Online learning requires dedication on the part of students. Asynchronous course material can pile up quickly and it is easy to fall behind. In order to keep your students engaged consider using one or more of the strategies described below:
- Assign weekly homework worth a relatively low percentage of the overall grade. The stakes are low, but students are motivated to keep up with the material.
- Make use of the logic built in to Quercus with prerequisites and requirements. Prerequisites and requirements require students to successfully complete segments of the course successfully before subsequent material is unlocked. For example, by the end of week one you would like students to watch a video, read two articles, and complete a quiz with a score of at least 80%. These 4 tasks can be set as requirements of a module and a prerequisite for moving on to the next module. Read more here and here.
- Even if your course is largely asynchronous, build in at least one synchronous check point. Schedule a live class for all students that they can work toward as a soft deadline for completing assigned material. As an instructor, you can gauge understanding during the live class discussion.