📑 Online Learning Can Be Engaging and Effective

I taught blended learning courses for ten years at UC Berkeley and Stanford — three hour face-to-face meetings each week, with forum, blog, and wiki learning activities spread over the week between classroom sessions. I came to learn that, combined with a co-learner-centric pedagogy, the use of synchronous (videoconference) and asynchronous (forums, blogs, collaborative documents, collaborative highlighting) media between classroom meetings can amplify and vivify the traditional college course. For eight years, I also taught my own online courses at what I called “Rheingold U.” In March, 2020, when Covid-29 led to the sudden, massive, unplanned advent of online classes, I published some advice about teaching and learning online. Now, a year and a half later, after hearing so many less-than-encouraging reports of online failures, I have more to say about how to make the learning experience more engaging and fulfilling — with more successful learning outcomes. I have included some of my 2020 piece in this present essay — and expanded upon it.