By: Stephen Bridges

Media Producer, UGA Online

One of the greatest challenges of teaching lies in the creation of engaging instruction. The most effective teachers are those who can take their instructional content and present it in such a way that is easy to understand, as well as intriguing and thought-provoking for the student. The more students immerse themselves in the content, the more likely they are to actually retain the information held therein. While professors teaching in a face-to-face classroom certainly must deal with this issue, I believe that this challenge is even more formidable in the online environment. How do professors capture (and hold!) the attention of their widespread, diverse audience when the professor is not in command of the student’s physical environment? How might a professor establish a personal connection with his or her students, a connection that then fosters motivation within the students that pushes them to excel?

I believe that one of the strongest, most effective answers to these questions lies in the use of thoughtfully created instructional media. At UGA’s Office of Online Learning, our media team seeks to help faculty develop effectual content intended for delivery in the online medium. Our services range from teaching faculty the tools required to produce their own content and best practices of using said tools, to actually creating the instructional content for the courses, particularly if the content seeks to address a difficult to understand concept or task. We work closely with faculty to tailor the media specifically for their class audience; we do not aim for a “one size fits all” solution.

I mentioned earlier that one of the challenges that faculty face in the online teaching environment is how to establish a rapport with his or her students. In a face-to-face classroom, students often pick up on little nuances from their professors, like noticing their English professor always comes to class with a mocha iced coffee and sometimes hums a local band’s songs while entering the room. Interestingly, studies show that students actually perform better in their classes when they identify on a personal level with their instructors. Seizing upon this knowledge, one of the services our media team offers is the production of “faculty profile videos.” These videos, which focus on a professor’s background and interests, are designed to give students insight into their online teachers that they otherwise would not receive during a traditional online class session.

Our department is a part of UGA, which is an academic institution. As a result, we seek to share the opportunity of the production experience with UGA students. We have developed a relationship with UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication that has helped place many of their students in our department. The relationship is mutually beneficial in that the students gain extremely valuable first-hand experience in creating content while our department is able to produce even more content for UGA’s growing online class portfolio.

So my question for you, dear reader, is this: what has your experience been like with instructional media in your courses? What are professors doing that you like, or do not like? What kind of content do you want to see in your courses?  We’d love to hear from you!  Please email us at online@uga.edu or tweet to @UGAOnline1.