“Brendan Lake”
18 Characteristics of Super Courses
By: Brendan Lake
May 7, 2021
Summary: In this article, we’ll explore 18 characteristics of powerful learning experiences as identified in Ken Bain’s book Super Courses: The Future of Teaching and Learning.Author: Brendan Lake, D.M.A., M.Ed., is a senior instructional designer wi ...
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Using True or False Questions for Student Engagement in Your Course
By: Brendan Lake
November 2, 2015
True or false?: College courses should never include true or false questions.True or false questions are notoriously unreliable for student assessment, but used outside of an exam context, they can enhance student engagement.As most instructors are a ...
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Engage your Students with the 6 C’s of Motivation
By: Brendan Lake
November 6, 2017
Imagine you’re an online instructor in the middle of a semester. Every week at the 11:59 pm deadline, students submit assignments that barely meet the rubric minimums. The discussion boards and virtual office hours are ghost towns, and you’re not con ...
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Best Practices for Large-Enrollment Online Courses, Part I: Managing student expectations, leveraging quizzes, and reducing grading load
By: Brendan Lake
April 30, 2025
Whenever student enrollment capacity dramatically increases for an instructor, there are a number of common questions and concerns: How will the increased grading load be managed? How can instructors facilitate a discussion among 100+ students? ...
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9 Ways to Make Your Course Easier to Navigate
By: Brendan Lake
April 22, 2016
Easy course navigation is a critical component of a great online course. According to Quality Matters (QM), an organization dedicated to improving online course quality, one of the requirements for a QM certified course is that the, “Course nav ...
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Quick and Easy Course Improvements All Online Instructors Should Consider
By: Brendan Lake
February 14, 2019
Many articles and workshops explore complex concepts and tools that may not be suitable for everyone. With this in mind, I asked our instructional design team at ASU Online, “What are some easy, non-technical, low-hanging-fruit-type enhancement ...
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How to Make Virtual Office Hours Work for You and Your Students
By: Brendan Lake
March 10, 2021
Summary: In this article we’ll explore strategies to manage expectations, promote access, and clarify value to students to drive successful virtual office hours.Author: Brendan Lake, D.M.A., M.Ed., is a senior instructional designer with ASU Online a ...
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How to Foster More Authentic Discussions in Asynchronous Online Courses
By: Brendan Lake
July 10, 2020
During my undergraduate studies, I remember having a final exam for an introductory Spanish course where we were asked to have a conversation, in Spanish, about the weather. At the designated time, my professor welcomed me into an empty classroom alo ...
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Best Practices for Large-Enrollment Online Courses, Part III: Managing instructor-student communication and presence
By: Brendan Lake
July 18, 2019
Whenever student enrollment capacity dramatically increases for an instructor, there are a number of common questions and concerns: How will the increase in grading load be managed? How can instructors facilitate a discussion among 100+ student ...
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