The COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of changes in how we deliver goods and services, including higher education. Some universities were forced to change their teaching model in less than a week. Fortunately, the undergraduate marketing course I teach for Northwestern University was already designed for the online environment, so little changes were needed. Many of my full-time colleagues though struggled with making the change and contacted me for some advice. My advice from my 12 years of online teaching experience was that an unmodified in person class does not transfer well to the online environment and changes will be needed to ensure student engagement and better educational outcomes.
In the Spring term there was little time for curriculum adjustments. Schools were mostly focused on simply getting courses online. The Fall term is just around the corner with a very different challenge. You’ve shown the students how the technology works, now it’s time to show them you can do this well and really engage them. Fall is approaching quickly, so you must act soon.
“Effective online teaching depends more on building engagement than on mastering complicated technology.”
– Chronicle of Higher Education
I have included a slide deck below on my capabilities for your review. Please contact me to discuss how I can help you further.
Click here to download a digital copy of the Online Course Engagement deck to share with your colleagues. Thank you.