Learning Activities: Lectures and Readings
Overview
By and large, UF Faculty are the instructors creating the courses offered in UF Online alongside their residential (on-campus) courses. These instructors are assisted by a team of instructional designers, videographers, and online education specialists who help them build courses that are specifically optimized for fully online learning.
Video Lectures
In most courses, at least some teaching will be accomplished with a video created by the course instructor or an expert guest lecturer. Lecture videos are as individual as your instructors themselves, who do their best to provide an experience that feels like being in the room with them. Videos are captioned and compatible with desktop and mobile devices, sharing the same content and curricula as residential course offerings
Instructors have access to several different video recording studios on campus in addition to making their own videos from the office, classroom, field, lab, or even on-location.
Whatever their style, recorded video lectures are an easy-to-access staple of online learning. Being able to stop, rewind, speed up, and rewatch lectures allows you to customize your learning pace through the course each week.
Often, the instructor will provide a copy of the slides they are presenting to make it easy to take notes as you watch.
Besides being used for meetings, office hours, and study groups, Zoom may be used to deliver live or recorded lectures, guest speakers, or student presentations. Your instructor may use the Zoom Conferences tool to schedule live sessions, and you can usually find recordings there as well.
Playposit is an interactive video player used by many instructors in UF Online.
Instead of just watching, you’ll be able to interact with the lecture through multiple choice questions, discussion forums, polling surveys, reflective pauses, and more.
The interactions provide an opportunity for you to assess and apply your understanding of the concepts that are being discussed in the video.
Try it out by clicking on the thumbnail below.
Readings, eTextbooks, and Presentations
Lecture Documents and Presentations
Sometimes it’s nice to have a copy of the slides used in videos and presentations, to help you take notes or review the material on your own. Instructors may provide slides, charts, graphs, infographics, or databases that relate to the course content.
Perusall
Some instructors take reading to the next level by using Perusall. This tool takes a digital document and turns it into a collaborative social experience, allowing you to comment on and ask questions about the text along with your classmates and participate in real-time discussion.
Click the button below for an example of a Perusall assignment.
eTextbooks
Often, instead of purchasing a hard copy textbook, instructors will provide instructions on how to access your eTextbook and the materials that go with it online. Those materials will be available through your Canvas course shell.