The material presented below concerns the practical aspects of online education what works and what doesn’t. It draws on the results of running degree level engineering courses fully online over the span of several years. It outlines the key features of the learning environment and the approach I use. If you find the below material interesting and have some questions please send them to: education@carwhisperer.co.nz.
Creating Effective Online Learning Environment
The next thing I want to bring your attention to is an example of the learner management system that I utilise. It contains: course outline, student marks and progress, due dates, project descriptions, course notes, video lectures, and supplementary material. The example below covers one topic of the course.
I utilise a project-based approach where the student takes an active part, and stay clear of “show what you have remembered” approach. This applies to the final exam as well. About ten years ago I put a short presentation on the matter. It contains the recording of the in-class environment created by the two approaches I’ve mentioned above.
Students have access to the following learning resources (digital content): course notes, additional reading material, and video lectures. By far the majority of our communication takes the form of a forum. Some examples from the course notes and video lectures are presented below.
The key assessment tool I use is a video report produced by students where they, first of all, demonstrate that they have completed their task successfully and explain how they got there.
Perhaps the most enigmatic thing about it is that I observe that the students put unprecedented effort as compared to when I lectured the same course in the class. I am still in the process of investigating why that might be.
Perhaps, we should start by saying a few words on how I teach. The video below is a short extract from the introductory lecture for one of the courses I have built.
Educational Portfolio