Patti Shank, PhD is an internationally recognized workplace learning expert, instructional designer, and researcher. She is the author of Write Better Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Learning and other books and courses. These books offer practical, evidence-informed tactics for improving learning outcomes. https://www.pattishank.com
Using appropriate graphics in learning content is critical. Some graphics are especially helpful for learning. But others can damage learning, as evidenced by research on graphics that contain interesting but irrelevant information.
Research shows that many multiple-choice questions are poorly written. One of the reasons they are poorly written is that many question writers have misunderstandings about multiple-choice questions. In this article, I'll discuss 4 of these misunderstandings and what's true instead.
This article will help you blend asynchronous and synchronous elements in your online courses. This is the final article in the series on using digital modalities and includes important insights on "how" to best combine them.
In this article, I’m taking a deeper dive on what research tells us are the main benefits and barriers of synchronous elements. Research shows that it is critical that we optimize its benefits and reduce the potential barriers in order to obtain good outcomes.
Research tells us that asynchronous and synchronous online learning elements serve different purposes. In this article, I’m going for a deeper dive into the use and selection of asynchronous elements, as many suggest that they should be the major part of most online courses.
This article describes the importance of content and social interactions using asynchronous (self-paced) and synchronous (live learning) tools. It offers an evidence-informed analysis of the main benefits and limitations of asynchronous and synchronous eLearning for better blending.
If you’re scrambling to get training online, you may be confused about your options. Evidence shows that you’ll likely need both asynchronous (self-paced) and synchronous (live) tools to support different instructional needs. I begin this series with a discussion of these tools and blending them.
Research shows that it’s not necessarily a good idea to add a how-to-use-this-course tutorial for our online courses as it can increase anxiety and cognitive load. The simpler and broader implications and what to do instead are discussed.