Inspire Blog Author: Craig Rademacher

The Value Of Images In Online Learning

What’s An Image’s Value? Have you ever created an online course without using images? No? That is not surprising as images can convey emotions, ideas, and much more. Their value is often captured in an old adage: A picture is worth a thousand words. This article will discuss the value of images in online course design and how using visuals to accompany instruction via text or narration might contribute to or detract from an online learning experience. Let’s begin. Multimedia Learning: Images, Text, and More Online learning is a modern form of multimedia learning. Richard Mayer (2009) described multimedia learning as that learning that integrates the use of words and pictures. In traditional classrooms these learning resources might be experienced … The Value Of Images In Online Learning
by · May 13, 2019

Experiential Learning in Online Instruction

What is Experiential Learning? You may have heard the terms experiential education and experiential learning. Both terms identify learning through experience as a foundational understanding. However, experiential learning is associated with individual learning. Traditionally experience-based learning in higher education has been presented as educational opportunities complimentary to classroom instruction. These experiences might include clinical experiences, cooperative education experiences, apprenticeships, fellowships, field work, volunteerism, study abroad, practicum and internships, service learning, and student teaching experiences. These types of learning experiences are offered in and across many different disciplines (Giesen, 2012). These familiar experiential education programs demonstrate the value of individual experiential learning. But, the question remains: Is experiential learning a viable approach for online instruction? Understanding the potential for experiential learning … Experiential Learning in Online Instruction
by · February 6, 2019

Exploring Podcasting For Online Courses

One of the common ideas instructors have to bolster student-content engagement in a course is to add media. Podcasts are a type of media element that can support learning in a number of ways. It is relatively easy to link to an established podcast. Planning and producing your own podcast is more involved. This post explores the idea of producing a podcast for your online course. Is it something you should consider? Prior to diving into the value and purpose of podcasts it is useful to understand what a podcast is…and what it isn’t. The term podcast is a portmanteau of “iPod” and “broadcast”. This blended word says a lot because a podcast is a digital recording that is produced … Exploring Podcasting For Online Courses
by · August 3, 2018

The Guest Expert Video Interview: Planning & Production-Part II

Guest Expert Video: Post Production Having a guest expert video in your Ecampus course provides a number of learning benefits. One important benefit is to introduce a second, collaborative voice to instruction (Last, 2015). In Part I of this two-part article series we address interview planning decisions and their relationship to producing an engaging guest expert video.  In Part II we explore the value of instructors collaborating in the post production stage of guest expert interview video editing. Staging the video capture of an outside expert voice was the focus of the first article on this topic in a previous blog post. Once primary and B-roll video is captured it needs to be compiled and arranged into a coherent presentation … The Guest Expert Video Interview: Planning & Production-Part II
by · May 11, 2018

The Guest Expert Video Interview: Planning & Production

This article is the first of a two-part series on producing video interviews featuring guest experts for online courses. Part I focuses on planning while Part II will address the faculty role in the video interview production process. Part I: Planning With A Purpose Interviews of guest experts are valuable forms of course media because they can serve a number of instructional purposes. Traditionally classroom instructors might consider including guest experts as part of instruction to… Connect learning with an authority in the field. Communicate what the practices are in a given field. Describe the nature of work of a professional in a given field. Show important work environments or processes. Introduce a second, collaborative voice to instruction (Laist, 2015). … The Guest Expert Video Interview: Planning & Production
by · February 23, 2018