At the Center for Distributed Learning we often hear from faculty, “that’s a great idea, but it’ll never work for me because I teach such large classes.” Student engagement can be a challenge in any size class, but it can be overwhelming trying to reach hundreds of students individually when there’s only one of you. In this brief seminar, we will share a set of strategies that can be used to make the most effective use of your time to provide a personal touch to all of your students. We will provide specific examples using existing tools in Webcourses@UCF and share anecdotal experiences using these strategies with classes of over 1400 students. The strategies presented in this session were developed with large classes in mind, but they can be used successfully in any size class.

Whether you have been teaching online for years or are just getting started, “online course quality” is an elusive goal to achieve. For instance, what are the components of a high quality course? How does course design contribute to overall course quality? What role does the teaching practice of the online instructor play in course quality? Can the characteristics of the students impact the quality of the course? Are large classes and small classes of equivalent quality? Access this brief, informative session for access to an array of tools, resources, and information to aid you in the quest for quality in online teaching. A featured resource is the debut of UCF’s Online Course Quick Check as a tool for quick self-assessment or collegial feedback.