Enhancing Online Engagement in Higher Education

This HERDSA Guide is for those interested in supporting and enhancing online student engagement in Higher Education. The Guide is targeted to support:

• Teaching academics or instructors, looking for a lens through which to design engaging online teaching and learning
• Instructional or educational designers, who are assisting instructors in planning for active student online engagement
• Teaching teams seeking a tool by which to audit their virtual classrooms and/or for critical reflection
• Program teams auditing online engagement from a programmatic perspective, and
• Faculty, or central teaching and learning units.

The Guide supports those adjusting to the pervasiveness and persistence of online teaching and learning in contemporary higher education contexts. The aim is to heighten awareness, insights, and understandings of online engagement, and to introduce the elements, indicators, and principles of engagement to support thoughtful and effective online learning design. The Guide presents easy-to-implement engagement strategies that can be incorporated into curriculum design to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.