Smiling young african american teen girl wear headphones video calling on laptop. Happy mixed race pretty woman student looking at computer screen watching webinar or doing video chat by webcam.
As college instructors move towards digital learning, the need for reliable learning technologies with robust functionality has become increasingly important. Faculty may worry that they are inadequately layering technology over one-way lectures to produce ineffective instruction. However, there is a platform that enables higher education faculty to easily make their remote learning interactive and tangible for students. No coding experience required.
Virtual Learning is an Opportunity for Active Remote Learning
CurrikiStudio is an open content-authoring technology that allows rapid development of active learning experiences for remote learning. This means any instructor can create digestible learning playlists that enable students to engage. They won’t just passively watch videos and read documents, they’ll be actively participating in their learning experience.
By combining any of CurrikiStudio’s 50 learning interactions into their online teaching, instructors can effectively design distance learning content that actively engages students in the learning process. When students aren’t in a face-to-face setting, online learning could lead to a disconnect between learner and content. At Curriki, we believe virtual teaching is an opportunity for active learning. Here are five critical elements for making engaging remote learning in higher education achievable.
Meet The Demands Of Modern Learners
Today’s students have grown up in a technology-infused and interconnected world. They demand convenient access to information and processes in a multimedia enriched environment. First, CurrikiStudio enables instructors to meet the modern learner where they are. Faculty can present multi-tiered tasks of learning activities in playlists that give students choice and interest-driven flexibility.
There are endless combinations of digital engagement to create in CurrikiStudio. Faculty can embed fillable forms that students can complete online and submit virtually as a completed document with the Form Wizard tool for writing assessments and reflections. These forms can be paired with related multimedia like videos, images, texts, image juxtapositions, timelines, and more. In addition, instructors can create 3D virtual tours, flash cards, and branching scenarios to facilitate multiple pathways for learners. CurrikiStudio also has partnered with GeoGebra, so math faculty can integrate powerful vector and 3D investigations made possible with the math app. Many of these interactives can even be combined and delivered in a single course presentation.
“Chunk” Material
Second, asynchronous learning should be broken up into digestible segments. Image Hotspots can be inserted into maps, tables, primary documents, and archived images for students to click for additional information and highlight key concepts. Drag and drop activities explore the associations between concepts. All of these activities can have fixed answers or be flexible for students to make multiple associations and relationships.
Introduce Multimedia Elements
Third, a multimedia-rich learning experience enhances engagement. The Interactive Video tool allows professors to take their video lectures (or any video from YouTube) and insert interactions. Engagement like question prompts, links to further information, definitions, dialog cards, and more can be included. Prompts can be inserted for students to return to earlier parts of the video if they need relearning. Interactive simulations can also be embedded from outside sources by a simple copy and paste of Javascript code with the iFrame Embedder tool. For language and communications faculty, student-facing dictation and audio recording tasks can be set up in CurrikiStudio. Instructors can also make question activities where students are required to provide their responses in audio format.
Add Self-Assessment Opportunities
Fourth, assessment tools in CurrikiStudio offer informal and formal assessment options. Tools like Quiz, Multiple Choice, Single-Choice Set, Fill in the Blank, and Questionnaire can be customized to pose questions for students and empower them to check their understanding.
Provide Timely and Useful Feedback
Finally, feedback customization within CurrikiStudio learning interactions scaffolds instruction. If students select incorrect answers on assessments, they can receive hints and tips. Interactive tasks like Drag and Drop and Word Drag and Drop offer feedback to get students on the right track.
Ultimately, these five elements enable higher education faculty to present a dynamic learning experience for their students in fully remote, hybrid, and even face-to-face settings. Students become the center of the learning process in a rich multimedia environment.
