Inspire Blog

Rubrics: Markers of Quality – Unlock the Benefits! (Part 1)

Would you like to save time grading, accurately assess student learning, provide timely feedback, track student progress, demonstrate teaching and learning excellence, foster communication, and much more? If you answered yes, then rubrics are for you! Let’s explore why the intentional use of rubrics can be a valuable tool for instructors and students. Value for instructors Time management: Have you ever found yourself drowning in a sea of student assignments that need to be graded ASAP (like last week)?  Grading with a rubric can quicken the process because each student is graded in the same way using the same criteria. Rubrics which are detailed, specific, organized and measurable clearly communicate expectations. As you become familiar with how students are commonly … Rubrics: Markers of Quality – Unlock the Benefits! (Part 1)
by · June 17, 2019

Self-Determination Theory and Online Education: A Primer

My interest in learning about motivation in education began many years ago when I started learning about motivation in game design. In a way, while this blog post will follow a different format, it is an outgrowth of my previous post on how game design can influence course design. In order to better understand motivation, in a classroom, while playing a game, and in an online learning environment, I am turning to the body of research that has grown from Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT). What is Self-Determination Theory? Deci and Ryan’s theory stems from the larger investigation of human needs for well-being. While physiological needs like food, water, and shelter may be obvious, what are our … Self-Determination Theory and Online Education: A Primer
by · June 10, 2019

Before Recording Narrated Slides: #1 Copyright

Curious what an Ecampus Instructional Designer is looking for when they approve slides for narrated lectures?  It certainly depends on the course content. Generally, the top three things I am looking at are copyright, accessibility, and aesthetics. For this post, I am going to focus on copyright and I will return to the other topics in a future post.  A copy of the slides, which includes links to helpful materials, is available below the video as well as a list of resources. https://youtu.be/49DNaOW82Ho Slides: Copyright Considerations for Narrated Slides Resources: Creative Commons Search (may require attribution) Flaticon (requires attribution) Freepik (requires attribution) Unsplash (does not require attribution)
by · June 5, 2019

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

Faculty Build Empathy as Online Learners Themselves

“Diversity is our world’s greatest asset, and inclusion is our biggest challenge. And the way that we are going to address that challenge is by extending our empathy.” -Jutta Treviranus, Founder of the Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University Sure, you’ve been teaching online courses for a few terms or years now, but have you ever been an online student? Many current faculty members earned their degrees in traditional face-to-face settings and have learned how to migrate their courses to the online environment by using research-based best practices and support from instructional designers and media experts. However, are there benefits to experiencing this fledgling educational modality from the perspective of the online student? I argue that faculty who challenge themselves … Faculty Build Empathy as Online Learners Themselves
by · May 6, 2019