Title:  Humanizing Online Learning

Description: Complementing and enhancing the current LMS with effective learning tools can improve student engagement and sense of belonging. The AlwaysConnected plug-in at its current version is proving to be a valuable tool with features to help students achieve the course outcomes regardless of the technology used during the instruction. Increase students’ belongingness in their online community through group/topic interconnected boards, profile setting, hashtags, and built-in polling and conferencing. Further, use its enhanced analytics to identify students who need more engagement from their instructor.

Abstract: Learning in isolation during the pandemic can be a lonely experience. We are all social learners. By using the AlwaysConnected Plug-in on Canvas designed to humanize online learning, instructors can increase students’ sense of belonging and engagement in discussions with each other more effectively. Teaching online when students’ faces are only an icon on a screen and muted requires innovation and creativity to communicate. This session will showcase AlwaysConnected’s innovative features that increase interaction such as group/topic interconnected boards, profile setting, hashtags, and in-house polling and conferencing. Technology designed to modernize interaction in a virtual environment can overcome the current barriers in the LMS environment