In addition to the topical knowledge that students acquire in these courses, there is an emphasis on developing independent and lifelong learning skills. Attention is paid to improving students’ abilities to synthesize and communicate learning, to enahancing their research abilities, and to developing their intellectual curiosity. These objectives are met through online discussions, regular writing tasks, and activities that stress individual intellectual growth over memorization.

Online courses need clear, simple structures to work well. These courses are divided into weekly modules, each of which considers a particular topic. The Module Review at the end of each module asks students to write a short essay summing up key module takeaways, analyzing a particular point raised in the readings, or providing students with an opportunity to explore related topics.

The courses has term projects known as MyModule. This meta exercise allows students to create their own module for the course, thereby encouraging them to reflect on how their learning is structured while also giving them an opportunity to be creative with their learning. Three weeks are set aside for this scaffolded assignment, and regular contact with the instructor as the MyModule takes shape is encouraged. Students work with modern presentation apps such as Padlet or Notion to display their efforts, and they can share these publicly if they wish to do so.

Curation is more than just collecting. Course materials are chosen and arranged with a view to supporting student learning. Instead of just getting the instructor’s take on a topic, each module offers students a curated list of written, video, and audio texts. These are drawn from scholarly and general interest sources, and are contextualized by the instructor.

In this model of online teaching practice, lectures take a back seat to online discussions, and the discussions are based on the content items that the students read, watch, and listen to. The instructor’s role is to frame the discussions in two ways: through the judicious curation of content, and through good management of the discussions. This starts with good discussion tasks being created for each content item. And, instead of the content and the discussions being on separate webpages, the content is embedded directly into the discussion forums.

The instructor’s role in these courses is to facilitate learning. This is largely achieved through course structure and content curation, but it still requires that the instructor be present in the course by participating in the discussion forums, offering multiple feedback opportunities on student work, and giving students the confidence of knowing that the instructor is there to guide and support students every step of the way.

An emphasis on human engagement: online courses are sometimes thought of as the lesser cousins of in-class (face-to-face) courses because both students and instructors are more passive, less present and active in the course. Not here; the online discussion forums aren’t just add-ons but an integral part of the courses – you do a lot of your studying and learning by participating regularly and consistently in the forums. And the instructor will be right there with you.

The human engagement leads to learning engagement: these are not the kinds of courses where you memorize facts and spit them back on tests and exams, only to forget them as soon as you leave the room. Instead, you become familiar with the material by discussing and writing about it.

These courses are all about communication. The ability to communicate clearly and effectively is a life and career skill that everyone needs. We’ll be improving our communication skills while at the same time using them to learn, because to engage with knowledge basically means communicating about ideas with others.