Engagement challenge: Accepted

When learning online, students are mostly on their own. They are responsible for what they learn and how they learn it. When given this responsibility, it is sometimes difficult for any learner to stay organized all the time, do tasks on time, meet their deadlines, and get the most out of the experience. We at the Lebanese American University have recently introduced an online component to one of our Freshman level English courses. This is one of the first courses given entirely online at our university. This English Laboratory component used to be given face-to-face before it was shifted to an entirely virtual setting. Utilizing Blackboard as a platform, our course offers the students the basic academic English skills they need in our 21st century digital age. The trend of online learning has perhaps not yet spread widely enough in our culture to speak of established strategies and approaches. However, social networking is part of our students’ everyday lives, and the digital age has brought with it new ways of acquiring information. We try to use these ways to help our students optimize their learning and to be critical about what information they receive. Every semester, we find new ways of keeping the students engaged and encouraging them to work regularly and collaboratively. Since the pilot edition about a year ago, our course has evolved and changed considerably. Data collection based on observations, keeping logs, conducting surveys, etc. has enabled us to constantly improve the course, understand our learners’ needs, and better reach them. This has allowed us to keep in view the problems we have encountered and to build on the successes we have had.