Expanding your online pedagogy toolkit (InsideHigherEd, 22 April 2014) – Next-generation online learning differs from last generation e-learning in six distinct ways. First , it is scalable. New instructional support models-including coaches and peer mentors- allow online courses that are not MOOCs to effectively reach many more students in the past. Second , it is personalized. It offers multiple learning pathways tailored to student learning styles, needs, and interests. Just-in-time remediation and enrichment are embedded and content reflects students’ learning goals. Third , it is outcomes-oriented. Mastery of explicit learning objectives, including content and skills, represents its aim. Fourth , it is data-driven. Learning analytics provide students, instructors, coaches, and advisers with dashboards that signal student progress and problems in real time. Fifth , it is social and interactive. Building on the notion of learning as a social process, next-generation online courses encourage student involvement in communities of practice and in personal learning networks, where they have opportunities to collaborate, test ideas, and motivate and assist one another. Six[th] , and perhaps most importantly, it is activity oriented. Next-generation online learning involves challenges, inquiry, and problem solving. Students, individually and in small groups, have opportunities to learn by doing. Depending on the nature of the course, they might engage in hypothesis formulation and testing, data analysis, or constructing and applying rubrics. Simulations, in particular, give students opportunities to mimic professional practice and exercise real-world skills. Here are a series of techniques that you might use to build essential student skills, promote social interaction, and encourage active learning in an online environment * * *

Provided by MIRLN.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/Stuart Miles.