4.0 Introduction

Well-designed online courses include engaging learning activities that are meaningful and relevant to students. These activities may be synchronous or asynchronous, but should encourage learners to interact with the course content, their peers and the instructor. Active learning, "anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing" (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p. 2), is a particularly effective way to encourage meaningful student engagement in the online environment. Regardless of how you choose to engage students, it’s important to pay attention to issues of equity and inclusion to ensure learning experiences are engaging all students.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Articulate the benefits of engaging students online.
• Integrate both synchronous and asynchronous active learning strategies to engage students in your online course.
• Apply strategies to ensure equity and inclusion for your students.
• Identify features of space and place that might contribute to students’ experiential education.