Engaging Students Online: Lessons from School of Business Course Developers

Abstract

The School of Business online course designers panel will share ideas of what tools have worked when building engaging yet rigorous and meaningful online content that is applicable across all disciplines.  Topics covered will include creating meaningful discussion forums and group projects, integrating outside resources (publisher generated) into online courses, making recorded lectures more engaging and strategies for reducing cheating on quizzes and assignments. Participants will leave the session with tangible ideas for developing engaging online content. They will also walk away with a meaningful start on converting some of their own content to online.

_____________________________________________________________

FULL ABSTRACT:

No matter what tool you use in your online classroom it is about student engagement and synergistic learning. The role of the instructor involves connecting students with the content in an effort to bring it to life. In online learning this connection can be lost if learning and assessment activities are not designed properly. It is important be intentional about the content and the scaffolding of the material.  Blackboard and other learning management systems provide many options and tools to create engaging content.  Yet many of these tools take significant time investment on the part of the instructor to create while the more imaginative tools require some technology knowledge and capability. 

The members of the proposed panel are all participants in the SOUPR course development program and have gained valuable insight and knowledge about creating engaging course content.  Each panel member will address a separate tool or topic that is of interest/use to faculty from across the university.  Individual topics include:

Katherine Rosenbusch, Assistant Professor, Management â Integrating Outside Resources

Using outside resources can enhance the learning experience for the student. There are several tools and resources that can be utilized to enrich your course including McGraw Hill Connect, Smartbook, Cengage Learning Mindlinks, CourseMate, Mindtap, and others. As instructors, it's important for us to understand that there is so much more to students than the life they lead in class, and it is important to show interest in a student and connect the content to their life. These tools can assist in making that connection.

Jim Harvey, Associate Professor, Marketing â Managing Online Group Projects