Student Perceptions of the Most Effective and Engaging Online Learning Activities in a Blended Graduate Seminar

The principal concern of this research was to learn more about effective designs of learning activities in online environments. A questionnaire was administered in three sections of a not-for-credit intensive blended graduate seminar in university teaching. The online activities included readings, videos, discussion forum activities and other activities using a range of web-based technologies. Students rated each of the activities on four target criteria: alignment with the course learning outcomes, deep learning, engagement, and value. Students also were asked to identify the most useful activities for each of the five modules and evaluate the course as a whole in terms of navigation, expectations, instructions, availability of materials, instructor presence, and technical quality of media. The results suggest that students' perceptions of the activities followed very similar patterns across the four target criteria. The discussion highlights four distinct design features that characterize the most highly rated activities.