What Kinds of Content Should I Use?
When people first imagine teaching online they naturally assume that filmed lectures will be the way to deliver content. However, long lectures aren't terribly effective online. (They aren't terribly effective in the classroom but that is another story.)
In the next few pages we are going to try and unpack the ways you can take your existing course content and deliver it effectively in an online environment. Below are two simple lists of what works and what doesn't online. However, we have seen faculty find all kinds of creative ways to deliver their content so please take this list as a jumping off point rather than a set of rigid rules.
| WHAT WORKS | WHAT DOESN'T |
|
5-7 minute (or shorter) videos of you explaining something Direct links to articles in the library Links to relevant websites 2 to 5 paragraphs of contextualizing information Images, graphs, diagrams, tables, etc. Embedded videos from YouTube, Vimeo, or other sources Embedded interactive media created by you* or found online Links to relevant files Digital Course Packs Content contributed by students |
Lecture slides used in your classroom. (These need to be modified. See next page for more information.) Long lectures—more than 5 - 7 minutes. Think modular and create multiple shorter videos around a topic. Poorly scanned articles (probably a copyright violation anyway) |
*We will be creating interactive content, videos, etc. in weeks 8 and 9.