Best Practices for Teaching Blended (or Hybrid) Courses
During my first director role, in the early 2010s, we created created a hybrid, modular way to not only complete courses but an entire graduate degree. Now, keep in mind, we are talking about true blended/hybrid teaching, where part of the course is completed online and another part of the course is completed in-person. We are not talking about hyflex, which some wrongly called hybrid, where teaching occurs simultaneously for in-person students and online students via live streaming. We are not talking about hyflex but true hybrid teaching.
In the early 2010s, there was still some resistance to creating fully online programs at some institutions. They believed that the in-person element of education was extremely valuable and worth preserving. Yet the student dynamics, […]
How to Make Your Online Teaching More Human: 5 Ideas
Online learning can be impersonal, uninteresting, inhuman, and dreadfully boring.
I came up with this years ago and have been saying this as an online teacher or leader in one form or another for years. Why? Because it’s true! Online learning can be every bit of that – impersonal, uninteresting, inhuman, and dreadfully boring.
One of my favorite presentations that I have given is this one – How to Make Your Online Teaching More Human: 5 Ideas.
For much of my career as an online leader and educator, I have been dealing with this aspect of online learning. Distance education from the beginning until today suffers from transactional distance. That’s just the way it is, by definition. However, as an online teacher, there are things […]
How to Improve the Visual Appeal of an Online Program
How to Improve the Visual Appeal of an Online Program
Introductory note: In the early-to-mid 2010’s, I had lead an online learning program to drastically improve its collective visual appeal. In the early-to-mid-2010s, online video and graphics was not as easy and abundant as it would be a decade later. So, those insights and lessons learned were turned into a key presentation that I gave at a conference. While I can’t find the slide deck, I did find the presentation script (for some reason I have that!). So, below is a script from the presentation on how to improve the visual appeal of an online program – highlighting the need, the steps taken, and the lessons learned along the way.
Presentation Script
Let’s face […]
From Spielberg to Screen Capture: Creating Quality Online Videos
Nearly a decade ago, Kristen Ferguson and I had the privilege of presenting this content at the Online Learning Consortium’s Fall Conference in Orlando. The technical considerations, presentation elements, models, and administrative considerations for creating quality online videos for online learning remain true today. Below is a summary of presentation and the slide deck we used.
From Spielberg to Screen Capture: Creating Quality Online Videos
Online videos are essential to modern online learning, but quality matters. Good educational videos engage students with visuals, audio, and active learning strategies. Bad videos can be confusing, ineffective, and even hinder learning. A quality video balances clear, compelling content with strong technical aspects.
Technical Considerations for Creating Quality Online Videos
- Length: Short videos are […]
3 Problematic Aspects of Online Enrollment Management
A recent article by The Atlantic provides an excellent perspective on a potential student’s reaction to “typical” online student recruitment (aka online enrollment management. Overall, the article highlights various, well-analyzed issues related to online program administration as a whole. The author – herself someone who was considering an online degree as a working adult – describes her journey of considering online programs. In doing so, she shares 3 problematic aspects of online student recruitment that are particularly worth noting.
3 Problematic Aspects of Online Enrollment Management
- Annoying and relentless phone calls. The author highlights how the phone calls (mostly from OPMs or other vendors) were too frequent and felt intrusive. She also highlights Eduventures research that says, “By and large, [prospective students] […]
To Digital Nudge or Not to Digital Nudge – That Is a Good Educational Question
Have you ever considered the power of a digital nudge to enhance learning? While you likely receive your own amount of this digital alerts and notifications each day, several universities are exploring the power of the digital nudge to enhance student success.
Surprisingly, there is a carefully crafted art & science to doing the digital nudge well in education. Too many, too irrelevant, or too many and they work against you. They are a double-edged sword that can be beneficial or just another barrage of information into the realm of stimulus overload.
Experts say that it’s no small feat to use the data to figure out where nudges are needed and if they work. And if institutions don’t have the capacity to monitor that […]
About
Dr. Ryan Baltrip, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University and Associate Director of the Loyalty Science Lab, brings a blend of academic rigor and industry experience. With a background from the University of Florida, he has demonstrated strategic leadership and marketing success. A pioneer in online learning, Ryan has spearheaded over 50 programs serving 40,000+ students, generating $50M+ annually, and earning national accolades. Specializing in digital marketing, brand management, leadership, consumer behavior, and entrepreneurship, he’s dedicated to preparing future leaders by connecting academia with real-world business.
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