisa S

One thing I took away from this module is the importance of both social and motivational engagement in online courses. Many students are balancing work, school, and family responsibilities, so things like clear instructions, reminders, and instructor participation can help keep them engaged. Moving forward, I would like to improve how certain assignments are explained by possibly including examples or brief clarifications, while also continuing to participate in discussions and connect my own experiences to students’ posts to help maintain a sense of community in the course.

This topic helped me reinforce that online learning works best when students feel connected. Moving forward I want to focus on desgining lessons that encourage more engagement so students stay motivated and get the most out of the learning experience. 

Instead of just providing facts, focus on their confidence with immediate feedback. Low-stakes feedback to prevent learners from giving up.

Its important to keep students engaged in order to help them absorb the knowledge and also to create connections during their time online since this is going to be their first appearance in the industry; this is their first contact with the reality of the music that lives out there.

Helping students stay focused by reflecting on their motivation and goals has been an effective strategy during online learning. Students who are learning online may easily be distracted by a lack of space to study, family commitments, and work. I have learned to address the unique aspects of each student who has different ways of learning. I am learning to incorporate different tools to allow different perspectives to achieve the concepts and knowledge of a topic.

Examining some of the successful strategies I've already been using as well as other fresh, cutting-edge approaches I should use in the classroom has been an intriguing lesson. The classroom will benefit by including students in an online setting.

With online learning, most of the learner population will be your nontraditional adult learners of different ages, educational backgrounds/experiences who are balancing work, family responsibilities, and other life commitments. By understanding these personal experiences, it can help educators identify areas where flexibility, clearer communication, and additional academic support can help improve the learning experience.

This course reinforced the importance of introductions/social engagement. Having a present instructor, especially in an online course, is vital because it will allow the learner to feel supported and have that sense of connection, even when it is through a screen. Having an organized LMS and… >>>

Its very important making sure the content you are teaching your online learners is appealing to them not just reading text material. Finding new ideas to get there attention is key to there success. There are some students that are hands on and that is how they learn so this module gives you ideas on what to you can do to keep your online student eganged.

This has been an interesting module to look at some of the practices I have already been implementing that are effective and some new innovative methods that I should incorporate into the classroom.  Engaging students in an online environment will support the classroom.