Online learning requires motivation and engagement for success. Learners need to feel connected and empowered to support their involvement for online education. Curt Bonk explores motivation and retention in various e-learning environments. His latest publication, The World is Open, explores how technology is revolutionizing technology itself.
Here are a couple of other worthy finds from Curt that may be useful for your next your virtual learning environment planning:
- Empowering Online Learning
- Tech-Variety – guide for motivation and retention online
- Tone – how do learners describe themselves? set expectations & set goals?
- Encouragement – provide means to give feedback to learners
- Curiosity – online field trips, activities, remote sites, local correspondence, etc
- Variety – hands on, visual, reading integrated text, providing options
- Autonomy – choice, empowerment over learning, options, scaffold learning skills
- Relevance – meaningful activities that relate back to the content
- Interactivity – problem solving, case studies, working with a group, discussion threads, blogs and more!
- Engagement – drafts due for projects, check-ins, experience the process of learning
- Tension – role-play, alternative perspectives, controversy, e.g. devils advocate for positions
- Yielding products – post to the web, present a gallery of students’ best work, showcase, share with an audience beyond a teacher – experts, peers, etc.
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