Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

Engaging students through a computer screen requires a unique approach to pedagogy and innovative course design.  The feeling of “getting it right” typically involves a good deal of testing and modification given the wide array of design formats and technology tools available, not to mention the varying needs of students, many of whom are underprepared for online learning (Bettinger & Loeb, 2017).

Common Student Challenges

In online courses, certain student challenges tend to come up time and again, which disrupts learning or impedes completing coursework on time.

There’s a widely circulated YouTube video you may have seen called “A Conference Call in Real Life.” To spoof the strange, stilted dynamics of conference calls, it replicates them in a face-to-face setting. Participants stiffly announce their names at the door of a meeting room, are suddenly interrupted by bizarre background noises, and find themselves inexplicably locked out of a room they were just in.

Not every elearning course that you take is going to hold your attention. If the content is boring or delivered poorly then your mind will wander.

It's easy to say that students lie to teachers all the time. Frankly, everyone, including teachers, has a lie in them, and these untruths keep the schooling process rolling along. When adults say, for instance, that they develop rules with the students, chances are that students often develop rules that teachers already thought of anyway. Or, when adults say that a student can't use the restroom during certain parts of the day "Just because," rather than "Because the hallways is crowded, and I don't want you distracted from the lesson in the classroom,” that's just one more micro-fib in a collage of fibs that we tell children.

The flipped classroom relies heavily on students coming to class ready to engage in the learning activities. But what if they don't do their preclass work?

Not every student benefits from in-class participation, immediate answers, inflexible grading, or harsh consequences. Learn the nuances for those requiring deeper recognition and a lighter touch.

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