research what makes a good online course

What makes a good online course?

Jun 10, 2020 · A good online course is cognitively challenging. A good online course involves practice. Good courses involve students in “doing” — not just watching and reading — …

What are the benefits of online science courses?

In summary, here are 10 of our most popular research courses. Understanding Research Methods: University of London. Methods and Statistics in Social Sciences: University of Amsterdam. Introduction to Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Johns Hopkins University. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper (Project-Centered Course): École ...

How can online courses on Coursera help me learn research?

Jun 11, 2020 · A good online course is informed by issues of equity and justice. It takes into account social, political and cultural issues — including students’ backgrounds and socioeconomic circumstances — to...

How effective are online classes for college students?

1. Persistence. Persistence is perhaps the biggest key to success in online learning. Students who succeed are those who are willing to tolerate technical problems, seek help when needed, work daily on every class, and persist through challenges. When you run into a challenge, keep trying and ask for help.

What are the qualities of a good online course?

What are the key factors for making an online courses effective?

What are the 5 tips to be successful in online learning?

What is the best studying method?

How do you successfully complete an online course?

How can we make online classes more interesting?

What is research?

Research is the act of collecting information about a particular topic, organizing it, and analyzing it. When you conduct research, you're doing mo...

Why is it important to learn research?

Research is more than an educational tool. For generations, research has proven theories, led to breakthroughs, and helped people learn about the w...

What are typical careers that use research?

Research is a broad field that touches a wide range of disciplines, so you can find a career in research in any number of subjects, including in ac...

How can online courses on Coursera help me learn research?

When you take research courses on Coursera, you can learn about research methods and techniques or dig deeper into specific topics like clinical re...

What makes an online course good?

A good online course is engaging and challenging. It invites students to participate, motivates them to contribute and captures their interest and attention. It capitalizes on the joy of learning and challenges students to enhance their skills, abilities and knowledge. A good online course is cognitively challenging.

Why is online learning important?

A good online course promotes student agency. It gives students autonomy to enable opportunities for relevant and meaningful learning. Such a course redistributes power - to the extent that is possible - in the classroom. Again, this may take many forms in the online classroom.

What does "online course" mean?

It means audiovisual materials that don’t stereotype, shame or degrade people. It may mean that open educational resources are prioritized over expensive textbooks. A good online course is interactive. Courses are much more than placeholders for students to access information.

What are the problems with media comparison studies?

The problems with media comparison studies — that is, those that compare outcomes between one medium, such as face-to-face, to another medium, such as online — are such that many researchers advocate against them. How can students who enrol in online courses in the fall know they are receiving a good educational ...

What is an econometrics class?

In an econometrics class, they might examine relationships between different variables, explain the meaning of their findings and then be asked to apply those methods in novel situations. A good online course is effective.

What is accounting course?

In an accounting course, students could analyze the financial statements of a company they’re interested in rather than one selected by the instructor. Such flexibility not only accommodates students’ backgrounds and interests, it provides space for students to make the course their own.

What is creative writing class?

In a creative writing class, students may write a short story, receive feedback, revise it and then write a different story. In a computer programming class, they may write a block of code, test it and then use it in a larger program that they wrote.

How many students have taken online courses?

According to a 10 year study conducted by the Online Learning Consortium, 6.7 million students have taken at least one online course and roughly thirty-two percent of all higher-education students now take at least one online course during their educational career. And these numbers continue to rise.

How to make a course interactive?

Plan for interaction! Make sure your course is rich in opportunities for students to engage with the content, with you and with each other. This means creating diverse activities like discussions, group work, case studies and collaborative problem-solving. Also, be sure to select resources that are relevant and present a variety of viewpoints and meet different learning styles. Consider multimedia, periodicals, web resources, etc.

How to align a course?

Using the learning objectives you can become more selective in what you include in your course. This selection process is known as alignment. Alignment occurs when the course component (activity, assignment, material, technology and/or assessment) will help the student meet the learning objectives. To get started, build a Conceptual Framework for each module. In this framework outline the learning by identifying the course competencies and learning objectives for the module. Then review the course components (each piece of your module that you identified in the module map process) and see if they fit (align), i.e. contribute to the student achieving the stated learning objective. If a component does not align you need to either change the objective, change the course component or if it is essential to keep this non-aligned component, make sure that it is clearly identified as supplemental.

What are course competencies in Maricopa?

In Maricopa there are “course level” competencies that are designed and written by faculty at the district level through the Instructional Council for each discipline . Course competencies are what is required to be covered and taught in every course. For course design and mapping, especially online, a faculty member designs activities, assessments, lectures, etc. to teach those competencies….along the way students will learn incrementally – those are unit or module level learning objectives. These help students understand what they will be learning, how all the activities and assignments help them learn, and then in the end see where they have been.

Why is it important to have clear objectives?

It is essential to build measurable and clear objectives that outline what is expected of the learner. These objectives will make it easy to align the rest of your course and will serve to communicate learning expectations to students.

When was the study of best practices conducted?

Although the study was conducted in 1987, these principles identified are amongst the most frequently referenced by online course designers as best practices. Keep these strategies in mind as you examine and approach your course design.

Do we love our course content?

We all love our course content! As a result, it is tempting to throw everything into your course in an effort to spark that same love in the heart of your students. But how do students know what is important and essential to their learning? How do we help them focus?

What is needed to be successful online?

Online learning requires independence, internal motivation, responsibility, and a certain level of maturity.

What are the skills needed to be a good online student?

Reading and Writing Skills. Reading and writing are the main ways you'll communicate in an online class. Although some hard copies of textbooks might be required, you should be comfortable reading a lot of documents on a computer screen and able to type.

How to communicate with teachers online?

These might include e-mail, discussion groups, chat room office hours, cell phones, and even text messaging. Teachers and staff want to help you to succeed in your classes and will answer your questions. It may feel awkward to talk with your teachers this way, but don't worry. If your teacher has chat room or cell phone office hours, don't be shy about using those tools to communicate with your teacher.

Why is communication important in online learning?

Communication skills are vital in online learning because students must seek help when they need it. Teachers are willing to help students, but they are unable to pick up on non-verbal cues, such as a look of confusion on a student's face. Follow these tips:

How to make typing easier?

Consider ergonomics. Adjust the height of your chair, keyboard, and screen so that you are comfortable. Forearms and thighs should be level and parallel to the floor. Wrists should not be bent while typing.

What do you need to be an online learner?

Online learners need basic technical skills to succeed. These include the ability to create new documents, use a word processing program, navigate the Internet, and download software.

What are the advantages of online learning?

Two key advantages of online learning are flexibility and convenience. But online learning is a lot more challenging than it may seem.

Why are online courses important?

Online courses provide people with access to a wide array of science topics, leading to a greater appreciation of the world.

How to teach science?

The way to teach science can vary from topic to topic. As a general rule, however, you should make sure that the content is relatable and interactive.

Why is fitness important?

Fitness is important in improving an individual physically and can positively impact personal mindset and emotional state.

What are the topics of politics?

Topics in politics can cover in-depth discussions on the different forms of government, the impact of laws or bills that are being passed, and the global impact of major political maneuvers.

What are topics in demand?

Topics in demand focus on the transition to adulthood, handling more responsibilities in the different aspects of life, young entrepreneurship, distinguishing the effects of choosing between career and further education, establishing a more mature online presence, or simply guides on how to find passions.

How much will the e-learning industry be in 2025?

In fact, the e-learning industry is projected to hit $325 billion by 2025. That's triple the revenue of 2015! Among the top goals of people diving into online learning is to change careers or acquire “academic credentials” in their field of employment.

What is the importance of technology in the modern age?

In this technology-driven age, it becomes necessary to understand and be proficient in using technology in its numerous forms. Technology is not only a tool to enhance and improve our day to day tasks, but also an avenue to build businesses and other sources of income.

What do teachers need to understand?

Teachers need to understand what students know and what they don’t know, as well as how to help them learn new material. What is different in the online setting is that students may have more distractions and less oversight, which can reduce their motivation.

What does a teacher do in a virtual classroom?

The teacher helps to run virtual discussion among the students, assigns homework, and follows up with individual students. Sometimes these courses are synchronous (teachers and students all meet at the same time) and sometimes they are asynchronous (non-concurrent).

Is online learning better than in person classes?

The teacher will need to set norms for engagement—such as requiring students to regularly ask questions and respond to their peers—that are different than the norms in the in-person setting. Online courses are generally not as effective as in-person classes, but they are certainly better than no classes.

Is it better to take online courses or in person?

It is not surprising that in-person courses are, on average, more effective. Being in person with teachers and other students creates social pressures and benefits that can help motivate students to engage. Some students do as well in online courses as in in-person courses, some may actually do better, but, on average, ...

Do online classes teach statistics?

Online courses provide opportunities for students. Students in a school that doesn’t offer statistics classes may be able to learn statistics ...

Can students struggle online?

But just because students who struggle in in-person classes are even more likely to struggle online doesn’t mean that’s inevitable. Online teachers will need to consider the needs of less-engaged students and work to engage them. Online courses might be made to work for these students on average, even if they have not in the past.

Do students do better in online classes?

Some students do as well in online courses as in in-person courses, some may actually do better, but, on average, students do worse in the online setting, and this is particularly true for students with weaker academic backgrounds. Students who struggle in in-person classes are likely to struggle even more online.

What do teachers need to understand?

Teachers need to understand what students know and what they don’t know, as well as how to help them learn new material. What is different in the online setting is that students may have more distractions and less oversight, which can reduce their motivation.

Can online time be informal?

Clearly online time cannot provide many of the informal social interactions students have at school, but how will online courses do in terms of moving student learning forward? Research to date gives us some clues and also points us to what we could be doing to support students who are most likely to struggle in the online setting.

Is online class as effective as in person class?

In comparisons of online and in-person classes, however, online classes aren’t as effective as in-person classes for most students. Only a little research has assessed the effects of online lessons for elementary and high school students, and even less has used the “gold standard” method of comparing the results for students assigned randomly to online or in-person courses. Jessica Heppen and colleagues at the American Institutes for Research and the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research randomly assigned students who had failed second semester Algebra I to either face-to-face or online credit recovery courses over the summer. Students’ credit-recovery success rates and algebra test scores were lower in the online setting. Students assigned to the online option also rated their class as more difficult than did their peers assigned to the face-to-face option.

Is online learning better than in person classes?

The teacher will need to set norms for engagement—such as requiring students to regularly ask questions and respond to their peers—that are different than the norms in the in-person setting. Online courses are generally not as effective as in-person classes, but they are certainly better than no classes.

Do high school students have to take online courses?

The use of virtual courses among K-12 students has grown rapidly in recent years. Florida, for example, requires all high school students to take at least one online course. Online learning can take a number of different forms. Often people think of Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, where thousands of students watch a video online and fill out questionnaires or take exams based on those lectures.

Is it better to take in person classes or online?

It is not surprising that in-person courses are, on average, more effective. Being in person with teachers and other students creates social pressures and benefits that can help motivate students to engage. Some students do as well in online courses as in in-person courses, some may actually do better, but, on average, students do worse in the online setting, and this is particularly true for students with weaker academic backgrounds.

Is online class synchronous or asynchronous?

Sometimes these courses are synchronous (teachers and students all meet at the same time) and sometimes they are asynchronous (non-concurrent). In both cases, the teacher is supposed to provide opportunities for students to engage thoughtfully with subject matter, and students, in most cases, are required to interact with each other virtually.