In its ongoing efforts to support faculty and students with best practices and approaches to online learning and teaching, the Office of Open Learning has opened registration for a free online course for UWindsor instructors, focused on supporting student engagement online.

The first offering of “Engagement in the Online Classroom” runs from April 12 to 16 and will be facilitated by Dave Cormier and Ashlyne O’Neil, learning specialists in the Office of Open Learning.

O’Neil describes the course as providing “a supported pathway for both instructors who are new to online teaching, and those who have now had some experience, but are looking for ways to meaningfully engage their students.”

Participants will engage in a combination of live online collaborative sessions, self-paced activities, and ongoing discussions. Throughout the week, they will have access to help from the Open Learning facilitators and resources to help them develop effective practices for keeping their students engaged online.

“One of the first questions we get from many faculty is ‘how do I keep students engaged in learning when they have so many other alternatives?’” says Cormier. “The course is designed to be a pragmatic discussion of some of the key factors surrounding engagement with some practical advice for using the Internet to help.”

Registration is open now through the Office of Open Learning workshop database, alongside a collection of additional workshops offered by learning specialists. This course, and all additional workshops, are available for all University of Windsor instructors who are looking for support and guidance in building their online courses.