Text-based lecture options for online courses
Overview
Developing lectures for online courses is very different from developing lectures for face-to-face courses.There are a variety of options for different types of lectures and can take the form of video or narrative text. Overall, lectures should be split into short chunks and should be as interactive as possible to keep the learner engaged.
Text-based lecture
For those who may not have the technology to record audio, providing completely text-based lectures is possible, too. Text-based lectures should not be purely text, however. They can contain embedded images, relevant video clips (perhaps from YouTube), links to relevant articles, and check-for-understanding questions. Below, two types of text-based lectures are demonstrated: a text lecture built into a Canvas page with check-for-understanding questions, and a PowerPoint-based lecture with lecture notes included in the slides.
Text-based lecture
You can use the Pages tool in Canvas to create a lecture page using text and images.
Test-based lecture using slideshow (such as PowerPoint)
Some instructors provide PowerPoint files for students to download and read as the lecture portion of an online course. Oftentimes, PowerPoint slides can contain useful images, charts, graphs, and content outlines, but may not include enough content for students to fully grasp key concepts. If you decide to use this form of lecture for your online course, it’s important to expand upon any unclear points on slides by providing accompanying presenter/speaker notes. You can view how to add presenter notes to your slides here.
Download an example of a text-based lecture as PowerPoint slides with notes (PPTX)
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