The notion that face-to-face, or synchronous teaching more generally, is inherently superior to online asynchronous (on-demand) learning is a myth. Those that claim online delivery results in poor motivation, disengagement and the absence of a learning community are referencing the outcome of educators who have attempted to shoe-horn an in-person experience in an online environment. Course

Online forums and discussion boards have a dismal reputation for poor student engagement. If these are used at all, it’s either by a small subset of students or as an administrative app for students to seek clarifications or guidance on assessment tasks. Instead, try combining the power of reflection and peer-engagement in an asynchronous forum activity that encourages your students to present

Chances are your lowest myExperience rating is for feedback while the second lowest is for assessments. Students crave feedback and assessments are the root of all evil. One solution is rapid, individualised feedback coupled with low-stakes assessment. In my course, myExperience evaluations for feedback are 5.7-5.9/6.0 and for assessments 5.6-5.8/6.0 (across the last four years). How do

Online, asynchronous learning offers students the greatest flexibility: it allows delivery of content on-demand and irrespective of where a student happens to be. The key to success for this online format, paradoxically it seems, is to encapsulate this flexibility with structure. Without structure, a student’s self-regulation, motivation and engagement with the course flounders. Providing

Not all of your students will have English as their first language and these students are inherently at a disadvantage. The speed of delivery, a lecturer’s accent, the use of jargon or the general complexity of words used present barriers to student comprehension. This may even be true for students who come from an English speaking background as well. There are two solutions: 1. providing