Instructional design

How to design online, flipped and in-person courses – from lesson planning and technology use to assessment – that maximise student engagement, inclusivity and learning outcomes

Research on effective digital course design and implementation

A guide to effective digital course design and delivery from four online teaching experts

Chrysi Rapanta consolidates the knowledge of four online teaching experts to produce guidance on what pedagogical content knowledge faculty need in order to develop effective digital courses

Chrysi Rapanta

NOVA University Lisbon

Make online teaching content relevant and fun for Gen Z students

Making online content relevant and fun for Gen Z students

Relating your online teaching content to real-world interests and issues affecting your students is a great way to win and keep their attention. Tina Joshi explains how she does this

Tina Joshi

University of Plymouth

Asking remote students questions in online classes

Top online teaching tip: ask your students questions

Asking students questions during online classes provides insight into what they understand and where they need support. David Martin explains how to do this effectively when teaching remotely

David Martin

University of Dundee

Using games in online learning

Make virtual learning fun: using ‘break in’ rooms in online teaching

Creating fun, game-like activities as part of your online classes can aid learning, student engagement and collaboration. Shonagh Douglas explains how she has used ‘break-in rooms’ as an effective induction for remote students

Shonagh Douglas

Robert Gordon University

Promoting student collaboration in online classes

Soft skills: how to promote student collaboration in online environments

Online collaboration is not an innate skill for most students but something that instructors must cultivate. Hugh McFaul explains how he did this through careful design of the content and assessment on his course

Hugh McFaul

The Open University

Adapting teaching to get the most out of your synchronous online classes

Optimise your synchronous online classes

Teaching online requires adaptations to in-person teaching, whatever your level of experience. Jesper Hansen explains what key changes he has made to his teaching practice to optimise his synchronous online classes

Jesper Hansen

University College London

Three questions to ask when selecting new technology for online teaching

Three questions to ask before using a new digital resource

What should educators consider before adopting a new digital resource to support their online teaching? Michael Windelspecht outlines three key questions to ask

Michael Windelspecht

Inspire Edventures

Engage remote students by developing an authentic voice for your online classes

Instructor presence: How to engage students through building an authentic ‘voice’

Lessons in how to use an authentic instructor voice to keep students engaged when teaching remotely, from Shannon McCarty of National University

Shannon McCarty

National University

Effective assessment of written work when teaching online

Efficient and effective assessment of written work remotely

Hear about some tried and tested methods for effective assessment of written work when teaching online from Sara Clarke and Katy Dumelle of Oregon State University

Sara Clarke, Katy Dumelle

Oregon State University

Why a flipped classroom approach to online teaching is so effective

Using an adaptive active model to promote student success

Susan Holecheck explains why flipping the traditional classroom teaching model with an adaptive active learning approach has proven so effective at Arizona State University

Susan Holecheck

Arizona State University

Designing online courses with quality and engagement at the forefront

Designing with quality and engagement at the forefront

Online learning expert Angela Gunder offers advice on how to design digital courses with a focus on quality and engagement

Angela Gunder

Online Learning Consortium

Using evidence based practices in online course design

Ask the experts: Evidence-based practices in online teaching and learning

Find out about using evidence-based practices in online teaching and learning in this Q&A with Ryan Luke, programme director for adaptive learning at the University of Louisville

Ryan Luke

University of Louisville

How and why to apply evidence-based practices to digital learning

Ask the experts: Evidence-based practices in digital learning

Learn about how and why to apply evidence-based practices to digital learning in this Q&A with Nina Araujo, instructional designer at Northeastern University

Nina Araujo

Northwestern University

Advice on designing online classes

Expert Q&A: Designing online classes

Brandon Karcher, instructional technology manager at Bucknell University, and Douglas Wilson, instructional designer at Dallas College, answer fellow academics’ questions about how best to design online classes

Brandon Karcher, Douglas Wilson

Bucknell University, Dallas College

Engaging learnings across modalities in online classes

Expert Q&A: Active learning – engage learners across modalities

Peter van Leusen, director of adaptive and personalised learning at Arizona State University answers questions on how to engage students when teaching across different modalities

Peter van Leusen

Arizona State University

Creating a home studio to record engaging online classes

Building an effective home studio for remote teaching

Recording classes well from home can be a challenge but by getting the basics right you can create a simple studio set up which will support effective online teaching. Here, Sean Willems explains how

Sean Willems

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Communicate your online teaching structure to students before the course starts

How to communicate your online teaching structure to students – and why it matters

It is important to explain your online teaching plan to students at the start of the course, so they know what to expect. Here, Dawn Gilmore explains why and how to do this.

Dawn Gilmore

RMIT University

Breaking online lectures down into chunks aids learning outcomes

Chunking lectures – it’s a no brainer

Students respond much better to manageable packages of information. Here Paul Moss explains why and how to go about ‘chunking’ online lectures to get the best results from students

Paul Moss

The University of Adelaide

How to build outstanding pedagogy for zoom teaching

How to build outstanding pedagogy for teaching via Zoom

Too many educators still view online as a second-rate form of teaching, but it does not have to be. In this video, Stephen Hersh offers advice on how to offer first-class teaching via Zoom

Stephen Hersh

Northwestern University

Design an online course that promotes interactive learning

How to design an online course centred around interactive learning

Interactive learning is an effective way to keep remote students engaged with online courses. Sara Wolfson offers four tips on how to design classes with a strong focus on interactive elements

Sara Wolfson

The Open University

How to encourage peer to peer learning when teaching online courses

The power of peer to peer: how and why to encourage your students to learn from each other

Peer-to-peer learning brings major benefits for students and instructors. Here, Zachary Walker explains how to encourage your students to learn from each other and why this can be so effective when teaching online

Zachary Walker

University College London

How Southampton University supported staff across all departments to design quality online courses

How to support staff across all departments to design quality online courses

The sudden shift to online forced university staff to rethink and redesign classes often with little experience or knowledge of remote teaching. Helen Carmichael and Bobbi Moore explain how the University of Southampton supported all faculties to ensure high-quality online courses

Helen Carmichael, Bobbi Moore

University of Southampton

How to establish a robust quality framework to ensure top quality remote teaching

Establishing a robust quality framework for online education

How can universities monitor and guarantee the quality of their online courses? Here Geo Laws talks about how establish a robust quality framework for online teaching

Georgianna Laws

United States Distance Learning Association

Tackling fake news claims about online teaching and learning

Tackling ‘fake news’ in online education

Higher education remains awash with claims and theories that are backed by little evidence. Here, Celia Popovic and Fiona Smart debunk some of the more common ‘fake news’ myths in relation to teaching and look at how to apply this knowledge in online courses

Celia Popovic, Fiona Smart

York University, Edinburgh Napier University

Teachers stay present - don't take yourself out of your online classes

In defence of old-school teaching during a worldwide crisis

The rapid move to online teaching risks lecturers becoming over reliant on technology and steadily disappearing from their own courses. Here Glenn Geher argues the case for instructors remaining at the heart of their classes and only using technology to support their teaching

Glenn Geher

State University of New York at New Paltz

How to design asynchronous online teaching to foster high levels of spontaneous student discussion

How I fostered multilingual student discussion in asynchronous online classes

Ioannis Gaitanidis explains how designed his asynchronous online teaching to foster the same level of spontaneous student discussion as his in-person classes

Ioannis Gaitanidis

Chiba University

Advice on designing online courses with lots of interactive elements boosts engagement

Transform engagement: Interaction and online course design

Advice on designing online courses with lots of interactive elements to boost engagement from Michele Hampton, professor at Cuyahoga Community College

Michele Hampton

Cuyahoga Community College

Illustration of an online class

Think-pair-share: how to structure online classes

When students discuss ideas and learn from one another, they absorb far more, which is the rationale behind the think-pair-share teaching model. Here José Guzman explains how he translated this to the online setting

José Guzman

University of Washington

Illustration of students interacting with the web

Top five strategies for integrating active learning into virtual classes

It is all too easy for remote learning to become a passive experience for students, sitting on their own at home. Here Steven Mintz outlines some strategies for ensuring students remain actively engaged with their online courses

Steven Mintz

University of Texas at Austin

What has been learned so far in the rapid transition to digital teaching and learning?

Lessons from navigating the digital pivot

Having reopened for a new academic year, universities are now looking ahead to how they can deliver the best possible online teaching for the longer term. Here, Robert MacIntosh highlights what has been learned so far in the rapid transition to digital teaching and learning

Robert MacIntosh

Heriot-Watt University

Advice on reaching remote students with limited access to learning technology

How to reach remote students with limited access to technology

Angela Owusu-Ansah of Ashesi University in Ghana explains how her institution has tackled this problem to ensure all students can access teaching online

Angela Owusu-Ansah

Ashesi University

Selecting tools to promote personalised teaching and to encourage more self-regulated learning online

How to use online tools to offer more personalised teaching

There is no one-size-fits-all model for effective online teaching. Rupert Ward offers advice on selecting tools to promote personalised teaching and to encourage more self-regulated learning online

Rupert Ward

University of Huddersfield

What faculty need to know when designing online courses

Ask the experts: What faculty need to know when designing online courses

Find out what faculty need to know when moving their courses online in this Q&A with Kayla Jutzi, instructional designer at Tulane University

Kayla Jutzi

Tulane University

Use videos to boost instructor presence when teaching online

Affecting connecting: High instructor presence through videos

Liza Hita shares important lessons on using videos as a way of boosting instructor presence when teaching online

Liza Hita

Arizona State University

Illustration of a person using a laptop

How to create an engaging online experience using Microsoft Teams

Learn how to use Microsoft Teams to offer students an engaging online learning experience with David Kellerman, senior lecturer at UNSW

David Kellerman

UNSW Sydney

Online course design using strong pedagogy

Expert Q&A: Course design with strong pedagogy

Sophia Strickfaden, eLearning technologist for Colorado Colleges Online, talks through how to design online courses with strong pedagogy

Sophia Strickfaden

Colorado Community Colleges

Illustration of remote learning

Balancing the needs of students, faculty and institutions when designing online courses

Students, faculty members and institutions all have different goals from their teaching and learning programmes. Thomas Cavanagh explains how to balance the needs of key stakeholders when developing online courses

Thomas Cavanagh

University of Central Florida