Online Learning News - August 12, 2020

Host: Dr. Susie L. Gronseth
Clinical Associate Professor of Learning, Design, and Technology at the University of Houston

Dr. Gronseth is Clinical Associate Professor in the Learning, Design, and Technology program area in the College of Education at the University of Houston (Houston, Texas, USA). She specializes in learning technologies, teaching strategies, instructional design, health sciences education, and applications of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to address diverse learner needs in online, face-to-face, and blended contexts.

Free Webinar!

How to Make Online Teaching Accessible and Inclusive

Monday, August 17, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (ET)

Learn how to design online courses using Universal Design and other best practices to make them accessible to learners with disabilities and to support all learners’ varied approaches to learning. Dr. Susie L. Gronseth, author of Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design: International Perspectives on UDL outlines a series of practical steps and best practices to recognize potential access barriers for learners in online courses, to design accessible online course materials, and to provide maximum flexibility and support for learners through online design using Universal Design for Learning guidelines.

Takeaways from this webinar include:

• How to identify and understand varied learner needs
• How to make documents, videos, and other course materials accessible
• How to re-envision course designs to support different ways to engage and assess learners
• How to incorporate inclusive strategies to motivate learners, help them get a sense of community and regulate their own learning

Register Now!

How Online Learning is Triggering the Emergence of a New Pedagogy

One and a half billon students around the world are engaged in online learning due to COVID-19 pandemic. This number could increase this fall and winter.

Faculty are exploring what this online teaching reality means for them, including:

• What is the new pedagogy of remote teaching at scale really like?
• What does engaged learning look like in this new environment?
• How is online learning changing how we teach whether online or on campus?

Read the full article, A New Pedagogy is Emerging... and Online Learning is a Key Contributing Factor.

Free Webinar!

How to Teach Online Effectively
Using Zoom

Join Contact North | Contact Nord Research Associate, Dr. Ron Owston, on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for a free webinar focusing on:

• How to use Zoom effectively to engage with and involve students in their learning;
• How to use Zoom, not just to deliver lectures or make one-way presentations to students, but to facilitate small group work, class challenges, and student presentations;
• How to move from talking head to active learning with Zoom;
• How to make learning valuable and successful when teaching via Zoom; and
• What are the “top tips” users have from using Zoom for teaching.

NOTE: A basic knowledge of how to set up and join a Zoom meeting is assumed. If you do not have these skills, visit http://zoom.us to get a free account, or get one from your institution, to familiarize yourself before the session.

Register Here

Students Develop Games for Learning at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland

Explore the Gamification Toolbox developed at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland, an English-language open educational resource, with detailed descriptions of how to play each game, as well as templates and models. The games, quizzes, discussions, and simulations provide training for the insurance industry and content can be modified to include information relevant in various countries.

Learn More about Canada’s Only Directory of Online Learning Researchers!

Search the profiles of 115+ researchers who share a common commitment to improving online learning experiences for students. Their research explores topics such as strategies for student engagement, design principles, learning motivation, success and support. Each profile features the researcher’s interests, key collaborators, institutional information and top 3 cited publications in the past 5 years.

Access the Contact North I Contact Nord Searchable Directory

Read Dr. Tony Bates’ Blog Post

In this blog post, Dr. Bates shares his reflections about online learning during COVID-19.

Read Contact North I Contact Nord Research Associate Dr. Tony Bates’ blog post:

Happy vacations, everyone! And a reflection on online learning during Covid-19

Must-Read Books on Online Learning

Must-Read Books on Online Learning features books and articles of interest to those involved in the expansion and improvement of online learning.

Tool Kit Edition
(Free Help Guides Available on Kindle)

As faculty begin to think about the fall term (or even summer sessions) online, they may be wondering how best to use the tools the college or university has enabled them to use. Here are some free to use materials, which will help with the basic platforms being used for synchronous learning.

Zoom
Korman, C. (2020). Zoom for Teachers 2020: A Complete Guide to Learn Zoom Cloud Meetings for Video Webinars, Live Stream, Conference and Classroom Management. Independently Published.

A comprehensive guide to the world of Zoom and how it can be used for teaching, including Zoom groupwork.

Microsoft Teams
Baker, Y. (2020). Microsoft Teams for Education: 2020 Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Office 365 Microsoft Teams for Online Learning and Online Meetings. Amazon Services

A quick guide to using all of the functionality available in MS Teams. Well written and easy to understand.

Adobe Connect
A Complete Introduction to Teaching with Adobe Connect (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6I4JFvmZiQ

Experience Driven Learning
https://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect/learning.html

Browse all Must-Read Books