LINC 57A: WELCOMING & ENGAGING STUDENTS IN THE ONLINE ENVIRONMENT
Foothill College Course Outline of Record
| Heading | Value |
|---|---|
| Effective Term: | Summer 2025 |
| Units: | 3 |
| Hours: | 3 lecture per week (36 total per quarter) |
| Degree & Credit Status: | Degree-Applicable Credit Course |
| Foothill GE: | Non-GE |
| Transferable: | CSU |
| Grade Type: | Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass) |
| Repeatability: | Not Repeatable |
Description
This course is designed to equip educators with the skills and strategies necessary to create supportive and inclusive virtual classrooms. It focuses on humanizing online learning environments by fostering socio-emotional connections that enhance student engagement and participation. Students will learn to implement practices that support learner independence and cultivate a community through effective communication, welcoming language, and interactive activities. Special emphasis is placed on overcoming barriers to online student success by designing welcoming introductions, supportive system integrations, and community-building exercises that are mindful of cognitive loads and equity-based expectations. Through practical applications, students will develop and share resources such as introduction videos and engagement plans that demonstrate their understanding of humanizing online education.
Course Objectives
The student will be able to:
- Design online learning spaces that are welcoming and inclusive, using language and practices that promote a sense of belonging and community.
- Implement humanizing practices that enhance student engagement and foster socio-emotional connections within the online classroom.
- Create activities that support learner independence and cater to diverse learning needs and styles, promoting active participation.
- Identify and address common barriers to online engagement, such as technology access, cognitive overload, and motivational challenges, to enhance student success.
- Effectively use interactive and collaborative tools to enhance communication and collaboration within the online classroom.
- Develop and assess engagement strategies and resources to ensure their effectiveness in supporting student success in asynchronous and synchronous environments.
Course Content
- Designing inclusive online learning spaces
- Welcoming language and practices
- Strategies for promoting community and belonging
- Setting the tone with introductory materials and first impressions
- Implementing humanizing practices
- The what and why of humanizing
- Humanizing behaviors and their impact on engagement
- Practical applications of humanizing strategies in virtual environments
- Creating activities to support learner independence
- Techniques for promoting learner independence
- Designing activities that cater to diverse learning styles
- Encouraging self-directed learning through structured activities
- Overcoming barriers to online engagement
- Identifying barriers: technology access, cognitive overload
- Strategies to mitigate motivational challenges
- Tools and resources for supporting students facing accessibility issues
- Using interactive and collaborative tools
- Tools for enhancing communication and collaboration
- Best practices for using technology to support interaction
- Integrating collaborative projects that foster peer interaction and teamwork
- Developing and assessing engagement strategies
- Introduction videos and engagement plans
- Techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of engagement strategies
- Continuous improvement practices for refining engagement tactics based on feedback
Lab Content
Not applicable.
Special Facilities and/or Equipment
1. When offered on campus: Lecture room equipped with computer projector system, whiteboard, and internet connectivity. Computer laboratories with internet connectivity and computers or internet enabled devices running standard operating systems (e.g., iOS, MacOS, Windows, Android, Linux)
2. When taught online, students must have current email accounts and/or ongoing access to computers with email and web browsing capability
2. When taught online, students must have current email accounts and/or ongoing access to computers with email and web browsing capability
Method(s) of Evaluation
Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:
Designing and developing an online course plan and product or project
Presenting the product or project to peers, capturing feedback, and using it to revise the product or project
Making constructive contributions to class discussions and peer review feedback
Method(s) of Instruction
Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:
Lecture presentations delivered in a student-centered learning style, during which students take notes, follow demonstrations, or complete an activity
Facilitated discussions of live presentations, readings, or video presentations
Presenting and communicating their ideas in small-group and whole-class discussions
Representative Text(s) and Other Materials
Instructor-assigned notes, materials, and resources, including instructional materials, open education resources, multimedia, and websites.
Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments
- Reading assignments include analysis of texts, selected examples, and student projects.
- Writing assignments include a major course project and multiple developmental projects, online discussion response, and critical analysis of peer's educational projects.
- Outside assignments include conducting project development, writing the instructional plan, reading, and developing the project through an iterative process.
When taught online these methods may take the form of video, audio, animation, and webpage presentations. Writing assignments are completed online.
Discipline(s)
Instructional Design/Technology