Best Practices in Engaging Online Learners Through Active and Experiential Learning Strategies

“Stephanie Smith Budhai and Ke’Anna Brown Skipwith have written a practical guide to support educators hoping to use and develop more engaging, connected, and reflective online learning experiences. In exploring the integration of active and experiential learning approaches, including gamification, game-based learning, and social media integration, this book can be used by a broad audience interested in participatory peer learning, cooperative education, and service learning opportunities in online classrooms. The use of known theories of learning to guide examples of different pedagogical approaches, such as scenario-based learning, game-based learning, and project-based learning, offers a useful, insightful toolkit for educators, designers, and academic readers seeking to apply theory to real-world practice applications.”

–Dr. Aroutis Foster, Associate Professor of Learning, Design, & Technology in the School of Education, Drexel University, USA

“The research-based ideas presented in this book can empower faculty and instructional designers to develop new and varied opportunities for collaboration and interaction in online courses. The specific recommendations provide practical solutions for overcoming common barriers to student engagement in the online environment. The authors deliver examples of online course activities that will inspire seasoned online instructors to experiment with different approaches and will motivate new instructors who may be hesitant to begin teaching online.”

–Dr. Melissa Rizzuto, Director of Professional Development and Training, Florida SouthWestern State College, USA

“Best Practices in Engaging Online Learners is a must-read for faculty and instructional designers who wish to improve the design and delivery of their online courses. The authors provide essential guidance on how to build and evaluate instructor presence and experiential and peer learning in online courses. I highly recommend this book for all who are interested in creating more engaged and meaningful learning experiences for online students.”

–Dr. Frederick Loomis, Associate Professor of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University, USA

“Best Practices in Engaging Online Learners …provides an efficient summary of various mainline innovations in pedagogy research. For this reason, it would be valuable for an instructor new to teaching, or one looking to start making progress towards learning-centered instruction. “

–Ryan Korstange, Reflective Teaching

Stephanie Smith Budhai is the Director of Graduate Education and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Education and Human Services at Neumann University, USA.

Ke’Anna Brown Skipwith is an Instructional Designer at Northeastern University, USA and completing her Ed.D in Higher Education Administration.