In this episode, Rob and Jared discuss how important it is to create an inclusive environment in a course. Contact us at ctlpodcast@cedarville.edu with any questions. You can also visit our blog at cedarville.edu/focusblog for additional resources. We would love to get your feedback! Please fill out our survey to help improve our podcast and serve you better.

Inclusion is an important aspect of online learning and can create an environment that promotes student engagement, belonging, and success. Inclusion strategies include setting respectful communication guidelines, acknowledging diversity amongst students, being respectful of cultural differences, understanding how instructor-student relationships may differ, and ensuring that content is accessible.

Inclusion strategies also affect the types of assessments that you use. You cannot expect that the same assessments you use in a face-to-face course will work in an online version of the course. Your formative and summative assessments from a face-to-face course will have to be modified to accommodate the online environment. Alternatively, starting with an online course can help your face-to-face. Building an online course requires you to plan every detail and make sure each piece of content and assessment align with the course’s objectives.