Technology is fundamental to supporting engagement in online learning
The foundational element of effective asynchronous online learning remains the discussion board, a primary feature in all major learning management systems. Discussion boards are virtual classrooms where students and teachers gather to interact and engage with the course content and each other.
Examples of Innovative Discussion Technologies
The Discussion Hero LTI
But while discussion boards are the foundation of online learning, they have not changed that much in decades. Here at Northwestern, we developed our own discussion board called Discussion Hero. It is a gamified discussion board that integrates with Canvas and allows students to assume hero and villain avatars and then post anonymously. Students engage in more of a debate than the traditional Socratic-style discussion. One student said after using it, “I think the argumentative nature made the discussion posts more entertaining and interactive.”
Other innovative discussion tools used in our courses include Hypothesis and Perusall. Hypothesis enables students to collaboratively comment on or annotate online texts, such as webpages, online PDFs, digital articles, or even specific course files in Canvas. Perusall is an annotation tool that integrates with Canvas.
Using technology is not merely for entertainment or amusement,
… though students actually enjoying learning is not a bad thing. Sometimes, technology can be used to take students out of their comfort zones in search of solutions to real-world problems. In the new Health Care Administration program at SPS, our team, along with subject matter experts at Northwestern Medicine, created super-realistic case studies based on fictional medical centers complete with websites, staff, and patients. In this case, technology is used to re-create high-stakes decision-making.
Photogrammetry at the MTI
At our Media, Technology, and Innovation lab, there are exciting new technologies that use VR in the classroom. And at Northwestern’s Knightlab, there is a team of technologists and journalists using technologies like Timeline that we use in some of our courses to engage students in innovative ways.
Opportunities for further exploration
I have no doubt we are still in the nascent era of online learning when imagination is more important than any single technology in engaging tomorrow’s students. Here at the School of Professional Studies, we are looking for new ways of representation and expression: universal design principles that may hold the key to how technology is applied in future online courses.