Online Learning Best Practices

AAMC Clinical Teaching and Learning Experiences without Physical Patient Contact

A rich collection of resources, including video learning tools, website links, and pdf downloads, featuring clinical learning experiences that can be adapted for specific local settings without the need for patient contact. Categories include interpersonal & communication skills, medical knowledge, patient care, practice based learning and improvement, professionalism, and systems based practices.

Best Practices for Hybrid Instructions

Best practices for hybrid instruction divided amongst the following categories:

• Writing SLOs
• Delivering Content
• Choosing and Allocating (Online vs F2F) Student Practice
• Choosing and Allocating (Online vs F2F) Assessments
• Academic integrity
• Options for Timeline of the Semester
• Use of Class Time
• Syllabus Best Practices
• Accessibility

Course Success Self-Review

The Course Success Self-Review is an anonymous and quick survey tool for instructors. It is intended to help instructors strengthen the design and delivery of remote and hybrid courses, leading to better learning and student satisfaction.

The Self-Review will take 20 to 60 minutes depending on the number of success factors you select.

Edge for Scholars Scholarly Activities for a Remote Research Lab

This site provides guidance for leading a remote research lab. Here are 8 tips for creating meaningful activities for fellows, students and research assistants when they are unable to physically meet in a lab.

Encouraging Student Engagement During Synchronous Meetings

Some students become busy, overwhelmed, or unmotivated by the middle of the semester. Included are six scenarios with strategies and ideas to encourage accountability and build in motivation from the start of the semester so the momentum continues until the end.

Generative AI – Instructional Opportunities and Challenges 

Assembled by the Division for Teaching and Learning, the principles and resources shared are intended as first steps to help instructors begin to address generative AI within the courses they teach.

In-depth Guide: use Zoom to teach online

This in-depth guide to using zoom by Harvard provides detailed information about preparing for your Zoom session, engaging students with chat, screen annotation, polling, non-verbal feedback, and breakout rooms, and delivering accessible online class sessions to your audience, as well as information for specific teaching scenarios.

I am a Pharmacy Professional and a… Virtual Teacher
Kristen Bunnell, PharmD, BCCCP, BCIDP et al. The Journal of the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, September/October 2020

This collection of stories from pharmacists across the state of Wisconsin details their experiences with virtual teaching.

Increasing Student Engagement During Synchronous Online Classes

Neria Sebastien, EdD discusses strategies instructors can use to increase student engagement during synchronous online classes.

Kaltura – Best Practices

Guidelines and recommended best practices for usage of Kaltura MediaSpace, UW-Madison’s video platform to host and deliver educational material.

Teaching a Live, Online Session Checklist & Resources

This faculty guide for facilitating online sessions will give you practical and pedagogical tips for conducting your class sessions online, should you decide this is an option that will work for you & your students.

Teaching: How to Make Breakout Rooms Work Better
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Discover approaches for making videoconferencing breakout rooms work.

Learner control of the pacing of an online slideshow lesson: Does segmenting help?
R.E. Mayer et al. Applied Cognitive Psychology, September 2019, Vol.33(5), pp.930-935

Five facets of social presence in online distance education
R.E. Mayer and E. Sung. Computers in Human Behavior, September 2012, Vol.28(5), pp.1738-1747

Five ways to increase the effectiveness of instructional video (pdf)
R.E. Mayer et al. Education Tech Research Dev (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09749-6

[Please note that access to the full versions may require NetID login]

This collection of journal articles by R.E. Mayer and colleagues explores facets of online instruction, such as learner control of slideshows, fostering social connection in remote learning, and instructional video, to help instructors create an effective remote learning environment.

For six quick tips about achieving instructional continuity and finishing the semester strong in a remote learning environment, read Going Online in a Hurry: What to Do and Where to Start by M.D. Miller in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

For an in-depth guide covering topics such as synchronous v asynchronous teaching, communication, interactive learning, collaboration, and flexibility to help lecture-based classes temporarily move online, check out So You Want to Temporarily Teach Online by S. Moore and C.B. Hodges in Inside Higher Ed.

UW-Madison Continuing Studies Distance Teaching and Learning

Online professional development, an annual conference and custom programs for distance-learning. The Distance Teaching & Learning team is available to support the campus shift to alternative delivery methods. Be sure to check out their micro-learning modules to get up and running quickly with online learning.

Virtual Meeting Do’s and Don’ts

This summary table provides the Do’s and Don’ts of preparing for a virtual meeting. It was provided as a resource for Darin Harris’s faculty development workshop— “Is My Video On?”: Holding Successful Virtual Sessions (October 22, 2020).

See also: “Department of  Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Development Series”

The 7 Rules of Virtual Meeting Etiquette Every Professional Should Know

Whether you are conferencing into a work meeting or an online class, these seven tips on meeting etiquette are useful to maintaining a respectful and productive virtual environment.

Best practices for hosts and presenters using Adobe Connect

Advice for how to get the most out of Adobe Connect including tips for sharing your screen, engaging your audience and troubleshooting audio.