Visually-Oriented Discussions with Consistent Instructions
Discussions are an important part of fostering student-student interactions in an online course. After completing the OEI Online Course Review process, Shannon Van Zant, who teaches History at Columbia College, recognized the importance of designing her discussions with clear, consistent instructions. Having the same instructions available to students each week scaffolds their learning and supports them to become confident and independent learners. Shannon, also incorporates images into the prompts of her discussion topics. By integrating images into the textual content of her discussion, she more fully engages the way people learn.
In the 7-minute video below, Shannon shares her experiences with the OEI Online Course Review process and takes us on a tour of her online visual discussions.