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How Do Online Classes Work? What to Know Before You Start

Whether you’re considering going back to school to start or to finish a degree, taking online courses is an option that allows you to maintain control of your schedule.

Before you decide what course format you want to pursue, you may be wondering exactly how online college classes work.

How are Online Classes Different Than Face-to-Face Classes?

You might be familiar with taking a college class in a face-to-face environment in a traditional college setting. The basic premise is still the same online; you’ll have a syllabus to introduce you to what the class — or course — is about and the learning outcomes you'll work toward.

The syllabus also shows you what materials are required for the course, the types of assignments to expect, grading information, the assignment schedule and academic policies.

Attending classes on campus may tie you to a traditional semester schedule, limiting opportunities to begin a degree program to once or twice per year. Online classes may differ, offering term start dates  year-round. At Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), for example, there are 8-week terms for undergraduate classes and 10-week terms for graduate, allowing ample opportunities for you to enroll throughout the calendar year.

What to Expect in an Online Class

A vast array of resource materials is available through a virtual library, and quite often with 24/7 chat assistance.

Every class also has an instructor you can reach out to with questions or if you need support. These instructors bring a wealth of experience relating to the course's subject matter, which means they can help you connect the dots between what you're learning and how it applies to the industry.

Are Online Classes On Your Own Time?

Online classes that follow an asynchronous learning  format do not meet at a defined time each week. Instead, you’ll have the flexibility to do coursework when it makes sense  for you within the framework of the course schedule. 

For instance, at SNHU, courses in online degree programs are broken out by week-long modules with due dates clearly defined each week. You may choose to complete all assignments for that week within a two-day period or chip away at work throughout the week. Depending on whether you're a night owl or an early bird, you can find the time of day that's most convenient and productive for you.

Robyn Roberts '23 , a semi-truck driving great-grandmother, said she completed a majority of her online bachelor's in business administration  degree while the road. "I pulled into rest areas and stopped and did discussion boards," she said.

What is the Online College Community Like?

And while the work will be done from wherever you are, you’re not alone if you choose a school that has supports in place to help you succeed. 

Online students at SNHU work with an admission counselor to ensure the degree program they choose is the right fit . Upon enrollment, an academic advisor is assigned to them to provide support throughout each course and assist with scheduling, resource advice and lend a hand whenever needed. Adjunct instructors are available throughout each SNHU course to clarify information, answer questions and facilitate learning.

If you'd like to get involved with extracurriculars , some schools have an online portal where you can connect with other students, join clubs and participate in activities. Events including SNHU's annual LEADS conference  also allow you to connect with others in the community while also focusing on your personal and professional development.

There are many opportunities to engage in experiential learning , too, at SNHU, no matter your degree program. Experiential learning is a type of learning that allows you to develop and apply your skills in real-world projects. If you're earning a healthcare-related degree at SNHU, for instance, you could participate in the Higher Education and Real World Training (HEaRT) Challenge. During a HEaRT Challenge , you'll learn about a problem an employer is facing and team up with your classmates to propose a solution.

While these supports may not be in place at every school you consider, it’s important to focus on what is meaningful for you — and ensure you select a degree program at a university that has what you need to work toward your goals.

Find Your Program

How many classes do you take in college.

How many classes you take depends mostly on you: whether you’ve already taken courses or not, how much time you can commit to school and which degree you hope to earn.

The number of credits it takes to graduate  from college depends on your program:

• An associate degree  is generally 60 credits in length, or about 20 classes.
• A bachelor’s degree  program typically requires 120 credit hours (or approximately 40 classes).
• A master’s degree could be anywhere from 30-40 credits, and sometimes up to 60 credits (from 10-20 classes), depending on the program you choose. For example, an MBA  — or Master of Business Administration — may take as few as 30 credits to complete, while a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing  could take 48 credits.

If this isn't your first time attending college, you may be able to transfer credits to your new program, altering your timeline and cost to completion. At SNHU, you could have up to 75% of your program finished by the time you start classes. Here are a few quick steps to take:

• Complete the free 5-minute  online application . There’s no obligation after filling it out.
• Get your transcripts requested — for free. Chat with an admission counselor, and we'll request your transcripts on your behalf.
• Receive your free evaluation. Soon after all your transcripts are in, you'll get your official evaluation. It will show you what was transferred in — and what classes you need to complete.

You may also be able to finish faster with prior learning credits  obtained through certain certifications, trainings and military education.

Part-time or Full-time Student: How Many Classes is Full Time?

This may vary at other schools, so it’s important to ask questions up front to understand what constitutes full and part-time — and how your financial aid award  might impact your options.

Is It Harder to Do Online School?

The best online classes have academic rigor and knowledgeable faculty with expertise in their fields. That winning combination, along with supportive resources and staff, creates a learning environment comparable to what you’d expect in a face-to-face class setting.

Some classes may feel easier than others for you based on your interest and comfort level with what’s required of you in a particular course. If writing is something you absolutely love and a class is writing-intensive, that course may be one you’ll feel really comfortable in. If a course seems like it may be challenging, it’s important to consider what resources are available to assist you in the areas you feel you need additional help.

For example, some schools offer 24/7 drop-in tutoring sessions as well as access to a writing center. Leveraging these resources can help you turn in your best work.

Knowing what supports are in place for you as a student can turn what might have been a difficult experience into a course you may thrive in.

If you're having trouble picturing yourself as an online student, you might wish to explore the advantages and challenges that come with a virtual setting and flexible schedule. That can help you determine whether online college courses are worth it  for you.

Success Tips for Online Classes

To do well, it’s important to assess the time you have available for coursework and plan accordingly, leaving yourself some flexibility to pivot as needed if challenges in other areas of your life come your way. Schoolwork may be something entirely new for you, and you could be uncertain about how to maximize your success in a course.

Here are two tips to help:

• Managing your time is essential for your success — and there are time management strategies  that can help you tremendously, including prepping well for a project, prioritizing tasks and developing a schedule and sticking to it.
• Practicing good study habits is another way to boost your learning. Think about how you learn; how you best engage with new information and what sticks and what doesn’t. Be sure to put yourself in an environment where you can best focus  and retain information. Ensuring you have ample time to complete your assignments is equally as important. You’ll have a hard time focusing if you’re short on time and feeling stressed  — and when you allow yourself the time you need, you’ll have an opportunity to reach out for help should you get stuck on any part of an assignment.

While your experiences or concerns may feel uniquely personal, rest assured that others have been where you are now and had the same desire to earn their degree.No matter where you’re planning to continue your education, the basic ingredients for college success are the same.

A degree can change your life. Find the SNHU online college degree  that can best help you meet your goals.

Pamme Boutselis ’15, ’17G is an award-winning writer and content producer, currently serving as a senior director of content and a communication adjunct at Southern New Hampshire University. She loves hearing and sharing stories. As a writer spanning a 25-year career, her work has been featured in print and online via news media, career and education-focused blogs, regional magazines, technology publications and more.

A bachelor’s and master’s in communication – earned as an adult learner – positively impacted her life and career, melding decades in diverse industries with professional and academic knowledge and experience. A serial volunteer, Boutselis has been a TEDx organizer since 2013 and a speaker coach. She’s been fortunate to work with dozens of nonprofits throughout the years. Learn more on LinkedIn .

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About southern new hampshire university.

SNHU is a nonprofit, accredited university with a mission to make high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach their goals with flexible, career-focused programs . Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000 students online. Visit our about SNHU  page to learn more about our mission, accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.

Tips to Succeed as an Online Student

Explore these 10 helpful tips for success as an online student.

Taking a single course, starting a degree program, or completing a graduate certificate? These helpful tips can help you succeed as an online student.

Starting an online degree or certificate can be intimidating. After all, online learning platforms are still relatively new in higher education. Many of us developed learning skills in a traditional classroom. But to be successful in a virtual classroom, you need to adjust your study habits and adapt to new technologies.

According to Kimberly Parke, director of admissions at Harvard Extension School, success as a distance education student requires—first and foremost—grit. Parke offers 10 tips to help you bring your best self to the table each semester.

1. Take Advantage of the Resources Around You

No matter where you’re enrolled, there are always resources to help you get the most out of your courses. Most accredited higher ed institutions will offer virtual office hours with an instructor, and many will give you access to research databases and other resources. Be sure to check out your school’s  resources page  as a starting point.

This page includes information on computer facilities, research tools, and academic and career support—and knowing how to use these resources is just as important as knowing where to find them.

If you have an advisor, be sure to use this crucial resource. A dedicated advisor who can direct you through the experience, from admissions to graduation, can make all the difference in your journey.

Students should also take advantage of networking opportunities with their classmates and instructors. Instructors are not just in charge of uploading lectures and grading assignments. They can also act as a valuable resource for you as a student, containing a wealth of knowledge within their fields of interest.

Start by reaching out during office hours or even sending a quick email to introduce yourself—small connections can end up going a long way.

2. If Possible, Get Your Employer On Board

Many employers are happy to support their employees’ continuing education as long as it doesn’t interfere with their job duties. In certain cases, they may even be willing to help with tuition costs, particularly if your course of study relates to the business.

In any event, your employer may be willing to give you flexible hours or remote work privileges to help you fit coursework into your schedule. If you have a long commute, saving yourself those hours on the road can free up significant time.

If you are pivoting careers and taking courses in order to transition to a different field, it may not be possible or desirable to share this with your employer. If this is your situation, at a minimum ensure you have enough flexibility (including vacation hours) to accommodate the time commitment.

Read our blog on employer-sponsored tuition programs

3. Prepare and Plan Ahead of Time

When choosing a course, check the syllabus to ensure you have no personal or professional conflicts. Have an important board meeting on a test day? Is a large assignment due the week of your kids’ school vacation? Such conflicts can jeopardize your success. Be realistic about the demands and choose a course that will fit into your schedule

If you’re ultimately pursuing a degree or certificate, remember to be flexible. There are going to be semesters where taking two or three courses is doable, and others where you may only be able to dedicate the time to one. Keep in mind that planning too far in advance can be overwhelming at times.

Try mapping out a semester or two in advance rather than planning your entire academic curriculum at once. By planning accordingly, you should have no problem balancing your personal calendar with your academic studies.

4. Don’t Underestimate the Time Commitment

Harvard Extension and other credible online courses are rigorous! Don’t treat them differently than you would a regular class.

Though online courses are inherently more flexible than traditional face-to-face classes, the time commitment required to succeed is no different. You’ll need to manage your time well.  Build in time not only for completing assignments, but also participating in discussion boards and peer conversations.

Without face-to-face reminders, it can be easy to overlook looming deadlines and wind up scrambling to finish at the last minute. To avoid this, schedule regular study time, preferably daily. During study sessions, look through upcoming assignments to ensure you’ve budgeted enough time to give them all your best effort.

5. Know Your Strengths, Limitations, and Motivators

If you’re not a morning person, don’t plan on doing your coursework before work. If you’re consistently exhausted by 7 p.m., don’t schedule study time for the late evening hours. Some people work best in long uninterrupted chunks of time, others fare better with shorter more frequent sessions. Set yourself up for success by making plans you’ll actually stick to.

Consider what motivates you. Yes, education is its own reward, but it doesn’t hurt to build in more immediate rewards for your hard work. Set yourself a goal and treat yourself when you accomplish it. These treats don’t have to be expensive or overly indulgent. Even allowing yourself to watch your favorite show will work if that feels rejuvenating to you.

The key is to know yourself well enough to create a routine that enables you to do your best work. And choose rewards that encourage you to stick with it until it’s done.

6. Find a Quiet Workspace

While reading on your bed or couch can be relaxing, separating work from home is crucial when taking an online course. Setting up a quiet and productive workspace is especially important for those online learners who are not able to access the campus library, and are restricted to their own home during class hours.

Try finding a quiet room, or section of a room, with minimal distractions. Studying in the same place at the same general time creates a routine of stability as you participate in your course modules each week, and sets the tone for any future online courses you may take.

7. Schedule Time for Your Relationships

Returning to school, whether online or in a traditional classroom, is challenging. You’ll need both logistical and emotional support throughout. Students who find themselves neglecting their support networks in order to take classes are much more likely to drop out.

Be sure to communicate with the important people in your life – let them know what you are doing and what kind of support they can provide if needed.

Strive for work/life harmony, not balance. There will be times when you must give your all to your coursework, so make sure to carve out time during the less intense periods to spend time with your family and friends and nurture those relationships.

Knowing that you’ve made time to spend with the important people in your life can make periods of intensity more bearable for both you and the people you love.

8. Develop Grit

Having grit can mean different things in varying circumstances, but what it really boils down to in this context is being able to persevere and overcome difficult situations. Parke is a strong believer in “sticking with your plan day in and day out, not just for the week or for the month, but for years, and working hard to make your future a reality.” Using the  suggested tools and strategies for how to succeed as a distance student  can help you exponentially along the way.

“There’s a great deal to learn—not only in the classroom, but about how school works today—and committing to it is a big responsibility,” said Parke. “That’s why grit, both academic and personal, is so important if a student aims to manage all of his or her obligations successfully.”

9. Read Everything

From registration procedures to course descriptions and syllabi, in order to be a successful student you will need to read as much as you can. As an online course-taker, a lot of the information you receive from your instructors will be in text form. It’s important to remember that not all information is intuitive, especially when it comes to policies. The website and course catalog are built in a way that is easily navigable for students, and should be used as a reference point throughout your studies.

10. Stay Active and Engaged

Finally, remind yourself why you’re taking classes in the first place. Online courses provide opportunities for continuing education that were undreamt of just a generation ago. Treat your course as an exciting opportunity rather than an obligation.

Participate in everything you can – connect with your instructors, your classmates, and any additional resources you are provided. As with anything else, you will get out of your course as much as you are willing to put in.

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5 Strategies for Academic Success: Using Your Strengths

These five tips show you how to keep a clear head and have a successful semester.

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15 Tips to Succeed in an Online Class

Online learning has become an increasingly popular component of higher education, and it’s easy to see why. With the ease of “getting to class,” the lower overall costs , and the flexibility offered to those who work and care for families, distance education has a lot going for it.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics , as of "fall 2020, some 75 percent (11.8 million) of all undergraduate students were enrolled in at least one distance education course, and 44 percent (7 million) of all undergraduate students exclusively took distance education courses." Especially in this post-pandemic world, it seems virtual education is here to stay.

With the increasing prevalence of distance learning and its likely ubiquity going into the future, it’s only natural that students will have lots of questions. Let’s look at some of the most common, as well as provide 15 tips for succeeding in online school.

How Do Online College Classes Work?

First, an overview of online classes and what to expect. After all, knowing what you’re getting into is integral to understanding how to be successful in online classes.

So, how do online college classes work? It’s relatively straightforward: you complete all the same coursework, assignments, and exams through an internet connection rather than in person. Students simply log into an online portal rather than walking or driving to campus to sit in a brick-and-mortar classroom.

Once students log in, they can watch live lectures or prerecorded video segments from their instructors, download and read assigned materials, participate in group discussions, and even send direct messages and questions to classmates and the professor. Students can submit assignments and papers, take quizzes, post short videos, and so forth, all through their online class portal.

Are Online Classes Harder?

The simple answer is: no. Since all the same things happen online as they do in an in-person classroom, most students don’t even have to make much of an adjustment to their previous conceptions of school.

There are just a couple of caveats to the ease with which some students can adjust to an online learning environment. If you lack technological fluency, it might be challenging to utilize the computer and software necessary to access course materials. Make sure you have a good device and internet connection, practice logging into the portal before classes start at the beginning of term and know whom to call on campus if you get stuck.

If you generally struggle with time management, that can also be a problem when taking online classes. In an in-person environment, regularly seeing peers and your professor face-to-face can help keep you on track with turning in assignments. Your instructor might helpfully remind everyone of the upcoming pop quiz, or your classmates might discuss the assignment that’s coming up due. Fewer reminders and, to a certain extent, the enforced structure of an online classroom means it’s entirely up to you to stay on top of your coursework and turn in assignments on time.

For those who find things like technology and time management more difficult than others, you should consider online classes as an opportunity to hone those skills. Improving your technical aptitude and time management will serve you well no matter where your career might take you, so embrace the challenge. And if you need technology assistance or tutoring , those resources are always available to you.

What Are the Advantages of Online Classes?

There are quite a few advantages to online learning, including:

• Less time commuting, which you can spend on studying or taking extra classes
• Quicker feedback from professors and assistants
• The ability to “meet” with your classmates from anywhere
• Plenty of online resources in your online portal
• Reduced overall cost of online classes
• The ability to work on much of your assignments from anywhere, at any time
• No need to live near your campus

How to Be Successful in Online Classes

Understanding how to be successful in online classes is key to getting your degree in a reasonable time frame and moving on to a rewarding career. That’s where our tips for online classes come in.

1. Find/Create a Productive Learning Environment

On the upside, you get to work from wherever you want… but lots of “wherevers” are pretty distracting. If you want to succeed at online learning, you need to manage your environment . Choose somewhere you can work for uninterrupted stretches, distraction-free, with access to internet, food, a bathroom, and materials.

2. Find Ways to Stay Motivated

Even though some aspects are easier, online college classes can prove just as draining as their in-person counterparts. Remember your “why” when you’re in a slump. What are you getting out of this program, and why is it worthwhile? Write it down and stick it on your mirror as a daily reminder to help keep you motivated.

3. Keep a Positive Mindset

Positivity is key, but sometimes it’s hard to maintain. Consider creating a mantra to get you through the tough times, such as “I have enough, I do enough, I am enough” or “I got this.”

4. Don’t Skip/Miss Classes

A temptation of online learning is to assume that no one is watching, but that’s often not the case. Even when it is, just a few missed classes can prove hard to come back from, so try to avoid it wherever possible. Even when you just really, really don’t want to —go anyway.

5. Stay Connected and Speak With Your Instructor

Your instructors want to help, so make sure to stay in touch with them. If they know you’re dedicated, they’re more likely to help you when you can’t avoid missing class or need an extension.

6. Set Goals for Yourself

Goal setting is a big part of getting organized . Set daily, weekly, monthly, and term goals to guide you toward the finish line.

7. Limit Your Time on Social Media

Social media is another temptation when taking online classes since it’s right there in your web browser. However, social posts can make you feel bad in addition to distracting you. If you need to, use an app that manages your internet options and locks you out of social media apps until certain times of the day.

8. Develop Strong Time Management Skills

This is a learned skill, so you’ll get better at it over time. If time management isn’t a strong suit, then be very intentional. Sit down and look at your calendar, then block out every part of your day (including non-school activities) and assign half-hour increments to each.

9. Connect With Other Peers in the Class

Other students are a huge resource, so get in touch with them. They can help you understand the material, and it’s always good to have friends.

10. Stay Active

Physical activity is one of the best stress management techniques around. Whether you play a sport, hit the gym, or focus on getting your steps in, don’t let that lapse because you’re in school.

11. Be Sure to Have the Necessary Technology

Don’t have everything you need? Do what you need to do to obtain a computer, mouse, internet router, or whatever it may be before school begins. If you’re unsure of everything your online course will require, your school should have a list of basic technology requirements available.

12. Do Your Best to Avoid Multitasking

Multitasking simply doesn't work . You’re just rapidly switching your attention from one task to another, which uses extra energy, disrupts your focus, and increases the likelihood of error. This is not only a poor use of your time and mental resources, but you’re also likely to be caught not paying attention.

13. Be Productive When Working in Teams

We get it: not everyone loves working in teams , especially those of us with social anxiety or who are generally more introverted. But it’s extremely likely your career will require you to work well with others, and it’s a trait many employers actively seek out. When such an assignment comes up, be sure to communicate well, pull your weight, and don’t procrastinate.

14. Learn How to Problem-Solve on Your Own

When you learn remotely, you have more agency. However, you also have to do more for yourself. That includes gathering materials, understanding technical requirements, and reaching out to others. Decide upfront to be proactive and problem-solve on your own.

15. Set a Schedule for Completing and Reviewing Assignments

It’s easy to fall behind if you don’t schedule your tasks ahead of time. See the sections on goal setting and time management for ideas on how to create a schedule. If you can, leave yourself an extra day to read through assignments before you submit them.

Learn More, Today

Ready to learn more about online school and opportunities for your future? Reach out to U of M Online to ask questions or get information about specific programs today!

• Four Keys to Successful Online Learning
• You Can’t Multitask, So Stop Trying
• Online Learning Statistics
• Managing Your Learning Environment
• Getting Organized
• https://online.umn.edu/

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https://hapara.com/wp-content/uploads/speaker/post-36214.mp3?cb=1713796550.mp3

Developing effective assignments for online learning does not have to be daunting. M aster the art of creating and managing online assignments for learners, whether you are with learners using 1:1 devices in a classroom, teaching hybrid or virtually.

One amazing benefit of today’s K-12 education community is the amount of resources, tips and tools available online from educators just like you. Tapping their experience, we’ll show how to create online assignments using digital tools that offer learners at least as much rigor as the ones you may have taught traditionally. 

As importantly, you will get tips on successfully managing your students during the learning process. Finally, this blog will give you teaching resources, including alternatives to building online lessons from scratch.  

An assignment lacking clear structure and substance can spell disaster. Not only will it be harder to manage, but learners may end up frustrated or fail to really learn the material. If not managed well, technology tools can turn into exciting and distracting shiny objects. 

To avoid the “edutainment” trap, ensure that onscreen activities support defined learning objectives tied to your district’s standards. Beginning with a strategically planned lesson provides the foundation for whatever digital tools you choose to incorporate. 

The first step is to clarify what skills or knowledge your learners need to master before moving to the next level. Next, consider different types of assignments online for students to see how they could facilitate this learning. 

One brilliant advantage of digital delivery is the ability to tailor assignments to specific learner needs and interests. While selecting which kind of assignment to create, consider what might work best for your learners. Consider specific learners who may need accommodations in content or delivery. 

If you don’t already have data to understand the level of knowledge and prior experience learners have in the subject, consider using a Quizlet, survey or other fact-finding tool. Remember the backdrop of what is going on in the students’ surroundings and lives may have a bearing on their learning needs. Consider circumstances that may be affecting learners personally or in their community. 

Tap your personal teaching experience before exploring digital resources. Consider how your own understanding and knowledge of the subject can best shine through digital tools. 

Having strategies in place can help save time and reduce stress during the process of moving your expertise to an online format. Remember, the extra time put into initial start-up pays off in the long run because digital content can be reused over and over. Lessons in a digital format are shareable, adaptable and updateable.

Consider variety and higher-level learning as you build assignments that are both engaging and contribute to long-term student goals. Once your academic aims are clear, look for digital tools designed to adapt to your needs as an educator and enhance what you would do in a non-digital format.

Make sure the assignment includes a logical flow from beginning to end. Organize content with headings and bullet points as well as multimedia that breaks up text. Include measurable objectives so learners can clearly understand expectations for the assignment. In some cases, it may be necessary to provide easy-to-understand instruction for each task learners need to complete. Remember you may not be there to fill in the blanks if you leave out an important detail.

Getting started with a few basics can simplify the process of creating dynamic digital content . Recording short videos is an excellent way to simulate actually being there, especially when teaching concepts asynchronously. To record what is on your computer screen, try a screencast program, like Screencastify or Loom for Education . Here you can include your face and help learners better understand you by watching you speak.  

Along with video and audio recordings, further support deeper understanding of the subject matter with multimedia elements. These can include graphics, animations, digital graphics, p odcasts, interactive quizzes and simulations like trivia games. 

Even the best instruction and assignments won’t make the learning experience pleasant if students have to spend extra hours figuring out where to find assignments and instructions. Just because students are often tech-savvy does not mean all of them can immediately navigate your school’s LMS unsupported. 

Your online assignment at the beginning of the school term could be a simple one that orients learners while providing the opportunity to get hands-on practice using the system. That helps them get used to the workflow and setup. Frustration is easy to mitigate by structuring assignments and using an intuitive learning platform. One example is Hāpara Workspace with an easy-to-view layout that organizes goals, resources, assessments and rubrics into columns.

At the heart of learning is interacting with peers and collaborating. Include activities and projects that support individuals as they practice engaging and working together with other learners. Some learners who feel more comfortable working alone may need extra encouragement and support. This is an opportunity to promote deeper learning and connection by introducing resources that are relevant to students.

Teachers can quickly share resources with groups, or better yet, give learners the opportunity to add their own resources in Hāpara Workspace. Upload everything from videos, links to apps, images and online articles to Google Docs, Slides, Forms and Drawings into Workspace. Group members can access all these resources for shared activities , assessments and collaborative projects.

Once you have a well-designed assignment with clear instructions tailored to the needs of different learners, it’s essential to give them guidance. The amount of management you need to provide can vary significantly.

Clearly communicate with students throughout the learning process all the way through to assessment. Regular communication helps students stay informed and engaged. You can manage learners as they build toward mastery in an online environment with Hāpara tools. 

They provide superior student communication tools, including date reminders for learners and online progress tracking for teachers.

Hāpara Student Dashboard is an online assignment tracker that helps learners develop crucial executive functioning skills. It will help them gain practice organizing their own time, managing and prioritizing their assignments and assessments. 

Educators can help learners build upon these skills by providing formative feedback that encourages students to take risks and learn from mistakes. Directly from Hāpara Teacher Dashboard , you can open a learner’s assignment or assessment and provide personalized support. This timely feedback helps learners move toward their academic goals more quickly and confidently.

Monitor how learners are progressing through the assignment. This can inform you whether you need to check in with a learner. Teacher Dashboard shows each learner’s most recent files and when they last modified it. You can also send due date reminders to the class or individual learners through an instant message in Hāpara Highlights .

With Teacher Dashboard, it’s easy to leave personalized feedback in learners’ recent files and share differentiated resources directly to their screens.

Pull from your own Google Drive or create a new Google Doc, Slide or Drawing on the spot to share with the class, a group or an individual learner. 

When a learner can’t find a Google file, teachers can access a learner’s Google Drive with one click in Hāpara. S earch for missing files by title or content and filter to view deleted or unshared files.

Evaluate learners’ understanding and progress with different types of assessment methods, including rubrics, quizzes, peer review and presentations. 

Assessments should provide meaningful feedback for learners and educators alike. Use learner feedback to improve on each new assignment you develop. Data on engagement, task completion rates and learner satisfaction will help you make adjustments to improve a future assignment.

Several alternatives to building your lessons from the ground up are available. These can save time and hassle. To begin with, Google Assignments is a free online assignment solution. To make this even easier, in Hāpara Highlights, as teachers monitor what learners are doing online and offering personalized support, they can quickly share Google Classroom Assignments, Questions and Materials. 

Finding free assignments online is another option. With the Discover feature in Hāpara Workspace , you can access online assignments other educators have created from around the world. Search thousands of curriculum-aligned Workspaces by standard, subject, grade level or topic. Then copy and modify them to meet your learners’ needs. 

Teachers can also use AI to support learning content development and in class with students.

Among the many ways ChatGPT can be used by teachers is helping them create new material, and generate ideas and quizzes. They can quickly personalize the same content in several ways to reach different learners. For example, high school literacy specialist Amanda Kremnitzer told EdWeek that she used ChatGPT to create outlines for her multiple learners who require them as a supplementary aid.  

Consider shouldering the effort and building content together as a team. Individual members of departments or subject-grade level teams can develop the type of content they are best at and share. Or they can collaborate as a group. As mentioned, you can use the Discover option in Hāpara Workspace to find assignments educators from around the world have created. 

If you are looking for a way to create, curate and manage a collection of digital assignments that only your school or district can access, consider Hāpara’s Private Library . With just a click, you can easily distribute your online assignments to educators in your school or district.

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Tips for Taking Online Classes: 8 Strategies for Success

In the past, earning a college degree meant physically attending in-person classes, which often posed challenges for working professionals or those with complicated schedules. Now, thanks to advances in technology, it’s easier than ever to find a degree program that offers the flexibility you need, whether through traditional in-person classes, online learning, or a blend of the two.

There are many advantages to online courses ; they  allow you to learn whenever, wherever, and however works best for you, making it easier to earn a degree while balancing work and family commitments . And without having to attend classes in person, online learning affords you access to top degree programs across the country that might have otherwise been inaccessible or highly inconvenient.

Online classes can present unique challenges, however, if you’re not prepared. But if you develop skills for effective online learning, you’ll find the courses can be an excellent alternative to a traditional classroom setting. Here are some tips for online learning success to make sure you get the most value out of your next class.

Tips for taking online classes

If you’re considering taking online college courses (or you’re already enrolled in a program), the tips and advice below can help you address their unique challenges to get the most value out of your online program. 

1. Treat an online course like a “real” course.

When it comes to online classes, you need to have the discipline to sit down and say, “I am going to work on this,” as well as the dedication to actually followthrough. Though you can be flexible as to when you choose to complete your work during the week, you can’t put it off indefinitely.

One of the easiest ways to ensure follow-through is to remember that you are paying to take this online course, just as you would for a traditional in-person class. You must “show up” if you’re going to get real value out of your class. Treat your online classes the same way you would a face-to-face class—or, better yet, a job—and you’ll be off to the right start.

2. Hold yourself accountable.

Set goals at the beginning of the semester, and check in with yourself weekly. In a traditional classroom setting, you’ll often receive verbal or visual reminders of an assignment’s upcoming due date. But without a professor actively reminding you, it’s up to you to make sure you’ve allotted enough time to complete the work so you’re not starting an assignment the day before it’s due.

If you’re having trouble holding yourself responsible, pair up with a fellow classmate, or enlist the help of a spouse or friend to check in as an accountability partner. By being organized, proactive, and self-aware, you can get the most from your online class even when life outside of school becomes chaotic.

3. Practice time management.

The flexibility to create your own schedule is often one of the biggest appeals of taking online classes. But that freedom can also be detrimental if you do not have solid time management skills. Without them, you might easily find yourself cramming before classes or handing in subpar assignments.

Though how you manage your time will depend on your schedule, learning style, and personality, here are some universally valuable tips to help you practice and improve your time management skills :

• Look at the syllabus at the start of the semester, and make note of major assignments . Mark them on a calendar you check regularly so you know what workload is coming in the weeks ahead. Don’t forget to factor in prior commitments that may interfere with your regular study schedule, such as weddings or vacations, so you can give yourself enough extra time to complete assignments.
• Create a weekly schedule that you follow , designating certain hours each week to reading, watching lectures, completing assignments, studying, and participating in forums. Commit to making your online coursework part of your weekly routine, and set reminders for yourself to complete these tasks.
• When working on your assignments, try time-blocking , allotting yourself a certain amount of time for each task before moving on to the next one and setting a timer to keep yourself accountable.
• Check in periodically throughout the term , and look at how you’re spending your time. Ask yourself: How much time am I dedicating to course reading and assignments? Am I regularly underestimating the time it’s taking me to get things done, forcing me to cram the nights before the exams? A little self-reflection and adjustment can go a long way.

4. Create a regular study space, and stay organized.

Set up a dedicated learning environment for studying. By completing your work there repeatedly, you’ll begin to establish a study routine. Whether your workspace is your kitchen table, a library, or the corner booth in a local coffee shop, it’s important to determine what type of environment will work best for you. Experiment to discover which type of setting boosts your productivity. Wherever you choose, make sure there’s high-speed internet access so you’re not trying to take an online course over a lagging connection.

Setting up a regular workspace or office will also help you to stay organized. Knowing exactly where important dates, files, forms, syllabi, books, and assignments live will help keep you on track toward hitting your goals. When setting up your dedicated study space, make sure you:

• Have a high-speed internet connection.
• Have the required books, materials, and software for the course.
• Have headphones for listening to lectures or discussions (especially in shared spaces).

5. Eliminate distractions.

From Netflix to social media to dishes piling up in the sink, you’ll be faced with many distractions that can easily derail your studies. The best online students know how to lessen these distractions and set aside time to focus.

Exactly how much of a challenge these distractions will prove to be will depend on your own unique personality and situation. Some might find that they can tune out a noisy home by listening to music. Others might choose to work from a local coffee shop or library to eliminate their urge to multitask at home. Ultimately, you will need to find a strategy that works best for you.

Regardless of where you choose to work, consider turning your cell phone off to avoid losing focus every time a text message or notification pops up. And if you’re still having trouble resisting the temptation to check your email or surf the web, try downloading a website blocker. Using applications like Cold Turkey and Freedom can help eliminate distractions by blocking the apps or websites that tend to compete for your attention, such as Facebook and Twitter.

6. Figure out how you learn best.

Once you’ve established where you’ll learn, think about when and how you accomplish your best work. If you’re a morning person, make time to study first thing. More of a night owl? Set aside an hour or two after dinner to cozy up to your computer. If the kids require your morning and evening attention, try to carve out a study session mid-day while they’re at school. Brew your usual cup of coffee, put on your go-to playlist, and do whatever you need to get into the zone and down to business. Not everyone learns the same way, so think about what types of information help you best grasp new concepts, and employ relevant study strategies. If you’re a visual learner, for example, print out transcripts of the video lectures to review. Learn best by listening? Make sure to build time into your schedule to play and replay all audio- and video-based course content.

7. Actively participate.

Participate in the course’s online forum to better understand course materials and engage with fellow classmates. This might involve commenting on a classmate’s paper on a discussion board or posting a question about a project you’re working on. Read what other students and your professor are saying, and if you have a question, ask for clarification. Practicing these strategies can also foster greater relationships with your online study partners. Make sure you are checking in as often as you can, too. The flexibility of remote learning means that if you have 30 minutes before dinner plans, you could squeeze in a discussion response around your schedule. Set a goal to check in on the class discussion threads every day.

And if you do feel yourself falling behind, speak up. Don’t wait until an assignment is almost due to ask questions or report issues. Email your professor, and be proactive in asking for help.

8. Leverage your network.

Online classes may sometimes make you feel like you are learning on your own, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Most online courses are built around the concept of collaboration, with professors and instructors actively encouraging students to work together to complete assignments and discuss lessons.

Build relationships with other students by introducing yourself and engaging in online discussion boards. Your peers can be a valuable resource when preparing for exams or asking for feedback on assignments. Don’t be afraid to turn to them to create a virtual study group. Chances are good that they will appreciate it just as much as you will.

Practice makes perfect

Online classes are an excellent option to help you earn that degree you need to fulfill your goals. Though they come with their own unique challenges, following the advice above can help you be successful even in the most chaotic of times.

For more on how to be a successful online learner, explore our related online learning tips and advice posts , or watch the recorded webinar below.  

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2020 and has since been updated for relevancy and accuracy. 

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The flexibility of studying online frees you from the constraints of a physical classroom and allows you to schedule study time around work and family commitments. But all this convenience and flexibility leaves you with too many options for when, where and how to study.

Since you may not have face-to-face contact with your professor and other students, you’ll have to keep yourself on track. These organizational tips for online learning will help make sure you stay on top of everything and successfully balance your work, family and online classes.

Find a Quiet Space for Attending Class

When you are taking an online class, the classroom is wherever you are. You will want to find a place that is quiet and free from distraction, yet provides enough room for you to take notes, either on your computer or by hand. You may also need an electric outlet nearby to keep your device charged while logged in to the class.

Classes may be live or recorded, and in a live class, you may be asked to turn on your webcam or your microphone when you participate during the session. One advantage of online classes is that you can attend from the comfort of your home. However, you will want to pay attention to what other attendees and the instructor will see when your webcam is on.

Create an Effective Work Space for Studying

It can be tempting to be a little too relaxed about creating a dedicated workspace for your school work. If a potential study space is already associated with activities such as eating, watching television or sleeping, it’s probably not ideal. Instead, select an area you already associate with learning. The more time you spend in it, the stronger the association will become. Eventually, you will find yourself feeling more focused as soon as you enter the space.

If your space is limited or you can’t create a dedicated study space, store your school materials in a rolling cart, backpack, or something else easily transportable. Whenever it’s time to study, you will have everything you need already organized for a smooth transition. If you frequently find yourself needing to study or attend class away from home, make sure to keep your phone or computer charger with you so that you can remain connected.

Make sure your space is comfortable

When ensuring your study space is comfortable, one of the most important things to keep in mind is ergonomics. Both your study table and chair should allow good posture, and when you’re seated, the top of your desk should rest somewhere between your chest and rib cage. This way, you’ll be able to rest your elbows on the desktop without having to hunch your shoulders forward. Additionally, the chair should be comfortable, fit the height of the desk and allow your feet to rest flat on the floor.  

Organize Your Files

Your course materials should be easily accessible whenever you need them. If you prefer working with hard copies, you can invest in a physical filing system, but online students also have the option to enjoy the ease and flexibility of working digitally. Store your computer files in folders and use descriptive names to facilitate identification.

Schedule Your Time   

When you enroll in an online course, it’s vital to familiarize yourself with the syllabus, class requirements and assignment due dates to avoid unpleasant surprises down the line. Hang a calendar on the wall of your study space and fill out once you get the syllabus. Alternatively, use an online calendar and set alerts. Organizing your schedule will not only facilitate your studies but will also help you set aside time for the other elements of your life.

Stay Organized Online

Bookmark sites that you often use in your research so you don’t have to hunt them down every time you need them and try using online helpers like  Quizlet , which lets you create flashcards and games that will help you study. The site also stores study aides that other students have created, so you may already be able to find what you need.

While working online is a necessity when taking a web-based class, the internet can also be a distraction. If you find yourself checking Facebook every few minutes, taking a Netflix break that never seems to end, or otherwise wasting time online when you’re supposed to be working, there are apps that can help. Try online tools like  StayFocusd , which helps you restrict the amount of time you spend on these distractions.

Establish a Routine

Getting into a routine will increase the chances that you’ll stay on top of what you need to be doing, rather than letting deadlines sneak up on you. Once you have a syllabus for each class and are clear on what’s expected of you,  make a study schedule  for each course. Include blocks of time for regular study and reading, as well as extra time to prepare for tests and projects such as research papers.

Use an old-school paper planner if that works best for you or try a planning app like  My Study App , which lets you store your schedule in the cloud so you can access it from all your devices.

Create a Support System

Enlist your friends and family to help you stay on track with your online education. Whether that’s making sure they understand your commitments and time constraints or encouraging those you live with to help out with household chores, their help and cooperation can make it easier for you to focus on your coursework.

Taking one or more online classes may seem a little isolating, but it doesn’t have to be. If you have trouble staying organized, reach out to your fellow students online – or perhaps meet in person – to help each other stay accountable.

Study groups can be an effective way of keeping yourself on track and if you need help from the professor or would like to meet in person, don’t hesitate to ask. Part of staying organized – especially with online learning – is being proactive and reaching out before you run into trouble.

Getting organized and putting some systems in place can make it easier to be successful in online classes. Try these tactics and let us know which ones help you the most!  

What’s Next

Are you ready to go back to school and looking for online programs that fit your career goals? The University of Texas at El Paso offers a variety of 100%-online undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs. We invite you to explore our online programs and see what it will take to make that next step for your professional future. If you are interested in learning more about our team and UTEP Connect’s 100%-online programs, reach out. An enrollment counselor will contact you directly.

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Creating and Adapting Assignments for Online Courses

Online teaching requires a deliberate shift in how we communicate, deliver information, and offer feedback to our students. How do you effectively design and modify your assignments to accommodate this shift? The ways you introduce students to new assignments, keep them on track, identify and remedy confusion, and provide feedback after an assignment is due must be altered to fit the online setting. Intentional planning can help you ensure assignments are optimally designed for an online course and expectations are clearly communicated to students.  

When teaching online, it can be tempting to focus on the differences from in-person instruction in terms of adjustments, or what you need to make up for. However, there are many affordances of online assignments that can deepen learning and student engagement. Students gain new channels of interaction, flexibility in when and where they access assignments, more immediate feedback, and a student-centered experience (Gayten and McEwen, 2007; Ragupathi, 2020; Robles and Braathen, 2002). Meanwhile, ample research has uncovered that online assignments benefit instructors through automatic grading, better measurement of learning, greater student involvement, and the storing and reuse of assignments. 

In Practice

While the purpose and planning of online assignments remain the same as their in-person counterparts, certain adjustments can make them more effective. The strategies outlined below will help you design online assignments that support student success while leveraging the benefits of the online environment. 

Align assignments to learning outcomes. 

All assignments work best when they align with your learning outcomes. Each online assignment should advance students' achievement of one or more of your specific outcomes. You may be familiar with  Bloom's Taxonomy,  a well-known framework that organizes and classifies learning objectives based on the actions students take to demonstrate their learning. Online assignments have the added advantage of flexing students' digital skills, and Bloom's has been revamped for the digital age to incorporate technology-based tasks into its categories. For example, students might search for definitions online as they learn and remember course materials, tweet their understanding of a concept, mind map an analysis, or create a podcast. 

See a  complete description of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy  for further ideas. 

Provide authentic assessments. 

Authentic assessments call for relevant, purposeful actions that mimic the real-life tasks students may encounter in their lives and careers beyond the university. They represent a shift away from infrequent high-stakes assessments that tend to evaluate the acquisition of knowledge over application and understanding. Authentic assessments allow students to see the connection between what they're learning and how that learning is used and contextualized outside the virtual walls of the learning management system, thereby increasing their motivation and engagement. 

There are many ways to incorporate authenticity into an assignment, but three main strategies are to use  authentic audiences, content, and formats . A student might, for example, compose a business plan for an audience of potential investors, create a patient care plan that translates medical jargon into lay language, or propose a safe storage process for a museum collection.  

Authentic assessments in online courses can easily incorporate the internet or digital tools as part of an authentic format. Blogs, podcasts, social media posts, and multimedia artifacts such as infographics and videos represent authentic formats that leverage the online context. 

Learn more about  authentic assessments in Designing Assessments of Student Learning . 

Design for inclusivity and accessibility. 

Adopting universal design principles at the outset of course creation will ensure your material is accessible to all students. As you plan your assignments, it's important to keep in mind barriers to access in terms of tools, technology, and cost. Consider which tools achieve your learning outcomes with the fewest barriers. 

Offering a variety of assignment formats is one way to ensure students can demonstrate learning in a manner that works best for them. You can provide options within an individual assignment, such as allowing students to submit either written text or an audio recording or to choose from several technologies or platforms when completing a project. 

Be mindful of how you frame and describe an assignment to ensure it doesn't disregard populations through exclusionary language or use culturally specific references that some students may not understand. Inclusive language for all genders and racial or ethnic backgrounds can foster a sense of belonging that fully invests students in the learning community.  

Learn more about  Universal Design of Learning  and  Shaping a Positive Learning Environment . 

Design to promote academic integrity online. 

Much like incorporating universal design principles at the outset of course creation, you can take a proactive approach to academic integrity online. Design assignments that limit the possibilities for students to use the work of others or receive prohibited outside assistance.  

Provide   authentic assessments  that are more difficult to plagiarize because they incorporate recent events or unique contexts and formats. 

Scaffold assignments  so that students can work their way up to a final product by submitting smaller portions and receiving feedback along the way. 

Lower the stakes  by providing more frequent formative assessments in place of high-stakes, high-stress assessments. 

In addition to proactively creating assignments that deter cheating, there are several university-supported tools at your disposal to help identify and prevent cheating.  

Learn more about these tools in  Strategies and Tools for Academic Integrity in Online Environments . 

Communicate detailed instructions and clarify expectations. 

When teaching in-person, you likely dedicate class time to introducing and explaining an assignment; students can ask questions or linger after class for further clarification. In an online class, especially in  asynchronous  online classes, you must anticipate where students' questions might arise and account for them in the assignment instructions.  

The  Carmen course template  addresses some of students' common questions when completing an assignment. The template offers places to explain the assignment's purpose, list out steps students should take when completing it, provide helpful resources, and detail academic integrity considerations.  

Providing a rubric will clarify for students how you will evaluate their work, as well as make your grading more efficient. Sharing examples of previous student work (both good and bad) can further help students see how everything should come together in their completed products. 

Technology Tip

Enter all  assignments and due dates  in your Carmen course to increase transparency. When assignments are entered in Carmen, they also populate to Calendar, Syllabus, and Grades areas so students can easily track their upcoming work. Carmen also allows you to  develop rubrics  for every assignment in your course.  

Promote interaction and collaboration. 

Frequent student-student interaction in any course, but particularly in online courses, is integral to developing a healthy learning community that engages students with course material and contributes to academic achievement. Online education has the inherent benefit of offering multiple channels of interaction through which this can be accomplished. 

Carmen  Discussions   are a versatile platform for students to converse about and analyze course materials, connect socially, review each other's work, and communicate asynchronously during group projects. 

Peer review  can be enabled in Carmen  Assignments  and  Discussions .  Rubrics  can be attached to an assignment or a discussion that has peer review enabled, and students can use these rubrics as explicit criteria for their evaluation. Alternatively, peer review can occur within the comments of a discussion board if all students will benefit from seeing each other's responses. 

Group projects  can be carried out asynchronously through Carmen  Discussions  or  Groups , or synchronously through Carmen's  Chat function  or  CarmenZoom . Students (and instructors) may have apprehensions about group projects, but well-designed group work can help students learn from each other and draw on their peers’ strengths. Be explicit about your expectations for student interaction and offer ample support resources to ensure success on group assignments. 

Learn more about  Student Interaction Online .

Choose technology wisely. 

The internet is a vast and wondrous place, full of technology and tools that do amazing things. These tools can give students greater flexibility in approaching an assignment or deepen their learning through interactive elements. That said, it's important to be selective when integrating external tools into your online course.  

Look first to your learning outcomes and, if you are considering an external tool, determine whether the technology will help students achieve these learning outcomes. Unless one of your outcomes is for students to master new technology, the cognitive effort of using an unfamiliar tool may distract from your learning outcomes.  

Carmen should ultimately be the foundation of your course where you centralize all materials and assignments. Thoughtfully selected external tools can be useful in certain circumstances. 

Explore supported tools 

There are many  university-supported tools  and resources already available to Ohio State users. Before looking to external tools, you should explore the available options to see if you can accomplish your instructional goals with supported systems, including the  eLearning toolset , approved  CarmenCanvas integrations , and the  Microsoft365 suite .  

If a tool is not university-supported, keep in mind the security and accessibility implications, the learning curve required to use the tool, and the need for additional support resources. If you choose to use a new tool, provide links to relevant help guides on the assignment page or post a video tutorial. Include explicit instructions on how students can get technical support should they encounter technical difficulties with the tool. 

Adjustments to your assignment design can guide students toward academic success while leveraging the benefits of the online environment.  

Effective assignments in online courses are:  

Aligned to course learning outcomes 

Authentic and reflect real-life tasks 

Accessible and inclusive for all learners 

Designed to encourage academic integrity 

Transparent with clearly communicated expectations 

Designed to promote student interaction and collaboration 

Supported with intentional technology tools 

• Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty (e-book)
• Making Your Course Accessible for All Learners (workshop reccording)
• Writing Multiple Choice Questions that Demand Critical Thinking (article)

Learning Opportunities

Conrad, D., & Openo, J. (2018).  Assessment strategies for online learning: Engagement and authenticity . AU Press. Retrieved from  https://library.ohio-state.edu/record=b8475002~S7 

Gaytan, J., & McEwen, B. C. (2007). Effective online instructional and assessment strategies.  American Journal of Distance Education ,  21 (3), 117–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923640701341653   

Mayer, R. E. (2001).  Multimedia learning . New York: Cambridge University Press.  

Ragupathi, K. (2020). Designing Effective Online Assessments Resource Guide . National University of Singapore. Retrieved from  https://www.nus.edu.sg/cdtl/docs/default-source/professional-development-docs/resources/designing-online-assessments.pdf  

Robles, M., & Braathen, S. (2002). Online assessment techniques.  Delta Pi Epsilon Journal ,  44 (1), 39–49.  https://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=507795215&site=eds-live&scope=site  

Swan, K., Shen, J., & Hiltz, S. R. (2006). Assessment and collaboration in online learning.  Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks ,  10 (1), 45.  

TILT Higher Ed. (n.d.).  TILT Examples and Resources . Retrieved from   https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources  

Tallent-Runnels, M. K., Thomas, J. A., Lan, W. Y., Cooper, S., Ahern, T. C., Shaw, S. M., & Liu, X. (2006). Teaching Courses Online: A Review of the Research.  Review of Educational Research ,  76 (1), 93–135.  https://www-jstor-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/stable/3700584  

Walvoord, B. & Anderson, V.J. (2010).  Effective Grading : A Tool for Learning and Assessment in College: Vol. 2nd ed . Jossey-Bass.  https://library.ohio-state.edu/record=b8585181~S7

Related Teaching Topics

Designing assessments of student learning, strategies and tools for academic integrity in online environments, student interaction online, universal design for learning: planning with all students in mind, related toolsets, carmencanvas, search for resources.

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How To Make The Most Of Online College This Fall

Elissa Nadworny

Audrey Nguyen

Updated at 11 a.m. ET

Millions of students are starting the fall semester online — in their childhood bedrooms, at kitchen tables surrounded by siblings or wherever they can find a quiet spot — as the coronavirus has forced more than a third of four-year colleges to teach entirely virtually.

With everything that's happening in the world, it can be hard to focus, especially if you didn't go into college with the intention of taking classes online.

But students have been taking online courses for a long time, and many have loved the experience.

Here's how to make the most of an online semester:

As Virtual Learning Continues, Some Families Struggle With Sharing Tech

1. figure out how you learn, so you can get yourself set up for success..

Jami Steimle works as a mentor for students at Western Governors University, which offers online degrees.

Steimle says it's helpful when students understand what kind of learners they are.

Ask yourself: Do you need to sit at a desk, or can you focus while kicked back on the couch? Do you work better in a quiet place, or do you prefer a bit of background noise ? Is it easier for you to focus in the mornings or at night?

Figure out how you can focus, before you log on to learn.

College Is Important. So Is Mental Health. Here's How To Study Without Burning Out

2. make a schedule..

Once you've found a good, reliable spot for your studies, it's time to plan out your days.

"Come up with a time management system — maybe even write out your days," Steimle suggests. Block out time for class, studying and life outside school.

Steimle says writing out your time commitments can help you visualize how much time you actually have, so you can make the most of it.

Some online classes are synchronous, meaning they're offered at a specific time, like most in-person classes. But others are asynchronous — meaning the time to watch recorded lectures or complete classwork is up to you.

With all these moving parts, it's even more important to plot out the timing of your days — and weeks! The clearer you are with your schedule, the easier it will be to stick to it.

If you like to use digital calendars, you can try setting up reminders so you get push notifications on your laptop, phone or smartwatch. You can use the reminders to let you know when assignments are coming up or when classes are scheduled to begin.

Once you've mapped out the timing of your days, Steimle suggests thinking about how you're going to work.

The Coronavirus Crisis

With virtual rush, fraternities and sororities race to pitch more than parties.

Are you going to do your reading one day and the discussion-board assignment the next? Or would you rather break up your reading over a couple of days and do your assignment right after you finish?

3. Seek balance and embrace the flexibility of online classes.

Michelle Krallman recently graduated from Western Governors University. She completed her bachelor's degree entirely online while juggling a full-time job for most of her time in school.

For Krallman, who lives in Denver, finding balance between school and the rest of her life was essential. She told herself she'd work for eight hours, do school work for four hours and reserve the rest of the time for herself. "The rest is mine. I can do whatever I want with it. ... It really was [about] giving myself boundaries."

Krallman and her husband love to take walks and go on hikes. Setting aside time for recreation, Krallman says, actually made it more manageable to focus on schoolwork when she had to.

College Political Activists Trade Door-Knocking For Apps To Register Voters

"It would be really easy, I think, to get so overwhelmed in classwork that I forget about all the other stuff around me. You know, learning doesn't only happen in class — it happens everywhere around us. So we have to give ourselves that space too and make sure that we take it," says Krallman.

4. Beware the Internet's rabbit holes!

We've all been there: You navigate over to a new tab, search for one thing, then click a link, which leads you to another link, then another and another. Hours later, you surface and think, "How the heck did I get here?!"

While there's no way to totally escape this while you're taking online classes, Krallman recommends a few of her own tried-and-true strategies:

• Use browser extensions to block distracting websites.
• If you have access to multiple computer monitors, try designating one section for reading, one section for writing or note taking and one section for whatever music or ambient noise you're listening to. Don't allow anything else on your screens while you're doing schoolwork!
• Disconnect from the Wi-Fi if you can.

5. Don't be afraid to make human connections.

Accountability partners can help you stay on top of work.

Having someone to check in with can make online classes feel less lonely. An accountability partner — someone who helps make sure you're doing your work and celebrates your progress — may help you do better academically.

Steimle suggests looking up the folks enrolled in class with you. Perhaps there's an email thread with everyone's names or a roster posted online. Since everyone's in the same boat as you, there's nothing to lose and a lot to gain by reaching out.

Preventing College Parties? Shame And Blame Don't Work, But Beer Pong Outside Might

Krallman says every time she has reached out to someone in a class, she has been rewarded. "When someone does take a moment to go, 'You know what? No, I'm going to make this happen. We're going to talk to each other. We're going to know each other,' there's just relief there on both sides. You know that nobody wants to be the first one to say it, but everyone's grateful that someone said it first."

If you'd rather check in with a friend or a family member, that works too. The key here is that you're talking to someone about the work you're (supposed to be) doing.

Don't be afraid to give your professors feedback or ask for help.

"The whole purpose of an instructor is that they're not just sitting there to sit there. Their goal is not just to talk. The goal is for you to learn," Krallman notes.

So don't be afraid to give your professors feedback or make suggestions about how to improve your and your classmates' online learning experience. If the class isn't going well, ask to hop on the phone or video-chat to talk about how you can improve your own work. During the conversation, you can work in suggestions about how the class itself could improve for students like you.

Remember, you don't have to talk about the class. You can just get to know each other! Talk about movies or books or share what your home life is like, so they understand who y ou are as a whole person and not just as a student sitting in their class.

Goats and Soda

Coronavirus faqs: what are the new dating rules and what about hooking up, 6. look for ways to participate in extracurriculars virtually..

Many schools that transitioned online for the fall have seen students hard at work, adapting extracurricular activities to the digital sphere.

Fraternities and sororities are conducting recruitment events virtually . There have been virtual orientations . And in the first weeks of school, some colleges are offering virtual club fairs .

Shannon Li is a junior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. All of her classes are online this semester. While Li, who uses she and they pronouns, values her education, she also likes being active in her community. "There's other more important things in life than just focusing on getting that grade you want," they say.

Many of Li's extracurriculars are focused on social advocacy and volunteering, much of which can be done online . "Paying [it] forward has been really helpful in terms of balancing everything with the stress that's going on," they say.

One way to stay connected to your campus community? Check your university email for online events and opportunities to get involved with things. Poke around social media to see how different clubs and organizations are handling activities this semester.

Lastly, keep an open mind! The truth is that millions of students have been taking online classes for years and they love them.

You never know — you might end up loving them too.

The podcast portion of this story was produced by Audrey Nguyen.

We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823 with a greeting, your name, your phone number and a random life tip. Or send us an email at [email protected] . It might appear in an upcoming episode.

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Easily distribute, analyze, and grade student work with assignments for your lms.

Assignments is an application for your learning management system (LMS). It helps educators save time grading and guides students to turn in their best work with originality reports — all through the collaborative power of Google Workspace for Education.

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Bring your favorite tools together within your LMS

Make Google Docs and Google Drive compatible with your LMS

Simplify assignment management with user-friendly Google Workspace productivity tools

Built with the latest Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standards for robust security and easy installation in your LMS

Save time distributing and grading classwork

Distribute personalized copies of Google Drive templates and worksheets to students

Grade consistently and transparently with rubrics integrated into student work

Add rich feedback faster using the customizable comment bank

Examine student work to ensure authenticity

Compare student work against hundreds of billions of web pages and over 40 million books with originality reports

Make student-to-student comparisons on your domain-owned repository of past submissions when you sign up for the Teaching and Learning Upgrade or Google Workspace for Education Plus

Allow students to scan their own work for recommended citations up to three times

Trust in high security standards

Protect student privacy — data is owned and managed solely by you and your students

Provide an ad-free experience for all your users

Compatible with LTI version 1.1 or higher and meets rigorous compliance standards

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Experience google workspace for education in action. explore premium features in detail via step-by-step demos to get a feel for how they work in the classroom..

“Assignments enable faculty to save time on the mundane parts of grading and...spend more time on providing more personalized and relevant feedback to students.” Benjamin Hommerding , Technology Innovationist, St. Norbert College

Classroom users get the best of Assignments built-in

Find all of the same features of Assignments in your existing Classroom environment

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Explore resources to get up and running

Discover helpful resources to get up to speed on using Assignments and find answers to commonly asked questions.

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Get a quick overview of Assignments to help Educators learn how they can use it in their classrooms.

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How to use Assignments within your LMS

Watch this brief video on how Educators can use Assignments.

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Contact your institution’s administrator to turn on Assignments within your LMS.

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Explore a suite of tools for your classroom with Google Workspace for Education

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Online Course Assignments

When creating or revising a course it is important to include activities and assignments that are both interesting and of pedagogical value. Creating assignments and activities can be more challenging in online courses. To help alleviate this difficulty, this section includes several activities and assignments created by Communication instructors with experience in online teaching. Each of these activities or assignments is mapped to the NCA learning outcomes, and provides information on the time, materials, and instructions necessary for carrying out the activity or assignment. Because these documents are meant to assist in course development and design, they should not be used in their entirety and appropriate credit for any material used is expected.

• Live Policy Advocacy Assignment  - Pat Gehrke
• Live Policy Advocacy Assignment Preparation Project  - Pat Gehrke
• "What Not to Do on Video” Speech Assignment  - Natalie Holley
• Digital Storytelling Group Project  - Megan Pope
• Computer-Mediated Communication - Jeff Kuznekoff
• Experiencing the Digital Divide - Nicholas Bowman
• The Internet as Communication  - Ruth Tsuria
• Media & Cultural Difference, Media & Children - Hocheol Yang
• Multiple Stories Activity: Intercultural Communication - Mary Meares
• Cultural Snapshot Assignment: Intercultural Communication - Megan Tucker
• Intercultural Communication: Cultural Identity Forum - Karen Anderson-Laine
• Intercultural Communications: Case Paper Study - Julian Teixeria
• Interpersonal Communication: Personal Diversity PowerPoint - Juanita Doyon
• Team Ethics Project - Patsy Totusek
• Social Exchange Theory Application Homework - Patricia Vorndran
• People Watching: Nonverbal Communication Interpretation - Kim Weismann
• Introduction to Strategic Communication: IMC File and Reflection Paper - SunYoung Park
• Online Assignment Template: Media Follower - Megan Bell
• Introduction to Strategic Communication: IMC Campaign Planning - SunYoung Park
• Communication Theory: Blogging Theory - Danielle Stern
• Communication Theory, All Humanities: Wiki Glossary Challenge - John Radwan

7 best student planner apps

The best apps to help students keep track of classes, homework, due dates, quizzes, and more.

Thad Thompson Jan 21, 2022

12 min read

Table of contents

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If you're a student, you need a system to organize classwork, exams, and life in general. And it's true, there is an app for everything. But there are lots of apps for planning and time management. Which ones make effective school planner apps?

When deciding on a planner app, you should obviously look for one with features most relevant to your life and your schedule. It should have a distinct purpose. And It shouldn't be thought of as a one-size-fits all productivity app . Here are the qualities to look for in a good student planner app:

Visually clean user experience vs. info-dense

Highly customizable vs. highly structured

Integrated with other apps vs. self-contained, with all the features you'll need in one place

Specialized for students vs. transferrable to post-school life

Here, you can check out just a few of the best school planners currently available. Each is highly rated, affordable, and, in several cases, geared specifically toward school and study. And they’re easy to find. Most are available in the Apple App Store or Google Play store for use on your iPhone, iPad, Android, or other smartphone.

7 great planner apps for high school and college students

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with paid upgrades available

Todoist is a project planner and to-do list all in one. Used by companies like Amazon and Disney, and made for everyone from students to executives, Todoist is an app that can carry you through school and beyond.

Although you can pay to upgrade, the free version offers more than most students are likely to need. Todoist includes features that help you: 

 Enter important details or to-dos in a note-taking section before you forget them

Set up projects for each class and any other activities or hobbies you're involved in

Add "next action" items, so you can always look ahead to your next assignment

Cross items off your checklist without losing them for good

Other helpful features include due dates for individual tasks and reminders that pop up on your phone or email. You can customize every feature, so you won't get lots of notifications without asking for them.

Todoist also allows you to label tasks. You can label by priority, context (laptop work, library, etc.), or any other system you want to create. You can also indicate recurring tasks, like weekly quizzes, so you never miss an assignment.

2. Microsoft To Do

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with Microsoft account

A reworking of the long-appreciated Wunderlist, Microsoft To Do has continued to evolve its features to make it stand out in the field of student planner apps.

One feature that stands out in To Do is that things you didn't check off from previous days stay in the “Yesterday” box. That way you can specifically choose which items to transfer to "My day," and plan a better time for those that won't fit in today's schedule.

To Do allows you to sort tasks into basic lists that you set up, such as "Work," "Home," or "Lab." You can then add subtasks to the items on each list. For example, if your list includes, "Presentation for econ class," create subtasks for "Brainstorm subjects," "Find sources," or other project milestones. 

To Do also includes some features that will please visually oriented people. Dark mode is helpful if you're reviewing your day just before sleep or when you first wake up in the morning. You can also change the background for each list, with lots of modern and inspiring designs.

3. Calendly

iOS, Android, and desktop: Free with additional features available on paid plans

Calendly simplifies scheduling with groups and individuals. As group projects have become the new normal, you’ll likely have to set up plenty of meetings with groups and individuals during the course of your time as a student. You can save a lot of time by scheduling and managing those meetings with Calendly.

Here's how it works:

Connect Calendly with your digital calendar, like Google Calendar , Outlook , and others.

Create a meeting request.

Set the parameters. For example, you can let recipients see your availability, so they can pick a day and time, or you can set a day and time and they can either accept it or request a different time.

Select recipients and send.

Calendly will gather responses from the people you want to meet with, and you'll have a meeting set up without the long texting thread that's usually required.

Other helpful features include the options of Round Robin or collective scheduling on the paid plans. If others share their availability, Calendly will show times that work for everyone, so you can pick. Or, you can use its Meeting Polls feature to let people vote on proposed times before setting your meeting . Also, you can set reminders both for yourself and for those who agreed to meet with you.

Calendly streamlines setting up meetings, so you can free up your time and attention for classes and other responsibilities.

Get started with Calendly

Ready to make scheduling easier than ever?

4. iStudiez Pro

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with available paid Full Version upgrade 

iStudiez Pro is one of the highest-rated planner apps designed just for students. Enter your class schedule including the professor's name, contact info, and office hours. Then, you can color code your classes and use icons to make it visually interesting and easy to scan.

"Week view" allows you to plan your time and get ready for upcoming classes. "Day view" shows you tasks and scheduled items for today. For each class, you can add assignments, their due dates, and specific tasks associated with them.

If you upgrade to the Full Version of iStudiez Pro, you can even get a regular update on your GPA. As you receive graded assignments back, enter the grade and point value. iStudiez will do the calculating for you with its GPA tracker. It keeps this info from semester to semester, so you can keep the big picture in mind.

5. myHomework

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free or $4.99 per year for Premium

The myHomework student planner is a clean and simple planner app for education. Many teachers have already adopted it for e-learning or online instruction, but it's great for individual use as well.

It's formatted for several types of class scheduling, such as block, period, or time-based schedules. myHomework allows you to not only input assignments and add tasks required to complete them, it also allows for prioritizing and categorizing tasks, so you can focus on what's most needed at any given time. You can set reminders for upcoming due dates too, so you don’t miss deadlines by accident (or procrastination).

While you do need internet connectivity to sync with other devices, this homework app still has full functionality even when you're not connected to WiFi. The free version has plenty of great features, but the paid version of this homework planner lets you get rid of ads as well as share assignments, add file attachments to assignments, and switch out your theme.

6. Power Planner

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with paid upgrade available

Power Planner is a well-established student planner app with many of the same features as myHomework and iStudiez, like entering your schedule, keeping track of your GPA, and viewing assignments and exams.

Though the app is full of useful features, one element that sets it apart from other similar apps is the responsiveness of the developer. Power Planner is updated regularly, offering continual improvements to its features.

The GPA calculator is more robust in this app compared to others, with its "What if?" feature, which calculates what scores you need on assignments to get an A in a class. It also includes notifications for due dates coming up. The paid version allows you to enter more grades and stores your GPA info from one semester to the next.

Android, iOS, and desktop: Free with multiple paid plans starting at $5, and an automatic student discount

ClickUp is the only productivity platform built to tackle everything from complex projects to your daily assignments, all in one screen. With hundreds of customizable features to organize documents, take notes, schedule due dates, and more, ClickUp is a great daily planner for students at every level.

ClickUp's flexible organizational Hierarchy is perfect for breaking down course loads into manageable tasks, subtasks, and Checklists. There are over 15 ways to visualize your schedule in ClickUp including a dynamic Calendar, List, and Everything view for a high-level look at all projects and deadlines. Plus, ClickUp's Home feature syncs with your favorite calendar app to present your classes, reminders, and messages conveniently alongside your upcoming tasks.

ClickUp was built to consolidate your work into one centralized hub that can be accessed virtually anywhere, even offline, from your phone, or on your Apple Watch. You can create detailed course notes, format drafts, and everything in between using ClickUp's built-in document editor, then export or share them in seconds with a simple URL.

Access its top daily planner features, ClickUp Docs, unlimited tasks, over 1,000 integrations, and more when you sign up for ClickUp's Free Forever Plan, and automatically save 25% on any paid plan for being a student.

3 tips for getting the most from your student planner app

In addition to finding a great app for students, these tips can help you increase your productivity and keep your schedule running smoothly. No matter which app you choose, you’ll get more out of it if you use it alongside smart planning practices.

1. Treat yourself to a semester review

At the beginning of each semester, set aside a couple of hours to prepare yourself and get everything organized in your app and in your head. Make it fun: Take yourself out for coffee, turn on your favorite music, and turn off your texting and other notifications. This is time to get in the zone.

Give yourself time to look through your new app's features and figure out the best way to use them (or customize them) for you. It's helpful to read reviews, as people will talk about the most useful features. It's also an easy way to learn how to use the app.

Gather your syllabi, work schedules, and any other pertinent calendar info. First, enter all your calendar info for the semester. This helps you understand what your weekly schedule will be like. Then create projects or enter assignments (and due dates) for any big projects  your professors already have planned.

For example, the class may require a video assignment due at the end of the semester. Create a task called "plan out video project," and set the due date for around the time you want to begin the project. You don't want to get bogged down in planning the details of all those projects during your semester review. If you stay focused on the big picture, you may have time for more specific project planning at the end of your review session.

This is also a good time to set goals for yourself. Do you want to turn in more assignments on time or participate more in class? Do you want to learn a new instrument or join a team? Get inspired about doing more than just making it through the semester. With a powerful school planner app on your side, this could be your best semester yet — and there's more to that than just getting good grades.

2. Add a weekly review to your calendar

To keep your planner system functional, you have to keep giving it attention. Set up a time every week — about 30 minutes to an hour — for reviewing your projects and planning out your weekly schedule. Make this appointment as set-in-stone as your class times, so you aren’t tempted to put it off.

You can use this time to input any grades you've received if you've chosen an app with a GPA-tracking feature. Make sure that for every project, assignment or exam, you've entered specific tasks to prepare for them as well. You don't want to just remember that you have something due. You want to have a plan for turning in your best work! 

This is also a great time to set up meetings you'll need for the week. Use an app like Calendly to send out requests for meetings, so you're not scrambling at the last minute to find a time when everyone can meet.

And don't forget to schedule some rest! One of the best ways to stay motivated and stick with your work is to know you have some quality fun time coming.

3. Plan daily check-ins

Every morning look over your daily schedule and your list of things to do. This usually doesn’t take more than five minutes, but it can do a lot to help you bring your best to the things that are important to you.

Improve your learning through great planning

Choosing the student planner app that’s right for you is a great way of keeping your mind focused and your grades high during the semester. A great app will help you stay on top of your classes and work, especially if you keep your app up-to-date with regular reviews. 

A great calendar app can also help you to make the most of the other aspects of your life, for a less stressful, more rewarding student experience. The world needs what you have to give, and these apps can help you give your best.

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Thad Thompson

Thad is a former Content Marketing Manager at Calendly. When not sharing scheduling and productivity insights, you’ll find him hiking trails with his family or thumping a bass with a power pop band.

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Designing Assignments for Learning

The rapid shift to remote teaching and learning meant that many instructors reimagined their assessment practices. Whether adapting existing assignments or creatively designing new opportunities for their students to learn, instructors focused on helping students make meaning and demonstrate their learning outside of the traditional, face-to-face classroom setting. This resource distills the elements of assignment design that are important to carry forward as we continue to seek better ways of assessing learning and build on our innovative assignment designs.

On this page:

Rethinking traditional tests, quizzes, and exams.

• Examples from the Columbia University Classroom
• Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

Reflect On Your Assignment Design

Connect with the ctl.

• Resources and References

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2021). Designing Assignments for Learning. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/designing-assignments/

Traditional assessments tend to reveal whether students can recognize, recall, or replicate what was learned out of context, and tend to focus on students providing correct responses (Wiggins, 1990). In contrast, authentic assignments, which are course assessments, engage students in higher order thinking, as they grapple with real or simulated challenges that help them prepare for their professional lives, and draw on the course knowledge learned and the skills acquired to create justifiable answers, performances or products (Wiggins, 1990). An authentic assessment provides opportunities for students to practice, consult resources, learn from feedback, and refine their performances and products accordingly (Wiggins 1990, 1998, 2014). 

Authentic assignments ask students to “do” the subject with an audience in mind and apply their learning in a new situation. Examples of authentic assignments include asking students to: 

• Write for a real audience (e.g., a memo, a policy brief, letter to the editor, a grant proposal, reports, building a website) and/or publication;
• Solve problem sets that have real world application; 
• Design projects that address a real world problem; 
• Engage in a community-partnered research project;
• Create an exhibit, performance, or conference presentation ;
• Compile and reflect on their work through a portfolio/e-portfolio.

Noteworthy elements of authentic designs are that instructors scaffold the assignment, and play an active role in preparing students for the tasks assigned, while students are intentionally asked to reflect on the process and product of their work thus building their metacognitive skills (Herrington and Oliver, 2000; Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2013; Frey, Schmitt, and Allen, 2012). 

It’s worth noting here that authentic assessments can initially be time consuming to design, implement, and grade. They are critiqued for being challenging to use across course contexts and for grading reliability issues (Maclellan, 2004). Despite these challenges, authentic assessments are recognized as beneficial to student learning (Svinicki, 2004) as they are learner-centered (Weimer, 2013), promote academic integrity (McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, 2021; Sotiriadou et al., 2019; Schroeder, 2021) and motivate students to learn (Ambrose et al., 2010). The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning is always available to consult with faculty who are considering authentic assessment designs and to discuss challenges and affordances.   

Examples from the Columbia University Classroom 

Columbia instructors have experimented with alternative ways of assessing student learning from oral exams to technology-enhanced assignments. Below are a few examples of authentic assignments in various teaching contexts across Columbia University. 

• E-portfolios: Statia Cook shares her experiences with an ePorfolio assignment in her co-taught Frontiers of Science course (a submission to the Voices of Hybrid and Online Teaching and Learning initiative); CUIMC use of ePortfolios ;
• Case studies: Columbia instructors have engaged their students in authentic ways through case studies drawing on the Case Consortium at Columbia University. Read and watch a faculty spotlight to learn how Professor Mary Ann Price uses the case method to place pre-med students in real-life scenarios;
• Simulations: students at CUIMC engage in simulations to develop their professional skills in The Mary & Michael Jaharis Simulation Center in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center in the Columbia School of Nursing; 
• Experiential learning: instructors have drawn on New York City as a learning laboratory such as Barnard’s NYC as Lab webpage which highlights courses that engage students in NYC;
• Design projects that address real world problems: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy on the Engineering design projects completed using lab kits during remote learning. Watch Dr. Yesilevskiy talk about his teaching and read the Columbia News article . 
• Writing assignments: Lia Marshall and her teaching associate Aparna Balasundaram reflect on their “non-disposable or renewable assignments” to prepare social work students for their professional lives as they write for a real audience; and Hannah Weaver spoke about a sandbox assignment used in her Core Literature Humanities course at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium . Watch Dr. Weaver share her experiences.  

​Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

While designing an effective authentic assignment may seem like a daunting task, the following tips can be used as a starting point. See the Resources section for frameworks and tools that may be useful in this effort.  

Align the assignment with your course learning objectives 

Identify the kind of thinking that is important in your course, the knowledge students will apply, and the skills they will practice using through the assignment. What kind of thinking will students be asked to do for the assignment? What will students learn by completing this assignment? How will the assignment help students achieve the desired course learning outcomes? For more information on course learning objectives, see the CTL’s Course Design Essentials self-paced course and watch the video on Articulating Learning Objectives .  

Identify an authentic meaning-making task

For meaning-making to occur, students need to understand the relevance of the assignment to the course and beyond (Ambrose et al., 2010). To Bean (2011) a “meaning-making” or “meaning-constructing” task has two dimensions: 1) it presents students with an authentic disciplinary problem or asks students to formulate their own problems, both of which engage them in active critical thinking, and 2) the problem is placed in “a context that gives students a role or purpose, a targeted audience, and a genre.” (Bean, 2011: 97-98). 

An authentic task gives students a realistic challenge to grapple with, a role to take on that allows them to “rehearse for the complex ambiguities” of life, provides resources and supports to draw on, and requires students to justify their work and the process they used to inform their solution (Wiggins, 1990). Note that if students find an assignment interesting or relevant, they will see value in completing it. 

Consider the kind of activities in the real world that use the knowledge and skills that are the focus of your course. How is this knowledge and these skills applied to answer real-world questions to solve real-world problems? (Herrington et al., 2010: 22). What do professionals or academics in your discipline do on a regular basis? What does it mean to think like a biologist, statistician, historian, social scientist? How might your assignment ask students to draw on current events, issues, or problems that relate to the course and are of interest to them? How might your assignment tap into student motivation and engage them in the kinds of thinking they can apply to better understand the world around them? (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

Determine the evaluation criteria and create a rubric

To ensure equitable and consistent grading of assignments across students, make transparent the criteria you will use to evaluate student work. The criteria should focus on the knowledge and skills that are central to the assignment. Build on the criteria identified, create a rubric that makes explicit the expectations of deliverables and share this rubric with your students so they can use it as they work on the assignment. For more information on rubrics, see the CTL’s resource Incorporating Rubrics into Your Grading and Feedback Practices , and explore the Association of American Colleges & Universities VALUE Rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). 

Build in metacognition

Ask students to reflect on what and how they learned from the assignment. Help students uncover personal relevance of the assignment, find intrinsic value in their work, and deepen their motivation by asking them to reflect on their process and their assignment deliverable. Sample prompts might include: what did you learn from this assignment? How might you draw on the knowledge and skills you used on this assignment in the future? See Ambrose et al., 2010 for more strategies that support motivation and the CTL’s resource on Metacognition ). 

Provide students with opportunities to practice

Design your assignment to be a learning experience and prepare students for success on the assignment. If students can reasonably expect to be successful on an assignment when they put in the required effort ,with the support and guidance of the instructor, they are more likely to engage in the behaviors necessary for learning (Ambrose et al., 2010). Ensure student success by actively teaching the knowledge and skills of the course (e.g., how to problem solve, how to write for a particular audience), modeling the desired thinking, and creating learning activities that build up to a graded assignment. Provide opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills they will need for the assignment, whether through low-stakes in-class activities or homework activities that include opportunities to receive and incorporate formative feedback. For more information on providing feedback, see the CTL resource Feedback for Learning . 

Communicate about the assignment 

Share the purpose, task, audience, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. Students may have expectations about assessments and how they will be graded that is informed by their prior experiences completing high-stakes assessments, so be transparent. Tell your students why you are asking them to do this assignment, what skills they will be using, how it aligns with the course learning outcomes, and why it is relevant to their learning and their professional lives (i.e., how practitioners / professionals use the knowledge and skills in your course in real world contexts and for what purposes). Finally, verify that students understand what they need to do to complete the assignment. This can be done by asking students to respond to poll questions about different parts of the assignment, a “scavenger hunt” of the assignment instructions–giving students questions to answer about the assignment and having them work in small groups to answer the questions, or by having students share back what they think is expected of them.

Plan to iterate and to keep the focus on learning 

Draw on multiple sources of data to help make decisions about what changes are needed to the assignment, the assignment instructions, and/or rubric to ensure that it contributes to student learning. Explore assignment performance data. As Deandra Little reminds us: “a really good assignment, which is a really good assessment, also teaches you something or tells the instructor something. As much as it tells you what students are learning, it’s also telling you what they aren’t learning.” ( Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode 337 ). Assignment bottlenecks–where students get stuck or struggle–can be good indicators that students need further support or opportunities to practice prior to completing an assignment. This awareness can inform teaching decisions. 

Triangulate the performance data by collecting student feedback, and noting your own reflections about what worked well and what did not. Revise the assignment instructions, rubric, and teaching practices accordingly. Consider how you might better align your assignment with your course objectives and/or provide more opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills that they will rely on for the assignment. Additionally, keep in mind societal, disciplinary, and technological changes as you tweak your assignments for future use. 

Now is a great time to reflect on your practices and experiences with assignment design and think critically about your approach. Take a closer look at an existing assignment. Questions to consider include: What is this assignment meant to do? What purpose does it serve? Why do you ask students to do this assignment? How are they prepared to complete the assignment? Does the assignment assess the kind of learning that you really want? What would help students learn from this assignment? 

Using the tips in the previous section: How can the assignment be tweaked to be more authentic and meaningful to students? 

As you plan forward for post-pandemic teaching and reflect on your practices and reimagine your course design, you may find the following CTL resources helpful: Reflecting On Your Experiences with Remote Teaching , Transition to In-Person Teaching , and Course Design Support .

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is here to help!

For assistance with assignment design, rubric design, or any other teaching and learning need, please request a consultation by emailing [email protected] . 

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework for assignments. The TILT Examples and Resources page ( https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources ) includes example assignments from across disciplines, as well as a transparent assignment template and a checklist for designing transparent assignments . Each emphasizes the importance of articulating to students the purpose of the assignment or activity, the what and how of the task, and specifying the criteria that will be used to assess students. 

Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) offers VALUE ADD (Assignment Design and Diagnostic) tools ( https://www.aacu.org/value-add-tools ) to help with the creation of clear and effective assignments that align with the desired learning outcomes and associated VALUE rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). VALUE ADD encourages instructors to explicitly state assignment information such as the purpose of the assignment, what skills students will be using, how it aligns with course learning outcomes, the assignment type, the audience and context for the assignment, clear evaluation criteria, desired formatting, and expectations for completion whether individual or in a group.

Villarroel et al. (2017) propose a blueprint for building authentic assessments which includes four steps: 1) consider the workplace context, 2) design the authentic assessment; 3) learn and apply standards for judgement; and 4) give feedback. 

References 

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., & DiPietro, M. (2010). Chapter 3: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn? In How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching . Jossey-Bass. 

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., and Brown, C. (2013). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 39(2), 205-222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566 .  

Bean, J.C. (2011). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. 

Frey, B. B, Schmitt, V. L., and Allen, J. P. (2012). Defining Authentic Classroom Assessment. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7275/sxbs-0829  

Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., and Oliver, R. (2010). A Guide to Authentic e-Learning . Routledge. 

Herrington, J. and Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48. 

Litchfield, B. C. and Dempsey, J. V. (2015). Authentic Assessment of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 142 (Summer 2015), 65-80. 

Maclellan, E. (2004). How convincing is alternative assessment for use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 29(3), June 2004. DOI: 10.1080/0260293042000188267

McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, J. (2021). Assessments in a Virtual Environment: You Won’t Need that Lockdown Browser! Faculty Focus. June 2, 2021. 

Mueller, J. (2005). The Authentic Assessment Toolbox: Enhancing Student Learning through Online Faculty Development . MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1(1). July 2005. Mueller’s Authentic Assessment Toolbox is available online. 

Schroeder, R. (2021). Vaccinate Against Cheating With Authentic Assessment . Inside Higher Ed. (February 26, 2021).  

Sotiriadou, P., Logan, D., Daly, A., and Guest, R. (2019). The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity and promote skills development and employability. Studies in Higher Education. 45(111), 2132-2148. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1582015    

Stachowiak, B. (Host). (November 25, 2020). Authentic Assignments with Deandra Little. (Episode 337). In Teaching in Higher Ed . https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/authentic-assignments/  

Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Authentic Assessment: Testing in Reality. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 100 (Winter 2004): 23-29. 

Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S, Bruna, D., Bruna, C., and Herrera-Seda, C. (2017). Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 43(5), 840-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396    

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice . Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Wiggins, G. (2014). Authenticity in assessment, (re-)defined and explained. Retrieved from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/authenticity-in-assessment-re-defined-and-explained/

Wiggins, G. (1998). Teaching to the (Authentic) Test. Educational Leadership . April 1989. 41-47. 

Wiggins, Grant (1990). The Case for Authentic Assessment . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation , 2(2). 

Wondering how AI tools might play a role in your course assignments?

See the CTL’s resource “Considerations for AI Tools in the Classroom.”

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Rethinking Online Assignments

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Assignments and assessments designed to be used in person might be less effective when adapted for online learning. These strategies for rethinking learning activities for online courses can help you address these issues.

Clearly communicate assignment instructions

We often take for granted the many informal interactions that occur in a face-to-face setting. Simple clarifications, adjustments, and reassurances about assignment due dates, requirements, and expectations can be lost when going online. Consider the following strategies to address this:

• Make instructions clear and explicit. Provide students with clear guidance about exactly what needs to be done, when assignments are due, and how this will affect their grades.
• Allocate more time to communicating with students. Be prepared to spend more time communicating assignment instructions, sending reminders, answering questions, or clarifying requirements.
• Be meticulous with assignment instructions. Keep assignment instructions consistent in how and where they appear in the online learning space. Be sure to highlight any changes.
• Keep it simple. Avoid elaborate assignments that require overly complex instructions. Or, if such an assignment is important to your course, dedicate extra time to reviewing the instructions.

Make assignments easy to manage

Online coursework, particularly with asynchronous elements, gives learners more choices around how they can engage with the course. This can provide more flexibility and freedom, but it requires students to effectively and proactively manage their own learning. Help your students focus more on learning and less on managing their workload with these strategies:

• Chunk big assignments.  Large assignments put a lot of stress on particular weeks, so losing a week of work for any reason can heavily impact student success. A well-designed online course spreads the workload out as evenly as possible. With a little planning, it is also easy to accommodate extended time for short assessments . 
• Create routines and habits.  Consider repeating assignments that occur regularly, like weekly reading reflections, daily problem sets, or regular discussion forums. Create predictability by having regular due dates and instructions.
• Make the content needed for assignments convenient. If students need a particular article or weblink for an assignment, make it available with the assignment instructions. Clearly label files and materials so students can easily identify what they need to complete an assignment.

Be intentional about community and student input

You may find that meaningful engagement and connection happen differently in online learning than in traditional learning. Students can become disconnected from learning if the assignments are not meaningful to them, especially with asynchronous formats. These strategies can help you to get students more engaged with assignments:

• Try group projects, if it makes sense.  While group projects can be more difficult to organize, they are a great way to get students in the course to know each other and build a learning community. 
• Introduce low-stakes community-building assignments.  Try starting students off with something very simple, like a self introduction exercise, that lets them share something about themselves and connect to one another. Then, perhaps create spaces for students to get to know each other and deepen connections around shared interests, experiences, or communities.
• Let students influence assignments.  Consider assignments that connect to topics and issues that students care about. Include an element of student choice and gather feedback from students on the design of the assignment. You might even have students contribute to rubrics or grading criteria.

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Online Students Don't Have to Work Solo

By  Mark Lieberman

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Group work has long been a source of friction between students and instructors. At their worst, team projects force high-achieving students to compensate for those less willing to put in effort. At their best, they foster productive collaboration and idea sharing among future professionals.

Online courses add another layer of considerations for instructors. Students might be too far apart to meet in person, or too busy with other life commitments to schedule remote meetings. The impulse to lean on higher-achieving members of a group might be exacerbated by not having to face frustrated teammates in person.

“Group projects can be really great, and they can be a disaster,” said Vickie Cook, executive director of the Center for Teaching, Learning & Service at the University of Illinois at Springfield. “The most important thing is that they have a purpose. They’re very organized. Faculty and students have the same understanding of what the group project needs to accomplish and steps along the way to get there.”

Faced with these challenges, instructors have adapted old strategies and formulated new ones for group projects in online settings. Some instructors say implementing these strategies takes up more time than a comparable assignment in a face-to-face course; others aren’t as convinced of the extra workload.

Instructors who assign group projects to online students see their efforts not as a burden, but as a tool to help students learn and form relationships -- just as they might face-to-face.

Unique Challenges

Instructors say many of the fundamental characteristics of a successful group project online are consistent with what works face-to-face. There are some key differences, however.

At the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, instructors warn students about group projects at the beginning of the semester, rather than springing something unexpected on them.

“They’re online students; they typically have a lot going on in their lives, they’re full-time employees,” said Alisha DeWalt, associate campus dean. “We want it to be an efficient project that’s really driven to mastery of learning outcomes.”

Online students in marketing communication management at Florida Gulf Coast University have to present case studies as groups in order to critically analyze the kinds of content they’ll create in their careers. Ludmilla Wells, associate professor of marketing, has over the years worked hard to put constraints on sources she expects students to mine when preparing their projects.

Because online students have the entire internet at their fingertips whenever their mind is on the course, they’re sometimes overwhelmed when searching for information. Wells provides students with “key points of entry” for information: magazines like AdAge and Business Week , aggregators like Smart Post and Media Brief. She also lays out specific expectations for the final product in writing (see image).

In person, instructors can allow students to work on group projects during class time, which gives them a window into how the students are doing. No such opportunities are available in an online class, which means instructors have to build in opportunities to see projects at various stages of completion, said Cook, who helps online instructors (and face-to-face ones) at Springfield strategize group project assignments.

Establishing learning objectives early goes a long way toward mitigating students’ frustrations with having to work in teams and concerns about collaborating with students they don't have access to in person, according to Cook.

“I don’t think any of us like busywork. Students especially don’t like group work because it’s difficult to schedule or because one group member pulls more weight, one group member pulls less weight,” Cook said. “Having that clarity of purpose puts you on a single field.”

Assigning Groups or Letting Them Form Organically

Forcing students to work together can introduce students to new perspectives and lead to healthy collaboration. It can also backfire if students don’t get along or their work styles aren’t compatible. Online, that dynamic can be heightened because students are operating with only a limited understanding of their fellow students' personalities and behaviors.

In her marketing courses at Florida Gulf Coast, Wells splits the difference. She lets students choose their team members for the case study project but assigns groups for discussion threads that take place throughout the semester.

Students in her course likely already know each other a bit from previous courses in the M.B.A. program. They’re also more likely to pick people with whom they share common interests or have compatible work schedules, Wells said.

That last point plays a major role in the success or failure of a group project in an online class. According to Cook, one professor at Springfield creates a communication plan with students -- posting everyone's detailed weekly schedules, swapping Skype IDs and cell phone numbers, establishing tasks for individual team members that will add up to a complete assignment.

On the other hand, dividing up the work too much can mean students aren’t really working together as groups, according to Darin Kapanjie, academic director of the online M.B.A. program at Temple University. It's easy for him to trace a disjointed final product back to an approach that minimized group interaction, he said.

Assigning groups can be a fraught exercise, though -- made more difficult by not meeting students in person. Steve Greenlaw, a professor of economics at the University of Mary Washington, likes to avoid grouping freshmen together because he wants new students to benefit from the wisdom of their older peers.

At first he tried to create groups with a mix of older and younger students, but he discovered that older adults found the younger students’ schedules and social media communication preferences untenable. Now he groups adults together, with the occasional exception.

“Sometimes when I have a group that is really struggling with the content or with getting in, I try to put an adult student who I know personally into that group to help stabilize things,” Greenlaw said. “That works pretty well.”

During group projects in his classes, Gregg Ramsay, professor of computer applications at Pace University, assigns one person in each group to serve as “project manager” -- a liaison between the group and the instructor, required to share twice per week an update on the group’s progress.

Ramsay’s students in groups are required to meet weekly on Blackboard Collaborate; if students miss the meeting, they can be “divorced” from the group and receive a failing grade for the project. Never in his 19 years of teaching online has this happened, Ramsay said. He believes online courses don't make group projects unfeasible -- quite the opposite.

“I've had a lot of success with them,” Ramsay said more generally of group projects in online courses. “I've never had any significant issues, and over the years I've been able to design the projects where the students take responsibility for completing their part of the project.”

Grading as a Whole or Individually

In key respects, instructors consider group projects in online courses no different from similar assignments in person.

Assigning a single grade to a group of students can mean rewarding underperforming students for letting their peers complete most of the work, or marking down students who tried their best for a project that didn’t come together.

Several instructors interviewed for this story said they urge students to complete their group project work on Google Docs. Not only can students easily collaborate simultaneously on writing and research, but professors can easily look at the revision history to get a sense of whether students participated in equal amounts.

At the Chicago School, students do some of that work for the instructor, according to DeWalt. After finishing a project, students fill out a report on their own performance and that of their colleagues. Knowing they’ll be evaluated this way keeps online students engaged when they might be tempted to drift.

At Springfield, most faculty members in online courses give individual participation grades and a final group grade. Greenlaw, on the other hand, prefers for students to be responsible for the entire final product. Particularly in an introductory course, he doesn’t see the need to split hairs about how students acquired knowledge.

“Whether they figured it out on their own or whether they were taught by someone else in the group fundamentally doesn’t matter to me at this level,” Greenlaw said.

Why Do It At All?

Cook believes faculty members do spend more time constructing and executing group assignments than they would for more straightforward individual assignments. But students learn valuable skills in communication and group dynamics that will serve them well beyond the course. Their field of choice will likely require group work -- and it’s plausible that some of it might face logistical challenges like the ones presented in an online course.

Greenlaw thinks the workload is the same, and the workload is worthwhile for the same reason online as face-to-face.

“One of the things that I try to do is provide the same amount of interactivity in the teaching and learning online as I do face-to-face,” Greenlaw said. “I think that’s how learning happens best.”

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What’s the Difference Between Asynchronous and Synchronous Learning?

How do online classes work? We tapped online learning experts to explain the pros and cons of synchronous vs. asynchronous learning.

As you research the right online program for you, you may come across the terms “asynchronous” and “synchronous.” You might not know what these words mean yet, but you’re probably already considering your work schedule and other responsibilities and how well each program would fit into your life. Are you able to log on and attend classes at specific times? Or is it more realistic for you to complete work each week at times that suit you best – no matter if it’s 3 p.m. or 3 a.m.? ​And, how do online classes even work?

Here’s what you should know: Asynchronous online learning allows students to view instructional materials each week at any time they choose and does not include a live video lecture component. On the other hand, synchronous online learning means that students are required to log in and participate in class at a specific time each week. The main difference between asynchronous learning and synchronous learning is this live instruction component occurring at a set time. We’ll describe more differences in the sections below, as well as some of the pros, cons and best practices of each style.

We tapped Ohio State experts to explain the difference between asynchronous and synchronous learning and what each style actually means when it comes to online classes.

What is asynchronous learning?

Asynchronous learning allows you to learn on your own schedule, within a certain timeframe. You can access and complete lectures, readings, homework and other learning materials at any time during a one- or two-week period.

“A big benefit to asynchronous classes is, of course, the flexibility.  Asynchronous online classes mean that you don’t always need to be online at the same time as your instructor or classmates,” said Instructional Designer John Muir, who works with faculty to develop classes for  Ohio State’s online programs . “We know that students who are looking to take an entire program online are partially looking for that flexibility.”

Online asynchronous classes might include short videos teaching key concepts that you can watch over and over again, if necessary. In some classes, students can also complete homework assignments and receive immediate feedback, as opposed to waiting for instructors to grade them.

But don’t get the idea that asynchronous classes are any less rigorous than their synchronous or on-campus counterparts.

“Just like a student on campus, you should expect to be doing work one week at a time,” Muir said. “You should also expect to have contact with your instructor and classmates every week in a substantial way.”

For example, in HTHRHSC 4300: Contemporary Topics in Health and Society, a capstone course in the  B.S. in Health Sciences program , students do most of their work according to their own schedules. However, they also sort themselves into groups based on schedule and availability, meeting weekly via video conferencing to collaborate on a research project that spans the semester.

What is synchronous learning?

Synchronous learning means that although you will be learning from a distance, you will virtually attend a class session each week, at the same time as your instructor and classmates. The class is a firm, weekly time commitment that cannot be rescheduled. Much like an on-campus class, you will have readings and assignments to complete outside of class time to help prepare you to participate in the discussion. This kind of preparation from students, along with a dedicated agenda set by the instructor, ensures each class session is productive.

“A lot of careful planning and set up ahead of time makes those sessions into meaningful connections,” Muir said. “If the students can do it, and it’s thought through well by instructors, it can be a really powerful thing to add.”

Online synchronous learning doesn’t always just take the form of a live video lecture or an instructor-led discussion. Often, students will lead discussions themselves or give presentations to the rest of the class. In an online class, group work doesn’t go away, it just looks a little different. Muir explains that some instructors will pose case studies to students, who then have to negotiate an answer first as a small group and then together, as a class. Specific types of activities included in a synchronous course depend on the course and the program.

“There’s a lot of discipline-specific, really active things that go on in those sessions that aren’t just the equivalent of a recorded lecture,” Muir said. “It really is the same as doing some sort of activity in the classroom, just in a virtual setting.”

Ohio State’s  Doctor of Nursing Practice program  is one example of a program with synchronous online class requirements. One of the classes, NURSPRCT 8600: Organizational Culture, requires that students attend weekly evening class sessions using  CarmenZoom . Class discussion and interaction with the instructor occurs mainly during these meetings, with homework and readings available at any time in  CarmenCanvas, Ohio State’s online learning management system .

How can I be successful in an online class?

No matter if your program is mostly asynchronous or synchronous, Muir reminds students to be deliberate with their time in order to be successful.

“In an online program, you really have to be respectful of yourself and plan your time and efforts,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in a synchronous or an asynchronous class, you need to know to block off your time to accomplish those things.”

Vivian Jones, M.Ed., academic advisor, says she often works with students who aren’t sure how synchronous or asynchronous classes will fit into their lives. To start with, knowing yourself and your own limitations is key to making decisions regarding your education.

“Remember that an online degree program itself is time-consuming,” Jones said. “Consider how you will manage a work-school-life balance. There is a lot of self-discipline involved.”

Jones said she also hears from students who fear they’ll feel disconnected or disengaged in an asynchronous, online course.

To combat feelings of isolation, Jones recommends students always reach out to their instructors and classmates and attempt to make meaningful connections.

“Respond to discussion posts and find people with similar interests to you or people doing things you don’t even know about, so you can maybe learn more about them,” she said. “Make relationships just as you would in a physical classroom.”

In an online class, student engagement needs to be more purposeful than an in-person class, where engagement may take place more naturally, but it’s crucial to ensure all students feel invested in their coursework.

“With online learning, student engagement is just different,” Jones said. “I see instructors in online classes really making an effort to make things personable and make people feel included. We’re trying to bring everyone together as one community, because online students are part of the Ohio State community.”

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How MIT’s online resources provide a “highly motivating, even transformative experience”

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Charalampos (Haris) Sampalis was well established in his career as a product manager at a telecommunications company in Greece. Yet, as someone who enjoys learning, he was on a mission to acquire more knowledge and develop new skills. That’s how he discovered MIT Open Learning resources. With a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Crete and a master’s in innovation management and entrepreneurship from Hellenic Open University — the only online/distance learning university in Greece — Sampalis had developed expertise in product management and digital strategy. In 2016, he turned to  MITx  within MIT Open Learning and found a wealth of knowledge and a community of learners who broadened his horizons. “I’m a person who likes to be constantly absorbing educational information,” Sampalis says. “I strongly believe that education shouldn’t be under boundaries, or strictly belong to specific periods in our lives. I started with computer science, and it grew from there, following programs on a regular basis that may help me expand my horizons and strengthen my skills.” Sampalis built his life and career in Athens, which makes MIT Open Learning’s digital resources more valuable. He completed courses in computer science, including  6.00.1x  (Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python),  11.155x (Design Thinking for Leading and Learning) and  Becoming an Entrepreneur back in 2016 and 2017 through  MITx, which offers hundreds of high-quality massive open online courses adapted from the MIT classroom for learners worldwide. Sampalis has also enrolled in Management in Engineering: Strategy and Leadership and Management in Engineering: Accounting and Planning, which are part of the  MITx MicroMasters Program in Principles of Manufacturing . “I really appreciate the fact that an established institution like MIT was offering programs online,” he says. “I work full time and it’s not easy at this period of my life to leave everything behind and move to another continent for education — something I might have done at another time in my life. So, this is a model that allows me to access MIT resources and grow myself as part of a community that shares similar interests and seeks further collaborations, even locally where I live, something that makes the overall experience really unique.”  In 2022, Sampalis applied for and completed the MIT Innovation Leadership Bootcamp. Part of MIT Open Learning, MIT Bootcamps are intensive and immersive educational programs for the global community of innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers. The Innovation Leadership Bootcamp was offered online, and Sampalis jumped at the opportunity.  “I was in collaborative mode, having daily interactions with a diverse group of individuals scattered around the world, and that took place during an intensive 10-week period of my life that really taught me a lot,” says Sampalis. “Working with a global team was extremely engaging. It was a highly motivating, even transformative experience.” MITx and MIT Bootcamps are both hands-on and interactive experiences offered by MIT Open Learning, which is exactly what appealed to Sampalis. One of the best parts, he says, is that community and collaborations with those he met through MIT continued even after the boot camp concluded. Participants remain in touch not only with their cohort, but with a broader community of over 1,800 other participants from around the world, and have access to continued coaching and mentorship. Overall, the community of learners has been a highlight of Sampalis’ MIT Open Learning experience. “What is so beneficial is not just that I get a certificate from MIT and access to a highly valuable repository of knowledge resources, but the fact that I have been exposed to the full umbrella of what Open Learning has to offer — and I share that with other learners,” he says. “I’m part of MIT now. I continue to learn for myself, and I also try to give back, by supporting Open Learning and sharing my story and resources.”

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Purdue’s online data science master’s addresses burgeoning demand for trained data scientists

The interdisciplinary degree is accessible for working professionals from both technical and nontechnical backgrounds

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Data scientists who can make sense of today’s epic floods of data to generate actionable insights and communicate them to a variety of audiences are in demand in almost any field, from retail business and industry to health care, government, education, and more.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs for data scientists will grow 36% by 2031. Nationally, there were nearly 125,000 data scientist jobs added from 2013-2023. Yet many of those jobs — with many more openings coming — went unfilled for a lack of trained data scientists. The bottom line: Nearly every industry today requires data scientists, and the number of these positions is expected to grow.

Purdue University’s new 100% online Master of Science in data science degree addresses the need and the high demand for a trained data science workforce that can harness the power of data to drive innovation, efficiency and competitiveness. The interdisciplinary master’s program is designed for working professionals with a technical background but includes a pathway to entry for professionals from nontechnical fields.

“This data science master’s program is specifically designed for online delivery and optimal online learning, making it accessible to professionals around the world,” said Dimitrios Peroulis, Purdue senior vice president for partnerships and online. “The interdisciplinary curriculum is diverse, customizable to a student’s needs and tailored for practical application immediately.”

Purdue’s online master’s in data science features core courses covering foundations of data science, machine learning and data mining, big data technologies and tools, data analysis, and data visualization and communication.

Students do a capstone project pairing them with an industry mentor and a collaborative team to manage a data science project from inception to completion. That includes developing project timelines, allocating resources and adapting strategies based on the project’s evolution. The capstone, modeled after curriculum from The Data Mine , Purdue’s award-winning data science learning community, is an opportunity to apply knowledge acquired throughout the master’s program to solve complex, real-world problems.

The online master’s program also features the opportunity to earn industry-aligned certificates along the way to earning a master’s degree. Options include education, leadership, and policy; smart mobility and smart transportation; data science in finance; spatial data science; geospatial information science; managing information technology projects; IT business analysis; and applied statistics.

The program was developed by an interdisciplinary cohort of expert faculty from Purdue’s flagship campus, including the colleges of Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, Pharmacy, Science, and Veterinary Medicine, along with the Mitch Daniels School of Business, the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, the Purdue Libraries, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars.

“Purdue’s new online MS in data science program leverages the real-world experience of faculty working across several distinct disciplines,” said Timothy Keaton, assistant professor of practice in Purdue’s Department of Statistics, who was involved in developing the new degree. “This cooperation between experts in the application of data science in diverse fields provides a great opportunity to create engaging and meaningful coursework that incorporates many different potential areas of interest for our students.”

Students will develop expertise in programming languages, gaining the ability to design and implement data-driven solutions; learn to apply advanced technologies, including cloud computing and big data frameworks, to effectively handle and process large-scale datasets; gain a deep understanding of machine learning algorithms and models, applying them to real-world scenarios; and become proficient in collecting, cleaning, and analyzing diverse datasets.

The curriculum also is designed to teach learners data visualization and communication methods for creating compelling visual representations of complex data to effectively convey insights, along with the application of storytelling techniques to communicate findings clearly to both technical and nontechnical audiences. The program covers adherence to ethical standards in data science, privacy, transparency and fairness as well.

The program draws on Purdue’s expertise in myriad aspects of data science. Known for its emphasis on practical programs with proven value, Purdue has been rated among the Top 10 Most Innovative Schools for six years running by U.S. News & World Report and is the No. 8 public university in the U.S. according to the latest QS World University Rankings.

“The breadth and depth of topics that data science encompasses necessitate graduate programs that incorporate expertise from a variety of disciplines and then integrate this into a curriculum to meet the needs of its students,” said John Springer, a Purdue computer and information technology professor who was involved in developing the new degree. “Purdue’s unique approach to the development and delivery of its new online master’s program wholly fulfills these requirements by utilizing a highly interdisciplinary team of Purdue faculty backed by Purdue’s outstanding team of instructional designers.”

For more information about Purdue’s 100% online Master of Science in data science degree, visit the program website .

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives .

Media contact: Brian Huchel, [email protected]

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BIBL 375 Introduction to Expositional Tools

• Course Description

This course introduces students to the expositional tools needed for an in-depth study of Scripture for effective Bible exposition. Special attention is given to expositional tools in the Logos Bible Software program.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the  Academic Course Catalog .

Course Guide

View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*

*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.

Bible exposition requires the student to have access to the necessary tools as well as the knowledge to expertly apply those tools to the relevant resources in Bible study. Through the customized package of Logos Bible Software provided in this course, the student will be given access to a cutting-edge toolset as well as a library of electronic resources. The student may then retain access to this software, even after graduation, making these materials available in perpetuity for use in Christian ministry.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations.

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and  Student Expectations , the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, there will be five of these held in this course. The student will create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. The thread must be at least 400 words and demonstrate a comprehension of the corresponding course material. In addition to the initial thread, the student will reply to the threads of at least 2 classmates. Each reply must be at least 200 words. For each thread, the student should engage with the course materials, namely the tutorial videos, support documentation, and resources within the Logos program itself. For each initial thread, students must cite at least one of these materials using appropriate Turabian formatting. (CLO: A, D)

Logos Tools and Skills Assignments (4)

Understanding Logos and appreciating the value it offers the Bible student requires one to explore the program to put the skills discussed in the course materials into practice. To this end, there will be four exercises designed to help the student get “hands on” in using the program. These exercises will correspond with the tools and skills discussed in the course materials associated with the week they are assigned. The student will be expected to follow the instructions for these exercises with accuracy and precision, and they will be asked to take screenshots of their work to demonstrate their completion of exercise tasks. (CLO: A, B, C)

Logos Tools and Skills: Layouts, Library, & Creating a Collection Assignment

This first exercise will be focused on the following three features/tools: layouts, the library, and collections. All three of these are essential when using the program. Layouts allow the Bible student to customize his or her digital workspace within the program according to different needs. The library will allow the user to gain access to the content that has populated the program, and it serves an entry point to finding particular resources. Collections are groupings of resources created by the user for the purpose of guiding searches into smaller sections of the library so as to make the search more productive and direct. The student should download the provided template to complete four parts that correspond with the features/tools from the Logos software (complete with screenshots as requested). The student will submit the template to Canvas.

Logos Tools and Skills: Notes & Clippings Assignment

This second exercise will be focused on the following two features/tools: notes and clippings. These are both excellent resources that will help the student organize his/her study materials in one centralized location within the digital workspace. The notes tool will allow the student to keep track of his/her study notes and access them in the Bible (or other book) in which he/she leaves them. The student might think of these as digital marginalia with more expansive capabilities. The clippings tool is also very helpful. Essentially, the clippings tool provides a way of creating digital notecards with quotes the student wants to include (or cite) in his/her academic papers or other research projects. The student should download the provided template to complete three parts that correspond with the features/tools from the Logos software (complete with screenshots as requested). The student will submit the template to Canvas.

Logos Tools and Skills: Factbook, Atlas, & Bible Book Explorer Assignment

This third exercise will be focused on the following three features/tools: Factbook, Atlas, and Bible Book Explorer. The Factbook is one of the staple tools in Logos that really makes Bible study more streamlined. It functions as an integrated reference tool that provides background information for events, things, people, and places in Scripture. The Atlas is another unique background tool. It provides interactive maps of biblical geography, including map legends that pinpoint details from the biblical narrative. The Bible Book Explorer is a less integrated resource, but it is especially helpful when it comes to some of the concerns of biblical exposition. The student should download the provided template to complete four parts that correspond with the features/tools from the Logos software (complete with screenshots as requested). The student will submit the template to Canvas. The student should refer to the instructions for information on citing items used in Turabian format.

Logos Tools and Skills: Searches Assignment

This fourth exercise will be focused on searching in Logos. There are many different ways to perform searches in Logos, depending on the kind of information the student needs. For instance, the student might use the search bar in the Library to find a book title, but he/she would not be searching within the content of the books. The student could use the search bar within an open book (i.e., inline search), and that would allow him/her find material in that resource alone. However, there are other search tools in Logos that allow the student to search in more extensive ways across many resources. This exercise will help him/her explore some of those features. The student should download the provided template to complete five parts that correspond with the features/tools from the Logos software (complete with screenshots as requested). The student will submit the template to Canvas.

Logos Reference Guide Project Assignment

The student is learning the Logos software in preparation for using it throughout his/her life in ministry. As such, it would be beneficial to create a personal reference resource that can not only be used during the student’s program but can be referenced at any point in the student’s future ministry. The student will create a Logos Reference Guide to meet this need. The Reference Guide should begin with a brief 1-paragraph introduction explaining what it is, the components of the project, and how it can be used. The guide will also include an outline of the features and tools in the software, orienting the student in where to find key features. Finally, it will include the completion of an index of frequently asked questions (and answers) about using Logos that can be referenced when completing future assignments. The student should be sure to download the project template from Canvas to use to for formatting his/her guide. The final paper should include proper grammar and syntax, be polished and professionally written, include a Turabian-formatted bibliography and citations as needed for any sources consulted (texts, ideas, images), and include a Turabian title page. The student should ensure that he/she follows the formatting of the provided template to complete the assignment. (CLO: A, D)

Quizzes (3)

There will be three quizzes throughout the course. For each quiz, the student will be tested on his/her ability to use the resources reviewed in the course material for the assigned module: week, though a working knowledge of material covered in previous modules is required for each quiz. The student is allowed to use notes and course materials to take each quiz. Each quiz will contain 23 multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer questions, and each will have a time limit of 50 minutes. The student will be allowed 2 attempts, and the highest score will count toward his or her grade. (CLO: A, C)

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Solvo - Math Homework Helper 4+

Problem solver & essay writer.

• #188 in Education
• 4.7 • 182 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

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Description.

Solvo is your new superpower in education and beyond Maximize your academic potential with your own personal AI homework helper! Meet Solvo—an AI-powered math, chemistry, biology, physics solver & essay writer that revolutionizes the way you manage study assignments. Simply scan, type, or upload the task in front of you and let the app work its magic! Check out what Solvo can help you with: Scan & Solve • Scan and solve math problems, equations, and more Faced with a boss-level problem (e.g., you need science answers) and don’t know where to start? Snap a picture of it—you’ll see the result and in-depth solution steps. This way, you gain more insights into how to tackle certain tasks and become more confident solving them yourself next time! Math, science answers, and more—you name it, our AI homework helper helps with it in a flash. • Ace any test and quiz Our AI homework helper can answer all sorts of questions typically used in tests and quizzes, including true or false, multiple-choice, and open questions. Biology solver? Chemistry solver? It’s already in your pocket! Simply tap Text-Based Problems, snap a picture of the question, and get your answer in seconds. This feature can also help you test your knowledge and prepare for exams. Streamline Reading & Writing • Write killer essays in a breeze Have excellent ideas for your essay but find it hard to articulate them clearly? No problem—Solvo is an experienced essay writer! Simply tap Create Essay and type your subject. You can go ahead and use the output directly or to get your creative juices flowing. • Improve and reword your writing Solvo isn’t just an essay writer—it’s a great editor! Already prepared a draft of your text and need help with polishing it into something truly A grade-worthy? Just upload your writing to our AI homework helper, and the app will offer suggestions to reword and improve it. This can be a game-changer if you feel stuck with a writing assignment. • Read smarter, not harder Our AI homework helper can be a lifesaver if you need a quick overview of a book. Type the name of the book or its author, or upload the book if you've got a file, and no matter how long or complex, tap Generate Summary. Get the essentials in a breeze! Math solver, physics homework solver, essay writer, biology solver, chemistry solver—Solvo wears many hats! Yes, studies can be challenging, but with our AI homework helper, you're well-equipped to handle them! Get answers to all your problems—including tricky science answers—with prompt assistance for your tasks whenever and wherever you need it and enjoy studying with less anxiety. Be unstoppable in class with Premium! A subscription allows you to: • Remove usage limits • Get more detailed answers • Use text recognition (OCR) • Get instant responses Subscriptions are auto-billed based on the chosen plan. Privacy Policy - https://aiby.mobi/ai_study_ios/privacy Terms of Use - https://aiby.mobi/ai_study_ios/terms

Version 1.30

Get ready for the back-to-school season with Solvo! In this update: — Improved scanning and solving of visual tasks (including graphs, geometry, tables, and more) — Leave feedback after any solution, so we can continue improving task-solving — Copy and share any solution Don’t forget to send feedback to [email protected] and leave your review on the App Store! It helps us make the app even better.

Ratings and Reviews

182 Ratings

A wonderful app

Very helpful app I was needing something to help me with my daughter’s homework my daughter is horrible on taking notes in school. And if I have notes to see the task I’m good at figuring it out how to do the rest so I tried this help because I couldn’t find anything online to help me. So when this can’t up I was like why not. And I was glad I did it tells u how to solve it. And I could figure out the rest by their help. The only thing I would like if they make another app or add on this this one for younger kids. I know a couple of parents that also need help with there kid’s homework (how to help there child I don’t do it for my kids do there homework but I have to explain it to them sometimes and for that I need to refresh my mind as will) and this is a great app for that just hope they for something god younger students grades 2nd to 5th graders would help parents a lot.

Great App / One Major Issue

I love this app. Its saved me multiple times on upcoming tests, and the great thing about it is it thoroughly goes through the topic step-by-step making sure you understand how the AI got to the solution. All that to be said, I really wish there was a feature to edit the text that was scanned in the picture. I think its already an intended design because theres text displayed saying if you’d made typos heres the time to fix it, but it doesn't work. Tapping on the screen doesn't do anything. You can copy and paste the text but theres no way to edit it where the users keyboard opens. This is a 10/10 if I could edit the prompt.

Great academic support

Solvo has truly been a remarkable discovery for me as a busy working mom. My son has been facing difficulties with certain subjects in school, and finding the time and energy to assist him with homework has been a challenge for me. Since we found Solvo, everything has changed for the better. My son doesn’t give up on his assignments when they’re difficult. Solvo gives me peace of mind. I know my son receives the help he needs. The app has empowered my son to become more independent in tackling his academic challenges without unnecessary stress. I highly recommend Solvo to all working parents who want to actively support their children’s education. It’s an invention that has made a significant difference in our lives.

HAPPENING NOW

App privacy.

The developer, AIBY , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Used to Track You

The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

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Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

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The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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• Study Protocol
• Open access
• Published: 26 August 2024

Learning effect of online versus onsite education in health and medical scholarship – protocol for a cluster randomized trial

• Rie Raffing 1 ,
• Lars Konge 2 &
• Hanne Tønnesen 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  927 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

123 Accesses

Metrics details

The disruption of health and medical education by the COVID-19 pandemic made educators question the effect of online setting on students’ learning, motivation, self-efficacy and preference. In light of the health care staff shortage online scalable education seemed relevant. Reviews on the effect of online medical education called for high quality RCTs, which are increasingly relevant with rapid technological development and widespread adaption of online learning in universities. The objective of this trial is to compare standardized and feasible outcomes of an online and an onsite setting of a research course regarding the efficacy for PhD students within health and medical sciences: Primarily on learning of research methodology and secondly on preference, motivation, self-efficacy on short term and academic achievements on long term. Based on the authors experience with conducting courses during the pandemic, the hypothesis is that student preferred onsite setting is different to online setting.

Cluster randomized trial with two parallel groups. Two PhD research training courses at the University of Copenhagen are randomized to online (Zoom) or onsite (The Parker Institute, Denmark) setting. Enrolled students are invited to participate in the study. Primary outcome is short term learning. Secondary outcomes are short term preference, motivation, self-efficacy, and long-term academic achievements. Standardized, reproducible and feasible outcomes will be measured by tailor made multiple choice questionnaires, evaluation survey, frequently used Intrinsic Motivation Inventory, Single Item Self-Efficacy Question, and Google Scholar publication data. Sample size is calculated to 20 clusters and courses are randomized by a computer random number generator. Statistical analyses will be performed blinded by an external statistical expert.

Primary outcome and secondary significant outcomes will be compared and contrasted with relevant literature. Limitations include geographical setting; bias include lack of blinding and strengths are robust assessment methods in a well-established conceptual framework. Generalizability to PhD education in other disciplines is high. Results of this study will both have implications for students and educators involved in research training courses in health and medical education and for the patients who ultimately benefits from this training.

Trial registration

Retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05736627. SPIRIT guidelines are followed.

Peer Review reports

Medical education was utterly disrupted for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of rearranging courses and adapting to online platforms we, with lecturers and course managers around the globe, wondered what the conversion to online setting did to students’ learning, motivation and self-efficacy [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. What the long-term consequences would be [ 4 ] and if scalable online medical education should play a greater role in the future [ 5 ] seemed relevant and appealing questions in a time when health care professionals are in demand. Our experience of performing research training during the pandemic was that although PhD students were grateful for courses being available, they found it difficult to concentrate related to the long screen hours. We sensed that most students preferred an onsite setting and perceived online courses a temporary and inferior necessity. The question is if this impacted their learning?

Since the common use of the internet in medical education, systematic reviews have sought to answer if there is a difference in learning effect when taught online compared to onsite. Although authors conclude that online learning may be equivalent to onsite in effect, they agree that studies are heterogeneous and small [ 6 , 7 ], with low quality of the evidence [ 8 , 9 ]. They therefore call for more robust and adequately powered high-quality RCTs to confirm their findings and suggest that students’ preferences in online learning should be investigated [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].

This uncovers two knowledge gaps: I) High-quality RCTs on online versus onsite learning in health and medical education and II) Studies on students’ preferences in online learning.

Recently solid RCTs have been performed on the topic of web-based theoretical learning of research methods among health professionals [ 10 , 11 ]. However, these studies are on asynchronous courses among medical or master students with short term outcomes.

This uncovers three additional knowledge gaps: III) Studies on synchronous online learning IV) among PhD students of health and medical education V) with long term measurement of outcomes.

The rapid technological development including artificial intelligence (AI) and widespread adaption as well as application of online learning forced by the pandemic, has made online learning well-established. It represents high resolution live synchronic settings which is available on a variety of platforms with integrated AI and options for interaction with and among students, chat and break out rooms, and exterior digital tools for teachers [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Thus, investigating online learning today may be quite different than before the pandemic. On one hand, it could seem plausible that this technological development would make a difference in favour of online learning which could not be found in previous reviews of the evidence. On the other hand, the personal face-to-face interaction during onsite learning may still be more beneficial for the learning process and combined with our experience of students finding it difficult to concentrate when online during the pandemic we hypothesize that outcomes of the onsite setting are different from the online setting.

To support a robust study, we design it as a cluster randomized trial. Moreover, we use the well-established and widely used Kirkpatrick’s conceptual framework for evaluating learning as a lens to assess our outcomes [ 15 ]. Thus, to fill the above-mentioned knowledge gaps, the objective of this trial is to compare a synchronous online and an in-person onsite setting of a research course regarding the efficacy for PhD students within the health and medical sciences:

Primarily on theoretical learning of research methodology and

Secondly on

◦ Preference, motivation, self-efficacy on short term

◦ Academic achievements on long term

Trial design

This study protocol covers synchronous online and in-person onsite setting of research courses testing the efficacy for PhD students. It is a two parallel arms cluster randomized trial (Fig.  1 ).

Consort flow diagram

The study measures baseline and post intervention. Baseline variables and knowledge scores are obtained at the first day of the course, post intervention measurement is obtained the last day of the course (short term) and monthly for 24 months (long term).

Randomization is stratified giving 1:1 allocation ratio of the courses. As the number of participants within each course might differ, the allocation ratio of participants in the study will not fully be equal and 1:1 balanced.

Study setting

The study site is The Parker Institute at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. From here the courses are organized and run online and onsite. The course programs and time schedules, the learning objective, the course management, the lecturers, and the delivery are identical in the two settings. The teachers use the same introductory presentations followed by training in break out groups, feed-back and discussions. For the online group, the setting is organized as meetings in the online collaboration tool Zoom® [ 16 ] using the basic available technicalities such as screen sharing, chat function for comments, and breakout rooms and other basics digital tools if preferred. The online version of the course is synchronous with live education and interaction. For the onsite group, the setting is the physical classroom at the learning facilities at the Parker Institute. Coffee and tea as well as simple sandwiches and bottles of water, which facilitate sociality, are available at the onsite setting. The participants in the online setting must get their food and drink by themselves, but online sociality is made possible by not closing down the online room during the breaks. The research methodology courses included in the study are “Practical Course in Systematic Review Technique in Clinical Research”, (see course programme in appendix 1) and “Getting started: Writing your first manuscript for publication” [ 17 ] (see course programme in appendix 2). The two courses both have 12 seats and last either three or three and a half days resulting in 2.2 and 2.6 ECTS credits, respectively. They are offered by the PhD School of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. Both courses are available and covered by the annual tuition fee for all PhD students enrolled at a Danish university.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria for participants: All PhD students enrolled on the PhD courses participate after informed consent: “Practical Course in Systematic Review Technique in Clinical Research” and “Getting started: Writing your first manuscript for publication” at the PhD School of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Exclusion criteria for participants: Declining to participate and withdrawal of informed consent.

Informed consent

The PhD students at the PhD School at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen participate after informed consent, taken by the daily project leader, allowing evaluation data from the course to be used after pseudo-anonymization in the project. They are informed in a welcome letter approximately three weeks prior to the course and again in the introduction the first course day. They register their consent on the first course day (Appendix 3). Declining to participate in the project does not influence their participation in the course.

Interventions

Online course settings will be compared to onsite course settings. We test if the onsite setting is different to online. Online learning is increasing but onsite learning is still the preferred educational setting in a medical context. In this case onsite learning represents “usual care”. The online course setting is meetings in Zoom using the technicalities available such as chat and breakout rooms. The onsite setting is the learning facilities, at the Parker Institute, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, The Capital Region, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The course settings are not expected to harm the participants, but should a request be made to discontinue the course or change setting this will be met, and the participant taken out of the study. Course participants are allowed to take part in relevant concomitant courses or other interventions during the trial.

Strategies to improve adherence to interventions

Course participants are motivated to complete the course irrespectively of the setting because it bears ECTS-points for their PhD education and adds to the mandatory number of ECTS-points. Thus, we expect adherence to be the same in both groups. However, we monitor their presence in the course and allocate time during class for testing the short-term outcomes ( motivation, self-efficacy, preference and learning). We encourage and, if necessary, repeatedly remind them to register with Google Scholar for our testing of the long-term outcome (academic achievement).

Outcomes are related to the Kirkpatrick model for evaluating learning (Fig.  2 ) which divides outcomes into four different levels; Reaction which includes for example motivation, self-efficacy and preferences, Learning which includes knowledge acquisition, Behaviour for practical application of skills when back at the job (not included in our outcomes), and Results for impact for end-users which includes for example academic achievements in the form of scientific articles [ 18 , 19 , 20 ].

The Kirkpatrick model

Primary outcome

The primary outcome is short term learning (Kirkpatrick level 2).

Learning is assessed by a Multiple-Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) developed prior to the RCT specifically for this setting (Appendix 4). First the lecturers of the two courses were contacted and asked to provide five multiple choice questions presented as a stem with three answer options; one correct answer and two distractors. The questions should be related to core elements of their teaching under the heading of research training. The questions were set up to test the cognition of the students at the levels of "Knows" or "Knows how" according to Miller's Pyramid of Competence and not their behaviour [ 21 ]. Six of the course lecturers responded and out of this material all the questions which covered curriculum of both courses were selected. It was tested on 10 PhD students and within the lecturer group, revised after an item analysis and English language revised. The MCQ ended up containing 25 questions. The MCQ is filled in at baseline and repeated at the end of the course. The primary outcomes based on the MCQ is estimated as the score of learning calculated as number of correct answers out of 25 after the course. A decrease of points of the MCQ in the intervention groups denotes a deterioration of learning. In the MCQ the minimum score is 0 and 25 is maximum, where 19 indicates passing the course.

Furthermore, as secondary outcome, this outcome measurement will be categorized as binary outcome to determine passed/failed of the course defined by 75% (19/25) correct answers.

The learning score will be computed on group and individual level and compared regarding continued outcomes by the Mann–Whitney test comparing the learning score of the online and onsite groups. Regarding the binomial outcome of learning (passed/failed) data will be analysed by the Fisher’s exact test on an intention-to-treat basis between the online and onsite. The results will be presented as median and range and as mean and standard deviations, for possible future use in meta-analyses.

Secondary outcomes

Motivation assessment post course: Motivation level is measured by the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) Scale [ 22 ] (Appendix 5). The IMI items were randomized by random.org on the 4th of August 2022. It contains 12 items to be assessed by the students on a 7-point Likert scale where 1 is “Not at all true”, 4 is “Somewhat true” and 7 is “Very true”. The motivation score will be computed on group and individual level and will then be tested by the Mann–Whitney of the online and onsite group.

Self-efficacy assessment post course: Self-efficacy level is measured by a single-item measure developed and validated by Williams and Smith [ 23 ] (Appendix 6). It is assessed by the students on a scale from 1–10 where 1 is “Strongly disagree” and 10 is “Strongly agree”. The self-efficacy score will be computed on group and individual level and tested by a Mann–Whitney test to compare the self-efficacy score of the online and onsite group.

Preference assessment post course: Preference is measured as part of the general course satisfaction evaluation with the question “If you had the option to choose, which form would you prefer this course to have?” with the options “onsite form” and “online form”.

Academic achievement assessment is based on 24 monthly measurements post course of number of publications, number of citations, h-index, i10-index. This data is collected through the Google Scholar Profiles [ 24 ] of the students as this database covers most scientific journals. Associations between onsite/online and long-term academic will be examined with Kaplan Meyer and log rank test with a significance level of 0.05.

Participant timeline

Enrolment for the course at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, becomes available when it is published in the course catalogue. In the course description the course location is “To be announced”. Approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins, the participant list is finalized, and students receive a welcome letter containing course details, including their allocation to either the online or onsite setting. On the first day of the course, oral information is provided, and participants provide informed consent, baseline variables, and base line knowledge scores.

The last day of scheduled activities the following scores are collected, knowledge, motivation, self-efficacy, setting preference, and academic achievement. To track students' long term academic achievements, follow-ups are conducted monthly for a period of 24 months, with assessments occurring within one week of the last course day (Table  1 ).

Sample size

The power calculation is based on the main outcome, theoretical learning on short term. For the sample size determination, we considered 12 available seats for participants in each course. To achieve statistical power, we aimed for 8 clusters in both online and onsite arms (in total 16 clusters) to detect an increase in learning outcome of 20% (learning outcome increase of 5 points). We considered an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.02, a standard deviation of 10, a power of 80%, and a two-sided alpha level of 5%. The Allocation Ratio was set at 1, implying an equal number of subjects in both online and onsite group.

Considering a dropout up to 2 students per course, equivalent to 17%, we determined that a total of 112 participants would be needed. This calculation factored in 10 clusters of 12 participants per study arm, which we deemed sufficient to assess any changes in learning outcome.

The sample size was estimated using the function n4means from the R package CRTSize [ 25 ].

Recruitment

Participants are PhD students enrolled in 10 courses of “Practical Course in Systematic Review Technique in Clinical Research” and 10 courses of “Getting started: Writing your first manuscript for publication” at the PhD School of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Assignment of interventions: allocation

Randomization will be performed on course-level. The courses are randomized by a computer random number generator [ 26 ]. To get a balanced randomization per year, 2 sets with 2 unique random integers in each, taken from the 1–4 range is requested.

The setting is not included in the course catalogue of the PhD School and thus allocation to online or onsite is concealed until 3–4 weeks before course commencement when a welcome letter with course information including allocation to online or onsite setting is distributed to the students. The lecturers are also informed of the course setting at this time point. If students withdraw from the course after being informed of the setting, a letter is sent to them enquiring of the reason for withdrawal and reason is recorded (Appendix 7).

The allocation sequence is generated by a computer random number generator (random.org). The participants and the lecturers sign up for the course without knowing the course setting (online or onsite) until 3–4 weeks before the course.

Assignment of interventions: blinding

Due to the nature of the study, it is not possible to blind trial participants or lecturers. The outcomes are reported by the participants directly in an online form, thus being blinded for the outcome assessor, but not for the individual participant. The data collection for the long-term follow-up regarding academic achievements is conducted without blinding. However, the external researcher analysing the data will be blinded.

Data collection and management

Data will be collected by the project leader (Table  1 ). Baseline variables and post course knowledge, motivation, and self-efficacy are self-reported through questionnaires in SurveyXact® [ 27 ]. Academic achievements are collected through Google Scholar profiles of the participants.

Given that we are using participant assessments and evaluations for research purposes, all data collection – except for monthly follow-up of academic achievements after the course – takes place either in the immediate beginning or ending of the course and therefore we expect participant retention to be high.

Data will be downloaded from SurveyXact and stored in a locked and logged drive on a computer belonging to the Capital Region of Denmark. Only the project leader has access to the data.

This project conduct is following the Danish Data Protection Agency guidelines of the European GDPR throughout the trial. Following the end of the trial, data will be stored at the Danish National Data Archive which fulfil Danish and European guidelines for data protection and management.

Statistical methods

Data is anonymized and blinded before the analyses. Analyses are performed by a researcher not otherwise involved in the inclusion or randomization, data collection or handling. All statistical tests will be testing the null hypotheses assuming the two arms of the trial being equal based on corresponding estimates. Analysis of primary outcome on short-term learning will be started once all data has been collected for all individuals in the last included course. Analyses of long-term academic achievement will be started at end of follow-up.

Baseline characteristics including both course- and individual level information will be presented. Table 2 presents the available data on baseline.

We will use multivariate analysis for identification of the most important predictors (motivation, self-efficacy, sex, educational background, and knowledge) for best effect on short and long term. The results will be presented as risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). The results will be considered significant if CI does not include the value one.

All data processing and analyses were conducted using R statistical software version 4.1.0, 2021–05-18 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria).

If possible, all analysis will be performed for “Practical Course in Systematic Review Technique in Clinical Research” and for “Getting started: Writing your first manuscript for publication” separately.

Primary analyses will be handled with the intention-to-treat approach. The analyses will include all individuals with valid data regardless of they did attend the complete course. Missing data will be handled with multiple imputation [ 28 ] .

Upon reasonable request, public assess will be granted to protocol, datasets analysed during the current study, and statistical code Table 3 .

Oversight, monitoring, and adverse events

This project is coordinated in collaboration between the WHO CC (DEN-62) at the Parker Institute, CAMES, and the PhD School at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The project leader runs the day-to-day support of the trial. The steering committee of the trial includes principal investigators from WHO CC (DEN-62) and CAMES and the project leader and meets approximately three times a year.

Data monitoring is done on a daily basis by the project leader and controlled by an external independent researcher.

An adverse event is “a harmful and negative outcome that happens when a patient has been provided with medical care” [ 29 ]. Since this trial does not involve patients in medical care, we do not expect adverse events. If participants decline taking part in the course after receiving the information of the course setting, information on reason for declining is sought obtained. If the reason is the setting this can be considered an unintended effect. Information of unintended effects of the online setting (the intervention) will be recorded. Participants are encouraged to contact the project leader with any response to the course in general both during and after the course.

The trial description has been sent to the Scientific Ethical Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark (VEK) (21041907), which assessed it as not necessary to notify and that it could proceed without permission from VEK according to the Danish law and regulation of scientific research. The trial is registered with the Danish Data Protection Agency (Privacy) (P-2022–158). Important protocol modification will be communicated to relevant parties as well as VEK, the Joint Regional Information Security and Clinicaltrials.gov within an as short timeframe as possible.

Dissemination plans

The results (positive, negative, or inconclusive) will be disseminated in educational, scientific, and clinical fora, in international scientific peer-reviewed journals, and clinicaltrials.gov will be updated upon completion of the trial. After scientific publication, the results will be disseminated to the public by the press, social media including the website of the hospital and other organizations – as well as internationally via WHO CC (DEN-62) at the Parker Institute and WHO Europe.

All authors will fulfil the ICMJE recommendations for authorship, and RR will be first author of the articles as a part of her PhD dissertation. Contributors who do not fulfil these recommendations will be offered acknowledgement in the article.

This cluster randomized trial investigates if an onsite setting of a research course for PhD students within the health and medical sciences is different from an online setting. The outcomes measured are learning of research methodology (primary), preference, motivation, and self-efficacy (secondary) on short term and academic achievements (secondary) on long term.

The results of this study will be discussed as follows:

Discussion of primary outcome

Primary outcome will be compared and contrasted with similar studies including recent RCTs and mixed-method studies on online and onsite research methodology courses within health and medical education [ 10 , 11 , 30 ] and for inspiration outside the field [ 31 , 32 ]: Tokalic finds similar outcomes for online and onsite, Martinic finds that the web-based educational intervention improves knowledge, Cheung concludes that the evidence is insufficient to say that the two modes have different learning outcomes, Kofoed finds online setting to have negative impact on learning and Rahimi-Ardabili presents positive self-reported student knowledge. These conflicting results will be discussed in the context of the result on the learning outcome of this study. The literature may change if more relevant studies are published.

Discussion of secondary outcomes

Secondary significant outcomes are compared and contrasted with similar studies.

Limitations, generalizability, bias and strengths

It is a limitation to this study, that an onsite curriculum for a full day is delivered identically online, as this may favour the onsite course due to screen fatigue [ 33 ]. At the same time, it is also a strength that the time schedules are similar in both settings. The offer of coffee, tea, water, and a plain sandwich in the onsite course may better facilitate the possibility for socializing. Another limitation is that the study is performed in Denmark within a specific educational culture, with institutional policies and resources which might affect the outcome and limit generalization to other geographical settings. However, international students are welcome in the class.

In educational interventions it is generally difficult to blind participants and this inherent limitation also applies to this trial [ 11 ]. Thus, the participants are not blinded to their assigned intervention, and neither are the lecturers in the courses. However, the external statistical expert will be blinded when doing the analyses.

We chose to compare in-person onsite setting with a synchronous online setting. Therefore, the online setting cannot be expected to generalize to asynchronous online setting. Asynchronous delivery has in some cases showed positive results and it might be because students could go back and forth through the modules in the interface without time limit [ 11 ].

We will report on all the outcomes defined prior to conducting the study to avoid selective reporting bias.

It is a strength of the study that it seeks to report outcomes within the 1, 2 and 4 levels of the Kirkpatrick conceptual framework, and not solely on level 1. It is also a strength that the study is cluster randomized which will reduce “infections” between the two settings and has an adequate power calculated sample size and looks for a relevant educational difference of 20% between the online and onsite setting.

Perspectives with implications for practice

The results of this study may have implications for the students for which educational setting they choose. Learning and preference results has implications for lecturers, course managers and curriculum developers which setting they should plan for the health and medical education. It may also be of inspiration for teaching and training in other disciplines. From a societal perspective it also has implications because we will know the effect and preferences of online learning in case of a future lock down.

Future research could investigate academic achievements in online and onsite research training on the long run (Kirkpatrick 4); the effect of blended learning versus online or onsite (Kirkpatrick 2); lecturers’ preferences for online and onsite setting within health and medical education (Kirkpatrick 1) and resource use in synchronous and asynchronous online learning (Kirkpatrick 5).

Trial status

This trial collected pilot data from August to September 2021 and opened for inclusion in January 2022. Completion of recruitment is expected in April 2024 and long-term follow-up in April 2026. Protocol version number 1 03.06.2022 with amendments 30.11.2023.

Availability of data and materials

The project leader will have access to the final trial dataset which will be available upon reasonable request. Exception to this is the qualitative raw data that might contain information leading to personal identification.

Abbreviations

Artificial Intelligence

Copenhagen academy for medical education and simulation

Confidence interval

Coronavirus disease

European credit transfer and accumulation system

International committee of medical journal editors

Intrinsic motivation inventory

Multiple choice questionnaire

Doctor of medicine

Masters of sciences

Randomized controlled trial

Scientific ethical committee of the Capital Region of Denmark

WHO Collaborating centre for evidence-based clinical health promotion

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Acknowledgements

We thank the students who make their evaluations available for this trial and MSc (Public Health) Mie Sylow Liljendahl for statistical support.

Open access funding provided by Copenhagen University The Parker Institute, which hosts the WHO CC (DEN-62), receives a core grant from the Oak Foundation (OCAY-18–774-OFIL). The Oak Foundation had no role in the design of the study or in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data or in writing the manuscript.

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Contributions

RR, LK and HT have made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work; RR to the acquisition of data, and RR, LK and HT to the interpretation of data; RR has drafted the work and RR, LK, and HT have substantively revised it AND approved the submitted version AND agreed to be personally accountable for their own contributions as well as ensuring that any questions which relates to the accuracy or integrity of the work are adequately investigated, resolved and documented.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The Danish National Committee on Health Research Ethics has assessed the study Journal-nr.:21041907 (Date: 21–09-2021) without objections or comments. The study has been approved by The Danish Data Protection Agency Journal-nr.: P-2022–158 (Date: 04.05.2022).

All PhD students participate after informed consent. They can withdraw from the study at any time without explanations or consequences for their education. They will be offered information of the results at study completion. There are no risks for the course participants as the measurements in the course follow routine procedure and they are not affected by the follow up in Google Scholar. However, the 15 min of filling in the forms may be considered inconvenient.

The project will follow the GDPR and the Joint Regional Information Security Policy. Names and ID numbers are stored on a secure and logged server at the Capital Region Denmark to avoid risk of data leak. All outcomes are part of the routine evaluation at the courses, except the follow up for academic achievement by publications and related indexes. However, the publications are publicly available per se.

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Raffing, R., Konge, L. & Tønnesen, H. Learning effect of online versus onsite education in health and medical scholarship – protocol for a cluster randomized trial. BMC Med Educ 24 , 927 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05915-z

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05915-z

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