assignments in online teaching

Ohio State nav bar

The Ohio State University

• BuckeyeLink
• Find People
• Search Ohio State

Creating and Adapting Assignments for Online Courses

Online teaching requires a deliberate shift in how we communicate, deliver information, and offer feedback to our students. How do you effectively design and modify your assignments to accommodate this shift? The ways you introduce students to new assignments, keep them on track, identify and remedy confusion, and provide feedback after an assignment is due must be altered to fit the online setting. Intentional planning can help you ensure assignments are optimally designed for an online course and expectations are clearly communicated to students.  

When teaching online, it can be tempting to focus on the differences from in-person instruction in terms of adjustments, or what you need to make up for. However, there are many affordances of online assignments that can deepen learning and student engagement. Students gain new channels of interaction, flexibility in when and where they access assignments, more immediate feedback, and a student-centered experience (Gayten and McEwen, 2007; Ragupathi, 2020; Robles and Braathen, 2002). Meanwhile, ample research has uncovered that online assignments benefit instructors through automatic grading, better measurement of learning, greater student involvement, and the storing and reuse of assignments. 

In Practice

While the purpose and planning of online assignments remain the same as their in-person counterparts, certain adjustments can make them more effective. The strategies outlined below will help you design online assignments that support student success while leveraging the benefits of the online environment. 

Align assignments to learning outcomes. 

All assignments work best when they align with your learning outcomes. Each online assignment should advance students' achievement of one or more of your specific outcomes. You may be familiar with  Bloom's Taxonomy,  a well-known framework that organizes and classifies learning objectives based on the actions students take to demonstrate their learning. Online assignments have the added advantage of flexing students' digital skills, and Bloom's has been revamped for the digital age to incorporate technology-based tasks into its categories. For example, students might search for definitions online as they learn and remember course materials, tweet their understanding of a concept, mind map an analysis, or create a podcast. 

See a  complete description of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy  for further ideas. 

Provide authentic assessments. 

Authentic assessments call for relevant, purposeful actions that mimic the real-life tasks students may encounter in their lives and careers beyond the university. They represent a shift away from infrequent high-stakes assessments that tend to evaluate the acquisition of knowledge over application and understanding. Authentic assessments allow students to see the connection between what they're learning and how that learning is used and contextualized outside the virtual walls of the learning management system, thereby increasing their motivation and engagement. 

There are many ways to incorporate authenticity into an assignment, but three main strategies are to use  authentic audiences, content, and formats . A student might, for example, compose a business plan for an audience of potential investors, create a patient care plan that translates medical jargon into lay language, or propose a safe storage process for a museum collection.  

Authentic assessments in online courses can easily incorporate the internet or digital tools as part of an authentic format. Blogs, podcasts, social media posts, and multimedia artifacts such as infographics and videos represent authentic formats that leverage the online context. 

Learn more about  authentic assessments in Designing Assessments of Student Learning . 

Design for inclusivity and accessibility. 

Adopting universal design principles at the outset of course creation will ensure your material is accessible to all students. As you plan your assignments, it's important to keep in mind barriers to access in terms of tools, technology, and cost. Consider which tools achieve your learning outcomes with the fewest barriers. 

Offering a variety of assignment formats is one way to ensure students can demonstrate learning in a manner that works best for them. You can provide options within an individual assignment, such as allowing students to submit either written text or an audio recording or to choose from several technologies or platforms when completing a project. 

Be mindful of how you frame and describe an assignment to ensure it doesn't disregard populations through exclusionary language or use culturally specific references that some students may not understand. Inclusive language for all genders and racial or ethnic backgrounds can foster a sense of belonging that fully invests students in the learning community.  

Learn more about  Universal Design of Learning  and  Shaping a Positive Learning Environment . 

Design to promote academic integrity online. 

Much like incorporating universal design principles at the outset of course creation, you can take a proactive approach to academic integrity online. Design assignments that limit the possibilities for students to use the work of others or receive prohibited outside assistance.  

Provide   authentic assessments  that are more difficult to plagiarize because they incorporate recent events or unique contexts and formats. 

Scaffold assignments  so that students can work their way up to a final product by submitting smaller portions and receiving feedback along the way. 

Lower the stakes  by providing more frequent formative assessments in place of high-stakes, high-stress assessments. 

In addition to proactively creating assignments that deter cheating, there are several university-supported tools at your disposal to help identify and prevent cheating.  

Learn more about these tools in  Strategies and Tools for Academic Integrity in Online Environments . 

Communicate detailed instructions and clarify expectations. 

When teaching in-person, you likely dedicate class time to introducing and explaining an assignment; students can ask questions or linger after class for further clarification. In an online class, especially in  asynchronous  online classes, you must anticipate where students' questions might arise and account for them in the assignment instructions.  

The  Carmen course template  addresses some of students' common questions when completing an assignment. The template offers places to explain the assignment's purpose, list out steps students should take when completing it, provide helpful resources, and detail academic integrity considerations.  

Providing a rubric will clarify for students how you will evaluate their work, as well as make your grading more efficient. Sharing examples of previous student work (both good and bad) can further help students see how everything should come together in their completed products. 

Technology Tip

Enter all  assignments and due dates  in your Carmen course to increase transparency. When assignments are entered in Carmen, they also populate to Calendar, Syllabus, and Grades areas so students can easily track their upcoming work. Carmen also allows you to  develop rubrics  for every assignment in your course.  

Promote interaction and collaboration. 

Frequent student-student interaction in any course, but particularly in online courses, is integral to developing a healthy learning community that engages students with course material and contributes to academic achievement. Online education has the inherent benefit of offering multiple channels of interaction through which this can be accomplished. 

Carmen  Discussions   are a versatile platform for students to converse about and analyze course materials, connect socially, review each other's work, and communicate asynchronously during group projects. 

Peer review  can be enabled in Carmen  Assignments  and  Discussions .  Rubrics  can be attached to an assignment or a discussion that has peer review enabled, and students can use these rubrics as explicit criteria for their evaluation. Alternatively, peer review can occur within the comments of a discussion board if all students will benefit from seeing each other's responses. 

Group projects  can be carried out asynchronously through Carmen  Discussions  or  Groups , or synchronously through Carmen's  Chat function  or  CarmenZoom . Students (and instructors) may have apprehensions about group projects, but well-designed group work can help students learn from each other and draw on their peers’ strengths. Be explicit about your expectations for student interaction and offer ample support resources to ensure success on group assignments. 

Learn more about  Student Interaction Online .

Choose technology wisely. 

The internet is a vast and wondrous place, full of technology and tools that do amazing things. These tools can give students greater flexibility in approaching an assignment or deepen their learning through interactive elements. That said, it's important to be selective when integrating external tools into your online course.  

Look first to your learning outcomes and, if you are considering an external tool, determine whether the technology will help students achieve these learning outcomes. Unless one of your outcomes is for students to master new technology, the cognitive effort of using an unfamiliar tool may distract from your learning outcomes.  

Carmen should ultimately be the foundation of your course where you centralize all materials and assignments. Thoughtfully selected external tools can be useful in certain circumstances. 

Explore supported tools 

There are many  university-supported tools  and resources already available to Ohio State users. Before looking to external tools, you should explore the available options to see if you can accomplish your instructional goals with supported systems, including the  eLearning toolset , approved  CarmenCanvas integrations , and the  Microsoft365 suite .  

If a tool is not university-supported, keep in mind the security and accessibility implications, the learning curve required to use the tool, and the need for additional support resources. If you choose to use a new tool, provide links to relevant help guides on the assignment page or post a video tutorial. Include explicit instructions on how students can get technical support should they encounter technical difficulties with the tool. 

Adjustments to your assignment design can guide students toward academic success while leveraging the benefits of the online environment.  

Effective assignments in online courses are:  

Aligned to course learning outcomes 

Authentic and reflect real-life tasks 

Accessible and inclusive for all learners 

Designed to encourage academic integrity 

Transparent with clearly communicated expectations 

Designed to promote student interaction and collaboration 

Supported with intentional technology tools 

• Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty (e-book)
• Making Your Course Accessible for All Learners (workshop reccording)
• Writing Multiple Choice Questions that Demand Critical Thinking (article)

Learning Opportunities

Conrad, D., & Openo, J. (2018).  Assessment strategies for online learning: Engagement and authenticity . AU Press. Retrieved from  https://library.ohio-state.edu/record=b8475002~S7 

Gaytan, J., & McEwen, B. C. (2007). Effective online instructional and assessment strategies.  American Journal of Distance Education ,  21 (3), 117–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923640701341653   

Mayer, R. E. (2001).  Multimedia learning . New York: Cambridge University Press.  

Ragupathi, K. (2020). Designing Effective Online Assessments Resource Guide . National University of Singapore. Retrieved from  https://www.nus.edu.sg/cdtl/docs/default-source/professional-development-docs/resources/designing-online-assessments.pdf  

Robles, M., & Braathen, S. (2002). Online assessment techniques.  Delta Pi Epsilon Journal ,  44 (1), 39–49.  https://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=507795215&site=eds-live&scope=site  

Swan, K., Shen, J., & Hiltz, S. R. (2006). Assessment and collaboration in online learning.  Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks ,  10 (1), 45.  

TILT Higher Ed. (n.d.).  TILT Examples and Resources . Retrieved from   https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources  

Tallent-Runnels, M. K., Thomas, J. A., Lan, W. Y., Cooper, S., Ahern, T. C., Shaw, S. M., & Liu, X. (2006). Teaching Courses Online: A Review of the Research.  Review of Educational Research ,  76 (1), 93–135.  https://www-jstor-org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/stable/3700584  

Walvoord, B. & Anderson, V.J. (2010).  Effective Grading : A Tool for Learning and Assessment in College: Vol. 2nd ed . Jossey-Bass.  https://library.ohio-state.edu/record=b8585181~S7

Related Teaching Topics

Designing assessments of student learning, strategies and tools for academic integrity in online environments, student interaction online, universal design for learning: planning with all students in mind, related toolsets, carmencanvas, search for resources.

Teaching Commons Autumn Symposium 2024

Get ready for autumn quarter at the Teaching Commons Autumn Symposium. Friday, September 27.

Rethinking Online Assignments

Main navigation.

Assignments and assessments designed to be used in person might be less effective when adapted for online learning. These strategies for rethinking learning activities for online courses can help you address these issues.

Clearly communicate assignment instructions

We often take for granted the many informal interactions that occur in a face-to-face setting. Simple clarifications, adjustments, and reassurances about assignment due dates, requirements, and expectations can be lost when going online. Consider the following strategies to address this:

• Make instructions clear and explicit. Provide students with clear guidance about exactly what needs to be done, when assignments are due, and how this will affect their grades.
• Allocate more time to communicating with students. Be prepared to spend more time communicating assignment instructions, sending reminders, answering questions, or clarifying requirements.
• Be meticulous with assignment instructions. Keep assignment instructions consistent in how and where they appear in the online learning space. Be sure to highlight any changes.
• Keep it simple. Avoid elaborate assignments that require overly complex instructions. Or, if such an assignment is important to your course, dedicate extra time to reviewing the instructions.

Make assignments easy to manage

Online coursework, particularly with asynchronous elements, gives learners more choices around how they can engage with the course. This can provide more flexibility and freedom, but it requires students to effectively and proactively manage their own learning. Help your students focus more on learning and less on managing their workload with these strategies:

• Chunk big assignments.  Large assignments put a lot of stress on particular weeks, so losing a week of work for any reason can heavily impact student success. A well-designed online course spreads the workload out as evenly as possible. With a little planning, it is also easy to accommodate extended time for short assessments . 
• Create routines and habits.  Consider repeating assignments that occur regularly, like weekly reading reflections, daily problem sets, or regular discussion forums. Create predictability by having regular due dates and instructions.
• Make the content needed for assignments convenient. If students need a particular article or weblink for an assignment, make it available with the assignment instructions. Clearly label files and materials so students can easily identify what they need to complete an assignment.

Be intentional about community and student input

You may find that meaningful engagement and connection happen differently in online learning than in traditional learning. Students can become disconnected from learning if the assignments are not meaningful to them, especially with asynchronous formats. These strategies can help you to get students more engaged with assignments:

• Try group projects, if it makes sense.  While group projects can be more difficult to organize, they are a great way to get students in the course to know each other and build a learning community. 
• Introduce low-stakes community-building assignments.  Try starting students off with something very simple, like a self introduction exercise, that lets them share something about themselves and connect to one another. Then, perhaps create spaces for students to get to know each other and deepen connections around shared interests, experiences, or communities.
• Let students influence assignments.  Consider assignments that connect to topics and issues that students care about. Include an element of student choice and gather feedback from students on the design of the assignment. You might even have students contribute to rubrics or grading criteria.

• Columbia University in the City of New York
• Office of Teaching, Learning, and Innovation
• University Policies
• Columbia Online
• Academic Calendar
• Resources and Technology
• Instructional Technologies
• Teaching in All Modalities

Designing Assignments for Learning

The rapid shift to remote teaching and learning meant that many instructors reimagined their assessment practices. Whether adapting existing assignments or creatively designing new opportunities for their students to learn, instructors focused on helping students make meaning and demonstrate their learning outside of the traditional, face-to-face classroom setting. This resource distills the elements of assignment design that are important to carry forward as we continue to seek better ways of assessing learning and build on our innovative assignment designs.

On this page:

Rethinking traditional tests, quizzes, and exams.

• Examples from the Columbia University Classroom
• Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

Reflect On Your Assignment Design

Connect with the ctl.

• Resources and References

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2021). Designing Assignments for Learning. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/designing-assignments/

Traditional assessments tend to reveal whether students can recognize, recall, or replicate what was learned out of context, and tend to focus on students providing correct responses (Wiggins, 1990). In contrast, authentic assignments, which are course assessments, engage students in higher order thinking, as they grapple with real or simulated challenges that help them prepare for their professional lives, and draw on the course knowledge learned and the skills acquired to create justifiable answers, performances or products (Wiggins, 1990). An authentic assessment provides opportunities for students to practice, consult resources, learn from feedback, and refine their performances and products accordingly (Wiggins 1990, 1998, 2014). 

Authentic assignments ask students to “do” the subject with an audience in mind and apply their learning in a new situation. Examples of authentic assignments include asking students to: 

• Write for a real audience (e.g., a memo, a policy brief, letter to the editor, a grant proposal, reports, building a website) and/or publication;
• Solve problem sets that have real world application; 
• Design projects that address a real world problem; 
• Engage in a community-partnered research project;
• Create an exhibit, performance, or conference presentation ;
• Compile and reflect on their work through a portfolio/e-portfolio.

Noteworthy elements of authentic designs are that instructors scaffold the assignment, and play an active role in preparing students for the tasks assigned, while students are intentionally asked to reflect on the process and product of their work thus building their metacognitive skills (Herrington and Oliver, 2000; Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2013; Frey, Schmitt, and Allen, 2012). 

It’s worth noting here that authentic assessments can initially be time consuming to design, implement, and grade. They are critiqued for being challenging to use across course contexts and for grading reliability issues (Maclellan, 2004). Despite these challenges, authentic assessments are recognized as beneficial to student learning (Svinicki, 2004) as they are learner-centered (Weimer, 2013), promote academic integrity (McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, 2021; Sotiriadou et al., 2019; Schroeder, 2021) and motivate students to learn (Ambrose et al., 2010). The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning is always available to consult with faculty who are considering authentic assessment designs and to discuss challenges and affordances.   

Examples from the Columbia University Classroom 

Columbia instructors have experimented with alternative ways of assessing student learning from oral exams to technology-enhanced assignments. Below are a few examples of authentic assignments in various teaching contexts across Columbia University. 

• E-portfolios: Statia Cook shares her experiences with an ePorfolio assignment in her co-taught Frontiers of Science course (a submission to the Voices of Hybrid and Online Teaching and Learning initiative); CUIMC use of ePortfolios ;
• Case studies: Columbia instructors have engaged their students in authentic ways through case studies drawing on the Case Consortium at Columbia University. Read and watch a faculty spotlight to learn how Professor Mary Ann Price uses the case method to place pre-med students in real-life scenarios;
• Simulations: students at CUIMC engage in simulations to develop their professional skills in The Mary & Michael Jaharis Simulation Center in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center in the Columbia School of Nursing; 
• Experiential learning: instructors have drawn on New York City as a learning laboratory such as Barnard’s NYC as Lab webpage which highlights courses that engage students in NYC;
• Design projects that address real world problems: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy on the Engineering design projects completed using lab kits during remote learning. Watch Dr. Yesilevskiy talk about his teaching and read the Columbia News article . 
• Writing assignments: Lia Marshall and her teaching associate Aparna Balasundaram reflect on their “non-disposable or renewable assignments” to prepare social work students for their professional lives as they write for a real audience; and Hannah Weaver spoke about a sandbox assignment used in her Core Literature Humanities course at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium . Watch Dr. Weaver share her experiences.  

​Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

While designing an effective authentic assignment may seem like a daunting task, the following tips can be used as a starting point. See the Resources section for frameworks and tools that may be useful in this effort.  

Align the assignment with your course learning objectives 

Identify the kind of thinking that is important in your course, the knowledge students will apply, and the skills they will practice using through the assignment. What kind of thinking will students be asked to do for the assignment? What will students learn by completing this assignment? How will the assignment help students achieve the desired course learning outcomes? For more information on course learning objectives, see the CTL’s Course Design Essentials self-paced course and watch the video on Articulating Learning Objectives .  

Identify an authentic meaning-making task

For meaning-making to occur, students need to understand the relevance of the assignment to the course and beyond (Ambrose et al., 2010). To Bean (2011) a “meaning-making” or “meaning-constructing” task has two dimensions: 1) it presents students with an authentic disciplinary problem or asks students to formulate their own problems, both of which engage them in active critical thinking, and 2) the problem is placed in “a context that gives students a role or purpose, a targeted audience, and a genre.” (Bean, 2011: 97-98). 

An authentic task gives students a realistic challenge to grapple with, a role to take on that allows them to “rehearse for the complex ambiguities” of life, provides resources and supports to draw on, and requires students to justify their work and the process they used to inform their solution (Wiggins, 1990). Note that if students find an assignment interesting or relevant, they will see value in completing it. 

Consider the kind of activities in the real world that use the knowledge and skills that are the focus of your course. How is this knowledge and these skills applied to answer real-world questions to solve real-world problems? (Herrington et al., 2010: 22). What do professionals or academics in your discipline do on a regular basis? What does it mean to think like a biologist, statistician, historian, social scientist? How might your assignment ask students to draw on current events, issues, or problems that relate to the course and are of interest to them? How might your assignment tap into student motivation and engage them in the kinds of thinking they can apply to better understand the world around them? (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

Determine the evaluation criteria and create a rubric

To ensure equitable and consistent grading of assignments across students, make transparent the criteria you will use to evaluate student work. The criteria should focus on the knowledge and skills that are central to the assignment. Build on the criteria identified, create a rubric that makes explicit the expectations of deliverables and share this rubric with your students so they can use it as they work on the assignment. For more information on rubrics, see the CTL’s resource Incorporating Rubrics into Your Grading and Feedback Practices , and explore the Association of American Colleges & Universities VALUE Rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). 

Build in metacognition

Ask students to reflect on what and how they learned from the assignment. Help students uncover personal relevance of the assignment, find intrinsic value in their work, and deepen their motivation by asking them to reflect on their process and their assignment deliverable. Sample prompts might include: what did you learn from this assignment? How might you draw on the knowledge and skills you used on this assignment in the future? See Ambrose et al., 2010 for more strategies that support motivation and the CTL’s resource on Metacognition ). 

Provide students with opportunities to practice

Design your assignment to be a learning experience and prepare students for success on the assignment. If students can reasonably expect to be successful on an assignment when they put in the required effort ,with the support and guidance of the instructor, they are more likely to engage in the behaviors necessary for learning (Ambrose et al., 2010). Ensure student success by actively teaching the knowledge and skills of the course (e.g., how to problem solve, how to write for a particular audience), modeling the desired thinking, and creating learning activities that build up to a graded assignment. Provide opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills they will need for the assignment, whether through low-stakes in-class activities or homework activities that include opportunities to receive and incorporate formative feedback. For more information on providing feedback, see the CTL resource Feedback for Learning . 

Communicate about the assignment 

Share the purpose, task, audience, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. Students may have expectations about assessments and how they will be graded that is informed by their prior experiences completing high-stakes assessments, so be transparent. Tell your students why you are asking them to do this assignment, what skills they will be using, how it aligns with the course learning outcomes, and why it is relevant to their learning and their professional lives (i.e., how practitioners / professionals use the knowledge and skills in your course in real world contexts and for what purposes). Finally, verify that students understand what they need to do to complete the assignment. This can be done by asking students to respond to poll questions about different parts of the assignment, a “scavenger hunt” of the assignment instructions–giving students questions to answer about the assignment and having them work in small groups to answer the questions, or by having students share back what they think is expected of them.

Plan to iterate and to keep the focus on learning 

Draw on multiple sources of data to help make decisions about what changes are needed to the assignment, the assignment instructions, and/or rubric to ensure that it contributes to student learning. Explore assignment performance data. As Deandra Little reminds us: “a really good assignment, which is a really good assessment, also teaches you something or tells the instructor something. As much as it tells you what students are learning, it’s also telling you what they aren’t learning.” ( Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode 337 ). Assignment bottlenecks–where students get stuck or struggle–can be good indicators that students need further support or opportunities to practice prior to completing an assignment. This awareness can inform teaching decisions. 

Triangulate the performance data by collecting student feedback, and noting your own reflections about what worked well and what did not. Revise the assignment instructions, rubric, and teaching practices accordingly. Consider how you might better align your assignment with your course objectives and/or provide more opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills that they will rely on for the assignment. Additionally, keep in mind societal, disciplinary, and technological changes as you tweak your assignments for future use. 

Now is a great time to reflect on your practices and experiences with assignment design and think critically about your approach. Take a closer look at an existing assignment. Questions to consider include: What is this assignment meant to do? What purpose does it serve? Why do you ask students to do this assignment? How are they prepared to complete the assignment? Does the assignment assess the kind of learning that you really want? What would help students learn from this assignment? 

Using the tips in the previous section: How can the assignment be tweaked to be more authentic and meaningful to students? 

As you plan forward for post-pandemic teaching and reflect on your practices and reimagine your course design, you may find the following CTL resources helpful: Reflecting On Your Experiences with Remote Teaching , Transition to In-Person Teaching , and Course Design Support .

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is here to help!

For assistance with assignment design, rubric design, or any other teaching and learning need, please request a consultation by emailing [email protected] . 

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework for assignments. The TILT Examples and Resources page ( https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources ) includes example assignments from across disciplines, as well as a transparent assignment template and a checklist for designing transparent assignments . Each emphasizes the importance of articulating to students the purpose of the assignment or activity, the what and how of the task, and specifying the criteria that will be used to assess students. 

Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) offers VALUE ADD (Assignment Design and Diagnostic) tools ( https://www.aacu.org/value-add-tools ) to help with the creation of clear and effective assignments that align with the desired learning outcomes and associated VALUE rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). VALUE ADD encourages instructors to explicitly state assignment information such as the purpose of the assignment, what skills students will be using, how it aligns with course learning outcomes, the assignment type, the audience and context for the assignment, clear evaluation criteria, desired formatting, and expectations for completion whether individual or in a group.

Villarroel et al. (2017) propose a blueprint for building authentic assessments which includes four steps: 1) consider the workplace context, 2) design the authentic assessment; 3) learn and apply standards for judgement; and 4) give feedback. 

References 

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., & DiPietro, M. (2010). Chapter 3: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn? In How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching . Jossey-Bass. 

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., and Brown, C. (2013). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 39(2), 205-222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566 .  

Bean, J.C. (2011). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. 

Frey, B. B, Schmitt, V. L., and Allen, J. P. (2012). Defining Authentic Classroom Assessment. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7275/sxbs-0829  

Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., and Oliver, R. (2010). A Guide to Authentic e-Learning . Routledge. 

Herrington, J. and Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48. 

Litchfield, B. C. and Dempsey, J. V. (2015). Authentic Assessment of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 142 (Summer 2015), 65-80. 

Maclellan, E. (2004). How convincing is alternative assessment for use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 29(3), June 2004. DOI: 10.1080/0260293042000188267

McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, J. (2021). Assessments in a Virtual Environment: You Won’t Need that Lockdown Browser! Faculty Focus. June 2, 2021. 

Mueller, J. (2005). The Authentic Assessment Toolbox: Enhancing Student Learning through Online Faculty Development . MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1(1). July 2005. Mueller’s Authentic Assessment Toolbox is available online. 

Schroeder, R. (2021). Vaccinate Against Cheating With Authentic Assessment . Inside Higher Ed. (February 26, 2021).  

Sotiriadou, P., Logan, D., Daly, A., and Guest, R. (2019). The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity and promote skills development and employability. Studies in Higher Education. 45(111), 2132-2148. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1582015    

Stachowiak, B. (Host). (November 25, 2020). Authentic Assignments with Deandra Little. (Episode 337). In Teaching in Higher Ed . https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/authentic-assignments/  

Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Authentic Assessment: Testing in Reality. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 100 (Winter 2004): 23-29. 

Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S, Bruna, D., Bruna, C., and Herrera-Seda, C. (2017). Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 43(5), 840-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396    

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice . Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Wiggins, G. (2014). Authenticity in assessment, (re-)defined and explained. Retrieved from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/authenticity-in-assessment-re-defined-and-explained/

Wiggins, G. (1998). Teaching to the (Authentic) Test. Educational Leadership . April 1989. 41-47. 

Wiggins, Grant (1990). The Case for Authentic Assessment . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation , 2(2). 

Wondering how AI tools might play a role in your course assignments?

See the CTL’s resource “Considerations for AI Tools in the Classroom.”

This website uses cookies to identify users, improve the user experience and requires cookies to work. By continuing to use this website, you consent to Columbia University's use of cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with the Columbia University Website Cookie Notice .

Fourteen Creative Assignment Ideas for the Online Classroom

April 10, 2024

In today's rapidly evolving world of higher education, online learning has become an integral part of the academic landscape. As institutions continue to embrace virtual classrooms, the need for innovative assignments that not only engage students but also address the growing concern of academic dishonesty has become increasingly vital. If instructors want to promote learning—true learning that fosters synthesis, critical thinking, and knowledge retention—assignments should necessitate students are actively engaging with the course material. This engagement may involve curating novel insights, synthesizing various sources, critically analyzing the content, or applying information in new contexts. Recognizing that learners’ time and attention are geared toward graded course assignments, it is essential that we embrace innovative assignment ideas that can foster critical thinking, analysis, engagement, and reflection.

The online classroom presents unique challenges when it comes to engaging students. While it offers unparalleled flexibility and accessibility, it also lacks the immediate interpersonal connection found in a traditional learning environment. Students who struggle to stay motivated, may disengage and have a lack of investment in their coursework. To counter this, educators must create assignments that capture students' interests, inspire critical thinking, and encourage active participation. Incorporating innovative assignments tailored to individual learning goals and preferences can help educators bridge the gap and create a more stimulating and inclusive learning experience.

Moreover, the rise of digital learning has led to increased opportunities for academic dishonesty. Traditional assignments, such as essays and exams, are particularly susceptible to plagiarism and cheating. As a result, educators need to think outside the box to develop assignments that limit the potential for dishonesty and provide meaningful learning experiences By adopting unique, experiential, and collaborative approaches to assignments, educators can cultivate a classroom environment where students are invested in their work and are less likely to resort to dishonest practices.

Innovative assignments can help mitigate the risk of academic dishonesty while providing students with valuable skills that extend beyond the confines of the classroom. These types of assignments encourage students to think critically, problem-solve, and work effectively in teams, which are essential skills for success in both their academic and professional lives. Furthermore, by giving students opportunities to explore their interests and apply their knowledge in real-world situations, innovative assignments can help foster a sense of ownership and pride in their work, ultimately boosting their motivation and dedication to learning. The following 14 assignment ideas provide unique opportunities for faculty to motivate and assess student learning:

• Description: Students create short multimedia narratives, combining text, images, audio, and video to share a personal or researched story.
• Sample directions: Create a 3–5 minute multimedia story based on a personal experience, or a researched topic related to the course. Use text, images, audio, and video to craft a compelling narrative.
• Tools: Adobe Spark, WeVideo, or iMovie.
• Learning objectives: Improve storytelling skills, enhance creativity, develop multimedia production abilities, and practice effective communication.
• Description: Students virtually explore museums, historical sites, or scientific institutions and create a presentation or report reflecting on their experience.
• Sample directions: Explore a designated virtual museum, historical site, or scientific institution and create a 10-slide presentation summarizing your experience and key takeaways.
• Tools: Google Arts & Culture, VirtualFieldTrips.org, or Prezi.
• Learning objectives: Expand cultural and subject matter knowledge, hone presentation skills, and improve critical thinking and reflection.
• Description: Students research a topic and create an interactive infographic that effectively communicates complex information in a visually engaging manner.
• Sample directions: Research a course-related topic and design an interactive infographic that presents complex information in an engaging and accessible manner.
• Tools: Canva, Piktochart, or Visme.
• Learning objectives: Develop visual communication skills, practice data analysis and interpretation, and enhance design abilities.
• Description: Students produce a podcast episode on a course-related topic, requiring them to conduct research, develop a script, and record and edit their audio.
• Sample directions: Produce a 10–15 minute podcast episode discussing a course-related issue, including background research, expert interviews, and your own analysis.
• Tools: Audacity, GarageBand, or Anchor.
• Learning objectives: Strengthen research and critical thinking skills, improve audio production abilities, and enhance communication and storytelling.
• Description: Students work together to create a wiki on a specific subject, with each member contributing to the development of content, organization, and design.
• Sample directions: Work in teams to create a comprehensive wiki on a specific subject within the course, with each member contributing to content, organization, and design.
• Tools: Wikispaces, PBworks, or Google Sites.
• Learning objectives: Build teamwork and collaboration skills, enhance content creation abilities, and practice information organization and presentation.
• Description: Students develop and execute a social media campaign addressing a course-related issue, focusing on creating shareable content and engaging with their target audience.
• Sample directions: Develop a week-long social media campaign addressing a course-related issue, creating content for three platforms (e.g., X, Instagram, and Facebook) and tracking engagement metrics.
• Tools: Hootsuite, Canva, or Buffer.
• Learning objectives: Develop digital marketing and communication skills, practice content creation, and analyze audience engagement.
• Description: Students participate in a simulated experience, such as a mock trial, business negotiation, or diplomatic negotiation, to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Sample directions: Participate in a virtual mock trial, business negotiation, or diplomatic negotiation related to the course material. Prepare by researching your role, developing strategies, and collaborating with teammates.
• Tools: Zoom breakout rooms, Discord, or Roll20.
• Learning objectives: Enhance problem-solving and critical thinking skills, improve collaboration and communication, and gain practical experience in real-world scenarios.
• Description: Students create a digital portfolio showcasing their course-related work, reflecting on their learning experiences, and demonstrating their growth and development.
• Sample directions: Create a digital portfolio showcasing your course-related work, including reflections on your learning experiences and evidence of your growth and development.
• Tools: Wix, WordPress, or Google Sites.
• Learning objectives: Develop self-assessment and reflection skills, enhance digital literacy, and showcase personal and academic growth.
• Description: Students engage in structured online debates on controversial topics, requiring them to research, articulate, and defend their positions while responding to opposing arguments.
• Sample directions: Engage in a structured online debate on a controversial course topic, with assigned roles (proponent, opponent, moderator), and provide evidence-based arguments and rebuttals.
• Tools: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet.
• Learning objectives: Strengthen critical thinking and research skills, improve argumentation and persuasion abilities, and enhance communication and collaboration.
• Description: Students create a series of blog or vlog posts on a course-related topic, reflecting on their learning process and engaging with their audience through comments and feedback.
• Sample directions: Write or record a series of three blog or vlog posts on a course-related topic, reflecting on your learning process and responding to audience feedback in the comment section.
• Tools: Blogger, WordPress, Loom, or YouTube.
• Learning objectives: Improve written or verbal communication skills, develop content creation abilities, and practice self-reflection and audience engagement.
• Description: Students become "experts" on a specific course topic and prepare a lesson, including multimedia elements, to teach their classmates in an online setting.
• Sample directions: Choose a course topic, become an "expert" on the subject, and prepare a 20-minute multimedia lesson to teach your classmates in an online setting.
• Tools: PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Prezi.
• Learning objectives: Enhance subject matter expertise, develop teaching and presentation skills, and foster collaboration and peer learning.
• Description: Students participate in a game-based learning activity, such as a digital scavenger hunt or escape room, that requires them to apply their knowledge to solve problems or complete challenges.
• Sample directions: Participate in a digital scavenger hunt or escape room related to course material, solving problems and completing challenges within a set timeframe.
• Tools: GooseChase, Breakout EDU, or Minecraft: Education Edition.
• Learning objectives: Reinforce subject matter knowledge, improve problem-solving skills, and foster collaboration and engagement.
• Description: Students collaborate with local organizations, virtually or in person, to address real-world issues and apply their course knowledge in a practical context.
• Sample directions: Collaborate with a local organization to address a real-world issue related to the course, develop a project proposal, execute the project, and present your outcomes.
• Tools: Zoom, Trello, or Slack.
• Learning objectives: Apply course concepts to real-world situations, develop project management and collaboration skills, strengthen community engagement, and enhance problem-solving abilities.
• Description: Students develop and present a webinar on a course-related topic, honing their public speaking, research, and presentation skills while engaging with a wider audience.
• Sample directions: Develop a 30-minute webinar on a course-related topic, including a presentation, Q&A session, and audience engagement activities.
• Tools: Zoom, Webex, or GoToWebinar.
• Learning objectives: Strengthen public speaking and presentation skills, improve research, and content creation abilities, and engage with diverse audiences.

The need for innovative assignments in the online classroom for college students is undeniable. By embracing creative, engaging, and authentic assignments, educators can not only address the challenges of student engagement and academic dishonesty but also help students develop valuable skills and a lifelong passion for learning. As we continue to navigate the ever-changing landscape of higher education, educators are responsible for adapting and evolving to ensure that we provide our students with the best possible learning experience in the digital age.

About the Authors

Jean Mandernach, Ph.D. is executive director of the Center for Innovation in Research on Teaching at Grand Canyon University. Her research focuses on enhancing student learning experiences in the online classroom through innovative instructional and assessment strategies. She explores strategies for integrating efficient online instruction in a manner that maximizes student learning, satisfaction, and engagement. In addition, she has interests in innovative faculty development and evaluation models, teaching and learning analytics, emergent instructional technology, and faculty workload considerations. Mandernach is an active researcher, author, presenter, and consultant in the field of online education. 

Morgan McNaughton, M.A., M.S., serves as a dedicated program manager at Grand Canyon University's Center for Innovation in Research on Teaching. Her research is centered around dynamic faculty development models, teaching and learning analytics, instructional technology, and cultivating a supportive adjunct faculty culture. With a wealth of experience in elevating student learning experiences in online classrooms, McNaughton has honed her expertise in implementing innovative and efficient program development strategies to help students and faculty alike.

• Teaching Tips

The Complete Guide to Effective Online Teaching

Set yourself up for success in teaching online courses by ensuring continuity and continuing empathy for your students

Danielle Leboff

What is Online Teaching?

Online teaching typically refers to courses that are delivered completely online, meaning there are no physical or on-campus class sessions. Online courses can be designed for a handful of enrolled students or can be made open and accessible to a wide variety of participants. Instructors may choose to teach an online course because they want to take their teaching beyond the confines of the physical classroom. Other instructors may choose to do so because they want students to benefit from the online environment. Online teaching gives students unlimited access to resources and the ability to collaborate and connect with each other at any time of day. It also gives educators the ability to teach online classes from home.

1) Developing and Teaching an Online Course 2) Planning and Designing an Online Course 3) Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Online Teaching 4) Online Assessments 5) 7 Best Practices in Online Teaching 6) Conclusion

Developing and Teaching an Online Course

Preparing for online teaching is not as simple as taking materials from a traditional course and putting them online. Educators engaging in online teaching for the first time will need to plan their approach thoughtfully, even full-time experienced educators. This starts with identifying learning objectives and then building educational activities to support them. Rather than make wholesale use of course content from previous classes, materials should be repurposed or adapted by taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of online learning environments. Organizing course content into units, with submodules, key concept reviews and unit tests—along with a tailored and consistent content release schedule—will help ensure students remain on track to achieve desired learning outcomes.

Online Curriculum Development

In online teaching, curriculum development is defined as the step-by-step process used to create positive improvements in the courses offered by a school, college or university. As new discoveries are made, they have to be incorporated into the online education curricula. Innovative teaching techniques and effective online teaching strategies are constantly being developed and refined in order to improve the student learning experience.

Current online curriculum models can be divided into two broad categories— the product model and the process model. The product model focuses primarily on results. Grades are the primary objective, with more emphasis placed on achieving desired objectives at the summation of the course rather than on the learning process itself. The process model, however, is more open-ended and focuses on how learning progresses over the course of a semester. Both models are important when it comes to developing a holistic and effective curriculum for online teaching.

There are three types of online curriculum design: subject-centered, learner-centered and problem-centered.

• Subject-centered curriculum design revolves around a particular subject matter or discipline, such as mathematics, literature or biology. This type of curriculum design tends to focus on the subject matter being taught online, rather than the individual student. Educators create lists of topics and specific examples of how they should be studied, which are then mapped to the most effective online learning activity or method. This approach is most popular in large university or college classes taught online, where teachers focus on a particular subject or discipline in their classes.
• Learner-centered curriculum design prioritizes student needs, interests and goals. It acknowledges that students are individuals and have different learning needs and therefore should not, in all cases, be subject to a standardized curriculum. This approach aims to empower learners to shape their education through choices and relies heavily on asynchronous online teaching and learning. This can be complex for large class sizes and is more suitable for smaller, seminar-style courses. Differentiated instruction and learning plans provide an opportunity to select assignments, teaching and learning experiences or activities online. This form of curriculum design is highly effective at engaging and motivating students, particularly in online teaching and learning environments by providing students with greater choice and flexibility. However, the drawback to this form of curriculum design is that it can create pressure on the educator to source learning materials online that are highly specific to each student’s personal learning needs. This can be challenging due to teaching time constraints.
• Problem-centered curriculum design teaches students how to examine and analyze problems and develop solutions, largely using online simulations. This is considered an authentic form of learning because students are exposed to real-life issues, helping students develop skills that are transferable to the real world. Problem-centered curriculum design has been shown to increase the relevance of the curriculum and encourages creativity, innovation and collaboration in the online classroom. However, one shortcoming of this format is that it does not always consider individual learning styles and requires a great deal of collaboration between students.

By considering all three types of curriculum design before you begin planning, instructors can choose the types that are best suited to their students and the learning objectives for their course.

Planning and Designing an Online Course

Planning for online teaching.

An important step in bringing your online course to life is the actual implementation. This includes aligning course materials to learning goals and in accordance with your online teaching philosophy. There are a number of things to consider during the decision-making process.

First, it is important to understand the audience for your online course and who will be participating in supporting the delivery of modules, labs and other learning activities. Recognizing that learners may vary widely in their background, knowledge and skills is essential in order to accommodate these differences in your course design. Secondly, it is imperative to have specific learning goals in mind. An effective online pedagogy means carefully considering what you expect your students to know and be able to do at the conclusion of your course. Next, consider the different types of content your course requires. Decide how students will engage with that content and with each other. Also consider which assessment types best support the measurement of learning objectives for your students. Here are a number of helpful methods that can be used to guide the planning and development of your online teaching curriculum.

Backward Design

Backward design is often used in online teaching to design learning experiences and instructional techniques to meet specific learning goals. Backward design begins with identifying the objectives of a unit or course—what students are expected to learn and be able to do—and then working “backwards” to create lessons that achieve those desired goals. In online teaching, the educational goals for a course or unit are often closely aligned with a given institution’s learning standards. These are concisely written descriptions of what learners are expected to understand and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. In the context of online teaching, this includes the expectation that students have mastered certain technology tools and platforms to meet these goals.

There are many benefits to backward design. Starting with the end goal in mind helps educators design a sequence of assessments, readings, course materials and group activities that are more likely to result in learners achieving the academic goals of a given course or unit—that is, actually learning what they were expected to learn.

Beginning the planning process with the end goal in mind is often a counterintuitive process. However, backward design gives educators a structure they can follow when creating their curriculum, as well as planning their instructional process. Using a backward design approach also helps educators better align the different elements of their course by methodically integrating learning goals, activities and assessments at every step.

Managing the Logistics of Online Teaching

Even though planning for an online class may start in a similar way as an on-campus or face-to-face course, there are several important differences that those teaching online should keep in mind. First, it is important to consider how technology will influence the way you conduct your online teaching. If you would like to use an interactive lecture format, you will need to find ways to engage students in an online environment. Chat channels, discussion forums, blog postings and online office hours are a few ways for online teachers to connect with learners. Those engaging in online teaching will also need to consider how the use of virtual classroom technology will impact student learning. Do your students require specific technical knowledge or computer functionality such as a webcam? How will they interact in the online environment? What will you do to make your online classroom inclusive to all students?

When transitioning to online teaching, educators also need to address technical issues. It is important to plan all of your components for an online course before the first day of class. Start early and seek collaboration and support from your colleagues, when possible. Many institutions have Centres for Teaching and Learning with experienced instructional designers who are able to help manage the transition for instructors and their students.

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Online Teaching

Synchronous online teaching.

Synchronous online teaching occurs in real-time through video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Go-to-Meeting and YouTube Live. When used with an online teaching platform or learning management system, synchronous online teaching allows educators to continue many of the same learning activities found in an in-person classroom. Learners can access lecture slides, respond to interactive questions and engage with discussion threads with their peers.

Delivering online teaching information and presentations in real-time creates a sense of speed and intimacy that helps increase student engagement. This allows educators to respond directly to student questions and discussions, provide feedback and adjust online teaching to ensure students are comprehending course material.

To ensure synchronous online teaching is effective, it is important to have the proper technology tools and platforms in place. Ideally, video conferencing solutions should be used for delivering online lecture content, as well as an active learning platform or learning management system to support assessments, readings, live discussions and interactive questions. With large class sizes, having a remote teaching assistant is especially helpful in alerting instructors to any technical or experiential issues that may occur when using technology tools and platforms. Online teaching assistants can also provide support by responding to discussion threads directly or gathering commonly asked questions requiring further review and clarification.

Similar to a physical classroom, it is important to balance content delivery with interactive learning activities, as well as building in time for review into the lecture schedule. A best practice is for course information to be presented in ten-minute chunks, followed by blocks dedicated for reflection exercises and interactive questions and discussions to keep students engaged.

In the same way that the answers to in-class discussion questions inform how comprehensively course material is covered, it is important to be able to understand where students are struggling. This includes using low stakes quizzes and discussion questions to ensure students are able to achieve online teaching objectives. Synchronous online teaching provides opportunities to apply concepts and collaborate, helping to deepen learning. Real-time interaction is also particularly useful when it comes to delivering complex concepts that require immediate feedback or clarification to keep students on track.

Asynchronous Online Teaching

Asynchronous online teaching uses many of the same technology tools and platforms, with the main difference being student learning is self-paced. With asynchronous online teaching, educators deliver course content and assignments remotely using a combination of solutions like Zoom to record and post lectures online as well as learning management platforms to centralize assignments and other learning resources. Learners interact with digital courseware, assignments and their peers through discussion channels. Asynchronous online teaching is more convenient for students who may have children or other dependents as well as inflexible job hours. As well, not every student can afford or has easy access to the internet. The ability to learn on an individual schedule gives learners the flexibility they need to find time where they can engage with online course material. The benefit of this online teaching method is being able to utilize active learning techniques without the need for participants to be active at the same time.

Asynchronous online teaching is particularly useful when it is difficult for your students to maintain a specific schedule. Accessing materials, readings, assignments, quizzes and lecture recordings in a single place allows students to engage with course material at their own pace. There are many simple ways to drive engagement even if much of the learning is self-directed, such as using discussion forums, integrating questions into assigned readings to test comprehension and using multimedia elements like video to dimensionalize learning. Asynchronous online teaching also provides the opportunity to promote peer collaboration, creating specific assignments that require students to work with one another or review others’ work outside the confines of a class schedule.

Asynchronous learning requires online educators to take time to revisit learning objectives for the semester. Identifying whether there are components that can be recorded for students to view on their own schedule versus what information should be delivered live or asynchronously is an integral part of the design process. Giving thought to where students can access readings, lecture materials, assignments and instructions can help develop a more effective learning plan and identify any potential gaps that may exist in course instruction.

Without the benefit of live interaction, it’s especially important to communicate expectations and reminders and address student questions in a timely fashion. Regular, helpful and empathetic communication is an essential tool for reducing the apathy and sense of isolation many students feel when learning remotely.

Online Assessments

When teaching online courses, there are two primary types of assessments: open-book tests and remotely proctored exams. There are a number of benefits to each, but the effectiveness of both is determined by how well they are designed and implemented into online teaching.

Remote Open-Book Exams

Online teaching provides the opportunity to look at different options beyond the traditional summative assessment. Open-book exams offer a great deal of flexibility, making it an ideal option for instructors or institutions that rely on asynchronous learning.

An open-book assessment that is strategically designed provides interesting opportunities to test skills beyond rote memorization, such as problem-solving and critical thinking. Open-book exams are especially effective when they focus on using synthesis, analysis and evaluation to assess what students know, according to the Center for Teaching at Learning at UC Berkeley . The ability to intersperse questions with digital reference materials like images, video and audio clips also allow for more creativity and freedom when constructing an exam in relation to traditional in-class tests.

Developing interactive digital documents with pictures and videos embedded alongside test questions creates a more dynamic assessment experience for students. Using multimedia and other reference content allows learners to discuss and assess opinions given to them within the assessment or analyze a diagram and its findings. Depending on the learning platform, open-book assessments can also include a variety of different question types, including matching, sorting, fill-in-the-blank, long-form answer and click-on-target (with multiple targets) questions.

Proctored Tests and Exams

In many cases, such as courses required for accreditation, open-book assessments are simply not an option. In these instances, there are a number of platforms that offer secure proctored tests and exams. Students can take on their own computers, at a pre-set time and from any location. Advanced ID verification, the ability to secure browser settings and the use of artificial intelligence to monitor students have helped assuage concerns over academic integrity.

Using a variety of question types—multiple choice, word answer, fill in the blank, matching and long answer—instructors can provide students with an assessment that tests their knowledge as well as their analysis and communication skills. For these types of assessments, student performance can be automatically graded upon submission, making the turnaround time for student feedback much faster than manual grading.

7 Best Practices in Online Teaching

1) Bring who you are into the online classroom: One of the key benefits of traditional, face-to-face teaching is being able to share your passion with your students. Many educators use the performative aspect of teaching to their advantage, feeding off the energy in the classroom to deliver their lectures. However, it is easy for unique teaching characteristics—humor, emphasis, body language, facial expressions—to get lost in translation when a student can’t see or hear you. The predominant means of online communication is text, which can quickly become demotivating and uninteresting for students. It is necessary and inevitable that some components of your online course will be delivered through written communications. Assignment instructions, emails to students and weekly course-wide announcements can all be tailored to your unique voice and style:

• Record yourself: audio or video recordings are a great way to bring your whole self to your students in addition to lecture videos (if you choose to use this functionality). Students need to know you in order to engage in learning online and showing them that you are human with a short video greeting at the beginning of your course is a great way to set the right tone.
• Express your support: It’s important to infuse your writing with warmth when teaching online classes. As digital natives, Gen Z students are highly adept at sensing the tone of written digital communications. When reminding students about upcoming assignment deadlines, for example, don’t write, “A number of you have not completed the readings necessary for the assignment due later this week. Please note that the assignment is worth 40% of your grade.” Instead, write “Thanks for your hard work so far this semester. Small reminder to complete the specified readings before you start this week’s assignment. Please let me know what questions you have or if you need any help. Thanks all!”

2) Be present and responsive on your online course site: Your presence is so important in teaching online college courses because it encourages bonding as the class evolves as a group and develops intellectual and personal connections. Thoughtful and consistent daily presence shows the students that the online educator cares about them and their questions and concerns, even if they are a part-time educator and busy with other responsibilities. It also shows that you are generally present for them to do the mentoring, guiding and challenging that online teaching is all about. Schedule a few hours of time each week to be visibly engaged and present in your online class. Here are a few ways to interact with your students:

• Hold online office hours or virtual ‘coffee chats,’ to get to know your students on a more personal level.
• Answer questions regularly in your course’s online discussion forum.
• Post a weekly announcement to recap the previous week’s learnings or introduce the coming week’s content.

3) Use a variety of large-group, small-group and individual learning experiences: Online teaching works best when a variety of learning experiences and activities are offered. Online courses are more enjoyable and effective when learners are given the opportunity to work through course concepts and assignments with their fellow students. However, some students learn and work most effectively on their own. Incorporating options and opportunities for students to work together and individually is beneficial for accommodating different types of learners. Small groups are particularly effective in online teaching when learners are working on complex case studies or scenarios for the first time. It is also important to have activities that involve the whole class such as discussion boards or events with invited experts for creating a sense of community in an online course.

4) Ask for informal feedback on your online teaching: Early surveys or informal discussions are effective in getting students to provide feedback on what is working well in an online course. It is also a chance to solicit suggestions and ideas on what might help learners have a better online course experience. This early feedback should be done in week three or four of a semester so time is available to make corrections and modifications while the course is ongoing. A simple e-mail or discussion thread asking a few of these questions works well:

• What’s working so far?
• How could your online learning experience be improved?
• What would you like help with?

5) Think like a student: Teaching online means that the learning environment loses the built-in sense of community that comes more naturally to a traditional classroom environment. This can lead to feelings of isolation and disengagement and demands a different kind of support than teaching in person.

Envisioning how your students will experience the class, having never learned this content before, helps prepare for these potential challenges. Did you give straightforward instructions for your extension policy? Have you supplied a detailed breakdown of how assignments will be graded? Are learning objectives and curriculum objectives explicitly tied to online teaching and learning activities? Students should ideally understand exactly what you are teaching online and what is expected of them as a result. Being intentional about course design is essential to ensuring students interact with course content the way that instructors intend. Here are a few ways to create a sense of community in the classroom:

• Use a discussion board thread to have students share tidbits about their interests inside and outside of the classroom
• Ask students to post pictures of their pets or what they’ve been watching on television (and be sure to share as well!)
• Play music at the beginning of each lecture video

6) Organize your content logically: When teaching online, the design and sequence of content and learning activities must be methodical, intuitive and systematic. Help students move through content and learning activities easily, so that their attention remains focused on learning the material. If they are required to leave a lecture module and use another drop-down menu or folder to watch a required video, that can be distracting—or frustrating if it’s complicated to find. When students use a lot of cognitive resources just trying to figure out where to go to access resources, they have less mental energy left for learning the content itself. This can be a bigger challenge for students who are already unmotivated in the first place. Instead, try to order materials and activities in a sequence that is straightforward and easy to navigate for students.

7) Ground online teaching in reality: A variety of examples and explanations can help learners grasp course concepts in a way that makes the most sense to them. Examples are perhaps even more crucial in online teaching, since students don’t always have the opportunity to ideate with instructors or peers in the moment to clarify a course concept or missed detail. Online learners benefit from multiple explanations of difficult concepts and being prescriptive when it comes to the kind of work you want to see. Modelling behaviors is a good way to lead by example. For instance, use a friendly yet professional tone when writing discussion posts and assignment instructions. Demonstrate respect for diverse opinions and respect differences in learning. When you show students what you expect, they are likely to be more confident in their ability to make online learning successful. This positively impacts their motivation to engage meaningfully with course concepts, and participate in learning activities.

Online teaching can be quite different than teaching in a classroom. Teaching online requires specific competencies and skills associated with effective online course delivery and facilitation. However, it is clear that the ability to teach effectively in online environments is becoming more of a necessity than a nice-to-have in the higher education space. The good news is that there are many resources available as well as tools and platforms to support educators in making this shift. By combining the power of experience with the right technology, instructors can pivot their teaching practices online, increasing flexibility for students and accommodating the diverse needs of today’s learners.

Recommended Readings

The Ultimate Guide to Metacognition for Post-Secondary Courses

25 Effective Instructional Strategies For Educators

Subscribe to the top hat blog.

Join more than 10,000 educators. Get articles with higher ed trends, teaching tips and expert advice delivered straight to your inbox.

• Utility Menu

GA4 Tracking Code

fa51e2b1dc8cca8f7467da564e77b5ea

• Make a Gift
• Join Our Email List
• Designing Assignments for Remote Teaching

Many types of out-of-class assignments that you would use in a face-to-face course will not need to change when teaching online. The kinds of work that students would have completed individually—assignments such as response papers, problem sets, or essays—might not require modification, particularly when they assess students' ability to do things with readings, data, and/or concepts already found on the syllabus and available through your Canvas site. Things may become more complicated, however, in those cases in which you ask students to work together and/or to draw on research or other kinds of resources found exclusively on campus. In these cases, you may have to introduce modifications, directing students to alternative resources (e.g. online documents in lieu of research in special collections) or alternative platforms (e.g. a voiceover recorded in Powerpoint in lieu of an in-class group presentation).

Here are some considerations to bear in mind as you think about your assignments.

Focus on what you want to assess

As you begin thinking about designing assignments assignments for the remote context, you'll want to identify, as clearly as possible, the competencies you  really  care to assess. If it seems too difficult for your students to complete a group podcast, you may ask yourself: what were you most interested in learning about your students from that assignment? Was it their ability to engage in collaborative groupwork? Their ability to demonstrate a mastery of audio recording and sound editing? Their ability to interview someone? Their ability to tell a compelling story? Depending on your answer(s), you might arrive at different paths forward. If the core of the assignment was about groupwork, then it might be a good time to start preparing students to hold group meetings by Zoom; if the core was the storytelling, perhaps you could allow students to submit a script instead?

Connect students with the resources they need

Make sure that students have access to any software, technology, or other physical resources that are required to complete assignments. Ideally, aim to use software or other resources (e.g. library databases) that are freely available to College students from remote locations. In the event that software packages or e-resources require students to login through VPN while off-campus, make sure that students know how to do this: Harvard VPN Access . In the event that none of these (relatively) open access, self-serve options seems feasible, please contact us at the Bok Center to think through your options, or seek help from the Office of Undergraduate Education or the Harvard Libraries:

• If your course requires resources that need additional funding, please contact [email protected] to explore what might be possible
• Ask a Librarian to help you identify good alternative research possibilities
• If your students are stuck on utilizing a new medium, our Learning Lab can create a customized tutorial for them

Create many opportunities for dialogue

Whether we recognize it or not, frequent, low-stakes feedback is the currency on which all assignments run. It can be easy, when teaching online, to underestimate the many avenues, informal as well as formal, that our students utilize to ask and answer questions when we are teaching face-to-face. Whether it's buttonholing a coursehead at the end of lecture, turning to the classmate in the next seat, or participating in an ad hoc study group, students in face-to-face environments benefit immensely from the opportunity to talk through their ideas. How can we make sure that students retain at least some simulacrum of these resources when we are teaching remotely?

• You could ask students to present their work-in-progress to their peers and teaching staff through a Zoom meeting of the class. Alternatively, students could record a presentation on their phone or computer and submit it through Canvas.
• Insofar as your students would benefit from getting peer feedback outside of class, you may want to encourage them to use collaborative tools, such as Google docs and Zoom, to offer each other feedback. You may also want to assign students to study groups and establish formal Zoom rooms for their use.
• If you are part of a teaching staff, you might assign some members of your staff to monitor the chat function that accompanies your Zoom class meeting, and encourage students who have questions about upcoming assignments to post them there. As the coursehead, you could then respond to a digest of these questions at the end of your online class meeting.

Take advantage of Canvas

If you're concerned about how students will submit their assignments while they are away from campus, Canvas may be just the solution. Many instructors already accept assignment submissions through Canvas; some even complete their grading through SpeedGrader. Beyond a problem set or written assignment, you could consider other modalities, including audio or media files.

• For help configuring your Canvas site to accept assignment submissions, this page  offers a convenient tutorial 
• If you are concerned that students will not know how to submit an assignment, this page can walk them through the process

Canvas also allows instructors to administer exams and quizzes remotely. Contact the Bok Center for assistance in writing a Canvas quiz or exam; you may also find this advice from Yale useful in experimenting with Canvas quizzes.

• Designing Your Course
• In the Classroom
• Getting Feedback
• Equitable & Inclusive Teaching
• Artificial Intelligence
• Advising and Mentoring
• Teaching and Your Career
• Where to Begin
• Communicating Expectations
• Sustaining Community
• Equity & Access
• Assessing Online Participation
• Key Moves for Online Interactivity
• Seminars & Sections
• Science Labs
• Language courses
• Final Exams
• Oral Presentations
• Office Hours / Helprooms
• Review Sessions
• TFs & Teaching Teams
• Back Again: The Return to In-Person Teaching
• Tools and Platforms
• The Science of Learning
• Bok Publications
• Other Resources Around Campus