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Category: Instructional Design

The Digital Backpack. Your Resource for Online Learning

Designing for the future with AI: Lessons learned in curriculum development

Michigan Virtual's educators experimented with ChatGPT to generate content for online courses, offering insights into its potential benefits and limitations in areas like content creation, individualized learning, and the 5D course design process....
  • Artificial Intelligence, Instructional Design, Online Learning

Effective Practices in Professional Learning Course Design: Course Content

Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Instructional Product Development team gleaned the effective practices outlined in this blog in order to improve their course development and better meet the...
  • Instructional Design, Online Learning, Professional Development, Research

Effective Practices in Professional Learning Course Design: Assessments, Format, Structure, and Appearance

Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Instructional Product Development team gleaned the effective practices outlined in this blog in order to improve their course development and better meet the...
  • Instructional Design, Online Learning, Professional Development, Research

Modernizing Professional Learning, Modeling Effective Practices for Student-Centered Learning

Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Professional Learning Services team has modernized their professional learning for educators while modeling effective practices for student-centered learning....
  • Instructional Design, Online Learning, Professional Development, Research
illustration of people sitting around a table sharing ideas

Instructional Leadership: Supporting Online Teachers

Supporting your online teachers seems like it should be easy, but what do they really need? Where should you start? In this article, we explore what it means to be a good instructional leader and...
  • Instructional Design, Leadership, Research

The Hidden Heroes of Successful Online Courses

Last month, our team discussed key systemic program supports for K-12 online learning based on the National Standards for Quality Online Programs released by Quality Matters (QM) and the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA). This month...

  • Instructional Design, Online Learning, Research

Podcast: Student Agency and Google Classroom

Welcome to Digital Backpack! In our first Digital Backpack cast, we chat with Traci Smith, a high school English teacher at De La Salle. She shares some gems about connecting with students, creating an atmosphere...

  • Blended Learning, Instructional Design, Podcasts, Teaching
Michigan Virtual

Michigan Virtual Teacher Professional Learning Community Design Research Blog, Part 2

In the second part of this two-part blog series (part one can be viewed here), we continue sharing the action research carried out by Michigan Virtual teachers as part of their involvement in the teacher...

  • Instructional Design, Research
Michigan Virtual

Michigan Virtual Teacher Professional Learning Community Design Research Blog, Part 1

Introduction Throughout the 2016-2017 academic year, the instructional design and Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI) staff at Michigan Virtual recorded in-depth analytics data to monitor how students engaged with instructional content within two Michigan...

  • Instructional Design, Research
Michigan Virtual

The Learning Sciences and Personalized, Competency-Based Learning: Thoughts from the Frontier of Research-Practice Partnerships in Virtual Learning

This past January, iNACOL released the report Current to Future State: Issues and Action Steps for State Policy to Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning. Among its key recommendations for achieving transformational change in K-12 education systems...

  • Instructional Design, Research
Michigan Virtual

Understanding Engagement in K-12 Online Courses: Part Two

Authors Andrew Vanden Heuvel, Michigan Virtual Kristi Peacock, Michigan Virtual Kristen DeBruler, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute Anecdotal evidence from course designers and Michigan Virtual School® (now known as Michigan Virtual™) instructors suggested that some...

  • Instructional Design, Research
Michigan Virtual

Understanding Engagement in K-12 Online Courses: Part One

Anecdotal evidence from course designers and Michigan Virtual™ instructors suggested that some students were not fully engaged with their online course materials. There was a commonly held belief by instructional staff and designers that some...
  • Instructional Design, Research

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