Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers found themselves making a rapid and often challenging shift from in-person classroom teaching to teaching in an online environment. As teachers continue to learn about working in this new environment, research in cognitive and learning sciences, specifically findings from cognitive…

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has placed postsecondary institutions in unfamiliar territory. Undoubtedly, postsecondary education must adapt to the realities of the pandemic, finding new ways to define academic expectations and rigor. Currently, COVID-19-related conversations among educators often default to focusing on students' race and…

The transition of our large ([approximately]300 student) introductory soil science course to the online setting created several challenges, including engaging first- and second-year students, providing meaningful hands-on learning activities, and setting up online exams. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and use of…

The rise of online courses has created an ongoing demand for instructional designers in higher education. Collaboration between faculty and instructional designers in developing online engineering courses has therefore increased. Potential challenges during the collaboration can be addressed when faculty and instructional designers have a mutual…

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated unprecedented changes to teaching and learning in higher education. SoTL-active faculty were uniquely positioned to leverage their knowledge and expertise to improve teaching and learning during the pandemic not only in their own courses, but through a knowledge mobilization approach also in broader contexts…

This article outlines the design of a module introducing Developmental Psychology to distance learners undertaking a two-year part-time BPS accredited MSc Psychology (Conversion) degree. The module was redesigned to accommodate increased student numbers. Online learners differ significantly from those in face-to-face learning environments, in…

This paper outlines the key issues of remotely invigilated online exams (RIOEs) and presents ways to avoid and resolve the issues for educators who are considering implementing them. The purpose of this paper is to share the lessons learned during the process of implementing and evaluating RIOEs and highlight the key considerations required to…

Sequencing language production activities based on the inherent cognitive load of each activity type can improve student performance and self-efficacy on high cognitive load language tasks like conversational speech (either face-to-face or via video chat). This ordering according to cognitive difficulty can scaffold learners in their development…

History departments in universities across the country are facing acute pressure to increase enrollments. In this article, the author describes an effort to boost history enrollments that they have spearheaded over the past couple of years: teaching the history of engineering online. In particular, the author would strongly encourage history…

Online learning is becoming more and more pervasive in higher education institutions. According to the Sloan-C report (All & Seaman, 2006) more than 3.5 million students are enrolled in online courses in the United States. That number represents a 9.7 % increase over the previous year, which far exceeds the 1.5 % growth rate for higher…

SUNY-wide, the online horse has left the gate. Meanwhile, campuses contend with traditional means for evaluating teaching effectiveness that do not match up against the latest standards for online instruction. Following a discussion of some of the core considerations that individual campuses need to address in responding to Open SUNY, the author…

When developing online classrooms it is necessary to ensure that all learners will be successful in the course regardless of the topic or discipline that is being discussed. This becomes especially important when the class involves numerical data. This paper outlines the difficulty of delivering online classes such as algebra, accounting, and…

This article describes the development and implementation of an open-access organic chemistry question bank for online tutorials and assessments at University College Cork and Dublin Institute of Technology. SOCOT (structure-based organic chemistry online tutorials) may be used to supplement traditional small-group tutorials, thereby allowing…

In the last decade, the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) has gained an undeniable momentum. However, it is an easy trap to confuse download and registration rates with actual learning and interest in the adoption and reuse of OER. If we focus solely on access, we cannot differentiate between processes of mere information foraging and…

Despite a large increase in the number of students enrolled in online courses, published research on student experiences in these environments is minimal. This article reports the narrative analysis of a series of interviews conducted with a female student at a brick-and-mortar school enrolled in a single virtual school course. Her narratives…