From Isolation to Connection: Practical Approaches to Minimize Loneliness Among Students in Digital Classrooms
Online and blended education have opened doors and created greater flexibility for learning for millions of students. At the same time, however, the pressing issue of student loneliness persists. Whether students are exclusively online, alternating between modalities, or balancing education with employment and family responsibilities, students today often experience a sense of isolation and separation […]
What Happens When No One Owns Online Learning
A few months ago, I sat down with a provost at a small regional institution. They were frustrated. Enrollment and budget concerns hovered over every meeting and conversation, but their online programs felt like a genuine source of hope. There were signs of life, but something was still off. Everyone I spoke with at the […]
Shake and Bake: The Power of “And I Helped” in Learning Design
The Shake and Bake Principle If you grew up watching television in the 1980s or 1990s, you may remember the old Shake ’n Bake commercials. A parent would be making dinner, a kid would help shake chicken in a bag of seasoning, and at the end the child would proudly announce, “Shake ’n Bake… and […]
Rethinking Video Length in Online Learning to Align with Cognitive Demand
Why Do We Question How Long Videos Should Be in Online Learning? When designing and working with faculty, we have tried to maintain our suggestions for video length, recommending that videos be no more than 5-7 minutes in length overall. This guidance has been backed by our own team’s experience, as well as much of […]
Belonging by Design: Building Trust and Connection in Online Learning
Online learning has solved many problems of access. It has made it possible for working adults, military-connected students, parents, caregivers, rural learners, and place-bound professionals to pursue education without stepping away from the rest of their lives. But access is not the same as attachment. As AI becomes embedded in online learning, institutions face a […]