This practical guide to multimedia in online college instruction provides easy-to-follow instructions for designing multimedia assignments that maximize student learning while reducing cognitive load. This book presents the learning process as a complex, multidimensional experience that includes texts as well as auditory and visual elements. Each…

This article discusses how three low-tech instructional strategies, typically used in face-to-face teaching, can be successfully used in synchronous and asynchronous online instruction with students with high-incidence disabilities and their typical-learning peers in inclusive online classes. The three strategies are choral responding, response…

As a result of COVID-19, teacher preparation institutions scrambled to change face-to-face delivery of coursework to various online approaches (e.g., synchronous, asynchronous). This special issues brief is the second in the series released by the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR Center). Both…

We provide actionable strategies that teachers can follow when implementing asynchronous video communication and feedback in their own courses. These strategies are based on our own research over many years in the use of asynchronous video in online teaching, as well as our review of the literature, and are provided to foster greater discussion on…

One of the foundational principles of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) system is accessibility for students -- multi-tiered resources and strategies that ensure equitable and valid access for students to instructional and assessment content. This Guide includes 54 accessibility strategies that can be used by teachers,…

Emergent technologies and communication channels have evolved over time and now offer more connected interactivity between students, their peers, course content, and their instructor. Yet, many who teach in the online environment continue to utilize the traditional forms of communication (such as discussion boards and email). This article explores…

School closures in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic resulted in an immediate and universal pivot to online teaching. More than 3.7 million teachers in the U.S. were suddenly asked to teach in an entirely new setting with little preparation and no advance notice. This has caused an unprecedented threat to children's education, giving…

While a fair amount is known about effective instructional practices for students who are English learners, less is known about how these practices might look different in a distance learning context compared to the classroom. This brief, produced by WestEd as part of a collection of Crisis Response Resources, is designed to help educators make…

One of the major benefits of the face-to-face teaching environment is that social interaction opportunities are a natural part of the course: Learners meet in the same room for the same allotted period of time each week. This social opportunity is not organic to online courses; therefore, to have this social interaction as a part of online classes…

Exploring online learning through the lens of synchronous and asynchronous instructional methods can be beneficial to the online instructor and to the course designer. Understanding the underlying theoretical foundation is essential to justify both types of instructional pedagogies. Learning theory as it applies to online environments encompasses…

This book brings together research from mathematics education and instructional design to describe the development and impact of online environments on prospective and practicing teachers' learning to teach mathematics. The move to online learning has steadily increased over the past decade. Its most rapid movement occurring in 2020 with most…

The critical success of online instructors is their ability to engage students in the learning process. With this expertise, the online experience is extremely effective. The goal of this book is to help faculty understand the processes of teaching online and learning to be student-centered, which are the first steps toward becoming a successful…

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, as of this writing, 21 states and three U.S. territories have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year, with closures impacting at least 124,000 U.S. public and private schools and affecting at least 55.1 million students. In addition, districts in nearly all other states…

A hybrid course, which combines the face-to-face interactions of a traditional course with the flexibility of an online course, provides an alternative option for educating students in a new media environment. While educators often interact with their students through various electronic learning management systems that are set up within the…

Asynchronous discussions are a useful instructional resource in the online communication course. In discussion groups students have the opportunity to actively participate and interact with students and the instructor. Asynchronous communication allows for flexibility because "participants can interact with significant amounts of time between…