Three Questions for an Online Learning Leader
course assessments . Instructors must understand that the students enrolled in their courses will have a wide range of experiences with online learning . The fast-paced , massive shift from faceto-face to online courses for more traditional institutions has resulted in many first-time students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels never having taken an online course . Though a student may be technologically savvy , online learning does not operate like social media or online search engines . Faculty members have to acknowledge that the learning curve for many newto-online learners will be steep .
To avoid further disadvantaging learners who lack adequate access to appropriate hardware and Internet service , faculty members should utilize quality tutorials and short videos to ensure they understand the content covered on assessments and the related procedures to follow when taking them online . In any online learning environment , it is critical to communicate course-related procedures to learners in a clear manner : this is especially important when the learners are unfamiliar with the learning context or are under duress , as many are , due to COVID-19 .
Leaders and faculty members need to research and then employ strategies to reduce incidences of academic dishonesty to best measure student outcomes in an online course . Today , many websites that students can access enable them to cheat on online assessments . Many perceive that it is easier to engage in academic dishonesty in an online environment than in a face-to-face course .
Faculty members wanting to ensure they are effectively measuring their students ’ knowledge of course objectives will need to create assessments that are more open-ended and provide opportunities for unique answers . This includes developing alternatives to proctored exams . While requiring proctored exams may be an effective method to decrease the occurrence of academic dishonesty , the use of proctored exams may put some learners with poor Internet access at a disadvantage . The cost of some emerging types of online exams may be a financial burden for some students , especially if they are unaware of the fees prior to the initial time of test registration .
Ingenuity and empathy are essential in developing course assessments that both meet the needs of a wide range of learners and accurately measure learning outcomes . For these reasons , the recommendation is that academic departments form teams of faculty members whose charge is to develop common assessment procedures that reflect best practices in online learning and then repeat those throughout the program of study .
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College students may struggle with math instruction that is primarily offered online . Which digital tools and strategies do you recommend for online math courses in higher education ?
Textbook companies have become highly effective in developing online course supplements . Selecting textbooks with high quality , user-friendly
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