LEARNING ACTIVITIES TO ENGAGE STUDENTS

Abstract

Abstract

When we consider e-learning or face to face courses, engaging students is essential for teaching efficacy. The key to e-learning success resides in offering students more than information. In on line courses, even though the content of the course is important, the student's engagement with the set content is more relevant.

Moodle offers a variety of activities that promote or facilitate the student's engagement with the material. There are assignments that require reviewing the content of the course, collaborative activities that promote critical thinking and integrating different perspective on a topic, and also formative assessment activities that facilitate learning. The variety of resources that can be uploaded on a Moodle platform, might also address the variety of learning styles.

When teaching online one should give students "clues" to find answers in the course content that relates to the topic of study. Engageing students in a "knowledge hunt" is like a game of puzzle, they have to find an item, after that they have to understand where should that piece be set.

Encourage students to discuss a topic in a forum, encourage them to reply to other topics and rate other replys is always a good practice to achieve the communication and engagemnet in an online course.

Fullfilling an assignment or submiting definitions to a glossary is an learnig (self learning) and teaching activity, the student has to search for new definitions and has to compose the asignment according to the requirements.

Learning activities must be present in the course and must be clear explained to be understood by all participants.