The way we design our courses has a great impact not only on *what* students learn, but also on *how* they learn. Learning design can shape learning habits. This is why we need to be *intentional* about it. Here are some of my thoughts. 1/ What is *intentional design*?
🔸Focusing on the WHY
🔸Putting students' experience first
🔸Making meaningful choices
🔸Constructive alignment
🔸Learning first, technology second
And here is how it translates into our day-to-day teaching practice. 2/

Some of the best student work I've seen happened when students were challenged, trusted & adequately supported. Working on real-life projects where they practice what they learn creates an authentic learning experience. Read more on PjBL in my newsletter: educationalist.substack.com/p/thinking-abo… Here are 3 things I find crucial for PjBL success:
🔸Instructor's role as coach. It's hard to find a balance between giving enough support and letting students take ownership. It's important to design the right structure & interaction flow. Remember, you are not there to teach.

Looking for a piece of advice on establishing your online *teacher presence*? Here are my tips for creating meaningful connections with your students.👇1/ 1. Partnership. Effective teaching is *not* a one-way street. Make students co-owners & co-creators of the learning space. Prompt them to reflect on & take ownership of their learning. Not only will this result in a richer experience but it will help them a lot in the future. 2/

We often assume students are proficient in evaluating & managing online information. And more often than not, we are wrong. That is why we need to put *online media literacy* & *knowledge management* skills at the heart of the learning process. Now more than ever. Some ideas 👇 At first sight this may seem outside the scope of your course. But if you give it a try you'll see that training these skills will enhance students’ overall performance & the quality of their academic output. Here are 5 core aspects of knowledge management & infomation literacy:

Main roles of breakout rooms: supporting active learning, maintaining engagement and creating the sense of commmunity. @RonOwston @ContactNorth Sustained engagement using breakout rooms throughout the course is more valuable than one-off activities. Assigning pre-work (reading, collecting data) makes sessions more effective. Defining & clearly communicating the activities boundries is important. @RonOwston @ContactNorth

Looking forward to hearing more about students' experiences of online teaching. Thanks @MaxineDavid for this great idea! It helps us avoid the trap of thinking only from teacher perspective. #PSAwebinar

https://twitter.com/PolStudiesAssoc/status/1329356088064561152

Main challenges: lack of social interaction, feeling of isolation, technical problems that can hinder participation, disconnect with the deeper purpose of studying (I find that interesting!) & lots of insecurity regarding the future from the career point of view. #PSAwebinbar

🧵Do you sometimes feel that the narrative of your course would be strengthened by having your students engage with someone *working* in the field you are teaching about? Here are some things to keep in mind when including a guest practitioner in your course. 1/ Most importantly: the practitioner's intervention should be *meaningful* four your students' learning journey. It needs to come at the right time, complement your teaching and provide students with access to *new* knowledge and expertise, or a different perspective. 2/

One thought has been on my mind lately🤔: what is the line between carefully designing your (online) course and over-designing it? If someone follows all my suggestions as a learning designer will they not end up overwhelming the students... and themselves? 1/ We need to be very careful. While thinking & rethinking the content & sequence of learning activities is important, the *bigger picture* is equally crucial. It has to do with the cognitive load. Also, remember these are not *normal* times... 2/

💡Having taught fully online for many years, I hardly ever think in terms of sync/async. Live sessions = exception, used for clear purposes. Working w/ faculty that comes from teaching f2f, I need to put myself in their shoes & approach teaching online from a very different angle As a learning designer, *empathy* is very important. Everyone comes with a different "luggage" of previous experiences & teaching philosophies. I try to listen to their stories & work out together smth that *makes sense to them*. Teaching a course well can be done is so many ways

Here's a quick "Learning Design Essentials" guide. It builds on threads I've written in the past months and because content on twitter can be so elusive, I thought it's worth trying to capture it in one place. Thanks to all of you who contributed & will contribute :) 1. This is about designing *asynchronous* online learning by using a storyboarding approach. Think about the narrative of your course and find ways to express it through a sequence of engaging learning activities.

https://twitter.com/Anda19/status/1297823644266176513

🧵Ok, so I'm a big fan of asynchronous online learning, but if you really want to use live sessions as a part of your online course, here are five things I think can help you create a consistent and enjoyable learning experience. 1/ 1. Take a moment to zoom out on your course. From this bird's eye perspective, think about which learning goals can be *best* achieved through sync interaction. Be honest & resist the temptation to answer "all". Conversely, think of what parts of your course could be async. 2/

Let's talk about time ⏰
Time is a crucial element in planning teaching and learning. So why are we so bad at estimating it? 1/ Teaching and learning have a different temporal dimension online. As the time units that guide our f2f course planning have become irrelevant, we're struggling to estimate how long certain tasks will take in the online environment, both for us & for our students. 2/

Teaching online is about *communication* at least as much as it is about content, tools or methods. While we're busy designing online courses, we tend to take communication for granted. But unlike f2f, online we need to deliberately plan our communication strategy. Some ideas. 1/ Our communication channels with students are essential in an online course. In fact they can be seen as the glue that gives the learning experience meaning & coherence. Find your voice, be as authentic as possible and open to dialogue. Knowing your students will help. 2/

With learning being most often visually represented as an activity that takes place when learners & teachers are simultaneously in one space (f2f or online), it's no wonder a mental model of synchrounous teaching as the norm is being built. But it does not have to be this way. 1/ Learning also happens when we're not around. Learning happens individually & collectively, formally & informally. Technology allows us to let go of space and time constraints, but are we mentally ready to let go of the idea we as teachers can (and should) control learning? 2/

Are you planning to design asynchronous learning activities for your courses this fall? It's all about story, structure, sequence and schedule. Add clarity & consistency to that, and you might be onto a winner. Here are some tips on how to approach this. 1/ 1. First of all let go of the idea that students are not learning when you don't see them or when you're not around. Instead, challenge yourself to create activities you *know* will keep them engaged regardless of space & time. Remember who your students are & be creative. 2/