Conference Reflections - How Relevant is AECT?

My great friend and associate Dr. Lewis Chongwony just posted a GREAT reflection on his experiences at the international convention for the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. He asks some critical questions about AECT and its fundamental purpose and impact. I highly recommend reading the post.

I also attended AECT's convention this year, and I had some similar thoughts. Here are my reactions in bullet-point form. (You will notice that I use the term we in these questions - I am a scholar and a member of AECT and the Educational Technology/Instructional Design community).

• What is our purpose? This is something I have wondered about for several years. What is the purpose of AECT? It feels like it is essentially focused on supporting and rewarding research related to educational technology. But, I and many others have wondered what positive result this has achieved outside our own circle of discussion.
• How can we impact education instead of simply researching it? I am not saying that no impact has been made, but many problems continue to plague our educational system. Right now higher education institutions and typical tenure policies are focused on rewarding research and research-related activities. This is important, but it seems to be disconnected from the issues we see in the systems we are trying to understand and influence.
• We are topic centered instead of problem-centered. The very structure of AECT is based around different topics, and as scholars we tend to ask "what is the topic of your study?" Even though we know the power of a problem-centered approach, we still think in a topic-centered way. If we want to have an impact, we must select a problem or a series of problems that we are going to take responsibility to solve.
• How can we share our scholarship more effectively? I see this as an attempt to make our knowledge more accessible and therefore more used by practitioners. A few observations - first, academics have been trained to do a specific style of writing. It can be inherently boring, very long-winded, and hard to interpret and apply. Second, the cost of our publications can be prohibitive. I attended a session on an excellent book that had been written by some peers of mine, but when I went to purchase the book, I found that it was nearly $100 for the book. Seriously? $100? We can't figure out a way to reduce the costs of publishing that book? It didn't have any special color illustrations or anything like that, so why in the world was it so expensive? I can only assume that it was a result of some kind of strange publisher relationship...

I have considered AECT my scholarly home, and it is an outstandingly supportive community. But I certainly join Dr. Chongwony (and many others speaking at the convention) in questioning the direction we have been heading and our relevance and impact on the actual practice of education. My deepest desire is to positive impact peoples' lives and improve the nations and people I work with. Am I doing so through my work with AECT? I have found myself over the past couple of years branching out to different ways of sharing my knowledge (like this blog and an upcoming book that I have written) to make this knowledge more available to others. Will AECT as an organization make the changes it needs to remain relevant and have a deeper impact on the practice of education?

Summit Notes: Essential Institutional Capacities to Lead Innovation

I recently attended the WECT 2017 Summit on Essential Institutional Capacities to Lead Innovation. It was a very good conference that shared some best practices in higher education for innovations to improve student success. Below are some of the notes I took during the conference.

Michelle Weise - Sandbox Collaborative – Southern New Hampshire University

Michelle discussed some of the things that her university has been doing to promote design thinking and collaborative, creative problem solving at her university and as a service for other universities. They created the Sandbox Collaborative, which is a space where people can really think through their design needs and consider solutions for their work. They pulled together a variety of research-based tools and techniques from research and other organization. The space looks very open, beautiful, different, and inviting. It seems to be the kind of space that would be interesting and exciting to be in. The space and group serves as internal consultancy focused on performance improvement for the university (the current needs) and to help look at over the horizon solutions and opportunities (the future). In my experience, it is very difficult to maintain and optimize what is already existing while simultaneously planning for new, innovative systems and approaches.

She noted that they started in “stealth mode” which allowed them to develop and grow and innovate. If you are under scrutiny of others and have the existing culture and patterns imposed on you, you may have a difficult time being able to move forward and will likely lose many of your innovative ideas. Autonomy is critical in the initial phases.

Jeff Borden - St. Leo University – Innovation Incubator

Jeff talked about their innovation incubator, which has been a place for innovating and creating great solutions for the university. They eventually created LionShare, which is a system that pulls together all kinds of student behavior data and provides the students with a variety of supports and tools that provide just in time support to students that is strong up-front and decreases over time. “For technology to work, integration is the key.”

Does your university support innovation? Will they put money behind it? Will they support it?

If an organization or individual is rewarded for innovation, then innovation will happen.

Some reflections: to me, it seems that implementing the innovation is a major issue. Jeff addressed it with the need to consider stakeholder engagement, but there is much more to it than that. What if we never put enough resources toward solving the problem? What if we don’t beta test? What if we ignore cultural or international issues? What if we don’t use foundational project management strategies effectively?

Breakout Session 1: Identify the Talent You Have, What You Need, and Where to Discover Candidates

MJ Bishop

Dr. Bishop shared some key results of a couple of powerful studies that look closely at centers for teaching and learning.

Bishop, M., & Keehn, A. (2015). Leading academic change: An early market scan of leading-edge postsecondary academic innovation centers.

The results of the study included the following insights:

• Institutional culture is one of the biggest challenges to innovating, along with lack of resources.
• Innovation centers seem to be regularly undergoing reorganization. (7 of 10 interviewed were undergoing a major revision).
• Building collaboration was a key thing organizations were doing (collaboration within campus organizations).
• There seems to have been a shift from faculty success to student success.
• Most teaching/learning centers started between 2001 and 2010.
• Most leaders of these centers have had faculty experience.
• Most report to the provost or academic affairs.
• In most, the mission and reporting function changed a lot over the last several years.

Outreach to department chairs and financial incentives were the most effective methods for increasing faculty engagement with the center.

Christina Anderson

Christina asked a few questions that really help us gain a focus with the changes we are working to make within an organization. Some good questions here:

• What are you trying to change?
• Why?
• How will you know it’s been successful?
• When does it need to happen?
• Who needs to be involved?

There are certainly some foundational project management/goal setting/change management principles embedded in these questions.

Jay Hollowell

Sometimes we are pushed into a swimming pool of sharks. (If you don’t know the joke, it is funny J). This is often the cause of innovation –we do it as a reaction to something in the environment. We can also do it proactively without a push into the shark pool - either way, we must react and adapt and innovate.

Near the end of the presentation, we met as a table and discussed the following question. I have added in our responses.

How must higher education institutions change to better support learning?

• Redesign the tenure process to go the teaching track or research track. This will help facilitate improve teaching and learning.
• Bring in additional roles such as mentors to help students move through a learning path as opposed to different courses. Western Governors seems to do this. There could be other supplements including having students provide that kind of support.
• Incentivize faculty to design courses more effectively so that the students start effectively.
• Faculty learning communities – faculty teach the same course and come together and have a  conversation about the course and what they are doing, struggling with, what is working. Faculty seem to struggle with the concept of community and dialogue can help instill the idea of sharing experiences and expertise.
• Hire more full-time faculty.
• Quality onboarding of new faculty. Be more intentional in onboarding. Focus on teaching them how to teach online and face-to-face. Create an experience of up to 12-18 months. Use quality standards and rubrics, peer evaluations, and others.
• What role should the teaching and learning center plan in today’s learning design infrastructure?
• We focus a lot of effort on instructional design to help support the teachers Simplicity is often key – focus on the basics of ID, teaching effectiveness. 

Again, this was a great experience. I have found, though, that very often the context of sitting in a conference is not that I am acquiring the content that is being shared, but that I am thinking alongside the presentations. These presentations often spur ideas and insights that are meaningful but that are not at all related to the presentation content! That was the case at this conference - many ideas for improving myself, my work, and creative endeavors, and the university for which I work.

Thanks, WCET, for a great experience!

Day 2 ACE Leadership Academy for Department Chairs

At the ACE Leadership Academy for Department Chairs. Dr. Yi Yang and myself.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently attended the ACE Leadership Academy for Department Chairs. This has been an excellent experience - the facilitators have imparted excellent knowledge and it was wonderful to meet and learn from my fellow department chairs at the workshop. There was definitely more information and knowledge shared than I could ever effectively assimilate in such a short time period. However, I have boiled down a few few key insights from the experience.

The team of presenters. An excellent group!

What I Learned

• People - Many of the speakers spoke about different topics (diversity, finances, innovation, etc.), but the conversation always seemed to circle back to the importance of working effectively with the department faculty. Being able to work positively with your faculty is critical because without their support and efforts, all initiatives are essentially neutralized.  The ability to influence and lead change is paramount.
• The Department - One speaker stated that the department is the most important unit on campus. It is where all of the actual student learning takes place. Without faculty, there is no university. Therefore, we  It facilitates the work of the faculty and facilitates the learning of the students.
• Finances -  In any organization, money is the driver. Without financial resources (which essentially turns into people, space, or stuff) an links directly to our performances. I feel more confident but would like to build my understanding and experience therewith.
• Franklin has some excellent strengths - Many traditional universities faculty have little understanding of the changes happening in higher education. Franklin seems to be responding effectively through various strategic initiatives and is very active in adapting to change.

A great visual that shows the flow of resources in a traditional university.

What I Want to Learn

• Budgeting and finances. I realize that this is something that I am very interested in - for an organization's strategy to be effective, it must utilize its resources effectively and appropriately. I would like to better understand how finances are utilized to support and bring about effective strategy.
• Broader organizational view. I would like to get a larger view of all of the parts of an organization, including how all of the parts function individually and together to achieve student learning and success.
• A broader view of higher education. I would like to learn more about other universities, how they are structured, how they function, their strategies and problems. I would like to really expand my view of how higher education functions and where I fit within the big picture..

Perhaps my greatest benefit I gained from this meeting is motivation to continue to grow and expand myself. It was definitely motivating to see and learn from people who have done the things I want to do. I'll probably share more ideas and plans as time goes on...

5 Models of Course Development Responsibility in Higher Education

As more and more online courses are developed and taught, instructional design in higher education is becoming more prevalent. However, the way that instructional design is implemented is done very differently depending on the university. Specifically, there are several different ways that university leadership assigns responsibility and control in the design function, and I describe what I see as the 5 most common. But which of these can provide the greatest level of quality so that students can indeed achieve success? I describe my thoughts below.

1. Faculty Only - In the faculty only approach, faculty members do all of the course design and development work. Under this approach, they may have some level of technology support but make all design decisions based on their own experiences and expertise. 
2. Faculty Responsible with Optional Design Support - In this approach, faculty members still have primary responsibility but may have instructional designer(s) available to support the faculty member in his or her work. In this case, the support of the instructional designer is not required.
3. Faculty Responsible with Required Design Support - In this approach, the faculty member still has primary responsibility for the course but are required to work with an instructional designer. In this case, the instructional designer may assist in organizing and building the course and typically has a set of standards to ensure course quality.
4. Designer Responsible with Active Faculty Participation- In this approach, the instructional designer bears the responsibility for course design and development and relies on a faculty member for support and content expertise. 
5. Third Party Responsible with Faculty Support - In this approach, a third party developer takes full responsibility for the work that is done and may work with a faculty member to gather content. This third party might be a separate university or a for-profit entity. I have heard and observed some pretty poor results when using the for-profit groups, though there are likely some that do good work and yield great success.

Which is Best?

So, which approach will produce courses of the highest quality possible? In my opinion, it must be an approach that requires the active participation of both faculty and instructional designers. I have worked with faculty under approach number 3 and 4, and I have found them to both be effective. My belief, though, is that number 4, Designer Responsible with Active Faculty Participation, is most likely to produce the highest quality course. My friend and colleague Lewis Chongwony wrote a great blog post about how design faculty at the International Institute for Innovative Instruction use this approach in greater detail.

The fundamental issue here is course quality. Does the course help students learn? Does the course employ research-based practices? Is it founded on validated principles of instruction? Does it target the needs of the learners and present knowledge in efficient, effective, engaging ways? As higher education continues to evolve, and these questions become more and relevant, the effective implementation of instructional design will become more crucial to student and institutional success.

Article Review: Leadership Through Instructional Design in Higher Education

I recently read an article by Kristi Shaw entitled Leadership Through Instructional Design in Higher Education. It introduced to me the suggestion that instructional designers have unique skills that enable them to have particular success in higher education leadership. She writes:

"The qualities of instructional designers and the necessary characteristics for leadership overlap. Expert instructional designers are highly educated and many possess advanced graduate degrees. Instructional designers are experts in problem solving and critical thinking. Designers demonstrate high levels of professionalism and believe in a learning mindset. In addition, instructional designers commonly have backgrounds that enrich their leadership and design toolkit. For example, many designers have backgrounds in training, technology and education. "

I will discuss each of these concepts below. Shaw lists several key skills for higher education leadership and describes how instructional designers already possess many of these skills and abilities as a result of their education and the nature of their work.

• Problem Solving - Leaders must have the capacity to solve complex problems, and instructional designers are in the practice of solving complex problems in their work. I have personally found that the capacities I developed as a designer and in my PhD studies in instructional technology and learning sciences can be transferred and applied to problem solving in many areas.
• Critical Thinking - Critical thinking involves analysis (taking the whole apart), evaluation (placing value on something), creativity (synthesizing for highly contextualized solutions) and reflection (metacognition, consideration of different approaches and strategies). Designers by default take knowledge apart to make it more easily learned. They continually evaluate their own work, the work of others, and the learning of their students. They create solutions to design problems and have the capacity to consider their own processes and actions and take new approaches to their work.
• Model Ethical Behavior - I've personally committed to ethical behavior through my commitments of faith (no lying, cheating, misrepresenting, stealing, etc.). In addition, I have committed to live by the 10 Standards espoused by the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), which standards guide me toward ethical contribution to the organizations I work for. 
• Constant Adaptation and Learning - This means establishing a habit of continual improvement. It has been shown that higher degrees earned in higher education facilitate the habits of lifelong learning. I am continually learning in my instructional design work - I read dozens of books and many scholarly articles each year, and I attend one or more academic and professional conferences annually.
• Analyze where an organization lies in comparison to institutional goals - This is the concept of gap analysis - identifying where goals are not being met so that improvement can be made. This is a fundamental task for instructional designers, and bridging this to organizational goals makes sense. I've bridged my analysis skills to organization and program performance issues with some success.
• Background in the facilitation of learning and an advanced degree - This makes an individual well-suited to lead in higher education. Designers clearly have this kind of educational background. I have personally designed courses for and taught at multiple universities, and these experiences have helped me to understand the processes of learning and instruction.

Again, this was a great article, and I appreciate Dr. Shaw's insights and ideas.

Podcast: 6 Qualities of a Good Online Instructor

My Brother J. Clark and I recently recorded a podcast discussion about what it takes to be a good online instructor. We created a list of 6 qualities that we believe good instructors embody. A good online instructor: 

1. is comfortable with technology.
2.  clearly articulates expectations for students.
3.  guides learners through student-led activities.
4.  responds to students’ needs in a timely way.
5.  manages time efficiently.
6.  is willing to do it all over again.

Here is a link to the Podcast. 

Why I Teach and Practice Instructional Design

This is a repost of an article originally posted on the EdTech Dojo on 01/24/2012. It captures some of my deepest beliefs about instruction and teaching, so I thought it was worth reposting here.

I LOVE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN. I love thinking, reading, writing about, and doing it. I love talking about it with my designer friends and I have chosen to spend my career as an instructional designer and as a teacher of instructional design. But why is instructional design so important to me? Why am I so excited about it? Here are several reasons:

I believe in human potential. 
 I believe that people have the power to learn, grow and become better. I believe that every human has the capacity to learn and to contribute to society in meaningful ways. Education gives people the power to contribute to society. We all have within us the “seeds of greatness.” We have the capacity to grow, expand, develop and become something incredible.

I believe in education. 
My experience is that education can absolutely revolutionize an person’s life. Through gaining a high quality education over the last decade of my life, I have come to view the world in totally new ways and I have a sense of personal empowerment that I would likely never have known without that education. Education breaks the bonds of ignorance, stupidity, and narrow-mindedness. It opens opportunities that were never available before.

I believe in self-improvement.
I have spent many hours listening to self-help audio programs by success speakers such as Stephen Covey, Anthony Robbins and Zig Ziglar. This form of education has helped me build a positive attitude, to set and reach difficult goals. This experience has shown that I have the ability to do difficult and rewarding things, and it fuels my belief that education and learning can change lives.

I love to see people succeed.
I have known some personal success, and it has been rewarding. But I receive as much or more gratification when I assist others in their success. I have worked with many individuals and classes over the years and find deep satisfaction when I see my students succeed.

Knowledge empowers.
Underlying all of these is the certainty that knowledge gives people power. Knowledge lifts us, ennobles us, and makes us better. Providing an individual with knowledge through effective instruction is a noble, just, good act, and is something that is worthy of my time and energy.

So, this is why I love instructional design. As an instructional designer and an educator, I am participating in work that empowers people, that gives learners the capacity to grow, to succeed, to take control of their lives more fully. I am giving people tools that can change their lives. This is why I have devoted my professional life to teaching and instructional design.

Instructional Design Tips for Working with Faculty Members

Sometimes working as an instructional designer with a faculty member to create an online course can be very difficult. It can also be very rewarding, and some of the greatest design challenges can produce excellent opportunities to develop and improve your abilities as an instructional designer.

Previous Post: What is Instructional Design?

Working with Tough Faculty Members
Some faculty members can be difficult to work with. Faculty can be extremely confident, overworked, cantankerous, flaky, and outright rude. Although I have been fortunate to work with many amiable faculty members over the years, I have worked with some difficult faculty. Based on my own failures and successes working with these difficult faculty members, I have distilled the following tips and strategies:

1. Acknowledge faculty control - Remember that in many higher education design situations, the faculty member has the final say on the design of his or her course. Be mindful of this fact and be sure to acknowledge it to the faculty member to help put him or her at ease.
2. Show respect for expertise and experience - Faculty members often want respect for their expertise and their experiences as instructors. (Note that this applies even when the instructor actually doesn't do a great job as an instructor!) Be sure to show respect for the faculty member's expertise.
3. Listen to the faculty member - The old adage states, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood." In instructional design, listen closely to what your faculty member's goals are and how he or she proposes to reach those goals. I have found that most of the time, a faculty member has good goals and many good methods for reaching those goals, though sometimes sometimes the proposed methods are not sound. Still, it is vital that you listen and restate what those goals and methods are until you understand and the faculty member feels understood.
4. Build on the faculty member's ideas - Whenever possible, build on the faculty member's ideas. Do what you can to align what you do with the instructor's fundamental pedagogical beliefs and strategies, as long as those strategies are sound. Do what you can to shape the strategy to align more closely with research-based best practices. The following sentences can be helpful:
1. I like your idea to (insert faculty member's idea here), and one thing we have noticed is that when we do (insert a best practice related to the idea) it tends to work out better.
2. I think your idea to (insert faculty member's idea here) can work really well, and the research shows that if we (insert a research-based principle or practice here), it can really help the students improve their learning.
5. Offer to take some of the difficult workload - Faculty are busy, so do what you can to reduce their workload by taking some of the difficult or time-consuming tasks. This will make the working relationship more positive and will give you a greater ability to influence the quality the finished product.

 Previous Post: 5 Fundamental Strategies for Helping Students Learn

So, the next time you work with a difficult faculty member, try out some of these tips. I have found them to be very helpful. Happy designing!

Day 2 AECT 2012: Part 2 - Problems with Sampling in EdTech Research

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.

#AECT 2012

Went to a presentation by Patrick Lowenthal on some of the issues that we come across in higher education research. He discussed a few interesting key points:

• We assume that we know what the research shows. For example: "Most of the research in _____ is quantitative in nature." Unfortunately, this is often just an assumption and it may not be totally accurate. A systematic review often reveals that our assumptions are incorrect.
• We often have issues with our research because we do convenience sampling. For example, the research done in some forms of online interaction nearly all focused on classes in education-related fields in higher education. This tends to skew our view of what education is like. Anyone going into education most likely had a nice educational experience, so they might approach their learning in different ways. 

Patrick asks a key question:

These kinds of ideas are appropriate and important for researchers. We base our assumptions about instructional design on the models research we are exposed to. And we base our work on those assumptions. This is a pretty scary proposition, and it implies that we often do this in other areas of life. I have my assumptions on how things work - instructional design, business, higher education, nutrition, etc. - but these are only based on what I know, on what I think based on my limited experiences and exposure to the environment. By gaining knowledge of what is actually there and identifying my own assumptions, I could potentially increase my personal ability to be effective at what I do.

This is related to something my philosopher friend at Franklin University continually hammers on. We live, believe and behave based on our assumptions about life.  However, he argues that most people usually do not base their assumptions on evidence or logic, and this can have disastrous consequences. I hope to write more on this when I have a little time.

HPT Workshop: Day 1

This post is part of a multiple part Series on the 2012 Performance Improvement Conference.
#ISPI2012

I have been attending ISPI's Performance Improvement Conference 2012. Today was the first day of the 3-day Principles and Practice of Human Performance Technology workshop. The workshop is being facilitated by Roger Addison, EdD, CPT, and Miki Lane, PhD, CPT. Both have a great deal of experience as performance consultants, and share meaningful experiences that help make the content seem more relevant. I also met several excellent co-attendees at the conference. We have worked as teams for several exercises, and I am getting to know and appreciate the knowledge and experience of my team members. I'll write more about these team members in a later post.

We spent the morning getting an overview of the field of human performance. We then spent much of the afternoon learning important techniques for analyzing and identifying business needs and opportunities, and it sounds like a significant part of tomorrow's workshop activities will also focus on analysis.

Performance Definitions

One of the things I found interesting was the distinction between Performance Improvement and Performance Technology. In a previous post, I've described The Difference Between Instructional Design, Instructional Science, and Instructional Technology. I will add on what was learned in today's workshop to include similar categories. Here are the four components I think are relevant to understanding the field of human performance:

• Performance Improvement is the GOAL of the performance consultant. 
• Performance Science is what we know about what works in improving human performance. These can be called "best-practices" or "evidence-based practices."
• Performance Technology is the means for reaching the goal of improving performance.
• Performance Consulting is the use of performance technology (based on performance science) to reach the goal of performance improvement. It usually involves the following major steps: (1) the diagnosis of performance problems and opportunities, (2) the implementation of research-based strategies for improving performance related to those problems and opportunities, and (3) the evaluation and follow-up to see how effective those strategies have been. 

Levels of Performance Needs

 When diagnosing performance problems and needs, it can be useful to identify the level of the performance problem, need or gap. These levels are:

1. Worker (individual level)
2. Work (process level)
3. Workplace (organizational level)
4. A fourth level can also be added: World (society level)

All About the Money?

One of the most important things I learned this first day was that when we are analyzing a problem or a need, we should always link that need to how it affects the financial success of the organization. If an organization has the goal of profits, then all activity should be focused on increasing profits in sustainable ways. For some reason this seemed new to me, something I had never considered. This is possibly because I work as an academic in higher education where making a profit does not seem to be at the forefront of my (nor my peers') thinking. But the discussions and the activities in our workshop today helped me realize the importance of this kind of thinking.

Higher Education

I wonder when higher education institutions will finally realize the importance of linking performance to the bottom-line. And if/when they do, how will they deal with the potential conflict between profitability and academic freedom? It's clear that some for-profit organizations are focused on financial gains and have had some success at being very profitable, but at what point does this compromise the mission of the organization? I have a close friend who works at a for-profit university, and he describes increasing pressure to allow students to pass poorly-designed courses, even when he knows the students do not have the skills needed to move on. Even if the institution reaches its goal of profit, it abandons its goal to provide quality education to its students, thereby failing to fulfill its mission as an institution of higher education.

 What About the World Level?

The other consideration is the World (society) level that is now being considered by many in the HPT field. We live in a society in which there are limited natural resources, and without responsible use of these resources, we might find them damaged or totally depleted. The famous Dodo bird provided very valuable feathers centuries ago, but those in the feather-finding business did not consider the World level when following their business plan and eventually eliminated all Dodo birds, thereby halting their own performance. What if this same thing happened with ore, water, or fuel? The broader mission of an organization should (in my opinion) consider the impact of its work on the global scale, including impact on natural resources and on things like international relationships and society in general. 

*     *     *

So, there are my thoughts and reflections from day 1 of the Principles and Practices of HPT workshop. I will continue to write as I progress through the workshop and the conference. (Here are my thoughts on day 2).

4 Fundamental Ways to Engage Students in an Online Course

In my experience as over the last several years, an important part of providing a quality learning experience is engaging students- having them actively interact in meaningful learning experiences. This is particularly important in online courses where students may tend to feel isolated or removed from others. In this post I describe what I call the the 4 fundamental ways to engage students in an online course. 

Four Fundamental Ways to Engage Online Students.

There are 4 basic ways to engage students in an online course:

1. Have students engage in doing real world tasks and solving real-world problems. This provides concrete, meaningful experience for the students and is much more intrinsically motivating to the students than learning content that doesn't seem relevant to them. It means having students do relevant things that they will likely do in their careers or in their lives.
2. Engage students with the content in meaningful ways. this means having students use course content to solve problems or perform real-world tasks. It means providing students with well-designed multimedia. It means providing students with enough content that they can learn it and use it, but not so much content that they are overwhelmed.
3. Engage students with their peers. Students should interact with peers in the context of solving real-world problems. Students should present ideas, critique, give feedback, and collaborate together. This interaction builds a sense of community and there is a great deal of peer-to-peer teaching that can take place.
4. Engage students with the instructor. Students need guidance, support and feedback in the learning process. As one of my students wrote, instructors should "lead us through the fog." The teacher should make themselves available and provide feedback and guidance quickly so that students can progress in their learning.

As I have taught online courses at several universities, I have found that students continually ask for and appreciate these kinds of interaction. And when I design my course to include these kinds of interaction, students seem more satisfied with and excited about the online experience. Students seem to thrive and enjoy with successful, effective, satisfying learning experiences.

What do you think? Are these really the 4 fundamental ways to engage students in an online course? What else would you add? What are your experiences with engagement as a teacher or a student in online courses?

Working in Higher Education - I Love My Job!

A couple of weeks ago I helped a friend move a piano, and as a result, I have pinched a nerve in my back and haven't been able to walk, stand, or sit for the last 2 weeks. I am improving and should fully recover, but I had two full weeks to really think deeply about my life- what I am doing with it and where I am headed.

 One of the happy conclusions I have come to is that I absolutely love my job! I am a faculty member at Franklin University, and my role is to help design and develop quality courses with several other faculty members at the university. I also teach in the university's Instructional Design and Performance Technology program, and I have been blessed to interact with excellent students over the past year.

Related Post: Why I Teach and Practice Instructional Design

Here is the mission of my university:

"Franklin University provides high quality, relevant education enabling the broadest possible community of learners to achieve their goals and enrich the world." (from Franklin University's Mission and Philosophy).

This is a mission that I can stand behind and believe in. Providing knowledge, skills, and opportunities to others through education is meaningful work. It is something that benefits society and gives people more- it enables and strengthens. There are few "products" that can enhance or improve a person's potential for success and fulfillment in life, but I believe that meaningful education does. Education provides individuals with the power to change their lives and communities in fundamental, meaningful ways. Providing education resonates deeply with my own personal desire to help others improve their lives through kindness, service, and knowledge.

Is my job perfect? Of course not- it is difficult, stressful, and time-intense. But I love what I do. I love being in a position in which I have the power to positively influence others' lives, to provide them with tools that will benefit them and their families for generations. I am an educator to the core, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work in higher education at an excellent institution.