Learning Communities Perceptions and Experiences of Faculty in Designing Multimodal Online Courses

Presenter: Tracey McNerney
This case study describes ways in which three graduate faculty members in a research-intensive university develop multimodal learning communities in online course environments. The study considers how instructor decisions, course characteristics, content, reflection, and technology support learning and development. This research also considers course characteristics and instructor choices through the application of the Multimodal Model of Online Education framework (Picciano, 2017). This model proposes that instructors can design environments that allow them to draw upon multiple modes for content delivery to encourage learning and interaction among online learning community participants. This research contributes to the broader disciplinary conversation in online education, showing how digital tools and a systematic course design process can improve connections with online students.