Best Practices in Online Learning
Posted on August 7, 2009 by Jennifer Brady
Thanks to a site called Opposing Views and the writing there of Nancy Salvato in a piece called, “Online College is the Future of Education,” I was clued in to recently released research findings about the college of the future, cost calculators and all sorts of useful tid bits.
I found a number of points quite interesting but wanted to share what Ms. Salvato notes as best practices for online learning:
What practices appear to have a positive effect in online learning? Interestingly enough, video or online quizzes have little influence on the amount students learn in online classes.
Best Practices:
- Online learning can be enhanced by giving learners control of their interactions with media and prompting learner reflection.
- Prompts urging students to reflect on their learning improved outcomes.
- Providing students instruction in how to self regulate learning yielded stronger learning results.
- A course instructor moderating discussion groups can be useful when students are given a scenario to which they must respond.
- “Social scripts” structuring how students interact with each other “have been found to influence the way students engage with each other.”
In closing Ms. Salvato states, The evidence indicates that for those who want to learn and be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge, online education is a viable, affordable [sic] alternative to more traditional means of obtaining postsecondary education. It will allow people from all economic classes to take advantage of opportunities that might otherwise be unavailable to them.
While not all online education is necessarily more affordable than ‘traditional’ education when comparing tuition and fees, I would have to agree with her closing points. UMass is a quality public university system created to maximize the accessibility of a college education at a cost within the range of many more people across a spectrum of economic classes. As such, with its UMassOnline consortium, the University has given this mission a global mission and a worldwide reach.
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