This Christmas, Santa and his trusty reindeer will log nearly 25,000 miles (that’s over 40,000 kilometers — for you folks on the other side of the pond). And that’s not counting all those trips down the chimney.
Learners don’t cover nearly as much ground when they take an e-course. Even so, it’s safe to assume that your students will benefit from well-timed breaks in their online learning journey. After all, our brains can only absorb a finite amount of new information each day. Add to that the effort it takes to practice and apply new skills, and it’s clear how important it is to include cognitive refreshers in your courses.
Plan for some pedagogic pit-stops with these ideas.
Engaging the brain in unfamiliar ways can help learners remember new ideas and concepts.
As you develop your course, think about how you’ll encourage your students to record their insights and questions and apply what they’re learning. One of the best ways is to invite students to write down their ideas, insights or impressions. Many online learning platforms have a note-taking function right inside the course shell.
Remember: While some folks are naturally inclined to write, others might need a nudge from you. So, if you want to encourage written reflection, then craft some questions at key junctures in your course and give your learners the time and space to respond. Bear in mind, too, that some folks are perfectly content with old-school technology like pen and paper.
Remember the classic National Lampoon film starring Chevy Chase as the glitz-obsessed dad? With his craving for over-the-top decorations Clark nearly ruined the holiday. In e-learning, too, it’s easy to overdo it and bombard your learners with the latest multimedia. But if you don’t plan for downtime, your students can end up nearly as burnt out as the Griswold’s cat.
When you’re designing your course, consider natural points in the curriculum where learners could pause and re-group.
For example, let’s say you’re teaching a course about quilting. You could invite students to sketch a design or pattern, take a photo of it, and then share their creation in your course discussion forum.
Passive learning has gotten a bad wrap and rightly so. When students don’t have opportunities to practice what they’re learning, they’re less likely to apply it in their own lives.
Likewise, adults like to be in charge of their own learning. Tap into this preference by encouraging students to co-create course content. For example, you could ask students to build a course reading list in Google docs or point them to a group board on Pinterest where they could pin their favorite resources.
Don’t wait until the year is over to give you and your learners a breather. To boost engagement and retention, make sure you build mental time-outs into your course so people can rest, refuel, and reflect on what they’re learning.
After all, even Santa takes a snack break.