Consider this: Improve students’ success in a digital environment

When Alex Gainer decided to collaborate with the course design team in online learning and continuing education (OCE) to upgrade his online economy lessons, he never planned that the process would be so pleasant or the results so impressive – so much so that he has received international recognition.

In 2020, during the Pandemic COVID-19, Gainer transferred its ECON 101: Introduction to microeconomics and ECON 102: Introduction to macroeconomics lessons on online delivery. While the online course request continued to get up post-pandemic, Gainer and her teaching assistant Kianna Kozak joined the OCE Courses design team (educational designer Kaila Simoneau, developer of the Sam Walker learning experience and Tanya McPherson project manager) to improve her online offers.

The design process has proven more rigorous and engaging than the planned gainer. “It was sometimes very intense,” he explains. “But it's a really fun team to work with.”

The team began by creating characters to represent different students of students: traditional students in person looking for flexibility, international students who are not yet in Edmonton, mature students balancing work or family and secondary students aimed at going on a head start on university studies.

Gainer admits that he had to write substantial content and accept honest and direct comments on his writing. “There was a lot of confidence and mutual respect, which is important in creative work. I think it was the key to our success. ”

The team has helped to gain reinventing teaching and learning, dividing content into small manageable segments to help students feel less overwhelmed by equipment and learn at their own pace and use multimodality to keep them committed.

Guided by Universal design for learning (UDL) Principles, theoretical concepts such as gross domestic product, budgetary policy or inflation are taught through examples and practical and real techniques that promote active commitment. “The course supports the choice of students with regard to the way, when and where they want to learn by bringing together dynamic components such as interactive text, video, audio and downloadable resources,” explains Kaila Simonea, educational designer.

The courses align on the strategic level of the U of A, SHAPEby offering innovative and flexible learning experiences, and the Integrated inscription growth planWho prioritizes access and diversity while maintaining quality, with the overall objective of increasing registrations to 60,000 by 2033 thanks to the delivery of evolutionary program, including online options. It also deals with students' comments for more agency, accessibility and flexibility, as indicated in the Student experience action plan.

Simonea says that one of the UDL guiding principles is that by creating more accessible learning experiences for disabled learners, it contributes to a more inclusive and accessible learning experience for all learners. By associating with the Fable Accessibility platform, OCE is engaged in quality insurance tests and use interviews to ensure that they presented maximum overall accessibility in all learning components.

The online course development process has also influenced the way Gainer teaches its classes in person. He now brings more videos, questions and discussions to break his conferences and start his students. “The most enriching thing about teaching is to connect with my students,” explains Gainer, who hopes that their main point to remember is confidence and understanding to discuss economic concepts in the real world.

The comments on online courses were extremely positive, so much so that there is a waiting list for Econ 102. “This is an indication that students really like this format and this learning style,” explains Gainer.

Beyond the U of A, post-secondary institutions and peers have recognized the incredible work which was devoted to the creation of this course. The online learning consortium – an international group that establishes global standards for online, mixed and digital learning – Gainer, Simoneau, Walker and McPherson 2025 Excellence in design price design For their exceptional work on Econ 102.

“This testifies to the strong collaboration between the Ministry of the Economy and the online learning unit, which has gathered their expertise to produce this innovative and quality online course,” adds Jessica Butts Scott, associate vice-president of the OCE. “I am proud that the U of A has been recognized for excellence in online learning. It is the Grammy of online Learning Awards!”

When asked if he would recommend the process or start again, Gainer replies: “I would certainly do it. It is the most transformative professional development experience of my teaching career. ”