Tricks to Motivating Your Students to Succeed in Online Technical Courses

Online course challenges

In an article written by Neendoor (2025), there were five main challenges that queried educators felt needed to be addressed to successfully provide meaningful online education. These challenges were similar to the following these authors had encountered:

• 1.

  Decreased resolutions to technical issues

• 2.

  The lack of technology to access online education

• 3.

  An increased lack of motivation

• 4.

  An increased feeling of isolation

• 5.

  The challenge of keeping students engaged

This paper focuses on the last three challenges since the latest pandemic forced most educators and their IT support staff to become quite savvy with any technical issues that may arise in order to deliver instruction online (addressing challenge #1). Challenge #2 is addressed by the fact that more cities are improving their internet speeds as more and more customers change from choosing cable and satellite TV to online streaming and need faster internet. Furthermore, with the switch to the 5G network, more fiber optic cable is being laid since it can handle more data than standard broadband copper lines. In addition, internet access of households is increasing each year, with states such as Road Island and Connecticut reaching almost 100% coverage. In fact, 48 states had over 80% coverage, while Arkansas had nearly that at 77.5% and West Virginia was improving with almost 66% (Shevik, 2023).

There is a lot of discussion as to whether online or face-to-face education is better than the other. Depending upon individual learning styles, each mode has its advantages and disadvantages. The problem with any learning is distractions. Typically, in a face-to-face classroom setting, teachers can lead the discussion and limit the distractions that lead to poor performance from lack of concentration. In an online setting, students studying at home can be distracted by environmental noise, noisy neighbors, or even text popups during online lessons and quizzes. This can confuse the learner, which can cause them to lose their train of thought (Study Corgi, 2023). Since online education does take more discipline for the learner to work on their own without the oversight of a teacher in the classroom, these authors will discuss methods of online instruction that should improve the challenges of learner motivation, engagement, and feelings of isolation. This in turn should help the online learner be more successful, thereby improving grades and retention rates.

Making online instruction meaningful

An instructor’s social presence, clear directions and expectations, good course design, relevant course materials, and engaging assignments all help students learn and complete their courses (Baldwin & Ching, 2019; Ley & Gannon-Cook, 2014; Martin et al., 2019; Norman et al., 2017; Sheridan & Kelly, 2010; York & Richardson, 2012).

To make the online course more meaningful, it is suggested the instructor do the following:

• •

  Replicate face-to-face instruction

• •

  Develop a rapport with the students

• •

  Clearly define the course expectations and grading

• •

  Spend time upfront to save more time afterward

• •

  Embrace technology

Microlectures

Students learn new material better when it is presented in an audio narration rather than written text alone (Clark & Mayer, 2011; Moreno, 2006). Microlectures are short, instructor-produced videos that are designed using a structured format to provide effective explanations of a single key concept or specific skill set. This format helps focus and maintain student attention, provides students with content that they can easily fit into their busy lives, and allows students to reengage with the content when needed. Microlectures that feature the instructor talking into the camera can be an effective way to help create a sense of instructor presence and help online students feel more connected (Clark & Mayer, 2011). In addition, it allows the instructor to personalize the presentation, which allows an instructor to display enthusiasm and drama using inflection, facial expressions, and gestures.

Most Learning Management System (LMS) platforms have the capability to place an instructor’s photo in the corner of a Microsoft PowerPoint slide or a desktop screen capture (Palloff and Pratt, 2007).

Lectures can play a role in the online classroom depending on how they are delivered. The use of posted lectures or lecture notes without video should be discouraged, as they become only one more article for students to read. Microlectures, however, can emphasize a point or stimulate discussion. Brookfield and Preskill (2005) suggested that lectures begin and end with questions; the beginning questions help frame the lecture as a way of trying to make sense of a topic, and the ending questions encourage the students to continue the inquiry. Online, the instructor might present some material and then use the unanswered questions from that presentation as a link to the discussion board and the assignments for the week. The instructor may also encourage the development of a teaching presence among the learners by asking them to take charge of facilitating a topic of interest or a week of discussion. In so doing, the students develop a microlecture for the week and develop the discussion questions for the week. There is no substitute for learning by doing. Furthermore, the authors feel that most of the students are younger than their instructors and were brought up with technology, thereby enjoying making short mini-videos as have been noted by many of the students in face-to-face classes. Most of the students do this with their cell phones and post videos on social media on a daily basis (Lenhart et al., 2015). When students are allowed to do what they like to do for a class assignment, they become more actively engaged and motivated. In addition, they do not feel alone because they are interacting with fellow students and friends.

In the online classroom, students perceive traditional long lectures as longer than the actual classroom lectures, and they do not find them engaging and usually will not fully listen to them (Nilson & Goodson, 2021). Microlectures allow students to focus on a key topic, concept, or skill and to replay as many times as they wish. Students can easily use their mobile devices to play podcasts and short videos. They give students short bursts of spaced study time, leveling cognitive load and improving learning. For skills, students can readily compare their own performance with examples in the videos. Microlectures work well in blended and flipped classrooms as well as online courses (Sweet, 2014; Yu and Lee, 2016; Zhang and Xu, 2015). Even if an instructor already has long lecture videos, they can be divided into microlectures. Relevant videos or podcasts found through an internet search can also be used.

When given a choice, students prefer microlectures with embedded quizzes (Souppez & Bonome, 2018). Therefore, embed self-assessments or graded quizzes could easily be added with editing tools such as Camtasia or Captivate and/or use a microlecture as a springboard for discussion (Moore, 2013).

Preparing microlectures. Define specifically what the students should be able to do or understand after watching the video. Make sure that a topic aligns with the course’s learning objective. Writing out a script for a microlecture helps to refine the comments and to make sure that the content is clear and concise. If the script is longer than 10–15 minutes, consider dividing it into two or three short videos.

In order to create microlectures, start by selecting the topics, connecting them to students’ assignments, then decide on the media that is most appropriate, followed by drafting a script (Yu and Lee, 2016). Plan introduction and summary statements of about 30 seconds each and limit the remaining minutes to focus on a key concept or new material.

Microsoft PowerPoint presentations can also be turned into videos for easy streaming on the LMS platform (Hickey et al., 2020). It is best to avoid dense text, bulleted lists, or text entirely (Daniel, 2016). Text-dense slide presentations rarely hold student attention. Reserve slides for what the students need to see, such as pictures, photographs, diagrams, etc., and supplement them with instructor narration (Daniel, 2016). Put dense text in Word documents with visual images added, and save them in PDF format, which makes them faster and easier for students to open, view, and print.

Before making a recording, ensure the photos and audio are clear and easy to follow. Keep the background simple and professional or go outside to record. Where possible, the instructors should show their face or use an avatar or animated character. If the face is shown, be aware of the camera angles, putting the best side forward. Ensure that the face and the background are evenly lit and that there are no bright lights behind the instructor (Evans, 2020). Position the webcam at eye level so the face and shoulders fill the screen. Find ways to display enthusiasm and drama. Vary facial expressions, vocal inflections, speaking pace, and movements, even if the technology allows only hand gestures. Add relevant, interesting images, and keep the cognitive load low. An instructor does not necessarily have to memorize, but they should rehearse the script so that sentences flow easily. Authenticity is the goal, not perfection (Grandy, 2016; Pecansky-Brock, 2020).

Approaches to recording include (Brame, 2015) these: using a conversational style, speaking with enthusiasm at a slightly faster rate than average, using titles or other methods to make students feel the microlecture is designed especially for them (not another class), using guiding questions, highlighting important content or ideas, adding interactive features for students to use, and making a microlecture part of a larger homework assignment.

The last step is uploading microlectures into the relevant course areas. This is typically done through an LMS, such as Canvas, Blackboard, etc.

Microlecture time allotments. Audio lectures should be “chunked” like online text, which means each audio segment should be short. Most experts recommend a range from 5 minutes to 20 minutes in length with the ideal length at 10 to 15 minutes. The maximum is 20 minutes (Scagnoli, 2012). Thus, instead of doing an hour lecture, an instructor should break up the hour lecture into six 10-minute audio segments. It should be noted that an online recorded audio lecture compresses a live lecture, and that the same amount of information can be covered in about half the time using a recorded online lecture. Therefore, an hour lecture might very well be accomplished in three 10-minute online lectures.

In the first 30 seconds of the microlecture, provide an overview of what students can expect to learn. In the next 5 to 6 minutes of the microlecture, present the new material. In the last 30 seconds of the microlecture, summarize the learning objective or key points, and provide students with a question or a set of questions to answer (Scagnoli, 2012).

Advantages of microlectures. One of the most exciting tools for online learning is video: recorded presentations or lectures that can be downloaded to your computer and then played whenever you want. These presentations have tremendous advantages over listening to a teacher live or in person:

• 1.

  Students never have to miss a lecture again.

• 2.

  Participants can listen during their own peak learning times. Each student can and should listen to your online lectures during his or her peak learning time, the time of day when the student is most receptive to learning and able to participate fully.

• 3.

  Learners can skip ahead. If a student already knows some parts of the online lecture, the student can skip ahead to other parts of the course where the person is either less familiar or wants to pursue more in-depth or advanced material. In this way, students cannot just speed up their learning, but their time spent learning will be more interesting, involving, and of value.

• 4.

  Learners can repeat any part of the online lecture. Some parts of the lecture a particular student may not get the first time or need more time to absorb. You can do that online. And one might enjoy some parts of an online lecture so much that they may want to listen again to gain deeper insights or learn something different the second or third time around.

How to make engaging microlectures. Microlectures can range from a simple talking head video that is recorded on a phone or computer to a more elaborate video that includes visuals and animation. Microsoft PowerPoint provides clear and understandable instructions on how to record audio to narrate the slides. The microlecture video should mimic what you would say during a face-to-face class, so do not worry if you stumble over your words or need to correct yourself. Remember to avoid rambling, stick to your script. Maintain an upbeat tone of voice throughout the video and smile often. When you enjoy what you are talking about, students are more likely to remain engaged and excited with you.

Discuss concepts in small, manageable chunks to ensure you do not cover too much content in too short an amount of time. Incorporate meaningful pauses for dramatic effect. Maintain engagement by asking questions and encourage students to pause the video to think about their responses. Map out each part of your lecture by creating a slide with a title that indicates the main point you want to make on that slide. Cover only one main topic per microlecture.

Closing weekly online modules

Both of the following can identify where the students are confused and where the students need to spend more time with the course material.

• •

  Summary Post: At the end of the module, have the students write a summary email or discussion post that captures the main ideas presented in the module.

• •

  Practice Quiz: Provide an ungraded practice quiz for the students to assess their comprehension of the major concepts of the module.

This feedback provides the instructor with valuable information about students’ interests and points of understanding or confusion. After all students have posted, the instructor should close with a summary of the themes, clarifying any points of confusion, and provide a transition to the next module.

Notetaking

Notetaking statistics. Studies show that 11% of a lecture is typically captured in a first-year college student’s note-taking. Even the highest-performing students only capture 75% of a lecture. Studies also show that, during a 20-minute lecture, you retain approximately 70% of what is presented in the first 10 minutes. A student only retains 20% of what is presented in the last 10 minutes (Kiewra, 1985).

Successful notetaking tips. Many students are not being taught how to take notes. A recent study (Times Higher Education, 2021) showed that less than half of all online students bother to take notes, and roughly 70 percent do not even complete the course readings. Due to these trends and issues, it is imperative that online instructors take time in their courses to assist students on how to take effective notes for their courses. The following is a list of notetaking tips that have proven to work effectively and should be shared with students:

• 1.

  Avoid writing too small and strive for easy readability.

• 2.

  Leave a generous left margin for rewriting important words and abbreviated key content later.

• 3.

  Make key words, important relationships, and conclusions stand out; by underlining, highlighting, boxing them, or circling them.

• 4.

  Organize your notes according to the instructor’s words and phrases. Listen for signal words, such as “the following three…,” “the most important conclusion…,” and “on the other hand…”

• 5.

  Identify the most important points by watching for instructor cues, such as deliberate repetition, pauses, a slower speaking pace, a drop in pitch, a rise in interest or intensity, movement toward the class, displaying a slide, or writing on the board.

• 6.

  Whenever possible, draw a picture or create a concept map or diagram.

• 7.

  Develop and use your own shorthand.

• 8.

  Try different pens until you find an instrument that glides smoothly and rapidly for you.

• 9.

  Review, edit, clarify, and elaborate your notes within 24 hours of the lecture, again a week later, and again a month later—even if for just a few minutes. Repetition is the mother of retention.

Office hours

Virtual office hours. Instructors need to be easily accessible and regularly remind students that they are available and eager to talk with them. This will encourage students to reach out to them for the support they may need. It is important to offer regular virtual office hours as well as in a variety of formats that students may use to communicate with instructors, such as phone, chat, email, Skype, Facetime, Zoom, or other virtual face-to-face meeting applications. At the beginning of the course, instructors need to ask students to fill out a survey regarding their availability and preferred communication format for meetings. This will allow instructors to schedule accommodating virtual office hours. Customizing virtual office hours sends a message that an instructor cares about being accessible to students and recognizes that they have busy lives as well.

Group office hours. Hold regular office hours in a virtual chat room or conference room for students to drop in and/or post questions. This practice helps build community among learners. Moreover, the students can brainstorm from each other as to what they need to ask to help them with the course.

Individual office hours. Instructors need to be available for students and meet with students individually. Since some students are reluctant or nervous about reaching out to their instructor, consider requiring that all students have at least one virtual meeting with their instructor early in the course to establish a line of communication, and to learn more about them and their learning goals. If students have a positive experience in this initial meeting, they will be far more likely to reach out to the instructor when they are struggling with the course or have a question.