As noted in our previous blog "Online Teaching Presence: 5 Methods for Developing Original Content" there are many different styles and methods for designing and delivering your own original content. This blog is meant to be a follow up to quickly summarize use cases for content, best practices and things to avoid when designing.
Types of lecture content
Below are a few examples of use cases for different types of content you may choose to create.
- Introduction to the course
- Introduction to the professor
- Module introductions (weekly introductions)
- New information
- Connect the dots (Context and analogies)
- Weekly or Course Summary
- Problem Solving
What are some general best practices?
- Keep lectures brief and topical. 5-10 minutes (videos) 5-10 minutes of reading (text lecture)
- Use images and graphics to explain concepts
- Use conversational language
- Anticipate student questions
- Provide guided thinking questions to help students focus on important concepts
- Draw analogies
- Tie concepts together when possible
- Give context to concepts
- Share anecdotes from when possible
- Use high contrast colors like dark grey and white
- Accessibility - Use the Headings options for text lectures, captioning for videos, and provide a script for podcasts
What are some general pitfalls to avoid?
- Use bullets to draw attention to key points for visual presentations
- Avoid PowerPoint presentations with no contextual information provided in the notes or with an audio voice over. Talk to your slides!
- Color schemes that are bright or not high contrast
- Avoid serif fonts like Times New Roman, in digital viewing Serif fonts like Ariel are better for viewing
Conclusion
No matter what content you are creating or how it turns out. Remember that practice makes perfect! Have fun with it and try out different strategies. Don't be afraid to ask for feedback! Review data analytics and directly ask your students or even colleagues for feedback on the content you create.
References:
"The State of Video in Education 2015." Quality Matters, Kaltura, site.kaltura.com/rs/984-SDM-859/images/The_State_of_Video_in_Education_2015_a_Kaltura_Report.pdf. Accessed 5 June 2018.
Moore, E. (2013, January 17). Adapting PowerPoint Lectures for Online Delivery: Best Practices. In Faculty Focus: Higher Ed Teaching Strategies from Magna Publications. Retrieved May 20, 2018, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/adapting-powerpoint-lectures-for-online-delivery-best-practices/