9 Next Steps to Make Online Education More Engaging

Video lectures may have worked as a stop-gap measure in the emergency move to online learning, but they just don't cut it for the long term. Here are nine ways to bring distance education courses to the next level.

  • By Dr. Marian Stoltz-Loike
  • 05/05/20
college student working on a laptop

For professors who thought that higher education was best delivered in a classroom, the coronavirus pandemic has required a profound paradigm shift. But, in reality, for most faculty members, classes are still delivered as lectures. It's only the modality that has changed. Instead of delivering lectures in elegant lecture halls, they are doing so over the internet. That is not sustainable.

At first, students were thrilled that faculty were able to create academic continuity online, so that they would not lose a semester of coursework. Nonetheless, as students begin the move to the end of their semesters or contemplate continuing summer school through distance education, they are becoming restless. Delivering courses via Zoom is not enough. Students want more in their online courses. And that brings me to a key point: The internet is the place where students today "live." They engage with their peers online through social media. They share stories and pictures of their lives — their triumphs and failures — online. They keep up with the news online. Yet routinely, we as faculty fail to engage them on their terms in the environment where they feel most comfortable.


The traditional college lecture given by the "sage on the stage" differs from the facilitated learning style expected in a dynamic, asynchronous, online course where the instructor acts as the "guide on the side." As faculty members become comfortable with distance education, many are also eager to do more in their online classes so that they can create a richer educational experience for their students.

Below are some suggestions to bring distance education courses to the next level. They include tools, strategies and materials that can be used to make online classes more dynamic and engaging. Find your own tools or ask your students to help. Lots of students are probably a bit bored at home and would value using their internet and social media skills to enrich your courses. Plus, when students participate in the educational process, they learn more.

Here are some additions for your course toolbox:

1) Post your syllabus. Before doing anything else, post your syllabus to your learning management system (LMS) if you did not do it at the beginning of the semester. Whether you use Blackboard, Canvas or another LMS, posting your syllabus, assignments and even announcements is easy to do and a great way to engage with students. You can post text- or video-based announcements. Video-based announcements are a great way for students to "see" you. Videos can be recorded directly through your LMS or on your phone and then posted. You can get help to do this through your school's Instructional Design team or Help Desk.

2) Stop lecturing. You want your students to be actively engaged in the educational process. Even if your classroom lectures were fantastic, they do not typically translate well to an online modality. Few online students would be able to concentrate for the full 50 to 75 minutes of a normal classroom lecture. Take breaks every 15 minutes. Ask for student questions. Or ask them a question and solicit student feedback. Find other tools to break up the classroom time. You may want to try presenting short (less than five-minute) animated videos from YouTube or textbook publishers to summarize your key points. You may also want to provide a one-page summary of key points in your lecture, which you can post on your LMS. If you use the board extensively in your regular class, students will find these summaries particularly helpful. You may also want to record and post your course for future student reference (but check your school's privacy settings for recording Zoom classes).


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