Reflecting on topic 4 – supporting and guiding students in online courses

Posted on by Judy Botha

One of the things that I find most critical about online learning design is preparing the students for and guiding them through the course. The course should be designed so that students feel comfortable with the technology, know what to expect, and trust the process. Of course, this applies to traditional, face-to-face teaching but it … Continue reading Reflecting on topic 4 – supporting and guiding students in online courses →

Blended participation

Posted on by Dimitrios Andreou

An interesting method is the blended participation, where the teacher and some students are in the classroom, whereas some students are ‘only’ digitally present (Wang, Quek and Hu,2017). This is an interesting method, however my reflection here is that possibly, the students that are virtually present have a disadvantage and therefore, such a method should … Continue reading Blended participation →

Synchronous and asynchronous activities

Posted on by Dimitrios Andreou

In order to design a successful  blended or online course we need a framework. This framework integrates numerous elements and there are many decisions that we need to make. One important element is to have a balance between synchronous and asynchronous activities. It has been suggested that more complex issues need reflection and asynchronous activities, … Continue reading Synchronous and asynchronous activities →

Forget the “default model”: Collaborative learning- it works

Posted on by Mesfin Tessma

“The main object is to find a method by which teachers teach less but learners learn more” (John Amos Comenius, a 16th Century scholar). The default mode in teaching and learning is the traditional face-to-face, teacher centered method. But studies indicated this method is not effective in promoting learning. It’s always revealing to see how … Continue reading Forget the “default model”: Collaborative learning- it works