Guest Post by Carla J Ackerson

My favorite thing about this course has been the mini lecture[s]. The mini lectures help me prepare for what is to come for the week and what to focus on with the readings.

I always start my week off with viewing your mini lecture before I start reading so I could get an idea about what I am reading.

The most helpful tool that has helped me learn in this course would be the short lecture videos at the beginning of each section.

I appreciate that you incorporate current and relevant information into the course content and also provide us with additional books, videos and articles to further our learning.

One of the challenges confronting instructors of online courses is connecting with learners.  While there are many tools instructors use to engage online learners, I decided to change up the way I lectured by introducing the online learners to the topic. I teach social policy, and some of the concepts can be theoretical and hard to grasp. Since my face to face classrooms include sharing and storytelling in lieu of a formal lecture, I chose to leave the PowerPoint lecture behind for my online courses and attempt to engage the students in a less formal, more conversational talk. (PowerPoints were still available to students to reference as they read through the textbook.)

I created a video for each learning module that provided a high-level overview of the topic. They were encouraged to watch my introductory videos prior to reading the chapter so they would understand the overall concept for that module.  The use of examples and stories helps the student apply the concept in the real world. I also used this opportunity to share other resources the students may want to explore such as movies, books, and articles that will advance their understanding of the concept.

These videos were brief, typically lasting between 8 and 10 minutes, and I focused on using an informal presentation. I also focused on interesting but not distracting backgrounds in my videos. Several of my videos were recorded in my den, some of them in hotel rooms as I traveled to various conferences, and others in my backyard. I typically brought the venue into my conversation to connect in a more personal way. I wanted them to see me as a real, relatable person.

One tip: If you try recording outside, be mindful of the background noises like birds or cicadas. Some students find it to be distracting.