Abstract
In an online information retrieval course taught from a library science perspective, a number of methods were used to increase student engagement. Successful tactics include frequent email communication in a natural tone, personalized feedback, an organized, modular presentation of the material, latitude for student choice in assignments, and use of multimedia. The engagement potential of the discussion boards was not used as successfully. The discussions of engagement tactics are reinforced by references to the appropriate literature and feedback from class surveys. The chapter includes lessons learned and plans for future work.
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Notes
- 1.
Dunlap et al. (2007) provides an excellent list of such references.
- 2.
- 3.
Newlands and Coldwell (2005) provides an accessible discussion of the differences, challenges, and advantages of online vs. classroom instruction by looking at student and faculty expectations, crucial factors in successful teaching and learning.
- 4.
Oud (2009) provides an excellent discussion of the cognitive research that explains why media can be so effective in teaching, as well as guidelines for the creation of such screencasts.
- 5.
A review of the literature on evaluations for online courses is provided by Achetemeier et al. (2003). For additional work on assessment of online teaching and learning, including an example of a survey created specifically for online courses, see Bangert (2004, Appendix A) and Herron and Wright (2006).
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Bell, S. (2011). Fostering Student Engagement in an Online IR Course. In: Efthimiadis, E., Fernández-Luna, J., Huete, J., MacFarlane, A. (eds) Teaching and Learning in Information Retrieval. The Information Retrieval Series, vol 31. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22511-6_2
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