Learning activities benefit remote learning students in a variety of ways. Varied learning activities support universal design (UD) by allowing students to access information through a variety of formats. These formats allow students to build connections with the instructional team as well as their fellow students, helping them to feel less isolated. Active learning has been found to increase student performance compared to students in a traditional lecture formatted class. Below are a variety of learning activity ideas and tools to support active online learning at the University of Guelph.
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Discussions are a hallmark of many online courses, regardless of format. This versatile tool can be used to build connections with and between students, answer common questions students have about the course, function as a space for collaboration, and serve as an assessment tool.
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High Level of Interaction with Instructors and Fellow Students | ![]() |
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Immediate Feedback | ![]() |
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Receive Instantaneous Answers to Questions | ![]() |
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Students Can Participate When it Best Fits Into Their Schedule | ![]() |
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Allows for More Lead Time to Think Before Participating in the Discussion | ![]() |
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Less Intimidating to Participate | ![]() |
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Table Key: = yes,
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Cooperation between students is an important aspect of any course. Student-student interaction is particularly critical for remote delivery, as the lack of face-to-face time can make some learners feel isolated and alone. Students may require extra guidance to facilitate peer-to-peer interactions outside of group assignments.
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In the face-to-face environment, it is easy to figure out how our students are grasping the content through discussion and response collection with a student response system (SRS). This can be maintained in remote teaching with a little creativity and planning.
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Hands-on laboratory and simulated experiences are a vital learning opportunity in many university programs.
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